#615 : Boo Boo Davis - Boo Boo Boogaloo (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2023 – Blue Lotus Recordings

By Phillip Smith; May 27, 2023

Release Date : April 24, 2023

 

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

At almost eighty years old, St. Louis bluesman James ‘Boo Boo’ Davis is still busy creating some of the most authentic blues being recorded today.  Born in Drew, Mississippi in 1943, Davis grew up being surrounded by music, playing drums in a family band.  In 1972, he landed an eighteen-year-long gig playing weekends at Tabby’s Red Room in East St. Louis.  In 1999, Davis cut his debut album called East St. Louis and he’s been busy making records since.  His twelfth and latest release Boo Boo Boogaloo features ten original tracks as real and raw as the blues can get.  It’s the kind of blues that slow-drips and settles in the gut.  I love how it feels to hear it.  Produced by Chris Millar, LA Jones, and Paul Niehaus IV, the album features Boo Boo on lead vocals and harmonica, Jones on guitar, Adrianna Marie on bass, Millar on drums, and Niehaus on keys.

“Little House by Myself” rolls and tumbles onto the scene with a sound reminiscent of Fifties Chicago Blues.  The tight-knit rhythm section creates the perfect space for Boo Boo and Jones rip it up on harp and guitar.  Davis’ voice rings out with true conviction as he sings “She Made Me Evil”.  Jones’ smoking guitar licks add brilliance to the unescapable rhythm of this gem.  “Once a Year” is a smoldering timeless treasure of thick, oozy Mississippi Delta blues.  The doors are swung wide open for a Saturday night get-down on title-track “Boo Boo Boogaloo”.  This wonderful jam adds a danceable bounce to the album.  A soulful James Brown-inspired vocal delivery from Boo Boo brings the album to a fabulous close with “Jungle Bump”.  A captivating beat from Millar keeps a driving pulse as Davis and Jones unleash a riveting, unbridled performance. 

This is an album I highly recommend for the real-deal blues fans.  It does not get much better than this. 

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     TRACK LISTING

1.   Little House by Myself

2.   At the Red Door

3.   She Made Me Evil

4.   Blues on My Mind

5.   Make Everything Alright

6.   Hell Round Here

7.   Once a Year

8.   Boo Boo Boogaloo

9.   I Got the Crying Blues

10.  Jungle Bump

 

For more information about Boo Boo Davis visit

https://www.bluelotusrecordings.com/booboodavis

 

 

#361 : Ms Zeno the Mojo Queen - Back in Love

2018 –Blue Lotus Recordings

By Phillip Smith; Nov. 4, 2018

I absolutely love the new release Back in Love, from Verlinda Zeno aka Ms Zeno the Mojo Queen.  I stumbled upon her music several weeks ago through a podcast I frequently listen to called Radio Memphis, hosted by Ric Chetter.  From the moment she started singing, I knew I had to purchase her new disc.  Her voice, soulful and powerful reminds me of a few of personal favorites: Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner and Sharon Jones.  Backed by co-producers Paul Niehaus IV and Kevin O’Connor on almost every instrument one could think of, and Gene Jackson on vocals, the wonderful Ms Zeno brings her A-game to every track.   

With a big blast of horns and a hint of strings in the back, title track, “Back in Love” initiates this record with that glorious Stax vibe and features guest vocalist Roland Johnson. “That’s How I Know” is electrically charged and dripping with soul.  Ms Zeno sings this with abundantly sweet emotion.  G Weevil makes a guest appearance on guitar for “Willie Brown”.  This is hands-down, one fantastic blues song, and I am totally smitten by her vocal delivery.  The lady can sing the blues, and that is a fact.  Tom Martin ( Zydedo Crawdaddys)  stops by with accordion in hand to lend a bit of Creole seasoning to the wonderfully funky “Mojo Queen”.  Like a heart-wrenching Otis Redding song, “Love is Like a Flower” is an amazing song and brilliantly vocalized.  The masterful harmonica stylings of Brandon Santini sets a roadhouse blues atmosphere to “Call My Name”.  An unescapable rhythm draws me right in, like a mosquito to a porch light.  “Gotta Get Paid”, swimming in hot buttery soul and slathered in high-energy funk, firmly keeps me glued to the speakers. 

One of my favorite albums that I’ve heard this year, Ms Zeno’s Back in Love is my pick for soul album of the year.  It’s absolutely fabulous!

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