#662 : Philip Sayce - The Wolves Are Coming (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2024 – Forty Below Records

By Phillip Smith; Feb. 17, 2024

Release Date : Feb. 23, 2024

 

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

There’s a bright and fierce energy surrounding the music of LA-based blues-rocker Philip Sayce.  The tours-of-duty he ventured with alongside legends like Jeff Healy and Melissa Etheridge certainly pushed him to obtain his 10,000+ hours of experience, elevating him to his current level of greatness.  Loaded with explosive guitar performances, and drizzled with his soulful vocals, Sayce’s ninth and latest album The Wolves are Coming is an extraordinary listen.     

Sayce smashes the gates open with a Hendrix-inspired “Oh! That Bitches Brew”, leaving me gob smacked as I take in his unleashed arsenal of atomic guitar licks.  An infectious rhythm draws me into the funky, smoking anthem of “Babylon is Burning”.  I can’t help but feel his heart-felt emotions poured all over slow ballad “It’s Over Now”.  It is such a beautiful song.  His covers of John Lee Hooker’s “This is Hip” and Albert Collins' “The Moon is Full” both bring smiles to my face too.  I dig the high-octane track “Black Moon”.  Its pulsing rhythm and fuzzy guitar host a furious punch and hits like the go-to songs I loved from The White Stripes.  Sayce’s vocal and guitar performance are absolutely amazing on “Backstabber”.  With the force of a derecho, he tears the freaking roof off.

I highly recommend picking up Philip Sayce’s “The Wolves Are Coming”.  It’s superb from beginning to end. 

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 For more information about the artist, visit this website : https://www.philipsayce.com/

#372 : Jim Dan Dee - Jim Dan Dee

2018 –Jim Dan Dee

By Phillip Smith; January 26, 2019

Jim Dan Dee, the debut self-titled album from Toronto-based Jim Dan Dee is a high-energy and bluesy listen.  The band name itself stems from the expression, “Everything is just Jim Dandy”, and defines the essence of their music. The phrase also defines the front-man singer/guitarist Jim Stefanuk aka Jim Dan Dee.   Along with Stefanuk, the rest of the band is comprised of bassist Brian McCarthy, saxophonist Jason “Bobby” Sewerynek, and drummer Shawn Royal. 

With Royal and McCarthy dishing out a heart-pounding pulse, Stefanuk drives “Save My Soul” with a fearless hard-driving fashion, filling the song with catchy-as-hell riffs.  I love the sax accompaniment, and the angelic backing vocals from “Sweet” Jules Cordosa.  “Payday” packs quite a wallop too.   A fistful of swagger and Jim’s gravelly take-charge voice take this song to the next level.  “When You Move Like That” shines with the spirit of John Lee Hooker as it races through the speakers.  The jam on this is very nice indeed, filled with backing keys played by Jesse Karwat and blasts of sax to punch it up.  Jim Dan Dee takes a suave yet ominous approach with “Killer”.  This is such a fabulously composed song, and Jim’s guitar prowess is styleful and captivating.  Stefanuk confronts Old Scratch himself in “Walking Shoes”, as he closes the album out with a little bit of grease and shaker full of psychedelia.  It’s terrific.     

Bulletproof and dripping with cool, Jim Dan Dee has surely been one my favorite surprises this year.  It’s quite the album.

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For more information about the artist, visit this website.. www.jimdandee.com