#687 : Jennifer Westwood & the Handsome Devils - Mad Man's World (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2024 – Maverick Ranch

Release Date : June 17, 2024

By Phillip Smith; June 8, 2024

 

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

Almost nine years have passed since Jennifer Westwood and the Handsome Devils released Greetings From This Town. I listened to that record heavily for a very long time. Mad Man’s World, their latest album is a fantastic ten-track recording. It was very much worth the wait. I absolutely love Westwood’s voice. It sounds magnificent as she pours it over an amalgam of Detroit Soul, Muscle Shoals, and American Roots music. With Westwood fronting the band on vocals, the Handsome Devils are comprised of Westwood’s husband Dylan Dunbar on guitar, bassist Chuck Bartels, drummers Ron Pangburn and David Below, percussionist Brandon Husken, keyboardist Lucky Haskins, horn players Joshua James and Jimmy Smith, and backing vocalists Susan Marshall and Reba Russell.

Mad Man’s World opens up in a vibrant Latin western-scape “Viva Terlingua”. This homage to Jerry Jeff Walker has all the brilliance of an Ennio Morricone spaghetti western score. Title-track “Mad Man’s World” follows up in a bluesy Dap-Kings fashion topped with horns and swirling keys, as Westwood calls out the systematic misogyny which has plagued the world since the beginning of time.  My ears perk up even more when Dunbar serves up a Clapton-esque guitar solo. He then pulls me tightly in to “Bulletproof” with his lingering, blues-soaked licks. From a delicate and vulnerable beginning, the song emerges as an anthem to overcoming one’s obstacles. I was gob-smacked when I heard their cover of The Parliaments’ 1967 hit “(I Wanna) Testify”. Written by George Clinton, this track is kept funky and fueled with Sixties soul. The infectious melody of “Bad Luck Charm” beckons me in to a melancholy masterpiece about bad luck and heartache. “How am I Supposed to Live This Way” brings the album to its close with a driving rhythm and cornucopia of sound. It truly is a grand finale.  

Jennifer Westwood and the Handsome Devils’ Mad Man’s World is undeniably great from beginning to end. It’s one of my favorite albums I have heard this year.       

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For more information about Jennifer Westwood, visit the website at https://www.jenniferwestwood.com

 

Follow the link below for more PhillyCheeze reviews featuring Jennifer Westwood:

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=jennifer+westwood

  

#331 : The Eric Hughes Band - Meet Me in Memphis

2017 – Eric Hughes Music

By Phillip Smith; April 28, 2018

If you’ve listened to live music on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee within the past seventeen years, there’s a good chance you’ve heard Eric Hughes on stage performing his unique and captivating blend of blues.  He took up residency on the historic Official Home of the Blues in 2001, and plays there on a regular basis still today.  Meet Me in Memphis, marks his fifth album to date, and is an homage to the city in which he was born and raised.  The Eric Hughes Band consists of Eric Hughes on vocals, guitars, harmonica, and percussion, Walter Hughes on guitars, mandolin, lap-steel, Leo Goff on bass guitar, Brian Aylor on drums, Chris Stephenson on keyboards, Art Edmaiston on saxophone, Marc Franklin on trumpet, along with Susan Marshall and Reba Russell on backing vocals.

The nine track album rolls out the gate, ready for business, with “Freight Train of Pain”.  This southern rocker comes loaded with scads of blues-soaked harp and ripping guitar riffs.  Hearing title track “Meet Me in Memphis” ushers me right to the heart of the Bluff City with a longing for some fine music, tasty barbeque, and a tall glass of sweet tea.  With a robust horn accompaniment, chords, and Steve Cropper-like guitar licks, I love how the song gently taps into the soulful sounds of Stax Records.

Hughes has a gift for incorporating the lost art of story-telling into his songs. A captivating tale of outlaw nature is spun in his western ballad “The Day They Hanged the Kid”.  Franklin, on trumpet, suavely tops the song with a little Spanish seasoning.  With poetic truth, and a shovelful of satire, the troubles of the hipster nation finally get the spotlight in Hughes’ humorously penned “Midtown Blues”.  Once pulled in by Aylor’s caffeinated beat and Goff’s funky bassline on “Here Comes the Boogie Man”, there’s no escape from   Eric’s magnificent harmonica performance and Walter’s wonderfully ominous guitar licks.  

In joyous celebration of one of America’s favorite pastimes, the album closes with “Believe I’m Going Fishing”.  I simply adore this song.  It’s catchy as hell.  In fact, the whole record is that catchy.  Meet Me in Memphis is a terrific album, and a splendid delight.        

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#322 : Victor Wainwright and the Train - (self-titled)

2018 – Ruf Records

By Phillip Smith; March 2, 2018

Victor Wainwright, one of my favorite keyboardists playing the Blues today, has released a spectacular new album with his new backing band, The Train.  Making up The Train is drummer Billy Dean, bassist Terrence Grayson, and guitarist Pat Harrington. This album features a dozen original songs from Wainwright which ranges from barrelhouse blues to boogie-woogie.  No matter what he’s playing, it’s performed with precision and soul. 

Wainwright’s lush keys and ominous lyrics stand tall on “Wilshire Grave” as it sinks its claws in.  A seductive hook, the growling trumpet of Doug Woolverton, and the backing vocals of Reba Russell make this song the embodiment of cool.  With a bluesy Randy Newman vibe, “Dull Your Shine” emits a message of positivity as it reinforces the characteristic of individuality.  There hasn’t been a better song about debt collection than “Money”.  Wainwright’s piano prowess is quite amazing and Harrington’s guitar performance is terrific.  “Thank You Lucille” is a wonderful homage to the great B.B. King.  In a fitting tribute, guitarist Monster Mike Welch seemingly channels the man himself.  A slow-burn start on “Sunshine” breaks into a rejoicing Phish-phriendly jam with tiny nods to the great Frank Zappa.  Harrington’s smokin’ guitar performance coupled with Billy Dean’s amazing drum fills put a gigantic smile on my face.

Victor Wainwright and the Train is one stellar record, and certainly deserves to be heard.

   

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Also reviewed on Phillycheeze’s Rock & Blues Reviews

Click below to read PhillyCheeze's review of  :Victor Wainwright and the WildRoots – Boom Town

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2015/07/victor-wainwright-and-wildroots-boom.html