Showing posts with label Rocky Athas II. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rocky Athas II. Show all posts

Friday, March 15, 2024

#667 : Rocky Athas - Livin' My Best Life (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 


2024 – Cherryburst Records

By Phillip Smith; Mar. 16, 2024

Release Date : Mar. 10, 2024

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

Rocky Athas is one of my all-time favorite blues-rock guitarists. He’s played with musical legends John Mayall, Glenn Hughes, Buddy Miles and Black Oak Arkansas and whether performing with someone else or recording his own solo work, he always manages to amaze me. Livin’ My Best Life is his latest release. It contains ten bodacious tracks of high-octane music and I absolutely love it. He puts the ‘rock’ in blues-rock. With Rocky on lead guitar, his son Rocky Athas II on bass guitar, Walter Watson on drums and lead vocals, and his son Jared Watson on guitar and vocals, the band could not be a tighter unit.

Title-track “Livin’ My Best Life” gets the album rolling with a big juicy dose of Texas-style blues with a ZZ Top vibe. Hearing Rocky shred on this one makes for a damn good listen. The fun ensues when they break out a smokin’ cover of Don Nix’s “Black Cat Moan”. I love how Rocky coaxes the most amazing tones out of his vintage 1969 Gibson Les Paul Custom Black Beauty using a vintage Vox Wah Wah to pay tribute to the late Jeff Beck on this track. From its infectious riff to its poignant lyrics, “Dark Days” is a fantastic original spawned from fatherly advice about remembering who we are regardless of the insanity surrounding us. This is indeed a favorite. It made me happy to hear John Mayall making a guest appearance on harmonica for the spectacular cover of “Long Gray Mare” originally recorded by Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green in 1968. He can sure make that harp sing. The solo guitar Rocky creates is outstanding. For an unexpected treat, I love the cover of Bob Dylan’s “Watching the River Flow”. The original was produced by Leon Russell and recorded at Blues Rock Studio in New York City at a session in 1971. From the beginning couple of bars of “Walk in My Shadow”, I am immersed in the groove created by Rocky II and Walter Watson. There is not a Free cover that ever sounded better to me. I feel as if Rocky is pouring everything he has into this performance, and it sounds terrific. First recorded by Freddie King in 1971, the cover “Palace of the King” makes for a riveting closing song. The twists and turns, Rocky takes with his guitar keeps me tightly glued to this track.

With Livin’ My Best Life, Rocky Athas wins me over once again.  This album certainly gets my highest recommendation.  

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For more information about the Rocky Athas, visit this website : https://www.rockyathas.com/

For past reviews mentioning Rocky Athas on PhillyCheezeBlues :

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=rocky+athas

 

 

 

 

Monday, November 20, 2023

#646 : Rocky Athas at CSPS - Nov 17, 2023 (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 


Rocky Athas Band

Live at CSPS – Nov. 17, 2023

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

 

By Phillip Smith; November 20, 2023

 

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

Rocky Athas has been on my radar for over ten years now.  His mastery of guitar is quite impressive.   I first was introduced to his talent while he was playing with Black Oak Arkansas.  Then soon after I began reviewing CDs, I found his six-string skills across several John Mayall albums.  Athas’ solo albums then came my way for review, and each one kept revealing different layers of his guitar prowess.  When I saw that Rocky was playing at CSPS in Cedar Rapids, I knew it would be a show I wanted to see.  I had never seen him play live before, but I knew this would be a cool musical experience.  It most definitely was.  

Rocky Athas’ band consists of Rocky Athas on guitar, his son Rocky Athas II on bass guitar, Walter Watson on vocals and his son Jared Watson on rhythm guitar, with Gonzalo Trevino on drums.

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                         Photos by Phillip Smith

























* all photos by Phillip Smith

Saturday, November 4, 2017

#300 : Rocky Athas - Shakin’ the Dust


2017 – Cherryburst Records
Release Date : Oct 15, 2017

By Phillip Smith; Nov 3, 2017


With this being the 300th installment of Phillycheeze’s Rock and Blues Reviews, I wanted to use this milestone issue to honor blues-guitar great, Rocky Athas, who has just released this fabulous new album, Shakin’ the Dust.  Produced by the legendary Jim Gaines and jam-packed with a truck-load of Texas blues, this eleven-track record is a true gem.  In the studio with Athas is his son Rocky Athas II on bass guitar, and drummer Walter Watson. Together they form one hell of a power-trio.      

Athas fires off a blazing performance on “You Pushed Me Too Far”, an outstanding original with a heavy dose of attention-grabbing blues licks.  It’s absolutely wonderful and doesn’t get much better than this.  “Texas Girl” is great too, as it kicks off with an amazing intro.  The song fearlessly follows suit with Athas injecting heaping helpings of fantastic guitar into a crushing wave of catchy hooks.  I love the Neil Young grunge vibe Athas affixes to “Time Flies” and how the ballad seems to gently tumble by like time itself.               

His revved up cover of the Calvin Carter penned classic “I Ain’t Got You” is a sweet amalgam of the versions rendered by The Yardbirds and Aerosmith.  Athas breathes new life into Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s “Looking Back”.  I get a big smile on my face every time I hear it.   The album closes out with a spectacular mind-bending performance, taking on Jimi Hendrix’s “Villanova Junction”.  This one is beautifully played.     

The cohesive flow on Shakin’ the Dust makes an appreciable call-back to the heyday of album rock.  It’s put together really well.  Rocky Athas scores big with this album, and I look very much forward to hearing what is in store down the road.    
     

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