#631: Scott Weis Band - Raise Your Hands (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

Scott Weis Band

Raise Your Hands

2023 – A Happy Carrot Production

By Phillip Smith; Aug. 26, 2023

Release Date : Aug. 1, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

I’ve immensely enjoyed the past couple of releases from Scott Weis Band. Their eighth and latest album Raise Your Hands is no exception.  For something a little different this time Weis injects a heavy dose of southern rock into his blues and it sounds fantastic.  Weis is joined again by drummer Roger Voss and bassist Robert Kopec.  He is also accompanied by vocalist Cindy Mizelle, keyboardist John Ginty, and percussionist Bashiri Johnson, with Sarah Smith making a guest appearance on vocals.

Weis fills the air with the swampy sounds of the Mississippi Delta on the first track “Motherless Child”.  I enjoy hearing him tear it up on slide guitar with the rolling sounds of organ joining in.  “Shine Down” follows up in a nice Skynyrd-esque fashion.  I love the arrangement of the backing vocals on this slow cooker.  Vocally and instrumentally, it hits on all cylinders.  There’s a lot of ZZ Top influence running in the hard-driving Texas boogie-laced blues of ”Judgement Day”.  I like to turn the volume up when this track starts.  One of my favorite Beatles covers is Joe Cocker’s take on “With a Little Help From My Friends”.  Weis delightfully takes on the Joe Cocker version and it sounds glorious.  His gravelly vocals nail every note of this six-minute classic as the band comes together in a full-on Muscle Shoals-fashion.  Weis breaks out the dobro and Kopec the standup bass on “Bring Me Home” to close out the album.  The stripped-down vintage sound fully captures my attention as is conjures up memories of seeing the legendary Watermelon Slim in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

With songwriting and performance both taking top priority, Scott Weis Band has another winner with Raise Your Hands.  I appreciate how the music flows seamlessly from beginning to end, taking on an album-oriented rock appeal.  This is a release I am highly recommending.

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For more information about Scott Weis Band visit their website at :  https://scottweisband.com/

 

Check out other PhillyCheeze reviews for Scott Weis at :  https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=Scott+Weis

 

 

#455 : Scott Weis Band - Simmer Me Down

2020 – Scott Weis Band Production

By Phillip Smith; July 25, 2020

Simmer Me Down, the sixth release from Scott Weis Band, is a ten-track delight of electric blues.  With Weis on lead guitar and vocals, his trio also consists of Robert Kopec on bass guitar, and Roger Voss on drums.  Dedicated to the memory of Ben Elliot, who mixed and mastered the album, the record was recorded at Showplace Studios and features guests Cindy Mizelle on vocals, John Ginty on keys, Bashiri Johnson on percussion, and Phil Silverberg on keys.   

The opening track “Pride and Soul”, delicately awakens to a hard-driving blues-rock gem.  Filled to the brim with the lush sound of keys and a crashing pulse, the song also contains a bodacious dose of slide guitar.  It’s a stellar way to get the album started.  Weis breaks out a little Cajun funk topped with side of harmonica on title track “Simmer Me Down”.  It’s such a fun listen.  Surrounded by a wonderful infectious rhythm, and accompanied by Mizelle on backing vocals, Weis sings “Helpless” with a soulful John Hiatt swagger.  The song is pure excellence.  Weis, Voss and Kopec absolutely rip it up on “Right Where It Belongs”.  This is blues-rock at its best.      

Out of ten tracks on the recording, two are covers, and they are both terrific.  Weis performs Sam and Dave’s “When Something is Wrong with My Baby” with a mountain of heart and soul.  I love their take on ZZ Top’s “Jesus Just Left Chicago”.  Weis keeps this Texas blues favorite intact, while throwing his own spin into it.                 

The album closes with an amazing instrumental called “Transendence”.  It’s so reminiscent of the work of Tommy Bolin, it leaves me with a smile in my heart.  There’s no weak link in Simmer Me Down.  This album is about as solid as it gets.      

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For more information about the artist, visit this website : scottweisband.com

Todd Wolfe Band - Long Road Back

2015 – American Showplace Music

By Phillip Smith; Oct. 17, 2015

The Todd Wolfe Band seems to just get better and better.  Wolfe surrounds himself with some of the most talented musicians around: drummer Roger Voss, bassist Justine Gardner, and the master of the B3, John Ginty.  Since Wolfe’s last album was released in 2013, his band has spent over 200 nights on the road touring the world.  It was during these travels; the band wrote and developed material for his ninth album, Long Road Back.  It’s an intelligent mix of mind-bending Rock and Blues.  

Title track “Long Road Back” is pure Southern Rock with an Allman Brothers/Govt Mule vibe.  I’d love to hear this one with an extended jam.  “Poison” has all the qualities of a hit song.  Wolfe lets loose some really nice bluesy guitar licks while Ginty’s luscious B3 attacks and Gardner’s funky bassline slide nicely into place. This is just a fantastic piece. “Fire Me Up” has a nice homey groove, and seemingly calls back to his days working with Sheryl Crow.  Wolfe throws a little Southern seasoning into “Annalee” which hums down the track like a freight train tearing cross-country.  I love the slide guitar screams he injects into the song.

Wolfe breathes a phenomenal new life into Stephen Still’s “Black Queen”.  This rockin’ jewel, slathered in a heavy dose of Seventies psychedelia, is such a delightful listen.  They also give a stellar performance, taking on Cream’s “Outside Woman Blues”.  

   

Voss bangs out a cool as hell tribal beat which leads in to the witchy “Hoodoo River”.  Sporting infectious grooves saturated in trance blues, this is a splendid song to chill to.  Ginty plays the hell out of this one, and Wolfe’s guitar playing is simply amazing.   “Gone” is another track that blows me away.  It’s fuzzier, funkier, and contagious as hell.

There is so much going on in the music in this album, I hear something new and interesting each time I hear it.  Needless to say, Long Road Back is a fabulous album and indeed a terrific listen.