2023 – Lightning in a
Bottle Records
By Phillip Smith; Sep. 30, 2023
Release Date : Aug. 1, 2023
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com
The Devil Won’t Get You is the second release from Portland, Oregon’s Chad
Rupp & The Sugar Roots, and it’s stocked full of high-energy, all-original
blues. Headed up by Chad Rupp on
vocals and guitar, this seven-piece ensemble is also comprised of Brady T.
Goss on piano/Rhodes/Wurlitzer, Louis Pain on organ, Timmer
Blakely on bass, Jimi Bolt on drums/percussion, Scott Franklin
on saxophone, and Joe-Mack McCarthy on trumpet.
Johnny Wheels from Johnny Wheels and the Swamp Donkeys makes a guest appearance on “Blues Men in Black” in which he lends a smokin’ dose of harp and vocals. Rupp tears it up on guitar while Bolt lays down a big beat on drums. The song is so hot, it’s downright nuclear. “Leopard For Your Love” is solid blues through and through. I dig the vintage Chicago Blues sound which pulses through the veins of this track. Thing really begin to jump on “At the Candlelight Room”. This bodacious track pays homage to the well-known blues club in Portland which unfortunately closed its doors in 2012. Title-track “The Devil Won’t Get You” pays tribute to the music and locales of the Mississippi Delta. It’s cool to hear Rupp name-drop locations in Clarksdale such as Abes BBQ and Ground Zero, along with performers Lala Craig, and Stan Street. The album closes in style with a swinging, horn-infused treat called “Tighten It Up”. Everyone comes together on this for a grand finale and I love every bit of it.
Chad Rupp & The Sugar Roots have another winner with The Devil Won’t Get You. It’s a fabulous listen.
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