#757- > Bob Stroger & the Headhunters - Bob is Back (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2025 – Delmark Records
Release Date : May 5, 2025
 
By Phillip Smith; July 5, 2025
 
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com 

It’s been a big year for Bob Stroger. The ninety-four-year-old blues legend was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame this year in Memphis, Tennessee. To help celebrate his induction, Stroger was invited to throw the first pitch at Wrigley Field, in Chicago on April 5^th. On top of all that, he has a new CD release called Bob is Back, and it is a fabulous slice of classic Chicago blues. This twelve-track record features Stroger front and center on bass guitar and lead vocals with Joe Marhofer on harmonica, Ricardo Maca on guitar, Arthur Catuto on bass, Leandro Cavera on drums, and Ben Levin on piano and organ.

The album opens with an attention-grabbing cover of Elmore James’ “Look Over Yonder Wall”. Stroger’s vocals are strong and authentic, with Marhofer’s searing harp performance superbly backed by Levin’s barrelhouse piano. This track sets the perfect tone for the rest to come. Over a tight and hot rhythm, Stroger claims “Jazz ain’t nothing but a blues-man blowing his horn” on his smokin’ original “Jazz Man Blues”.  The walking bassline solo is a grand one. I really dig their cover of Tampa Red’s “Don’t You Lie to Me”.  The song is played to perfection, with amazing performances from Maca, Levin, and Marhofer. It’s a treat to hear special guests Candice Ivory and Renée Gros accompany Stroger on backing vocals for “Love You Baby”.  In a groovy burst of Stax mojo, the funk-laden instrumental “Bob is Back” slides into the mix for an absolutely fabulous listen. For the closer, Bob wisely reminds us all to “Let the Good Times Roll”. I can’t help but sing along with this party song.

I was able to catch Stroger perform at the Pinetop Perkins Boogie & Crawfish Boil a couple of months ago at Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi. To be up close to blues royalty of this caliber felt pretty damn good. It’s great to see Stroger still performing on stage, and recoding new tracks. Blues fans will definitely want to pick up a copy of Bob is Back. It’s an instant blues classic indeed.    

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Bob Stroger at Pinetop Boogie & Crawfish Boil
Ground Zero Blues Club
Clarksdale, Mississippi
May 10, 2025

Photo by Phillip Smith

#756- > D.K. Harrell - Talkin' Heavy (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2025 – Alligator Records
Release Date : June 20, 2025
 
By Phillip Smith; June 28, 2025
 
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com
 

At just twenty-seven years old, D’Kieran Harrell aka D.K. Harrell is making a big name for himself in the blues world. He is one of those artists I began hearing lots of good things about before he even released his first album The Right Man in 2023. Now for his second release, the artist has joined the Alligator Records family. His brand-new album Talkin’ Heavy, produced and recorded by Kid Andersen at Greaseland USA, is an all-original twelve-track reflection of young adulthood, and is an absolute delight. With Harrell on lead guitar and vocals, he is backed by Andrew Moss on bass, Kid Andersen on rhythm guitar, Jim Pugh on organ/piano, and drummers June Core and Derrick “D’Mar” Martin.

Harrell’s smooth-as-silk guitar licks and buttery vocals stand up front on the funky blues coming-of-age song “Grown Now”. Topped off with horns and a riveting rhythm, this song is an immediate favorite. Following next is title-track “Talkin’ Heavy”. I dig the groovy bassline this amazing song dances upon as Harrell points out the state of the world and declares it is heavy with the blues. I love that Seventies discotheque sound injected into “PTLD (Post Traumatic Love Disorder)”. That drum beat Martin throws down is grand and fabulous. D.K.’s blues-soaked guitar sounds amazing as it fuses in. After a most delicate piano introduction from Pugh, Harrell breaks loose in a big way on “Good Man”. This has that classic Stax energy which I can never get enough of. I can’t help but smile big when I hear D.K. sing the only things open late at night is “Liquor Stores and Legs”. It’s such a brilliant song and sure to be a fan-favorite.

There is an old-school blues energy embedded in D.K. Harrell’s music, and it is captured perfectly in Talkin’ Heavy.         

 

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For more information about D.K. Harrell, follow these links:

D.K. Harrell - https://dkblues.com/

Alligator Records - https://www.alligator.com/

#755- > Willie Buck & Bob Corritore - Oh Yeah! (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2025 – VizzTone Label Group
Release Date : June 20, 2025
 
By Phillip Smith; June 21, 2025
 
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

I would be hard-pressed to name a more definitive series of blues recordings than Bob Corritore’s ‘From the Vaults’ series. I’m always excited when a new one is issued. The most recent in this series is Willie Buck & Bob Corritore’ s Oh Yeah!, and one couldn’t ask for a better current-day representation of classic Chicago Blues. William Crawford aka Willie Buck and Corritore have a history of playing together that goes back over forty-five years, and certainly is heard through their music. The album features Willie Buck on vocals, Bob Corritore on harmonica, Bob Margolin on guitar for six tracks, Jimi Primetime Smith on guitar for nine tracks, Anthony Geraci on piano for three tracks, Ben Levin on piano for six tracks. Bob Stroger appears on bass, and Wes Starr on drums for nine of the tracks. The recording also includes Billy Flynn, Mojo Mark Cihlar, Jon Atkinson,Troy Sandow, and Brian Fahley.  

The title-track “Oh Yeah!” rolls out first. Buck’s whiskey-soaked vocals are splendidly joined with Corritore’s searing harmonica. With both Flynn and Smith on guitar, the song makes for a very strong opener. A cover of Muddy Water’s “She’s Alright” swiftly follows next, fueled with an intoxicating rhythm. The song quickly puts a grin on my face. I love how Buck spins a moment of appreciation and solid act of generosity into song with “Brand New Cell Phone”.  With Atkinson and Mojo Mark on guitars, Sando on bass, and Fahley on drums, Buck and Corritore deliver the wonderful original “Went Home This Morning”. The song, timeless in both theme and performance, is a real treat. I never tire of hearing the blues classic “Baby Please Don’t Go”.  This is such a great song, and these guys play it to a riveting perfection.

I highly recommend Oh Yeah! as well as all previous releases in the ‘From the Vault’ series that Corritore has been curating. The record is ‘grade A’ Chicago Blues in its purest form.  

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For more information about Bob Corritore visit https://bobcorritore.com/

 

To read past PhillyCheeze reviews covering Bob Corritore, follow this link : https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=bob+corritore

 

#752- > Blues Inferno Tour - Alastair Greene, Chris Duarte, Kris Lager (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

Blues Inferno Tour 2025
The Double Z Bar & Grill
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
June 6, 2025
 
By Phillip Smith; June 7, 2025

 

Original source: phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

Summer is almost here, and the music festival season officially started for me last night. The Blues Inferno Tour featuring Kris Lager Band, Chris Duarte, and Alastair Greene made a most-welcome stop here in Cedar Rapids to perform on an outdoor stage at The Double Z Bar and Grill. This show as guitar-centric blues-rock at its best. The acts have been rotating the lineup along their tour and last night the show opened with Alastair Greene who was followed by Chris Duarte, and then Kris Lager Band closed the show. For a grand finale Duarte joined Lager for several songs, and it was magnificent. There was no warming up for anybody. Everyone was as hot as the other, making for an absolutely fabulous show. I highly recommend making to this blues-rock if you can.   

 

* All Photos by Phillip Smith

Alastair Greene 

Chris Duarte 

Kris Lager Band

Lager & Duarte 

* All Photos by Phillip Smith

#750- > Micke & Lefty feat. Chef - Live On Air (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2025 – Hokahey! Records
Release Date : May 2025
 
By Phillip Smith; May, 31, 2025
 
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

It always pleases me to hear new music from Finnish bluesman Micke Bjorklof. When he’s not fronting the electrified blues-rock band Blue Strip, this multi-instrumentalist performs as an acoustic power trio with guitarist Lefty Leppänen and bassist Chef. The trio’s latest album is a celebration of their twenty-fifth anniversary playing together.  This new record is a twenty-five-track double-disc called Live On Air. Recorded raw from two separate recordings, with no overdubs, the album intimately places the listener front and center of two stellar performances: the first, an in-studio recording which took place in 2020 for DLF Radio’s On Stage program, the second is from a 2023 performance recorded at the Blues Baltica Festival in Eutin, Germany.

I love the harmonics on “Mississippi” which opens Volume One. With a steady beat and the wonderful steel twang of a resonator guitar, the record opens in most delicious and swampy way. The swampilicious sounds continue on to the up-tempo “Tell That Woman”. The song is fiery and infectious. It certainly has a clever way of digging in to my subconscious.   Big Bill Broonzy’s “Big Bill Blues” is a plate of real-deal blues. The harmonizing voices sound great with the mandolin backing. It’s an outstanding cover. My eyes light up when they get to the Tony Joe White cover “Polk Salad Annie”. They definitely make it their own, and the interlude is downright amazing. “Gotta See My Church” an original blues spiritual from their studio album Let the Fire Lead is a beautiful and captivating listen. “Good Friend” from the Up the Wall album is indeed a favorite.  That’s a great thing because this song is performed on both volumes. 

On Volume Two, I soak up all I can from “Let the Fire Lead” and put the fire in my heart and soul. Bjorklof tears it up on the riveting “I’m a Guitar Man”. This is lightning in a bottle for sure. I totally dig their delivery of the Muddy Waters classic “Hoochie Coochie Man”. That heavy baseline from Chef absolutely fortifies the song. “Let Me Love You Baby” immediately follows with a stunning performance which leaves me dazzled. The record wraps up with a cool sort of benediction “Do the Right Thing”, leaving the listener with a positive message and feeling good.

Live on Air, from Micke & Lefty feat. Chef is an addictive listen. The more I hear it, the more I want to hear it, and I highly recommend this to all the blues fans out there.

 

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 Photos by Bez Slów

Micke

Lefty

Chef

Micke & Lefty feat. Chef

 

For more information about Micke Bjorklof & Blue Strip visit www.mickebjorklof.com

For more information about Micke & Lefty feat. Chef visit www.mickeandlefty.com

 

For past PhillyCheeze reviews of Micke Bjorklofs music (Including the newly released Outtakes) visit this link https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=micke+bjorklof

 

#749- > Brody Buster - Redemption (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2025 – self-release
Release Date : April 20, 2025
 
By Phillip Smith; May, 26, 2025
 
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

Redemption, the first album in eight years from Kansas City-based blues artist Brody Buster has really caught my attention. Buster wears his life on his sleeve and in his music as he sings about overcoming hardships and personal battles. After one listen and you will find this is an artist who begs to be heard. Buster’s art of song-writing pairs quite nicely with his mastery of harmonica and guitar. His talent was duly recognized at the 2017 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee as he pulled down two awards: the Lee Oskar Harmonica Award along with securing Second Place in the Solo/Duo category.  Alongside Buster on this nine-track album is Jackie Myers on organ, Ian Pond on drums, Terry Dry on bass, Howard Mahan on slide guitar, Jacque Garoutte on bass/rhythm guitar/backing vocals. Also making a special guest appearance on a couple of songs is Danielle Nicole.

 I’m over-the-top impressed from the very beginning of this record with “Can You Hear Me”.  Buster’s whisky-soaked voice and tight-as-hell band behind him hit me with full force. I noticed the little hairs on my arm standing tall, and I’m quickly reminded of the first time I heard the Black Crowes.  The riveting harp, sonic waves of organ, and lyrics which reflect a hard-scrabble life, tie this up to total perfection. Buster sings of high hopes and bad luck in “Deadwood Shuffle” as he totally rips it up on harp. I dig that classic Nashville country twang he pours all over “Working For The Devil”. It sounds terrific.  “The Color Blue” is such a beautiful song about escaping the dark. I absolutely love it. The harmonizing vocals of Buster and Danielle Nicole are magical. I can feel every word sung. The album comes to a close with “This Time I Got the Blues”.  Written by the late Kansas-City-based bluesman Billy “Beale” Woods who sadly lost his life to cancer in 2019, this track is the definition of the Blues.

Brody Buster’s Redemption is the head-turner of the year so far. This record is sure to land on many best-of lists for 2025.

 

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For more information about Brody Buster, visit his website https://brodybustermusic.com/