Centennial Park
North Liberty, Iowa
All photos by Phillip Smith; July 14, 2018
* All Photos by Phillip Smith
The Tanya English Band
The Avey Grouws Band
Kevin Burt and the Corridor
The Diplomats of Solid Sound
Fantastic Negrito
by Phillip Smith
Sunday, July 15, 2018
#342 : North Liberty Blues & BBQ Festival - July 14, 2018
Centennial Park
Friday, July 13, 2018
#341 : Michael Buffalo Smith - Makin’ it Back to Macon
2018 – Dreaming Buffalo
Music
By Phillip Smith;
July 13, 2018
Makin’
it Back to Macon follows closely on the heels of his recent EP
The Austin Sessions, released earlier
this Spring. The “Ambassador of Southern
Rock” and founder of Kudzoo Magazine Michael
Buffalo Smith reveals he has even more up his sleeve with this first full
length album since 2005. Buffalo holds
down the vocals and acoustic guitar with the rest of the band being composed of
Greg Yeary (rhythm/lead guitar) Billy Eli (acoustic guitar), Joey
Parrish (bass), and Towson Engsburg (drums/percussion). Paul Hornsby (Charlie Daniels,
Marshall Tucker Band) produced the album, which also features Tommy Talton
(Cowboy) on guitar, E.G. Kight on backing vocals, and the one and
only Billy Bob Thornton narrating the prologue and epilogue.
For the introduction, Buffalo wrote a soulful
dedication to the town of Macon, Georgia, making note to mention the
music, the food, and the people. Read by
Thornton, this spoken piece is a wonderful tribute to set the table for
the music which follows.
Buffalo brings
a sense of optimism to his song of mortality in “Both Feet on the Ground” which
features guitarist Daniel Jackson and bassist Joey Parrish, both
from the Silver Travis Band. Topped
off with some very cool slide-work from Tommy Talton and featuring Paul
Hornsby on the Wurlitzer piano, “My Baby Drives a Mercedes Benz” was co-written with Smith’s longtime
collaborator Greg Yeary. Smith explains
it was part of the set list when he and Yeary performed as Buffalo
Hut Coalition in the Eighties. Talton
also appears on the fantastic and melancholy “Tired of Living Blues”. Adding pops and scratches to be infused into
the recording, Smith bestows a vintage sound to this bona fide blues
tune. Smith invokes a style reminiscent
of the great John Prine into his music. A perfect example is “On a Still
Cold Saturday” inspired by a trippy recurring dream. Ripples of melancholy washes over when I hear
Smith bare his soul on “Woman in the Moon (It Comes in Waves)”, a very
personal song he wrote after the passing of the love of his life.
The record concludes with a beautifully written
self-reflective spoken word piece, “Epilogue: Reflections at 60”. With a gripping delivery, this mini-bio
written by Smith is read aloud by Billy Bob Thornton. It honestly ties everything together.
---
Click the following link to read the PhillyCheeze Review of Michael Buffalo Smith's EP, The Austin Sessions :
https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2018/05/332-michael-buffalo-smith-austin.html
Saturday, July 7, 2018
#340 : Whitney Shay - A Woman Rules the World
2018 – Little Village
Foundation
Release Date: August 1,
2018
By Phillip Smith;
July 7, 2018
Recorded at the acclaimed Greaseland Studios
in San Jose, California and produced by Christopher “Kid”
Andersen, A Woman Rules the World,
Whitney Shay’s latest album is her first in six years. This landmark recording surrounds the riveting
vocalist with an outstanding group of musicians whose appearance includes Kid
Andersen (guitar, bass, sitar, and Wurlitzer) , Jim Pugh (organ,
piano) “Sax” Gordon Beadle (saxophones), Kedor Roy (upright and
electric bass), and Alex Pettersen (drums).
The album begins with the sweet sound of horns, and
a huge splash of Detroit soul in “Ain’t No Weak Woman”. Shay’s smooth and sultry vocals sound
great on this funky original. This rolls quite nicely into a jaw-dropping performance
of Dinah Washington’s “Blues Down Home”.
It’s absolutely fabulous. “Love’s
Creeping Up on You”, another original from Shay is rooted in the Memphis
sound. Andersen seems to channel B.B. King
on guitar, while the rest of the crew takes a cruise down McLemore Avenue,
for more of a Stax Records vibe. Pettersen
gives a brilliant execution on drums to boot.
Shay soulfully
sings title track “A Woman Rules the World” an exquisite selection by the
legendary blues master Denise LaSalle, who sadly passed away earlier
this year. Then there’s the rousing rendition
of Little Denise’s “Check Me Out”.
Slathered in old school funk, this smash hit written by the great Jimmy
McCracklin oozes with groovy goodness.
Paying homage to one of the greatest Rock and Roll
legends ever, Shay and company let loose an amazing cover of Little
Richard’s “Freedom Blues” off his 1970 album Rill Thing. They then rip it
up on “Get Down With It” from his 1966 album The Wild and Frantic Little Richard to bring this wonderful album
to its conclusion.
A
Woman Rules the World is full of everything a music lover wants in
an album: great songs, a spectacular voice, and an amazingly tight band. I love every bit of it.
---
For more information about Whitney Shay, visit her website : https://www.whitneyshay.com/home
Saturday, June 30, 2018
#339 : Eric Corne - Happy Songs for the Apocalypse
2018 – Forty Below
Records
By Phillip Smith;
June 30, 2018
Eric
Corne, founder and president of Forty Below Records,
has brought fabulous new artists like Sam Morrow and Jaime Wyatt
to my attention and recorded established favorites such as John Mayall,
Walter Trout, Joe Walsh, Lucinda Williams, Edgar Winter, Joe Bonamassa, John
Doe (X) and Glen Campbell. Happy Songs for the Apocalypse, the latest
release from award winning producer/singer/song-writer Eric Corne is rather
reflective of the world today, and is an amazing listen. The dozen original tracks are beautifully written
and tightly woven together in the assembly of this album.
I love the way Corne splendidly starts the
album off with “Mad World”, his prophetic account of the beginning of the
end. Eamon Ryland lends a dreamy
texture to this personal favorite on pedal steel. Doug Pettibone (Lucinda Williams)
provides a delicate Dobro performance on “The Guilded Age” while Corne sings
of the wolves of Wall Street. Sasha Smith on dolceola and violinist Freddy
Koella (Bob Dylan, KD Lang, Dr. John) inject a bright Celtic
sound into Corne’s dispirited observance of current day politics “Short
Wave Preachers”.
Corne
taps into the spirit of the early Rolling Stones with “Ridin’ with Lady
Luck” and “Locomotion”. “Ridin’ with
Lady Luck” features the legendary Walter Trout laying down some fabulous
licks on lead guitar and Corne ripping it up on harp. The excitement builds as Smith lays
the piano groundwork on the upbeat “Locomotion”. Guest David Ralicke (Degue Fever,
Beck) orchestrates a rich horn arrangement on this captivating song as Corne
revs it up with a side of guitar twang and more harp.
Corne utterly wins me over with Happy Songs for the Apocalypse. It is definitely a delightful and intelligent listen.
---
Saturday, June 23, 2018
#338 : Little Boys Blue w/Kid Memphis - Hard Blue Space
2018 – Vizztone
Release Date : June 1, 2018
By Phillip Smith;
June 23, 2018
Forged in Tennessee, Little Boys Blues
keeps pumping out solid southern blues music.
Their latest album, Hard Blue
Space brings guitarist John Holiday (aka Kid Memphis) into
the mix, as he rips it up with singer/harmonica player JD Taylor for ten
luscious original songs. Holiday
played the role of Carl Perkins in the 2005 Johnny Cash bio-film Walk the Line. Taylor actually played gigs with Perkins
himself. The band also consists of
drummer Mark Brooks, bassist Dave Mallard, and guitarist Alex
Taylor. Guests include guitarists
and slide players Andrew White, Wes Henley, and Brad Webb,
with Dave Thomas on keys.
The first cut “Six Foot Down” tells the story of a
broken heart beyond repair. Taylor’s
smoky vocals are reminiscent of John Hiatt’s and hover above gobs of
juicy harp, a heart-pounding beat, and a lot of laidback slide. “Loving Kind” takes a walking blues stroll and
is topped with nice bluesy licks from Kid Memphis. Changing pace and slowing it down a bit, “Blues
Bug” is wonderful and right in the pocket.
I’m immediately caught up in the intoxicating rhythm
of “Got a Mind of Your Own”. Swirling
sounds of the B3, and Taylor’s magnificent harp playing perfectly accent
this one as Kid Memphis plays guitar with a cool Robert Cray vibe. The ghosts of North Mississippi must’ve been present
on the recording of “If the Blues Start Calling”. The song’s infectious groove is so downright dirty,
it sounds fabulous.
Hard
Blue Space from Little Boys Blue w/ Kid Memphis is a
grand slam. This pairing is a delight to hear.
They were definitely made for each other.
---
Saturday, June 16, 2018
#337 : Sugar Brown - It’s a Blues World (Calling All Blues)
2018 – Sugar Brown
By Phillip Smith;
June 16, 2018
Ken
Kawashima, a finalist in the 2017 International Blues
Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee, grew up in Ohio, studied in Chicago,
got his PhD from New York University, and now lives in Toronto. There he teaches East Asian Studies at the University of Toronto and plays
the blues. While in the Windy City,
where his musical path was shaped, Kawashima was given his nickname Sugar
Brown by Chicago bluesman Tail Dragger Jones.
It’s
a Blues World (Calling All Blues), Sugar Brown’s
third album glows with authenticity. Each
of its thirteen original songs has a sense of stewardship and timelessness. Joining Sugar Brown on the studio for
this album is special guest and blues guitarist Rockin’ Johnny Burgin, a
close friend of Brown’s who was instrumental in inspiring him to play blues
guitar. The rest of the band is
comprised of Michelle Josef (drums), Russ Boswell (upright bass,
electric bass), Nichol Robertson (guitar,banjo), Julian Fauth
(piano,Farfisa), Julia Narveson (horns and fiddle), Chuck Bucket
(drums), and Bill Howard (tambourine, bass drum).
Sugar
Brown shares a lesson on the topic of economics, as he
sings about everyone scrambling for the same “Lousy Dime”. Robertson’s infectious banjo riff rolls
throughout this wonderful song. Accompanied
by an exquisite fiddle accompaniment and a beautifully executed piano backing, it’s
absolutely flawless. With a Tom Waits-like
gusto, Brown suavely sings “What I Know”. The song sweetly rolls in with a horn and harp
intro and is threaded with gobs of marvelously twangy guitar. A North Mississippi blues approach is taken with
“Out of the Frying Pan“, an intoxicating tune about having nowhere else to go. The circulating rhythm lures me quickly in,
and holds me captive for the remainder of the song. It’s terrific.
The retrospective makeover he applies to his music,
using vintage technology, encapsulates his work in an era of bygone times,
giving it a unique sound. That’s half
the attraction to this album. The other
half is Sugar Brown’s exemplary songwriting. This album comes highly recommended for Blues
enthusiasts.
---
Saturday, June 9, 2018
#336 : Ghost Town Blues Band - Backstage Pass
2018 – Ghost Town Blues
Band
By Phillip Smith;
June 9, 2018
Ghost
Town Blues Band’s Backstage
Pass is one of the best live albums I’ve heard all year. With every listen, I fall head over heels for
its long soulful jams heavily steeped in American blues and roots. From the beloved city of Memphis, Tennessee, Ghost
Town Blues Band is composed of lead vocalist/guitarist Matt Isbell,
guitarist Taylor Orr, Suavo Jones on trombone, Kevin Houston
on sax, Tim Stanek on the Hammond B3, piano and keys, bassist Matt
Karner, and drummer Preston McEwen.
Produced by McEwen, Backstage
Pass consists of nine splendid tracks recorded live at Lafayette’s Music
Room in Memphis on July 29, 2017.
The album breaks out with a smashing cover of The
Beatles’ “Come Together”. This
sounds fabulous with slide guitar and horns. I love the way they weave bits of “Norwegian
Wood” and Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” into the fabric of the tune. I will
be sadly disappointed if this song does not make it on the next Fried Glass Onion compilation series (a tribute
to the music of The Beatles, performed by Memphis bands). They take on the Allman Brothers’
signature song “Whippin’ Post” with true justice and a truck load of responsibility,
bestowing the listener with a beautiful and amazing sixteen minute jam. Isbell’s guitar performance is stellar.
Their cover of George Porter Jr’s
(The Meters) “I Get High” is a bouncy and funky treat loaded with contagious
horn riffs and more head-turning guitar. McEwen is a bodacious drummer, and
keeps everything in check.
“Shine”, drenched in that good ol’ Memphis soul greets
the listener like an old friend whose face has not been seen in a long
time. The Stax sound is
definitely represented here with the swirling organ and those cool little
blasts of horns led by Isbell’s wonderful and gravelly vocals. From their Dust to Dust album, GTBB revisits “One More Whiskey” a blues-soaked
ode to drinking which Isbell tops with a tasty side of harmonica. This is a fun tune indeed.
I had the privilege of catching the band in Memphis
earlier this spring at the Beale Street Music Festival. With cigar box guitar in hand, stretching as
high as Isbell could raise it, Jones proceeded to extend his
trombone to its outer limits, to use the far-most edge as a
guitar slide until that cigar box just plumb gave out. After several attempts at reviving that
guitar with no luck, Isbell put his own creation out of misery with a
mighty rock-and-roll Pete Townsend style bashing. They outshined every act I saw that day, and quite
frankly, most of the other acts I saw that whole weekend. They were truly amazing, as is this
album. It’s ridiculously good.
 |
| Ghost Town Blues Band live in Memphis, Tennessee at Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival 2018 Photo by Phillip Smith |
Saturday, June 2, 2018
#335 : Fantastic Negrito - Please Don’t Be Dead
2018 – Cooking Vinyl
Release Date : June 15,
2018
By Phillip Smith;
June 2, 2018
Please
Don’t Be Dead is one of the most exciting albums to be released
this year. I’ve been a fan of Fantastic
Negrito (Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz) since viewing the C-Store Session videos on YouTube
in 2015, and I loved The Last Days of
Oakland album which was released in 2016.
The title of his latest record, Please
Don’t Be Dead, refers to the underlying fear a parent holds for the future of
their children in a world filled with school shootings, opioid addictions, and
homelessness.
The album wonderfully ignites with an infectious guitar
riff backed with a captivating beat on “Plastic Hamburgers”, an anthem about the
need for due change. Fantastic
Negrito has a genuine gift of sparking moments of inward enlightenment in his
songs. With “Bad Guy Necessity”, he sheds
light on the age-old craft of misdirection in a Prince/Beatles kind of
way, and how it’s used by those in power to create an enemy which only they can
eradicate.
A gut-wrenching response to gun violence and mass
shootings is revealed in his “Letter to Fear”.
This beautiful song, delicately steeped in blues and bathed in swirling sounds
of organ is elegantly sung. Funk and
gospel are cleverly woven together in “The Suit That Won’t Come Off”, a song
about feeling isolated from the world. Fantastic
Negrito paints a dire portrait of that place in our minds where we often flee
to in the darkest of times. Then he
sings a song of apology to those he’s offended or wronged while in that place
on a “Cold November Street”.
I dig the hard-hitting hook busting loose on “The
Duffler”, and how it smoothly navigates its way through a sweet, galactic groove.
The album comes to a close in a huge P-Funk-style presence with “Bullshit
Anthem”. The song is slathered in funk
and gushing with attitude. It is a sheer
delight. On the topic of P-Funk, I recently
read that the Godfather of Funk George
Clinton plans to retire in 2019.
Although, it will be most sad to see him depart, I would love to see Fantastic
Negrito pilot the mothership when that time comes. He definitely has what
it takes.
---
Saturday, May 26, 2018
#334 : Too Slim and the Taildraggers - High Desert Heat
2018 – Vizztone
Release Date : April 27, 2018
By Phillip Smith;
May 26, 2018
High
Desert Heat, the latest release from Too Slim and the
Taildraggers soars off the launchpad with a blazing psychedelic cover of
the Chambers Brothers’ classic “Time Has Come Today”. It’s magnificent to say the least. Too Slim then proceeds to tear through
nine ripping guitar-infused tracks of original blues-rock. With Tim Langford aka “Too Slim” on
guitar and lead vocals, the Taildraggers consists of Jeff “Shakey”
Fowlkes on drums, Zach Kasik on bass guitar and special guest Sheldon
“Bent Reed” Ziro on harmonica.
With Ziro supplying a hearty accompaniment on
harp, Langford dispenses a big tasty dose of blues guitar on “Trouble”. I love the groove Fowlkes and Kasik
keep afloat. They never leave the
pocket. Too Slim sings about
hitting bottom in “Broken White Line”, a badass song with an opening riff sweetly
reminiscent of Steppenwolf’s “Pusherman”. It captures my attention immediately. Communication
breakdown is what “Stories to Tell” is all about. This infectious rocker lures me in with its funky,
searing riff, and keeps me hooked with Langford’s delightful guitar
licks. Too Slim and the Taildraggers
close the album out with the title track “High Desert Heat”, a spaghetti western
style instrumental with ominous overtones and exquisite slide guitar.
Too
Slim absolutely nails it with High Desert Heat. It’s a
fantastic album.
---
Click
below to read the PhillyCheeze review of : Too Slim and the Taildraggers –
Blood Moon https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2017/02/too-slim-and-taildraggers-blood-moon.html
Saturday, May 12, 2018
#333 : Crystal Shawanda - Voodoo Woman
2017– New Sun Records
By Phillip Smith;
May 12, 2018
The latest release from Juno
Award winning Crystal Shawanda is
about as good as it gets. Growing up in Ontario and introduced to the Blues by
her brother at a young age, Shawanda
has been playing paid gigs since the age of ten. Voodoo
Woman, her sixth album since 2008, is simply fabulous. Of the ten tracks on this record, Shawanda delivers seven magnificent covers,
and three outstanding original tracks of her own. Shawanda’s band is composed of Dewayne
Strobel on all guitars, Dave Roe
and Michael Dearing on bass guitars,
Louis Windfield, and Darren James on drums and percussion, Stephen Hanner on harmonica, Dana Robbins on saxophone and Peter Keys on the B3 organ.
Shawanda takes
on Willie Dixon and Howlin’ Wolf with a riveting two song
medley of “Wang Dang Doodle / Smokestack Lightnin’”. Strobel
shines on slide guitar as Hanner wonderfully wails on harp. It sounds great. More power vocals follow on title track “Voodoo
Woman”, a fitting homage to the late great Koko
Taylor. Shawanda brings it back on her beautiful cover of Etta James’ “I’d
Rather Go Blind”. I love this song, and
this version sounds amazing. I’m also
head-over-heels for her cover of Bob
Montgomery’s “Misty Blue”, which was
also covered by Etta James in 2011
on her Dreamer album. Robbins’
saxophone adds a lovely touch to the song.
“Cry Out For More”, an original
co-written by guitarist Strobel is a
smooth blues-rocker which comes to an end in full shin-dig form. Shawanda’s
vocals carry the perfect measure of rasp, reminiscent of the magnificent Bonnie Raitt. Strobel
conjures up a cool twangy groove accented by a suave horn accompaniment on “Trouble”,
another one of Shawanda’s originals. With a tight band behind her, she approaches
the mic with a fearless attitude.
Voodoo Woman
is such a delightful listen; I give it my highest recommendation.
---
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
#332 : Michael Buffalo Smith - The Austin Sessions
2018– Michael Buffalo
Smith
By Phillip Smith;
May 07, 2018
Between juggling his gigs as southern rock historian,
author, creator/publisher of Kudzoo online magazine, blogger, podcaster,
singer/songwriter/guitarist Michael Buffalo Smith has just
released his sixth record since 1992. The Austin Sessions, a four track EP recorded
in 2016 at Green Garage Studio, is co-produced by Billy Eli and Jim Hemphill.
With Smith on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, the remaining members of
the band is composed of Jim Hemphill on lead guitar, Joseph Parrish
on bass guitar, Michael McGeary (Jerry Jeff Walker) on drums, and Eli on backing
vocals and acoustic guitar.
Smith
opens up with a relaxed country ditty called “Paintin’ Her Toenails”. This song according to Smith, was
inspired while observing his wife sipping wine and painting her toenails on the
front porch illuminated by the light of a harvest moon. I can’t help but be reminded of the Boxmasters
when I hear “Fatboy”, Smith’s southern rock homage to motorcycles and
women. Chockful of quick-witted double
entendres, the song puts a grin on my face from ear to ear. The pièce de résistance however is “Karl
Childers Blues” a brilliant ode to Billy Bob Thornton’s Academy Award
winning film, Slingblade. Doyle Hargraves very much had it
coming, indeed.
There's a full album from Buffalo coming around the bend, this summer called Makin' it Back to Macon, which is being produced by Paul Hornsby (Charlie Daniels Band, Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie). So the four tracks on this EP will have to tide Buffalo's fans over until that is released.
There's a full album from Buffalo coming around the bend, this summer called Makin' it Back to Macon, which is being produced by Paul Hornsby (Charlie Daniels Band, Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie). So the four tracks on this EP will have to tide Buffalo's fans over until that is released.
---
For all things Michael
Buffalo Smith, visit him online at http://www.michaelbuffalo.net.
Michael
Buffalo Smith is also very much involved in spear-heading a campaign
to establish the Southern Rock Hall of Fame and Museum. For more information, visit the website,
http://southernrockhall.org/
Saturday, April 28, 2018
#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.
---
Saturday, April 21, 2018
#330 : Kris Lager Band - Love Songs & Life Lines
2018 – Kris Lager
By Phillip Smith;
April 21, 2018
The
Kris Lager Band has hit an “out of the stadium” home-run with
their latest album Love Songs & Life
Lines. Taking a more rootsy approach than usual, Lager embraces the
core musical genres classified as Americana as he opens up and shares an honest
yet soulful insight into life itself. The
band is comprised of Kris Lager on lead vocals and guitar, John
Fairchild AKA Scooby Sha Bobo on drums, Aaron Underwood on bass
guitar, Mike Lefever saxophone, and Jeremiah Weir on the B3 organ.
Recorded by Pony Creek Studios in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Love Songs
& Life Lines was mixed by legendary producer Jim Gaines (Stevie
Ray Vaughan, Santana, Steve Miller, Van Morrison). Needless to say, it
sounds great.
The album sweetly opens up with the magnificent instrumental
“Aurora Borealis”. Lager notes this is both a love song
and a life line, as the song’s title is derived from Aurora, Nebraska,
his father’s birthplace. Immediately following,
“The Heart Wants What the Heart Wants” grabs me with a contagious hook and a Traveling
Wilbury vibe. It then relinquishes
me to the beautifully written and performed “Sweet Magnolia”, a track which brings
back fond memories of growing up in the South.
I love the slide guitar on this track.
A smooth funky rhythm constructed by Underwood and Scooby sets
the stage for “San Francisco Bound”, a freewheelin’, feel-good ode to Lager’s
2009 journey of California via the Pacific Coast Highway. This one makes me grin from ear to ear. Delightful waves of Dylan wash over with
every listen to “Where the Green Grass Grows Tall”. Lager’s voice sounds so good amid Weir’s
spirited electric piano accompaniment and Scooby’s shuffling beat.
Love
Songs & Life Lines is both charming and brilliant. Give it a listen, it will not disappoint.
---
Love Songs and Life Lines can be purchased from Kris Lager on his website: https://www.krislagerband.com/store.html
In June of 2014, I caught up with the Kris Lager Band with camera in hand, for the annual Irish District Music and Arts Festival in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Those photos can be viewed using the following link: https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2014/06/irish-district-music-arts-festival_22.html
Saturday, April 14, 2018
#329 : Long Tall Deb and Colin John - Dragonfly
2017 – Vizztone Records
By Phillip Smith;
April 14, 2018
Dragonfly,
the second disc from Long Tall Deb and Colin John is a superb album to
sink ones teeth into. This eleven track
album explores a variety of worldly genres while anchored in American roots, blues
and soul. Deb Landolt aka Long
Tall Deb fills each song with her enchanting vocals, building a connection
to the listener every time, while Colin John wondrously plays
guitar. The main core of musicians on
the album consists of drummer Jimmy Castoe, bassist Melvin Powe,
and Nate Hofman on organ.
Produced by Michael Landolt (Coldplay, O.A.R.) the album also
features several noteworthy guests such as Mick Kolassa, Jeff Jensen,
Michael Hill, Jo El, James Cunningham, Bill Ruffino,
Cliff Starbuck and Chris Stephenson.
There’s a sense of
attitude and fearlessness on the head-banging blues-rocker “On the Way
Down”. From John’s searing guitar
riffs to Deb’s powerful vocals the song rides the wave of Castoe’s
thunder and sticks the landing quite nicely. John breaks out the sitar
to add a taste of India to the spaghetti western ballad of no regret called
“Remember Why (It’s Good He’s Gone)”. The
brutal honesty of the lyrics in “Pull The Pin” cuts through like a broken beer
bottle. It’s an amazing song of
self-reflection and metamorphosis.
With the exception of an
intoxicating cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “Lungs” off his 1969
self-titled album, all songs on Dragonfly are original
compositions. “Lungs” is a little extra
special in that it features a different configuration of musicians than the
rest of the album. For this poignant and
beautifully played cut, Long Tall Deb and Colin John enlist drummer James
Cunningham, guitarist Jeff Jensen, bassist Bill Ruffino, and
organist Chris Stephenson.
The word, “Dragonfly” as
mentioned in the liner notes, is a symbol of transformation and change, and is
the definitive theme to the record itself.
The album’s title track, full of adrenalin-pumping surf guitar is cloaked
in the shadows of an ominous and forbidding atmosphere. This twangy masterpiece is most interesting and
has a strong presence, much akin to the songs Quentin Tarantino
hand-picks for his films. It’s a brilliant song indeed.
The flowing continuity of
Dragonfly smoothly weaves its eleven songs into one very enjoyable
listen.
---
Saturday, April 7, 2018
#328 : Reverend Freakchild -Dial It In
2018 – Treated and
Released Records
By Phillip Smith;
April 7, 2018
Dial
It In, the third album from the good Reverend
Freakchild is absolutely fabulous. Most
often with a National steel guitar in hand, his brand of blues and blues-rock
is incredibly unique, outstanding, and at times a bit psychedelic. For this album, Freakchild enlists drummer
Chris Parker (Bob Dylan, Joe Cocker, Paul Butterfield)
and guitarist Hugh Pool who also recorded and mixed the album.
The record softly cracks open with a mostly
instrumental, backwoods, swampy blues track “Opus Earth”. Accented with backwards guitar, a hypnotic
beat, and spiritual chants, this amazing track lets the listener know they are
in for a unique listening experience. Freakchild
delectably covers Depeche Mode with a nice and greasy blues-soaked
arrangement of “Personal Jesus (on the Mainline)”. With Pool blowing
harp, and Freakchild providing the suave velvety vocals and twang,
this version totally demolishes the original.
Guitarist Mark Karan and bassist Robin Sylvester, both
from Ratdog guest on “Hippie Bluesman Blues”. They instill a delightful deadhead
vibe into this country-blues original.
The soulful rhythm in “Dial It In” coupled with Freakchild’s
fast-paced prose draws me in with a firm grasp. Spirited backing vocals from the lovely Hazel
Miller join with Garrett Dutton’s (G Love and Special Sauce)
for a rejoicing funky good time. With Jay
Collins boldly belting it out on saxophone, Freakchild fearlessly takes
on Dylan’s “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” in a marvelous no-holds
barred performance. A wonderful tribute to Blind Willie Johnson is
exhibited in a “Soul of Man”, before the good Rev takes us home with the cosmic
closer “Opus Space” for a grand finale. And to this, I say “Amen Brother, Amen!”.
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Click below to read the PhillyCheeze review of : Reverend Freakchild - Illogical Optimism
Saturday, March 31, 2018
#327 : Tyler Morris Band - Next in Line
2018 – Vizztone
By Phillip Smith;
March 31, 2018
Next
in Line, the third album from Tyler Morris continues
to break new ground for the nineteen year old guitar prodigy. Chock-full of blues-soaked rocking originals,
this record, produced by Grammy Award winner Paul Nelson (Johnny
Winter), stands tall. While Morris
holds the fort down on guitar, the rest of the band is comprised of vocalist Morten
Fredheim, bassist Scott Spray, drummer Tyger MacNeal and
keyboardist Mike Dimeo.
Morris lays
down the blues in a tantalizing jam with the fabulous Uptown Horns
in the instrumental “Choppin’”. His performance in “Thunder” rides the rails
of a funky dirty groove and is downright amazing. The great Joe Louis Walker teams up
with the band to belt out the classic SRV barnburner “Willie the Wimp”. The swirling sounds of Dimeo on organ coupled
with MacNeal’s tremendous beats and Spray’s standout bassline set
a perfect stage for Morris’s searing licks.
“Down On My Luck” is unbelievably good. Morris fills this stunning song to the
brim with an intoxicating blues riff which keeps the energy flowing while Fredheim’s
powerful vocals evoke a spectacular fierceness. If this is any indication of
what’s in store from the band in the future, I can’t wait to hear their next
album already.
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