Saturday, January 30, 2016
Balkun Brothers - Balkun Brothers
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Crooked Eye Tommy - Butterflies & Snakes
Southpaw Steel ‘n’ Twang - Stat(u)e of Mind
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Karen Lovely - Ten Miles of Bad Road
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Chris O’Leary - Gonna Die Tryin’
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Heather Crosse - Groovin’ at the Crosse Roads
Heather
Crosse
Groovin’ at the Crosse Roads
2015 – Ruf Records
By Phillip Smith; Jan 9, 2016
There’s always been some damn good music pouring out of the Mississippi Delta, and the spigot is far from being turned off. Caught in that wave of music is Heather Crosse‘s magnificently bodacious rocking blues band, Heavy Suga’ & the Sweetones. Formed in Hot Springs, Arkansas in 2007, Crosse moved the band to Clarksdale, Mississippi in 2008. Groovin’ at the Crosse Roads is eleven tracks of boogie-laced blues produced by non-other than multi-Grammy Award winner Jim Gaines. With Crosse taking on lead vox and bass in the band, she is joined by guitarist Dan Smith, drummer Lee Williams, and Mark Yacovone on piano/keys.
Crosse hooks me quick with her sultry performance of “My Man Called Me”. Smith’s guitar licks and Yacovone’s piano prowess solidifies this intoxicating mix of swing and electric blues. I love their funky cover of Clarence “Blowfly” Reid’s 1974 sexy B-side “Rockin’ Chair”. Slathered in a laid-back Seventies vibe, this wonderful throwback conjures up visions of big collars and flare jeans. Crosse adds just the right amount of rasp as she takes on Big Mama Thornton’s powerful classic “You Don’t Move Me No More”. Not only does Crosse nail the vocals, but Yacovone’s piano performance shines brightly, reminding me a bit of the “Killer”, Jerry Lee Lewis. This one is fun indeed.
Simply put, Groovin’ at the Crosse Roads is a
delightful listen.
Ebony Jo-Ann - Please Save Your Love For Me
http://ejkdkd.wix.com/ebony-jo-ann-dot-com
Saturday, January 2, 2016
John McKinley - Window on the World
Friday, January 1, 2016
Brass Transit Authority - NYE 2015 @ The Longbranch, Cedar Rapids, IA
Robert Wallace |
Robert Wallace & Matthew Driscoll |
Robert Wallace & Matthew Driscoll |
Denny Redmond |
Matthew Driscoll & Dennis Pedde |
Pat Smith |
Pat Smith |
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Mike Zito & the Wheel - Keep Coming Back
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Johnny I. - All Star Blues Revival
Jay Jesse Johnson - Set the Blues on Fire
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Josh Smith - Over Your Head
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Jennifer Westwood and the Handsome Devils - Greetings From This Town
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Stolen Hearts - Dirty Southern Soul
for more information on Stolen Hearts, visit their website : http://www.stolenhearts.rocks/
Misssissippi Bigfoot - Population Unknown
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Kim Simmonds and Savoy Brown - The Devil to Pay
Friday, November 13, 2015
Chloe Collins - 5 @ 15
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Micke Bjorklof & Blue Strip - Ain’t Bad Yet
Kinky Friedman - The Loneliest Man I Ever Met
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Charlie Musselwhite - I Ain’t Lyin’…
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Martin Harley and Daniel Kimbro - Live at Southern Ground
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Todd Wolfe Band - Long Road Back
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Dweezil Zappa - via zammata’
The title via zammata’ is taken from the name of the street in Partinico, Sicily where Dweezil’s grandfather, Francis Vincent Zappa lived before immigrating to America. The street name refers to the very specific sound made when rain puddles are trampled by the feet of children at play. In 2013, Partinico renamed that exact street, via Frank Zappa after Dweezil’s father. Zappa hugs the curb, sticking close to this definition of via zammata’, in the music created for this album. His playful splashes are in a musical playground, however, with focus on waves of sound instead of water.
Zappa starts the album with the fantastic instrumental, “Funky 15”. Reminiscent of the attention-grabbing themes associated with television crime dramas from the Seventies, it boasts a nice slice of funk, a groovy bassline and a beautiful string and brass arrangement by ‘Scoremeister’ Kurt Morgan, which all culminates into a wonderful and thrilling listen. “Rat Race”, lulls the listener in with a sweet little vocal harmony from the Song Birds, and then in a Reverend Horton Heat rockabilly fashion, pushes the pedal to the metal and takes off like a souped up hot rod. A strong and steady flow of adrenaline keeps this one headed in a furious frenzy. Zappa dives into the world of heavy metal on “Dragon Master” taking a tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top Spinal Tap approach. Featuring lyrics written by Frank, and vocals by Shawn Albro, the song is a definite favorite.
Switching gears from metal to meta, Zappa enlisted the one and only John Malkovich to speak the whimsical wandering narrative on “Malcovich” to which Zappa returns in song, this reply, “Malcovich, Malcovich what the fuck are you talking about?” This makes for a nice sing-a-long. ”Hummin’” takes a realistic look at life with a weirdly hypnotic melody which burrows deep into my brain and digs in, as if to set up permanent residence. I’ve caught myself waking up in the middle of the night a couple of times already with this song running through my head.
via zammata’ is a fun and quirky album with lush melodies and complex compositions built around bizarre yet intelligent lyrics. It took only one listen to establish this album as a favorite.
http://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/