#723 > Eddie 9 Volt - Saratoga (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2024 – Ruf Records

By Phillip Smith; Jan. 4, 2025

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

Eddie 9V, aka Brooks Mason first wowed me with his Little Black Flies record in 2021. He continued to draw me in on his 2023 release Capricorn. With his third and latest album, Saratoga, Eddie 9V delivers a gorgeous hat-trick, with this first three albums out the gate all hitting the bullseye. Cowritten with his brother Lane Kelly, Saratoga was recorded by the two multi-instrumentalists in their own studio Echo Deco Studio in Atlanta with guest musicians appearing on horns, lap steel, and fiddle.

Riding a propulsive rhythm with a locomotive beat, Saratoga opens with its title-track. The song bursts open with big waves of energy and poetic verse relating the trapped feelings of small-town living. Eddie’s soulful voice sounds absolutely remarkable. I soak up the goodness of the slow-pace, horn-infused track “Delta”. I can’t help but wrap myself up in its playful swampy groove. I love the fiddle-fueled genre-bending hillbilly hip-hop banger “Wasp Weather”. “Truckee” seemingly draws inspiration from classic rock bands like The Doobie Brothers and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young for its carefree, lazy Sunday feel. It’s a beautiful song. The cover of Mac DeMarco’s “Chamber of Reflection” is a brilliant make-over which takes the song to greater heights. “The Road to Nowhere” brings the record to its close with a western ballad served in a sea of twang-filled guitar topped with vocals reminiscent of music legend Roy Orbinson.  

Eddie 9V is definitely on a hot-streak. I absolutely adore Saratoga from beginning to end.

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For more information about Eddie 9V,  visit the website @  https://www.eddie9volt.com/

Catch up on previous PhillyCheeze reviews featuring Eddie 9V through this link :  https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=Eddie+9V

#644 : Ghalia Volt - Shout Sister Shout! (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2023 – Ruf Records

By Phillip Smith; Nov. 11, 2023

 

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

I have been enamored by the music of Ghalia Volt since her album with Johnny Mastro and Mamas Boys Let the Demons Out crossed my desk for review five years ago.  She is a musical force on guitar and vocals with a mastery of songwriting.  Ghalia’s talent shines bright with on her latest release Shout Sister Shout!.  The album is loaded with a dozen all-original tracks.  Each one is a gem.  Backing Ghalia is Danny Frankel on drums/percussion, Ben Alleman on keys, and special guest on guitar David Catching.   

With a funky, slide-slathered riff, the record opens with “Every Cloud”.  The Ray Manzarek-inspired keys Alleman contributes makes for a groovy touch.  “Can’t Afford to Die” pulls me in fast and tight with its upbeat delivery and dire, matter-of-fact lyrics.  “Insomnia” is a true masterpiece.  Ghalia’s dobro performance is beautifully guided with Alleman’s poly-rhythm beats, setting an Eastern musical landscape for this wonderful blues song.  Catching’s cosmic guitar splashes add a psychedelic Pink Floyd feel.  The North Mississippi Hill Country sound of “Can’t Have it All” opens up in a genius way.  I think of the moment in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy is instantly transported from a black and white world to one that boasts the full glory of Technicolor.  With guitar in hand, Eddie 9V makes a guest stop on “Hop on a Ride” for a searing blues performance fit for a juke-joint.    

Shout Sister Shout! is a stellar album that stays strong from beginning to end.  It is such a terrific release; I feel it should land Ghalia on several awards lists.     

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 For more information about the artist, visit this website : https://www.ghaliavolt.com/

 

Check out other PhillyCheeze reviews for Ghalia Volt at : https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=Ghalia

#599 : Eddie 9V - Capricorn (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2023 – Ruf Records

By Phillip Smith; Mar. 4, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

Striking while the iron is hot, Brooks Mason aka Eddie 9V continues to forge his own unique path into the world of southern soul.  I absolutely loved his previous album Little Black Flies.  It was among my favorite 20 albums of 2021.  Prior to the recording of this album, Eddie 9V stated he had been “listening to Muscle Shoals and soul, a lot of music recorded at Capricorn in the late ‘60s too.”, hence the title Capricorn.

A rush of feel-good, horn-infused, southern-soul leads this record off with “Beg Borrow and Steal”.  Afterward, the listener is taken down to the swampy bayous of Louisiana for a funky good time with “Yella Alligator”.  I love the Allman-esque slide guitar licks that Eddie pours into it.  He brings out his Allman Brothers influence again on “Down Along the Cove”.  The song is outstanding.  Capricorn closes out with a lush mid-60’s soul track called “I’m Lonely”.  Swirling around in pools of Stax and Tom Dowd-era Atlantic Records, it sounds fabulous with Eddie digging deep on his stand-out vocals.

Capricorn is a work of excellence from beginning to end and Eddie 9V continues to be a favorite.  

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For more information about Eddie 9V, visit his website at : https://www.eddie9volt.com

Check out the PhillyCheeze reviews for Eddie 9V - Little Black Flies at :

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/06/502-eddie-9v-little-black-flies.html

 

 

#534 : PhillyCheeze's Favorite 20 of 2021

 

By Phillip Smith; Dec.25, 2021

 

PhillyCheeze's Favorite 20 of 2021

(in alphabetical order)

Alabama Slim - The Parlor

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/01/482-alabama-slim-parlor.html

Alastair Greene - The New World Blues

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/02/486-alastair-greene-new-world-blues.html

Altered Five Blues Band - Holler if You Hear Me

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/10/521-altered-five-blues-band-holler-if.html

Avey Grouws Band - Tell Tale Heart

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/08/514-avey-grouws-band-tell-tale-heart.html

Bob Corritore & Friends - Spider in My Stew

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/05/499-bob-corritore-friends-spider-in-my.html

Eddie 9V - Little Black Flies

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/06/502-eddie-9v-little-black-flies.html

Gov't Mule - Heavy Load Blues

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/12/530-govt-mule-heavy-load-blues.html

Corey Harris - The Insurrection Blues

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/10/526-corey-harris-insurrection-blues.html

Tony Holiday's Porch Sessions - Volume 2

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/09/518-tony-holidays-porch-sessions-volume.html

Seth Lee Jones - Flathead

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/09/515-seth-lee-jones-flathead.html

Joseph and the Velozians

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/11/527-joseph-veloz-presents-joseph-and.html

Jujubees - Where Are We Now

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/04/496-jujubes-where-are-we-now.html

    

Kingfish - 662

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/07/510-christone-kingfish-ingram-662.html

Larkin Poe & Nu Deco Ensemble - Paint the Roses

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/10/524-larkin-poe-nu-deco-ensemble-paint.html

Memphissippi Sounds - Welcome to the Land

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/10/520-memphissippi-sounds-welcome-to-land.html

Miss Lady Blues - Moe Betta Blues

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/09/519-miss-lady-blues-moe-betta-blues.html

Tony Spinner - Love is the Answer

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/01/481-tony-spinner-love-is-answer.html

Sugarmill Slim

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/03/492-sugarmill-slim-sugarmill-slim.html

Carolyn Wonderland - Tempting Fate

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/12/532-carolyn-wonderland-tempting-fate.html

Ghalia Volt - One Woman Band

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2021/01/484-ghalia-volt-one-woman-band.html

The Spotify Playlist

#502 : Eddie 9V - Little Black Flies

 

2021 – Ruf Records

 By Phillip Smith; June 5, 2021

 

Little Black Files marks the third album for the twenty-five-year-old Atlanta-area singer-songwriter Eddie 9V, aka Brooks Mason, and it’s going to be hanging tight nearby and ready for play at any given time this Summer.  Recorded live in the studio, with an arsenal of top Georgia-based musicians, this cocktail of blues and southern soul that Eddie 9V has masterminded, makes for a fresh and invigorating listen.  With Eddie on lead guitar and vocals, the recording band is comprised of Cody Matlock on rhythm guitar, Lane Kelly, Brandon Boone (Tedeschi Trucks Band), and Marvin Mahanay splitting up the bass guitar parts, Chad Mason on organ and Fender Rhodes, Jackson Allen on harp, Aaron Hambrick on drums, Mandi Strachota on background vocals, and Sam Nelson on alto and tenor sax.

I absolutely love the soulfulness of “Little Black Flies” which ushers the album in.  This timeless song of infatuation with a girl engaged in an abusive relationship with another man is downright brilliant.  With every listen, I’m reminded of how much I adored Alabama Shakes’ Sound and Color album when I first heard it.  “3 AM in Chicago” slides right in with a slow groovy beat and buttery bassline.  Eddie’s smooth vocals shine brightly on this intoxicating track.  His unbridled cover of Albert King’s “Traveling Man” sounds fantastic as he’s ripping it up on guitar amid a grand rhythm section backing topped with some serious keyboard accompaniment.  “Miss James” is another terrific cover.  This song off Howlin’ Wolf’s 1971 Message to the Young album is fun and funky. 

It’s apparent Eddie 9V listened to a lot of blues growing up.  When hearing originals such as “Reach Into Your Heart”, you hear the blues, but it’s very well crafted and bypasses the ‘cookie cutter’ blues formula which many current blues artists rely on.  “Putting the Kids to Bed” is fabulous song too.  It has a 70’s Rolling Stones vibe, and I can absolutely hear that Mick Jagger attitude in Eddie’s voice as he releases little growls like grenades thrown with precision.       

Little Black Flies is one my favorite releases of 2021.   I highly recommend it.                               

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For more information about the artist, visit this website : www.eddie9v.com

 

 

Available on Bandcamp