#698 : J.P. Soars - Brick By Brick (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2024 – Little Village
Release Date : Jun 30, 2024
 
By Phillip Smith;
 
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

J.P.  Soars has been sweeping me off my feet for over ten years. His magnificent slide work keeps pushing the envelope with every new album he releases. It was the 2013 release of a record called Easy Livin’ by blues super-group Southern Hospitality which first drew my attention to this fellow Arkansan. Formed with Damon Fowler and Victor Wainwright, that band is still active and is currently touring.

Soars’ latest album, Brick by Brick is an astonishing record, jam-packed with phenomenal music. With Soars on vocals, guitars, dobro, banjo, bass, lap steel, two string cigar box guitar, merlin stick dulcimer, and jaw harp, he is joined by Chris Peet on drums and bass, Raul D Hernandez on percussion, Jeremy Staska on percussion, Bob Taylor on Hammond B3, Paul DesLauriers and Annika Chambers on backing vocals, Anne Harris on fiddle, and Rockin’ Jack Jacobs on harp, and Terry Hanck on tenor saxophone.

From the beginning, I’m swallowed up by the lush blues-rock groove on title-track “Brick By Brick”. It grabs on tightly and keeps its clutches sunk in until the end. I absolutely love it. A funky guitar riff, swirling B3, and a slathering of soul gives “Keep Good Company” the Muscle Shoals treatment for a southern-rock, feel-good time. “In the Moment” is absolutely gorgeous. Soars’ delicate performance makes this a beautiful instrumental. I always appreciate hearing J.P. break out that back-woods swampy slide, and when he does on “The Good Lord Will Provide” it sounds so damn good. The racing pulse on “Things Ain’t Working Out” makes for an exciting listen while Soars rips it up on this bodacious jamboree.

J.P. Soars’ Brick by Brick receives my highest of recommendations. I encourage everyone to give this a listen.

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For more information about J.P. Soars, visit the website at https://jpsoars.com

 

For more PhillyCheeze reviews featuring JP Soars, visit https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=J.P.+Soars

 

 

  

#592 > Damon Fowler & Friends - Live at the Palladium (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2023 – Landslide Records

By Phillip Smith; Jan. 14, 2023

Release Date : Jan 20, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

I been preaching the gospel of Damon Fowler for almost ten years.  In 2013, Fowler, J.P. Soars, and Victor Wainwright unleashed an outstanding record under the name of Southern Hospitality, called Easy Livin’.  The CD had landed in my mailbox for review and after giving it a listen, I was smitten with his work.  Fowler’s latest release features this master guitarist playing live at the Palladium alongside bassist Chuck Riley, drummer Justin Headley, and special guests Jason Ricci on harmonica, Eddie Wright on guitar, and Dan Signor on keys.  Live at the Palladium features eight original songs, and two bodacious covers.

Early in on this set, Fowler breaks out a handful of my favorites from his prior album Alafia Moon.  His fabulous cover of Guy Clark’s “The Guitar” puts a gigantic smile on my face.  Clark ranks up there among the best when it comes to songwriters, and I absolutely love this song which Fowler has breathed a new life into.  “I’ve Been Low” gets wonderfully intense as Fowler lets loose on his guitar.  His no-holds-barred approach never ceases to amaze me.  Jason Ricci steps in for a four-song run starting with “Somethings Change”.  It’s always a joy to hear him play harp.  The performance of Fowler and Ricci on “Somethings Change” is exquisite.  Ricci does what Ricci does best, pouring his heart and soul into the smoldering, slow blues of “Tax Man”.  Fowler sings and plays this one with fine precision.  Both Wright and Ricci join in on the closing song “Sugar Shack”.  This title-track off Fowler’s 2009 Blind Pig release clocks in at just under twelve minutes, and magnificently paves the way for a blues-soaked southern-rock jam.  It definitely makes for a grand finale.

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For more information about Damon Fowler, visit his website at :  https://www.damon-fowler.com/

Check out other PhillyCheeze reviews for Damon Fowler  https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=damon+fowler

 

 

#490 : Damon Fowler - Alafia Moon

 

2021 – Landslide Records

Release Date: Mar. 26, 2021

By Phillip Smith; Mar. 13, 2021

 

I’ve been reviewing the music of Tampa, Florida musician Damon Fowler for almost eight years now.  Whether playing with his own band, or with Southern Hospitality, the supergroup he was in with J.P.Soars and Victor Wainwright, Fowler continues to be a magnificent force to be reckoned with.  His songs are compelling, his voice soulfully raspy, and his slide guitar is superb.  Alafia Moon, his eighth solo album was coproduced by Fowler and George Harris (Cheap Trick, Rick Derringer, Brian Johnson – AC/DC), and features Chuck Riley on bass, Justin Headley on drums, T.C. Carr on harmonica, Mike Kach on keys, backup vocalist Betty Fox, and Josh Nelms in charge of background noise.     

The record slides nicely into play with the swampy infectious goodness of “Leave It Alone”.  The groove quickly takes ahold of me.  The lush melody and beautiful arrangement on title-track “Alafia Moon” is a delight for the soul.  Notes from the organ seem to linger in mid-air, as the cymbals crash, with Fowler’s passion-soaked vocals ringing out atop his spectacular guitar performance.  I absolutely adore Fowler’s cover of Guy Clark’s fabulous story-telling song “The Guitar”.  It showcases his finger picking expertise very nicely.  “Some Things Change” is fantastic too.  With killer slide guitar from Fowler fueled by the smoldering sounds of harp, the song definitely cooks.  I dig the southern soul of “Wanda”.  Its Stax-meets-Fame vibe is dressed to the nines in a happy, funky groove.

The album closes with a joined-pair of tracks starting with “The Umbrella”, a spoken word selection of Fowler telling a story from his earlier days on tour.  His tale involves an encounter with a drunken fan in Prescott, Arizona, whose incessant request to hear the band play “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” leads to the final track on the album “Kick His Ass Out”.   

Constructed around the four musical corner stones of blues, country, rock, and soul, Alafia Moon sets a new benchmark for Damon Fowler.  It truly is an exceptional album.  

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

 

#406 : Charlie Wooton Project - Blue Basso

2019 – Wild Heart Records
By Phillip Smith; Sep. 1, 2019

Covering artists such as Deanna Bogart, and Billy Pierce the past few years have made me aware of Charlie Wooton’s work as a bassist.  Serving as his tribute to the great Jaco Pastorious, Blue Basso incorporates jazz, funk, R&B, and blues into a tasty concoction of music with a splash of New Orleans charm.  Here, his work stands gracefully in the spotlight getting the full attention it deserves.  The album is a surely a wonderful, musical treat.  With Wooton on bass, the band consists of Daniel Groover on guitar, Jermal Watson on drums, Keiko Komaki on keys, and features the lovely Arséne DeLay on vocals.  Adding to the ‘cool’ factor, appearances from Sonny Landreth, Anders Osborne, Doug Wimbish (Living Colour), Eric McFadden and Damon Fowler also grace this record. 

Wooton starts off with a groovy instrumental called “Jaceaux”.  Komaki is an absolute monster on keys.  Wimbish, whose work includes session work for Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash, The Rolling Stones, and Depeche Mode sits in on this track fortifying the song with an extra layer of funk.  “Come On Come Over”, a splendid cover from Jaco’s acclaimed 1976 self-titled album, is delightfully sung by DeLay.  “Dime Note” is fantastic.  I dig the beat Watson throws down on this one as the wonderfully calibrated lead guitar from Groover takes over.  Sonny Landreth breaks out a healthy helping of his signature slide guitar on back-to-back songs, “Tell Me a Story”, and “Front Porch”.  It’s always a pleasure to hear this man play.  The album closes out with a smooth funkified take on the Rolling Stones song, “Miss You”.  This fabulous cut has been a ‘go-to’ song for me this week. 

I appreciate and respect what Wooton is doing with his music.  The jams he builds are juicy and spectacular.  Blue Basso is definitely an album worth checking out.

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

Damon Fowler - Sounds of Home

Blind Pig Records, 2014

By Phillip Smith; February 8, 2014

Damon Fowler’s latest solo album, Sounds of Home is a grab-bag of Americana at its best.  Soon after finishing the tour with the band, Southern Hospitality, which released one of my favorite albums last year, Easy Livin’, Fowler returned to the studio with bassist Chuck Riley and drummer James McKnight.  Tab Benoit not only produced, recorded and mixed this eleven track album, but he sits in on several songs as well, pitching in on vocals, acoustic guitar, and pedal steel. 

The album is a heavy mix of Country and Blues music. Fowler breaks out some really thick slide, on opening track “Thought I Had It All”.  This one gets the energy flowing, as Fowler makes his slide scream.  It almost borders on Southern Rock.   

Title track, “Sounds of Home” puts a smile on my face, as the guitar riffs bring to mind Steve Cropper, while the backing rhythm is very reminiscent of those cool early days of Stax Records. Big Chief Monk Boudreaux also makes a guest appearance here, pitching in on vocals and tambourine. 

Fowler tackles Elvis Costello’s “Allison” with a slightly different approach as he brings a little country twang to the vocals and melody, and an outstanding guitar solo on the bridge.  While on the subject of outstanding guitar and cover songs, Fowler brings it on again with a very swampy bluesy rendition of Johnny Winter’s “TV Mama”.  It’s so fun just to hear him play guitar, especially on songs like this.

Fowler digs deep and goes really ‘old school’, as he dusts off the classic spiritual, “I Shall Not Be Moved”, and plays it in a very traditional sense as he is joined by Benoit on acoustic guitar and harmonizing vocals.  Beautifully played, I thought this was a cool song to close the album with.    

Albums like “Sounds of Home” are so welcome to hear, as it allows the artist’s raw talent to shine through, and not be muddled by special effects and over-production.  This album is a “keeper”.  

Southern Hospitality - Easy Livin’

By Phillip Smith

Grab some iced tea and meet me on the front porch, ‘cause we’re gonna relax and listen to Southern Hospitality’s new CD, Easy Livin’.  With its origins stemming from an impromptu jam session following a blues festival in Florida back in 2011, Southern Hospitality is comprised of guitarist JP Soars, lap steel guitar master, Damon Fowler, and keyboardist Victor Wainwright.  Easy Livin’ is undeniably a Southern blues concoction, which is comforting and somewhat intoxicating.  The guys all contribute their song writing skills to the making of the album. Both, the opener, “Southern Livin’”, and the closer, ”’Sky is What I Breathe” is credited to all three.  “Southern Livin’” is such a cool song, and like Southern living goes, it takes its time and is in no hurry to get anywhere.    And I absolutely love “Sky is What I Breathe”.  It’s such a beautiful song about remembering our connection with nature and our responsibility to keep it sacred. 

If one is going to dedicate an album to southern hospitality, you have to have at least one song about drinking. “Kind Lies & Whiskey” is that song.  Written by Fowler, this country boogie draws a bright spotlight of attention to his keyboard skills.  While we have the menu out, you have to order up the ‘Fried Neck Bones and Home Fries”.  The guitar on this Latin instrumental written by Willie BoBo is so very reminiscent of Carlos Santana.   Can I order an album of instrumentals from Soars and Fowler for desert?

The album as a whole is quite good and at times outstanding.

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