CD Reviews on projects by Indie Blues Artists
Eric Bibb Ridin Ridin’ the follow-up album to Eric Bibb’s award-winning Dear America continues to captivate me on a myriad of levels. His lyrical prowess and instrumental finesse are indeed a powerful combination. Ridin’ contains fifteen tracks, and an impressive list of guest musicians consisting of Taj Mahal, Jontavious Willis, Russell Malone, Amar Sundy, Harrison Kennedy and Habib Koite. I knew I was in for a treat as soon as […]
Fenton Robinson Somebody Loan Me a Dime Alligator Records Fenton Robinson first recorded his now-classic blues “Somebody Loan Me a Dime” in 1967, releasing it on one of the dozen or so singles he began cutting ten years earlier. Two years later, Boz Scaggs recorded the song for his self-titled debut album. Scaggs’ version […]
Lady J Huston Groove Me Baby Earwig/Unisun Productions Lady J Huston (pronounced like the city Houston) is a well-decorated though sparsely recorded woman who sings, writes, plays trumpet and flugelhorn, arranges, and produces. She has a Music Theory/Composition major from Howard University and at one point was the musical director for Albert King’s band. Her […]
Pat McDougall In the Key of Sorry Self-released Keyboardist, vocalist, and masterful songwriter Pat McDougall teams with co-producer Jimi Bott for his dozen originals on In the Key of Sorry. McDougall impresses this writer as the best blues lyricist today apart from Derrick Procell. Yes, McDougall has a gift for songwriting, especially in breakup songs, […]
Lil’ Jimmy Reed with Ben Levin Back to Baton Rouge NOLA Blue Pianist Ben Levin cut his fifth album last year while still attending his hometown University of Cincinnati. Guests on Take Your Time included Chicago blues luminaries Lil’ Ed Williams, Bob Stroger, and Rockin’ Johnny Burgin. Lil’ Jimmy Reed, one of the elder statesmen […]
Alabama Mike Stuff I’ve Been Through Little Village Blues fans should recognize the name of blues vocalist Alabama Mike, as he has guested on Little Village and other label recordings in recent years. Nonetheless, for many, Stuff I’ve Been Through, his fourth album, may well be his coming out party. Despite the “Alabama” moniker, (Mike […]
Rodney Crowell The Chicago Sessions New West The title of Rodney Crowell’s new album speaks to a collaboration with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco who produced the album that was recorded in Wilco’s Loft by Tom Schick. In terms of sound, knowing that, you might not expect that it is more in line with Crowell’s first […]
Jimmy Bennett Sunday Morning Sessions Junkyard Dog Productions Sunday Morning Sessions is the gentle and unplugged side of the typically fiery guitarist Jimmy Bennett. You may recall Bennett was electric guitarist with The Bennett Brothers, Bruce Katz, John Ginty, and Alexis P. Suter albums on the American Showplace label under the late Ben Elliott to […]
Blood, Sweat, & Tears What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? – Original Soundtrack Omnivore Now that we think about the question posed in the album title, it’s one that many of us have pondered, or in most cases, probably forgot about in the intervening years. Yet, those who lived through the brief […]
Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentlemen Black Leather Blues Mo Mojo Like many other regions that don’t receive national attention, northeast Pennsylvania has a vital music scene. This is the second artist (see also review on Mike Miz) that we’ve covered this week alone who hails from the area. Wilkes-Barre guitarist and emerging singer-songwriter Dustin […]
Joe Krown Tribute Sledgehammer Blues Joe Krown played keyboards with many people who influenced him. When I first heard Krown he was the keyboardist for Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown. Krown played alongside his band mate alto-saxophonist Eric Demmer. Krown’s last project was in a duo performance with Jason Ricci. Krown opens with an instrumental tribute to […]
Big Harp George Cut My Spirit Loose Blues Mountain San Francisco blues singer, songwriter and chromatic harmonica player Big Harp George/George Bisharat returns with his fifth album, Cut My Spirit Loose. He features a cast of elite players, including guitarist Kid Andersen, Joe Kyle Jr. on bass, drummers June Core and Derrick D’Mar Martin, with […]
Big Shoes Fresh Tracks Qualified Fresh Tracks is the American Roots Supergroup Big Shoes’ follow-up to their acclaimed 2018 Step On It! Big Shoes originally formed as a “tribute project” to recreate the early music of the iconic band Little Feat, thus the name. As they developed it became evident that the group boasted good […]
Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia Blood Brothers Gulf Coast Records Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia’s dozens of individual albums all point to their first collaboration working as well as it does. Not to mention that they’re apparently good buddies. The title Blood Brothers encapsulates their bond and shared spirits ideally. Zito and Castiglia have long […]
Otis Taylor Banjo… PS Audio/Octave While Otis Taylor’s 15th album doesn’t bear the thematically driven title like his 2017 Fantasizing About Being Black, the more plainly titled Banjo… speaks to similar themes. Taylor says this about the album, where, in fact, only four of the eleven tunes feature him playing banjo – “This is not […]
The Cash Box Kings Oscar’s Motel Alligator Records Blues fanatics of course, but certainly the culturally minded and perhaps most crucially, regular Joe’s, all should spend at least one night in a classic Chicago blues club. Add it to the bucket list, because soaking up that vibe with a blistering band tearing it down can […]
John Primer Live at Rosa’s Lounge – Teardrops for Magic Slim Blues House Productions Guitarist and singer John Primer releases his second album in the space of only six months, with Teardrops for Magic Slim, a live recording from Chicago’s blues haven, Rosa’s Lounge. The late Magic Slim (Morris Holt) was Primer’s second famous boss, […]
The Band of Heathens Simple Things BOH Records The title to the 1978 Nick Lowe classic, Pure Pop for Now People, popped into my head while listening to Simple Things, The Band of Heathens’ eighth album of original material and 13th overall. If this isn’t pure popular music for everyone right now, I don’t know […]
Rhythm Krewe Unfinished Business Rhombus The nine-piece horn band, Rhythm Krewe, from southern California, evoke those glorious West Coast blues records from a decade ago, many appearing on the long defunct Delta Groove label. This band, originally called Floyd & The Flyboys, predate those recordings, having begun in 1990. Like so many musicians in the […]
Sunny War Anarchist Gospel New West It’s been a remarkable run for the punk-blues artist Sunny War, known for her fingerpicking acoustic guitar skills and her deceptively casual, quiet approach to songs, many of which are topical. While her early independent records cast her mostly in a blues vein, her music encompasses much more as […]
Eddie 9V Capricorn Ruf Did you ever play a game with friends where you might give each other names – like bowlers or gangsters? Well, apparently while on the road with another band, the guitarist/singer Brooks Mason was in such a situation and thus the name Eddie 9 Volt (shortened to Eddie V) was bestowed […]
Pocono Jones & The Bear Live at Cambridge Sound Studios Self-released This is our second review for Pennsylvania-based folk/blues artist Paul Wilkinson, billed here as the The Bear in keeping with the solo effort from 2021, 400 Bears. He is joined by Pocono Jones, aka Brad Hinton for a live acoustic performance that took place […]
Johnny Nicholas A Tribute to Moon Mullican, Volumes 1 & 2 Valcour Records Aubrey Wilson “Moon” Mullican (1909-1967) is considered by many to have been the king of honky-tonk pianists during the 1930s and ‘40s. None other than Jerry Lee Lewis covered several of Mullican’s songs and sang his praises for the ways he bridged […]
Teresa James With a Little Help From Her Friends Blue Heart The Grammy-nominated Texas born, California-based vocalist Teresa James makes the ten Beatles songs on her With a Little Help From Her Friends sound like a steaming, rowdy set from your favorite roadhouse or at times a sweaty dancefloor from the Stax /Motown/Philly soul era […]
Damon Fowler & Friends Live at the Palladium Landslide Records A very special night this turned out to be. Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Damon Fowler and his band tore it up, threw it down, stomped on it, and on occasion smoothed it over at their show in St. Petersburgh, Florida this past July. Live at […]
Barbara Blue From the Shoals Pittsburgh native Barbara Blue left home in 1977 for Phoenix Az. From 1980 through 1987 Barbara lived in Detroit playing with the “City Limits Blues Band”. She returned to Pittsburgh and she started recording her own music after meeting Tony Braunagel on the blues cruise. She recorded with the Phantom […]
Gail Ceasar Guitar Woman Blues Music Maker Foundation Gail Ceasar is a self-taught Piedmont blues and bluegrass singer/guitarist, who through the help of the Music Maker Foundation is releasing an authentic blues album. Ceasar has been playing this regional style blend of bluegrass and the blues, learned from her uncle Joe, since she was ten […]
Angela Strehli Ace of Blues Angela Strehli who helped found Antone’s, the legendary blues venue in Austin, Texas, recently released Ace of Blues, her first album in seventeen years. Her voice is deep and buttery on this twelve-track recording as she pays tribute to those musicians who were an inspiration to her, such as O.V. Wright, Elmore James, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy […]
Steve Hill Dear Illusion Canadian bluesman Steve Hill has pulled down an impressive number of awards over his twenty-seven-plus years of playing professionally. In 2015 he was awarded the Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year. In 2013 he received the Best self-produced CD award at the Memphis International Blues Challenge. And as far as the Maple Blues Awards go, he’s secured eight of […]
GeminiiDragon Equinox Equinox, the follow-up album to GeminiiDragon’s earlier release this year Fighting Fire With Fire continues to rock out with music fortified with a heaping helping of funk, soul, and blues. Lead vocalist Jessica Harper and guitarist Christian Simeon absolutely shine as writing partners on this ten-track recording of all original songs. Harper and Simeon are joined by bassist Dougie V, drummer E Sass, and backing vocalist La La Thomas. […]
Diane Blue LIVE! At the Fallout Shelter Diane Blue “Live! At The Fallout Shelter” features the vocalist and harmonica player Blue on an album including seven originals and two covers. Blue is the first female member of Ronnie Earl and The Broadcasters and she appears with them on their last six albums. This album features […]
Tas Cru Riffin’ The Blue Tas Cru “Riffin’ The Blue” is a set of eleven Tas Cru Originals. Featured alongside Tas on two tracks is guitarist Mike Zito. Keyboardist Bruce Katz is featured on all songs except for one with organist Bill Barry. The wonderful overall sound is rounded out by the rhythm section of […]
Making a Scene Presents Tom Clarke’s Twelve Favorite Roots and Blues Studio Albums of 2022 Tedeschi Trucks Band – I Am the Moon – Concord Records Derek Trucks may be the most brilliant and expressive guitarist of his generation, his wife Susan Tedeschi the finest rock and soul singer, and their 12-piece Tedeschi Trucks Band […]
Vanessa Collier Live At Power Station Vanessa Collier is from Clarksville, Md. She attended the Berklee College of Muisc in Boston and graduated with multiple degrees including Music Production. She toured the U.S. and Turkey with the Grammy winning Joe Louis Walker. Her self-produced debut introduced her mixture of blues. Since then Collier won Instrumentalist-Horn […]
Samantha Fish & Jesse Dayton The Stardust Sessions Rounder Records (digital) A massive front of low-pressure dustbowl country crashed head-on into high-pressure blues and rock ‘n’ roll when Austin’s Jesse Dayton and Kansas City’s Samantha Fish hit a New Orleans studio together. Their hellacious storm of a debut album dubbed Death Wish Blues drops this […]
Mud Morganfield Portrait Delmark Records Mud Morganfield, the oldest son of the legendary bluesman Muddy Waters takes his music seriously. Closely following the path of this father, Mud sets the bar high when it comes to performing the blues. Additional influences of Motown, soul, and R&B are absorbed into his songs. Portrait is a remix of Mud’s entire debut album Son of the Seventh Son topped off with […]
Skip James The Complete 1931 Sessions Org Music This year Record Store Day Black Friday has something exciting for Blues fans and vinyl connoisseurs. ORG Music is re-releasing Skip James – The Complete 1931 Sessions on transparent orange vinyl. This is a great introductory record for the music of Skip James. Born in 1902 near Bentonia, Mississippi, he learned to play guitar in his youth and later […]
Bruce Cockburn Rarities (Digital Only Release) True North For fans who cannot get enough of Bruce Cockburn’s music (this writer being one of them), the artist is releasing Rarities, sixteen rarely heard and newly mastered recordings for digital only consumption. These include two previously unreleased songs that are not included on the Rumours Of Glory limited-edition box […]
Bywater Call Remain Gypsy Soul Records Maple Blues Award winners Bywater Call have drawn a fair share of parallels to Tedeschi Trucks Band since emerging in Toronto in 2017. Remain will likely bolster those comparisons, but also cement the distinctive character of this seven-member group through their gripping performances of eleven original songs. This […]
Spencer Mackenzie Preach to my Soul Gypsy Soul Records Ranking high on my list of the newest wave of blues artists is Canadian bluesman Spencer Mackenzie. While just in his mid-twenties, he’s already been nominated for multiple blues awards in Canada, and is bound to push the envelope even further in his career. His talent for […]
Emanual Casablanca Blood on my Hands Kings County Blues Blood on my Hands, the debut album from Brooklyn-based blues-rocker Emanual Casablanca has quickly garnered my admiration. Casablanca’s all-in approach to music produces deep and personal songs. That’s what makes his blues honest and real. This album contains sixteen tracks of all-original material featuring an amazing arsenal of guests which include Eric Gales, Albert […]
John Primer Hard Times Blue House Productions Hard Times, the very latest release from Chicago Blues great John Primer captures my ‘real-deal’ blues-loving heart with thirteen new originals. With Steve Bell on harmonica, Lenny Media on drums, and David Forte on bass, this recording also features special guests Rick Kreher on 2nd guitar, Johnny Iguana on piano and organ, and John’s seventeen-year-old daughter Aliya Primer on vocals. Primer states: “The name of my new CD […]
Ivor S.K. Mississippi Bound Vizztone Label Group Hailing from Sydney Australia, and now living in New Orleans, Ivor Simpson-Kennedy takes story-telling to the highest level with his music. There’s a unique spin he has on blues and roots which is very refreshing and quite captivating. The attention he pays to details in his songwriting, pairs perfectly with his laidback […]
Annika Chambers and Paul Deslauriers Good Trouble Vizztone Label Group Annika Chambers and Paul DesLauriers have both been on my radar a while. I covered Chambers’ 2019 album Kiss My Sass, and DesLauriers’ 2016 release Relentless, as well as his 2019 release Bounce. I embraced all three of those recordings. The spirited couple met at the 2018 International Blues Challenge in Memphis and started working together in 2019. Within the […]
Billy Truitt Abstract Truth Gutbukit Billy Truitt is a veteran musician who goes as far back as Jack Ely and Kingsmen of “Louie Louie” fame. Hailing from southern Idaho, he spent time in the Bakersfield honky tonks and L.A. club scenes. Truitt moved to Las Vegas in the ‘90s and began working with the roots/rockabilly […]
Buddy Guy The Blues Don’t Lie RCA Records “The Blues Don’t Lie” is the follow up album to the “Blues is Alve and Well” featuring producer, songwriter, and drummer Tom Hambridge. Also featured are Reese Wynans Hammond Organ; Michael Rhodes, bass; and Rob McNelley guitar. Guest artists are Mavis Staples, Elvis Costello and James Taylor. […]
Lee Fields Sentimental Fool Daptone The venerable classic soul singer Lee Fields has joined the Daptone roster. Few things are more fitting. Sentimental Fool finds the septuagenarian Fields in fine voice, backed by the roster’s house band that brings out the singer’s best. The album was produced by Daptone’s Gabriel Roth (AKA Bosco Mann). He […]
Angela Strehli Ace of Blues New West Records Angela Strehli “Ace of Blues” is Strehli’s first album in 17 years co-produced by her and her husband Bob Brown. Many will remember her 1990 album “Dreams Come True” with Marcia Ball and Lou Ann Barton and as part 2009’s Blues Broads also featuring Tracy Nelson. Strehli’s […]
Mud Morganfield Portrait Delmark Records This is Mud Morganfield’s newest album. Included are seven originals and seven covers. The covers include Muddy Waters “You Can’t Lose What You Ain’t Never Had” and John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson’s “Good Morning Little School Girl. This is Mud’s first album for Delmark Records. All but the first track […]
Sara Niemietz Superman Self-released Singer-songwriter Sara Niemietz has had widely eclectic musical tastes since childhood. So, it should not be surprising to see her deliver one of the most purposely diverse, genre agnostic we’ve heard with Superman. Partnering with top-notch co-producer, co-writer, and guitarist Linda Taylor, the duo brings us fourteen tunes. Niemietz, though a […]