Ryan “Bluwrath” Newman

Wrath of Blues

FeverBarn Recordings

When he was just eight years old, Ryan Newman heard the Jimi Hendrix song “The Wind Cries Mary,” and his future as a blues-rock guitarist was never in doubt. The young Chester, Connecticut-based guitarist’s skill and style matured rapidly, and he and his first band were soon playing at clubs, fairs, and festivals, sharpening his axe to a razor’s edge.

Along the way, it was said that he was asked to leave Berklee College of Music for playing “too loud.” That “loud” music — the blues of Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayall, B.B. King, and other greats — had already been permanently etched into Newman’s youthful soul. Most recently, this fixture on the Connecticut blues scene was named “Best New Artist” by the New England Music Hall of Fame.

Newman’s passion for the music and his powerful guitar stylings have earned him the nickname “Bluwrath” and sparked the title of this debut album, “Wrath Of Blues.” It’s an electric mix of covers, uniquely interpreting music from Hoagy Carmichael to Bob Dylan, with one constant — Bluwrath’s fiercely emotive guitar.

Ryan “Bluwrath” Newman plays guitar and sings the lead vocals. He is joined by Vic Washington on Hammond organ, acoustic piano, and Wurlitzer; Mario E. Sprouse on acoustic and electric piano and synthesizer; bassists Scott Spray (Johnny Winter) and Tim Leffingwell on one track; drummer Bobby Torello (Johnny Winter, the Namedroppers) and Mitchell Igueri on one track; and the five-piece horn section of John Isley on tenor and baritone saxophones, Charlie Lagond on tenor saxophone, Artie Bressler on baritone saxophone, Don Harris on trumpet and flugelhorn, Dave Cafro on trumpet, and Bob Funk on trombone on one track. The album is produced and arranged by Jon Grossbard and recorded and mixed by associate producer Russell Landis at the Feverbarn Recording Studio in Killingworth, Connecticut. The album includes thirteen selected covers and one original written by Newman.

The album opens with Newman’s spine-tingling slide guitar on “Dust My Broom,” the classic Elmore James version of Robert Johnson’s seminal “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom,” first recorded by Johnson in 1936, as Newman sings “I’m gon’ get up in the morning, I believe I’m gon’ dust my broom, if I can’t find her in West Helena she must be in East Monroe.” He follows with his original “Leaving This World Tonight,” a scorching slow blues lament about lost love, with some great drumming from Torello.

On Mose Allison’s whimsical 1967 “Your Mind Is On Vacation,” Newman’s guitar adds a tough edge, as he chimes “You’re sitting there yakking right in my face, I guess I’m gonna have to put you in your place, you know if silence was golden, you couldn’t raise a dime, because your mind is on vacation and your mouth is working overtime.”

“Texas Flood” is a song performed by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble in 1983. It was written by Larry Davis and Joseph Scott and first recorded by Davis in 1958, as Newman chants “Well, it’s floodin’ down in Texas, all of the telephone lines are down, and I’ve been trying to call my baby, Lord, and I can’t get a single sound.” We learn the flood is a metaphor for relationship problems: “well, I’m leaving you baby, Lord, I’m going back home to stay, well I’m leaving you darlin’, back home there’s no floods or tornadoes, baby, and the sun shines every day.”

On B.B. King’s 1969 chestnut “The Thrill Is Gone,” written by Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell in 1951, Newman’s guitar produces its own thrills. The lead vocal is sung by Vic Washington as he declares “The thrill is gone away, you know you done me wrong baby, and you’ll be sorry someday.”

Not to be confused with a song by Roy Orbison, “Oh, Pretty Woman,” written by Andrew Charles Williams Jr., was recorded by Albert King in 1966, as Newman wails “Oh, pretty woman, she’s the rising sun, says all your cheap paint and powder ain’t gon’ help you none, ’cause she a pretty woman right down to the bone, so you just might as well to leave your skin alone, pretty woman, what’s the matter with you, can’t make you love me, no matter what I do,” with the addition of a choral background.

“Be Careful With A Fool,” with some great piano, is another song from B.B. King, first recorded in 1957. With guitarist Newman’s power licks, he belts out “Yes, be careful with a fool, ’cause someday he may get smart, yes, he’ll treat you so cold and chilly, it will hurt you to your heart.”

“Let Me Love You” is a song co-written by Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart and included on Beck’s 1968 debut album “Truth.” Once again Torello’s drumming drives the song home. The soaring vocal is performed by Arlene Wow as she cries “Let me love you baby, your drivin’ my poor heart crazy, when I’m with you, my whole life seems so hazy, oh, don’t you know that, baby, when you walk you shake just like a willow tree…ooh-ee baby you sure look good to me.”

Newman then switches effortlessly into the reggae rhythms of 1973’s “Get Up Stand Up,” the Bob Marley/Peter Tosh classic, with vocal help from Anita Antoinette, as they shout “Get up, stand up, stand up for your right, get up, stand up, don’t give up the fight, preacher man don’t tell me, heaven is under the earth, I know you don’t know, what life is really worth…so now you see the light, hey, you stand up for your right.”

Jagger/Richards’ “Miss You” was a 1978 single from the Rolling Stones album “Some Girls,” featuring harmonica from Sugar Blue. It is sung with a Latin-flavored vocal assist from Arlene Wow, as they burst “I’ve been holding out so long, I’ve been sleeping all alone, Lord, I miss you, I’ve been hanging on the phone, I’ve been sleeping all alone, I want to kiss you.”

Although it seems an unlikely choice for a Hendrix devotee, Newman joyfully updates Hoagy Carmichael’s 1942 love ballad “Baltimore Oriole,” with an intro sung by Tenishia Toussaint, as Newman expertly blends fiery blues licks and birdcalls. He moans “Leavin’ me blue, off she flew to the Tangipaho, down in Louisiana. Where the two timin’ Jaybird met the divine Miss O. I’d like to ruffle his plumage, that Baltimore Oriole.”

“Come On,” often referred to as “Let The Good Times Roll,” was written by New Orleans rhythm and blues artist Earl King and first recorded in 1960. It is a hard-drivin’ R&B showcase for the guitar as Newman sings “People talkin’ but they just don’t know, what’s in my heart and why I love you so, I love you baby, like a miner loves gold, come on sugar, let the good times roll.”

“Highway 61 Revisited” was written and recorded by Bob Dylan in 1965, as Newman groans “Oh, God said to Abraham ‘kill me a son’, Abe say, ‘man, you must be puttin’ me on’, God say ‘no’, Abe say what?, God say ‘you can do what you want Abe, but the next time you see me comin’ you better run’, well Abe said ‘Where you want this killin’ done?’ God said, ‘out on Highway 61’.”

On the soulful closer, Aretha Franklin’s “Good To Me As I Am To You,” co-written with Ted White and first recorded by Aretha in 1968, Newman’s sensual guitar combines with Arlene Wow’s vocal as she croons “If you had a dollar and I had a dime, I wonder could I borrow yours as easy as you could mine? Because when you need my love, and I give it time after time, and turn around to find me no returns, then, my friend, you’ve used my dimes!”…Baby, I want you to be as good to me as I am to you, whoo, baby! I don’t think that’s asking you too much to do, Listen! Don’t you walk around here, feeling like you can treat me any ole way. Using my love, my time, my heart, day, day after day, Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh, baby, baby be as good to me as I am to you.”

Album producer Jon Grossbard states, “I was astonished by the style and technique of this young blues devotee. The performance was explosive and authentic. I immediately knew I would have to record him with the best players I knew to help raise him up to where he needs to be — a new young dynamic force in the blues scene.” Newman is not just recreating these splendid songs or mimicking great artists; he’s absorbed their influences, filtered them through his own talented fretwork, and made them his own.

Richard Ludmerer

 

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