Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Review: Harmonica Red and the New Heard "I Was Born in Louisiana"

I recently received this cd in the mail for preview--and it has not left my cd player since then! Everybody who listens to this cd should dig it! This is a very fine cd of harmonica-driven blues music, quite suitable for driving across town in traffic. Harmonica Red, aka George R. Heard, is clearly a harmonica player to watch. And he can sing, too--he has an everyman's voice that pushes the songs right along. The band is really good--these guys know how to play the blues right, and they play like they love to play it. Donnie Pick is on guitar, Jeff Mills is on drums, and Steve Rayburn is on bass. The music is sometimes Louisiana zydeco-inflected, and sometimes straight blues classic, and sometimes a touch of rockabilly--it's not sloppy but it's loose. Bonus points to the band for a great cover of one of my all time favorite tunes--"Mercy Mercy Mercy."

With the recent passing of Gary Primich and Carey Bell, both harp aces extra-ordinaire, the world of blues needs the next generation of harp players to rise up to the opportunity. I think Harmonica Red & the New Heard are ready to move up to the major leagues.

Next time, I'll review another cd that I received recently in the mail.

Happy New Year, and

Keep the blues alive!

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