Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Review: Fathead "Building Full of Blues"




Fathead is a 5 piece band that has been making blues music in Canada since 1995. I have to thank Jon Norton, music director at WGLT-FM in Normal, Illinois, for bringing them to my attention. Their latest cd, "Building Full of Blues" (Electro-Fi, 2007) is an unexpected treat. The band consists of John Mays (lead vocals), Al Lerman (harp & tenor saxophone, vocals), Omar Tunnoch (bass, vocals), Darran Poole (guitar) and Bucky Berger (drums). They won the Juno award (the Canadian Grammy) for Blues Recording of the year in 1998 for their second cd " Blues Weather." The first time I listened to this cd I laughed out loud with joy. Fathead is a PRIMO blues band--they make beautiful tight music, music to enjoy whatever your mood might be. This cd reminds me in the best way of another great cd--John Namath's "Magic Touch" (Blind Pig, 2007). Both cds are all so well-played, so well-written that it is hard for me to imagine a time when this music, this cd, this band did not exist. How did I get along without this? It seems like I have to ask--what took me so long to discover Fathead? Check out their website at http://www.fathead.biz/

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