Dave Fields "All Wound Up"

There's just something about 3rd cds--by the time an artist has gotten to their 3rd cd they either have it figured out or they don't. Well, Dave Fields has it, that magic something that makes him a major talent, a musician to reckon with. In this, his third solo release, Fields shows off a bundle of blues styles with taste and talent. Fields wrote all these songs, and he plays guitar and organ and bass and piano and sometimes drums. He brings the hot and heavy rockin blues in Hendrix style on "Train To My Heart" and the energetic party blues on "Let's Have Ball" and the slow heavy blues Robin Trower style on "Cold Wind Blowin'" and the in your face screaming guitar style on "Screamin'" and in the New Orleans combo style on "Still Itchin'." And there are a couple of great guests here too--Ada Dyer brings her great gospel-flavored voice to "Ain't No Crime" and "Guide Me To The Light" and Billy Gibson brings his great harmonica playing to four songs including "Big Fat Ludus." But throughout this is a Dave Fields' showcase, and it cooks from beginning to end. This is a great cd--it needs to be played loud and often. Every time I have sat down to listen to it I find I'd rather listen to it than write about it. Go listen to your favorite blues radio station for one hour, and if you don't hear one of these songs call up your DJ and say "Why are you not playing this?" It deserves to be there--this is one of the 4 or 5 best discs I've reviewed in the entire time I've had this blog, along with "Hope Radio" by Ronnie Earl, "These Are The Days" by Albert Castiglia, "We Can Get Together" by Sean Costello, and Mavis Staples' "We'll Never Turn Back." Dave Fields is somebody every blues fan needs to know about. You can buy this cd at: http://cdbaby.com/cd/davefields2

Review: Paul Reddick -- "Sugarbird"

This is Reddick's fourth cd for Northern Blues, following Rattlebag (2002) and Villanelle (2006) and Revue (2007). It is a really delicious cd. Paul Reddick's work reminds me of the great music by The Band--and this disc, like "Music From Big Pink," shines with a deeply burnished musical wisdom. The first two or three times you hear this you might not be impressed--but then when you keep listening you'll make connections and you'll see the links and you'll began to notice that there is a lot going on under there, a lot of good stuff going on. Speaking on intelligent musical types, this disc is produced by Colin Linden, who also plays guitar and contributes two of his own songs. Players here include The Band’s Garth Hudson on accordion on three tracks, LA bass player extraordinaire Hutch Hutchinson from Bonnie Raitt’s band, Nashville drummer Bryan Owings (Emmylou Harris, Shelby Lynne), and the core of Blackie & The Rodeo Kings’ rhythm section, Gary Craig (drums) and John Dymond (bass). Alternate bassist Dave Roe, from Dwight Yoakam’s band, worked with Johnny Cash for 12 years. Arrangers Chris Carmichael and Darrell Leonard are also make significant contributions on strings and horns respectively. And the songs--the songs are the best part of it all! Reddick fills out this cd with a truly Dylanesque set of songs. He is a songwriter of rare ability--he should be declared a national treasure in Canada.

A special treat--the lyrics are available at: http://www.northernblues.com/cd_sugarbird.html

Review: Nicole Hart "Treasure"

I have been a fan of Nicole Hart for several years--I used to play the NRG Band Live disc at KJLU nearly every Sunday night when I was on the radio. Nicole has always had a great voice, and a way to "sell" a song, and a really good band leader in Lance Ong. I've always thought that the key for her is strong material. Well, "Treasure" is her major label debut (on Blues Leaf Records) and she has captured all that Nicole Hart magic on one disc. Nicole sings her ass off, and she gets strong musical support from a group of New Jersey's A-listers, including Sonny Kenn, Ron Rauso, and Marc Shulman on guitars, Swami and Ian Carroll on drums, and Sandy Mack on harmonica on two tracks. She covers a wide range of styles from country to R&B to hot blues to mid tempo ballads. The strongest songs here include a hot cover of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground," featuring the aforementioned Lance Ong on keyboards. Albert Castiglia brings his tasteful guitar to one track, a wonderful Patsy Cline-ish cover of Percy Mayfield's "You Were Lyin' To Me." And Hart does a bravura take on the Fletcher Henderson/Henry Troy song "Gin House Blues." There is a sweet cover of Paul Kennerley's "Heart Trouble" which cuts the take by Martina McBride. And there are two Hart/Ong originals, including the title track, which fit right in.

Do you get the idea I like this cd? It's real good. Give it a spin and you'll agree with me. You can buy this cd at http://www.BluesLeaf.com.

Review: Marshall Lawrence "The Morning After"

Marshall Lawrence is a fine acoustic guitarist and blues singer from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. "The Morning After" is his second release, following the 2003 cd "Where's The Party?" Here he continues that successful formula: fiery slices of delta-flavored acoustic slide guitar with just enough backing to fill out the sound. Lawrence is backed by Russell Jackson on bass and the combined harmonica talents of John Wilds and Sherman "Tank" Doucette. These are the last tracks John Wilds recorded--he died during these sessions. Wilds' mastery of the harp is evident here, but Doucette does a fine job of filling his shoes.

Lawrence writes nine of the 13 tracks here, and on the originals he gets the tone exactly right--they fit among a fine set of covers, including Blind Willie McTell's "Blue Sky Is Fallin'," Tommy Johnson's "Bye Bye Blues," Charlie Patton's "Moon Goin' Down," and Taj Mahal's "Light Rain Blues." The Tommy Johnson track is easily the highlight of the disc, with an infectious joy--like his take of Big Bill Broonzy's "Key To The Highway" on "Where's The Party?" Lawrence uses his guitar and absolutely reinterprets the classic number in a new way. It's still delta-style country blues, but new. In fact, I think Lawrence is following in the footsteps of some very important artists like Bernie Pearl and Corey Harris and Taj Mahal in the way that he is at once historical musicologist and contemporary interpreter.

This is a fine disc and shows the growth of an emerging artist. "Where's The Party?" was a good debut, but this one is even better. I look forward to Lawrence's next steps. You can buy this cd at http://www.doctorblues.com

Review: Delta Wires "Live at 105 Degrees"

The DELTA WIRES website starts its description of the band with this:

"The DELTA WIRES is a big, high-energy harmonica and horns blues band from the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area. They were Finalists out 100 blues bands from all over the world, in the Blues Foundation's 2008 International Blues Challenge held in Memphis TN, and were voted "BEST BAND" 2008 Oakland/East Bay in Oakland Magazine's annual readers' poll. The DELTA WIRES have recorded 5 CDs, were voted Best Live Band by readers of the East Bay Express in 2002, played the San Francisco Blues Festival in 2008, have appeared at the Monterey Bay Blues Festival 8 times including 2007, headlined the Shasta Blues Society’s Redding Blues by the River Festival in 2005, have played Crescent City Blues Festival, Central Valley Blues Festival, Oakland Blues and Heritage Festival, Napa Valley Mustard Festival, and many others...."

Quite a start, eh? What else do you need to know? Go buy this disc--you're going to love it! When I started listening to Delta Wires' latest cd I heard one tight, hot blues band! They are a 7 piece band: Ernie Pinata on harmonica and lead vocals, Richard Healy on guitar, Tom Gerrits on bass guitar and vocals, Tony Huszar on drums, and a 3 piece horn section: Jim Orsetti and Danny Sandoval on saxophones and Larry Jonutz on trumpet. This disc was recorded at Northern California Blues Festival on June 21, 2008, Fair Oaks California. Things start out strong with Willie Dixon's "Monkee Man." Right out of the box the band is a powerhouse clicking on every cylinder. The disc's sound is an updated Louis Jordon west coast jump blues sound, but I mean that in the most complimentary way. "Monkee Man" is followed by a fine band arrangement of Rice Miller's "Pontiac Blues" and the Chuck Blackwell/Leon Russell song "Big Legged Woman." With each tune I am more and more impressed. Ernie Pinata is a strong singer and harp player, and the band is tight and full. You can tell these guys have spent lots of time together on stage. (They have played together since 1970.)

The more I listened the more I began to think of Delta Wires as a west coast version of the Canadian band Fathead. Maybe they're just a notch below the top echelon of blues talent, but these guys are good at what they do, REALLY GOOD at what they do, and these guys put it all out there when they're on stage. They give good value for time spent with them--especially if you see them live. I notice that this cd is predominately covers, which may be part of why Delta Wires isn't given their due. But then again, aren't most of the songs on the Mannish Boys cds covers too? I like Fathead, and I like Delta Wires, and I liked Omar & the Howlers. A LOT.

Next time you have a hundred mile drive in front of you pick up this Delta Wires disc. It will make a great soundtrack for your next road trip. And you'll find that it will be an enjoyable trip no matter where you might be going.

You can and should buy this disc from the band's website: http://www.deltawires.com/

Nelson Adelard "South By Southwest"

Nelson Adelard's most recent disc is a treat. Nelson was on the West Coast for a number of years, and he recently relocated from Southern California to Mississippi. Here he plays harmonica, guitar, piano and sings -- and he does each with an abundance of energy and joy. The first two cuts here "One More Mile To Go" and "Rocket 88" were recorded live back in 2006 by the West Coast Band--Nelson and John Duzik on bass, Uncle Ben Beckley on drums, Mikey Mo on guitar and Mark Norris on sax--and they set a high standard for the new band to follow on the rest of the disc. But it soon becomes obvious that moving has lubricated Adelard's song writing in really good ways. These new songs stick in your head. And the band--Nelson with Louisiana natives James Slaughter on bass and Greg Worley on drums--is surely up to the challenge. Nothing is fancy, but these guys splash love and chops all over this disc. There are songs here from "I Ain't Gonna Miss LA" which wouldn't sound out of place on a Randy Newman disc. "Sweet Home In McComb" sounds like Fats Domino, and "Do What You Do" sounds like Dr John, and "Rock It Right" sounds like a Memphis-style swing boogie. "Boogie Down The Road" is my favorite song here, an especially sweet driving song--I'd really love to hear this on the radio, but it would be hard for me to stay under the speed limit! My only quibble is I wish there were a few more songs here.

This is a fine disc, and an artist that many people would like. This is uplifting happy blues music. This disc is on Blue Track Records, and you can buy this disc from Nelson's website: http://www.nelsenadelard.com/

2008 end of the year roundup

2008 has been a very good year for blues lovers, with an armload of great cds released. I heard really good releases this year by veteran artists like Magic Slim, Buddy Guy, BB King, and Byther Smith. I heard really good releases by newer artists like Moreland & Arbuckle and Eden Brent and Samuel James. I heard blues music that you might have missed from artists like D. Johnson, Jo Buddy & Down Home King III and Gina Sicilia. Those ten blues artists I just named each made worthy cds in 2008, each of them plenty good enough to capture an hour of your time. Let me speak a few words about the methodology I used. I eliminated the collection-sets, and I eliminated best of sets, and I eliminated re-issues. The ten artists following are all terrific, and, with one exception, should be making great music for years to come. These are my top ten cds of 2008.

1. Albert Castiglia “These Are The Days.” (Blues Leaf) Not necessarily because Albert made the single best blues song of 2008 in his remake of ‘Night Time Is The Right Time’ but because ‘Loan Me A Dime’ is just as good. And ‘Catfish’ is the best Dylan cover of the year. Albert made an entire cd without a weak link. His singing and his guitar work are both top-notch, and I expect in 10 years he will make 5 or 6 more cds just as good or even better than this one.

2. Sean Costello “We Can Get Together.” (Delta Groove) Sean’s cd came out in February and he left us in April. His death breaks my heart still, because Sean was a shining star on the rise. The cd he left us is just great, with great vocals, great guitar work, great writing-- but it will always be tinged with the lost promise. It is still hard for me to listen to’Going Home.’ Sigh.

3. Bernie Pearl “Old School Blues.” (Indy) After listening to Sean Costello this seems a joyful antidote. This 2 disc set is a shining musicology lesson of the history of the blues and a finger picking celebration of life and love and loss. Bernie makes good music and lifts the spirit. I wish this guy would come east and play at Eddie's Attic some night with an acoustic guitar--it would be great to hear him. A special shout out to Mike Berry for great bass playing throughout.

4. Dave Gross “Crawling The Walls.” (Vizztone) This cd was supposedly recorded live in the studio. At first I was doubtful, but then I listened to it again and again, and I began to say “well, maybe.” This disc snuck up on me--the more I let it talk to me, the more impressive it became. Dave Gross is one helluva good guitar player and singer, but he may be an even better arranger and producer. This is a fine fine release.

5. Janiva Magness “What Love Will Do.” (Alligator) For those of you who think this is a token pick, you don’t know Janiva. She can sing rings around ALL the other women singers out there, and this is the best cd she has yet made, and she is sexy as hell. This is my BMW pick--she belongs on this list every year on sheer talent. She may one day be the best of them all.

6. Ian Parker “The Official Bootleg.” (Indy) I was talking with Geoff Achison last summer about Guitar Player magazine naming him one of the Top 10 Guitar players, and he told me that his favorite guitar player was Ian Parker. After that, I stayed up one whole night listening to Ian through the headphones, and as the sun began to rise in the East I got what Geoff was talking about. He reminds me a little of the young Chris Whitley, which is high praise indeed.

7. Steve Guyger “Radio Blues.” (Severn) I first heard Steve when he did “Living Legends” with Paul Oscher. He is my favorite blues harmonica player, and he just keeps getting better. Don’t believe it? Listen to him. He made two great cds this year, and I love “Radio Blues.” It just barely beat out Dennis Gruenling's cd "I Just Keep Loving Him," which is a fine tribute to Little Walter.

8. Chris James & Patrick Rynn “Stop And Think About It.” (Earwig) The best road trip cd in the bunch. These two guys are half of the Rhythm Room All Stars in Phoenix Arizona, and the way they lay down the goods it tempts me to make a road trip all the way out there to catch them live. The most pleasurable trip I ever drove from Atlanta GA to St Louis MO was with this fine cd in the player on repeat. I may have to buy another copy of this just so I can listen to it in the house.

9. The Mannish Boys “Lowdown Feelin.’” (Delta Groove) This was a difficult choice for me. The Mannish Boys or Nick Moss & the Flip Tops? Both made fine music in 2008. I finally decided on The Mannish Boys because this is their fourth great cd. Good honest blues music. This collection of great West Coast players is built around the great drum work of Richard ‘Big Foot’ Innes, who has been making great blues music since the mid 60s. Nick Moss can look forward to being on the 2009 list.

10. Guitar Red “Lightnin’ In A Bottle.” (Backspace Records) Debut cd from an incredible street musician here in Decatur Georgia. Billy Christian Walls’ energy and joy at making music is infectious--I have seen people who missed appointments because they could not stop listening to him and go back to work. One man, one guitar, one voice. I think they only made 400 copies of this cd. I have now bought 5 of them at Decatur CD and given all but one away.

And while I'm wrapping up 2008, I'm already looking forward to the 2009 releases, especially the next cds from John Nemeth and Moreland & Arbuckle.