Byther Smith "Blues On the Moon" (Delmark)

This welcome new set by Byther Smith, venerable Chicago south-side guitarist, hits the streets today. It was recorded live last August 2007 at the Natural Rhythm Social Club. It seems like an easy idea. Take Byther Smith and his crackling good, sympathetic band, place them in front of a small audience at a working class club, plug them in and let them entertain by playing electric blues. But give Delmark Records credit--it may be an obvious idea, but it works great. Byther Smith may have been 74 years old when he recorded this, but this is no oldies show. Smith's guitar playing is sure and light and supple, his voice is rich with passion, and he still has it. Byther Smith is captured here making vital music, real music, and the joy of being alive just radiates off him. There is a moment towards the end of the DVD when Smith leans back a bit and looks out over the crowd and smiles. It is a timeless moment. It reminds me of a retired minister in the little town where I grew up. He was in his early 90s the last time I saw him, a tall thin black man in a black suit that was probably older than I was. He may even have been napping during the early part of the worship service, but when he approached that pulpit to bring the message you could just see the years fall off him, and the man who preached was exactly where God intended him to be, was exactly who God wanted him to be, and in that pulpit he was in the right place for him. In this DVD Byther Smith is exactly where he is supposed to be, doing exactly what he is supposed to do, and it is good. GOOD! Yes, sure I wish I had the companion to this set--the same sort of live DVD when Byther was a young man full of transcendent fire, but better to celebrate what you do have than to moan about what you don't. This DVD captures one night with style and class, and it should be on the shelf of everyone who loves the Chicago blues.

Review: Kenny Neal "Let Life Flow"

"Let Life Flow" marks Kenny Neal's first cd on Blind Pig Records. It is really good to welcome him back. I've been a fan of Kenny Neal since 1989's "Devil Child." His swampy harp and guitar playing have always sounded good to me. This disc is his first release since he came back from hiatus. In September 2006 Kenny announced he was taking a year off from recording and touring because of an undisclosed illness. He returned to the public eye at the Monterey Blues Festival in June 2007 and the illness was disclosed as Hepatitis C. But let me tell you, he must have gotten himself healed of it--this is the best cd he has ever made. It is recorded with his regular band--Kenny on vocals, guitar, harp, and lap steel, Lucky Peterson on organ & piano, Frederick Neal on keyboards, Ken Johnson on drums, Darnell Neal on bass, and a crack horn section led by Joe Campbell on trumpet. The vocals are sweet, the guitar is exactly right on the money, the rthymn section keeps everything moving along, the piano and organ sound like they're being channelled from the bordello or from the church--whatever each song requires is right there sounding exactly right. I especially recommend the track "Since I Met You Baby." This Ivory Joe Hunter tune is given the definitive treatment--Kenny Neal does it better than anybody ever has. He sounds more confident, stronger, more soulful than ever. This is one of those cds that should be BLASTING out of every radio station in the USA. It deserves to be a big hit--you should buy five or six copies and give them to your friends.

Review: Bernie Pearl "Old School Blues"

I have to thank my friend Chris Puyear for tipping me onto Bernie Pearl. Chris is a DJ at KOPN in Columbia MO--he does the Blues on Broadway show on Saturday nights. He played this great version of a song--"Automobile Blues" which was originally done by Lightnin' Hopkins. l have heard everybody do this song, but I had never heard it so cool and soulful. I called Chris while he was on the air and asked him "Who was that?" We ended up talking for a while & it was Bernie Pearl. Bernie is not a kid--he has been playing guitar in the Los Angeles area since the 50s. He learned to play hanging out in his brother's club, learning from the greats as they travelled thru--from Mance Lipscomb, Lightnin' Hopkins, Brownie McGhee. Mr Pearl is VERY excellent on both acoustic and electric guitars. He describes this set "Old School Blues" as typical of his live shows recorded live in the studio. There is one disc of acoustic and one disc of electric, and they were recorded earlier this year. By now I hope i have dropped enough hints to get you excited--you need to hear this guy play the blues. The acoustic disc is especially great--Bernie plays "Blues in a Bottle" and "Goin' Down Slow" and "Country Sugar Mama" and "Pawnshop Blues" and they're all great. I think the only acoustic guitar player that compares is the great Doc Watson. This is the way Doc Watson would play blues if he played blues. On the electric disc Pearl plays "Cherry Ball' and the aforementioned "Automobile Blues" and "Crosscut Saw and "Drivin' Wheel" and a bunch of others. It is terrific blues music played with soul and taste and command. This is a worthy disc for every blues-lover's library. You can find out more about Bernie Pearl, and you can buy his cds, at his website: http://www.berniepearl.com

Review: "Meet Me in the Cotton Fields"

Terry "Big T" Williams & Wesley "Junebug" Jefferson have joined a long and illustrious blues tradition with "Meet Me in the Cotton Fields"--the duet record. It is as old as Brownie & Sonny and as new as Moreland and Arbuckle--but the general outlines are two people sharing vocals and instruments to express what life is like. Telling what one person could not express. Well, these two guys share and it sounds real good. Four of these songs are written by Wesley Jefferson, two are by Terry Williams, three are traditional and one is a Muddy Waters cover. These two haven't played together for a long time, but they grew up in the same place, (Clarksdale, Mississippi) they have similar backgrounds, and they have both played the country blues as an art form and an avocation. These guys know how to play the blues and they do these songs proud. This is one of those cds to pack if you are driving from Memphis south thru the Delta on hIghway 61, and if you are ever near Clarksdale Mississippi stop in at Cathead Music and say Hello to Roger Stolle, one of the really good guys helping keep the blues alive.

This release is on Broke and Hungry Records, which is a new label from St Louis, Missouri specializing in the country blues. The website is at http://www.brokeandhungryrecords.com

R.I.P. Jeff Healey & Sean Costello

I've been struggling to write about the loss of these two fine blues artists for a few weeks now, and I never can get the peace in my soul to finish writing. I start listening to their music and I'm so sad that such creative talents are gone. In some way it is even harder to say Goodbye because the last cd each of them released ("Mess of Blues," 2008, Ruf Records) are both among the very best music each of them produced. The Jeff Healey disc is a rip-roaring punch list of the songs that drew the most audience response, and there's not a stinker in the bunch. This guy loved to be on stage--you can see it in all the videos on You Tube--and he loved entertaining the audience with music. We are left with smoking versions of "How Blue Can You Get" and "Sitting On Top Of The World" (which in my opinion are the best things on "Mess of Blues") and a yawning hole of "what might have been" with Jeff. He truly loved old timey jazz and he was frustrated by the limitations that were involved in playing the blues, but if you see those as the two directions he was growing towards, what a cool synthesis he might have brought forth if he had lived. The man had another 30 years ahead of him!

And so did Sean Costello, at least. Sean Costello was doing it right--he had released four cds and every one of them shone with promise. He understood that playing the blues was to follow in the footsteps of those who had gone before him. Step by step Sean was making good music, interesting music, music that had history and truth in the grooves. His last cd ("We Can Get Together" 2008, Delta Groove) is by far his best--his fretwork is glowing, and the vocals sound like a much older soul, singing with love and passion. He wrote all but two of the songs. He sings and plays great. He does two songs with the Northside Men's Choir from the Northside Tavern, which was like Sean's second home. He does a song called "Going Home" which just makes me cry. Again, the hardest part is that Sean could have, would have, made so much more great music over the next thirty years.

These guys did the blues world proud, and there is no easy explanation of their passing. No hint of drugs, no stupid behavior, no reason that we can pin our grief on. Jeff died of cancer and we don't know why Sean died. The passing of both these young men is a terrible loss--on both musical and personal levels. I lift up prayers for their families and friends.

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/

Review: Albert Castiglia's "These Are The Days"

This cd will not be available until April 1st, but I've just got to tell you--make plans now to buy it. It's that good! Albert Castiglia (pronounced "Cas-steeel-lia") and band bring forth a well-done electric blues set on this, their third cd. Everything here is terrific. On every song Castiglia wrings every ounce out of great lyrics and brings his guitar passion front and center. The band consists of Albert Castiglia on guitar and lead vocals, Susan Lusher on keyboards, Steve Gaskell on bass and Bob Amsel on drums. Kenny "Stringbean" Sorenson adds smoking great harmonica on tracks 4, 5 and 11. Rio Clemente adds a churchy organ to track 9, and Sweet Suzi Smith & Nicole Hart add great soulful backing vocals on "Night Time Is The Right Time." Things kick off with the humorous original "Bad Year Blues" and then comes Robert Guidrey's "He's Got All The Whiskey," a lament of loss on several levels, and then a fiery "Loan Me A Dime," the Fenton Robinson song you may remember from the Boz Scaggs version with the Muscle Shoals House Band and Duane Allman from Boz Scaggs' self-titled debut album. Castiglia doesn't quite reach those esteemed heights here, but he doesn't get embarrassed by the comparison either. There is a loving original tribute to his late mentor, Junior Wells, on "Godfather of the Blues," and then the centerpiece of the cd--three great tunes done absolutely great--"Celebration" by Graham Wood Drout, "Night Time Is The Right Time" and Bob Dylan's "Catfish." The guitar solo on "Catfish" is, all by itself, a sign of Albert's promise of a bright future. And things don't drop off after that--there are a couple more Castiglia originals, ("Another Bloody Day" and "Twister") the wonderful "Need Your Love So Bad" and the cd wraps up with "Blues For Evan," an impressive instrumental that features Stringbean and Albert trading licks like they've played together forever. I've been listening to Albert play and grow and develop for years now, and this is the cd I've been waiting for. It should catapult Albert Castiglia to the top rank of blues artists.