Rory Block "Shake 'Em On Down"

This cd is subtitled "A Tribute to Mississippi Fred McDowell" and it is a joyous celebration of two masters of the acoustic guitar blues--Mississippi Fred McDowell and Rory Block. This time out Block brings to vibrant bubbling life seven of McDowell's songs, along with Sonny Boy Williamson's "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" and 4 Block originals that sound like they should belong in the McDowell catalog. This disc is part of Block's on-going project "The Mentor Series," a collection of, as she writes in the liner notes, "tribute albums to the masters who I had the priviledge of meeting face to face." Like Block's previous Mentor sets, one lifting up the music of Son House and one lifting up the music of Robert Johnson, this one is flawless and fabulous and spot-on. The singing and playing are up to typical Rory Block perfectionist standards, which means 99.5% of the guitar players out there can't touch it. This time out I'm not lifting up any individual songs--just buy this disc and listen to it, and you will soon love it. You may find that you need the other tribute discs as well. All three are highly recommended. Rory Block is a musical treasure.

This cd is on Stony Plain Records. You can buy it at http://www.stonyplainrecords.com

Burton Gaar "Fried Grits & Greens"

On this wonderful cd Burton Gaar is singing and playing exactly what I needed--a Louisiana-flavored blues fest. The first time I heard this cd it reminded me of David Egan's great disc "You Don't Know Your Mind" from 2008. If you love that David Egan cd you know what I mean, and how good this Burton Gaar cd must be. I have been listening to it in the car the last week or so, and I even came the long way home from the BBQ contest this afternoon just to hear it some more. There are 15 songs, all originals, written by Burton and George Hollinshead (13) and Burton and Floyd Saizon (1) and Burton and Robert Felsonthal (1). The band is made of folks who have all worked with Burton before, and includes Tom Coerver, Robert Felsenthal, Larry Turner and Sean Brouillette on keyboards, Burton's brother John Gaar, George Hollinshead and O'dell Wilson on guitars, and Floyd Saizen on drums. They all sound great together--tight and loose, sweet and clean. I can only guess that hearing these guys play live in Louisiana must be a great treat. Burton's vocals are the key--perfectly spiced, emotive, solid. He sounds like Tommy Castro, in the best way.

I'm listening to this cd again now, and I like it even more. The best songs this time are "Sugarfied," "Strung Out On The Blues," and "That's All She Wrote." Part may be what it DOESN'T sound like--it doesn't have an ace guitar slinger that wants to slash every second of every song to ribbons to show off. It doesn't sound like they have a big budget. It doesn't sound like these guys are all 20 years old, trying to make a name for themselves. Nothing wrong with any of those things, but if you buy this cd looking for pyrotechnics or flash you'll be disappointed. It's a good cd precisely because Burton sings these 15 songs with taste and everybody plays with economy. You might find this cd on your player or in your car 5 years from now and you'll welcome it like an old friend.

You can buy this cd at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/BurtonGaar

Nicole Christian "Run Rabbit Run"

Nicole Christian is a Toronto-based singer/songwriter and guitarist. Her newest release, Run Rabbit Run, was recently voted the Best Debut Roots and Blues Album of 2010 award by the Underground Blues Network. There are 11 songs on "Run Rabbit Run," and all of them are written by Nicole, except one ("Barn Dance") which is written by Nicole and Stephen King. Yes, that Stephen King. Seems the esteemed writer has taken a shine to Nicole's work, which can't hurt anything. Some of the songs here are played solo and some are played by Nicole and the her band the Caravan--Roberta Hunt on keys, Vide on electric guitar, Alfie Smith on slide guitar and Jeremy Edwardes on harp and bass clarinet.

Christian's music is a little folk, a little roots, and a lot of bottle-neck blues. Remember the great music by The Band? Nicole Christian could be the Daughter From Big Pink. Listening to this cd is a treat--I played this cd straight through three times. There is an intelligence to her lyrics, a toughness to the music that is appealing. There is an acoustic vibe--similar to recent releases by Ernie Hawkins and Jay Gaunt--of music played for the joy of it. Highlights include "Shelter Blues" which has a cool violin and piano accompaniment, and "Lay Me Down" which reminds me of Ruthie Foster, and the title track, which has a great harp and guitar and piano thing going on and is, I think, the best song here. In a perfect world I could imagine several songs here getting radio play, some on blues radio and some on country radio, some on both.

This is an independent release. You can buy it at http://www./cdbaby.com/nicolechristian

Big Joe & the Dynaflows "You Can't Keep A Big Man Down"

After an eleven year absence due to various illnesses, Big Joe is back! One of the great blues drummers and a super vocalist, Joe Maher & his band the Dynaflows were one of my favorites back in the 1990s-2000s. Their 1994 Black Top release "Layin' In The Alley" and the 1998 Severn releases "I'm Still Swingin'" and "All Night Long" (2000) were part of the soundtrack for my life. When this new disc arrived, it was like re-discovering an old friend! I've got to tell you, these guys can play that 40s-50s jump blues and boogie woogie like nobody else--they've been doing it for 30+ years. It may never have been the fashionable blues, but in Big Joe's hands it's an effective way to life people's spirits and get butts up and moving on the dance floor.

This new set of Dynaflows include keyboardist Kevin McKendree from Delbert McClinton's band, guitarist Rob McNelley, bass by Bill Campbell, and even a few honks from the vault of the late great Dennis Taylor on saxophone. They make a great full upbeat sound and everybody gets chances to shine. Big Joe writes or co-writes six of the 12 songs and they are uniformly excellent. Covers include BB King's "Bad Case of Love," Johnny Green's "Someday," Jimmy McCracklin's "I'm To Blame," Jay McShann's "Confessin' The Blues," and Delbert McClinton's "What the Hell Were You Thinkin'." It's a great and varied set. Right now I think "Someday" is the best song on the cd, but it only barely edges out "Face The Facts" and "Supercharger" and "Evangeline." Yesterday I was thinking "Confessin' The Blues" was the best song here. Tomorrow I'll fall in love with another one.

Anyway, this is a HOT cd, great music to minister to your spirit. You can buy it at http://www.bigjoem.com/CDinfo.html

John-Alex Mason "Jook Joint Thunderclap"

John-Alex Mason's new release came out on February 15. This is the sixth full-length release for this Boulder, Colorado based one man band. Yes, I said one man band. According to his website, Mason started out as a singer, then learned guitar, then learned to play drums to get people dancing. On this self-produced disc Mason plays guitar and kick drums and harmonica, and fully 6 of the ten songs are played on his one man band rig. Mason is also assisted by Andy Irvine on bass, Gerry Hundt on harmonica and mandolin and nine-string guitar, Cedric Burnside on drums, Cody Burnside on vocals, Lightnin' Malcolm on guitar and bass, and Lionel Young on fiddle and bass. Of the ten songs, six are either written or co-written by Mason. He also covers Robert Johnson's "If You've Got A Good Friend," Oscar Brown's "Signifying Monkey," Fred McDowell's "Write Me A Few Of Your Lines," and rearranges and adds lyrics to the public domain song "Rolled and Tumbled."

So how does it sound? I really like this cd. It's played in Mississippi hill country style--fans of Moreland and Arbuckle or JJ & Mofro or Otis Taylor will find much here that speaks to them. Mason brings a freshness and an energy to the proceedings. The playing is crisp and tight, but never stiff or fussy. Special cudos go to Gerry Hundt's harmonica floating over a deep bed of great percussion in "Riding On," (which includes about 10 seconds of rapping and might be the best song here) Lionel Young's fine fiddle work in "Diamond Rain" and Cedric Burnside's very good drumming in "Write Me A Few Of your Lines."

By the way, there are two free bonus tracks available at Mason's website that are well worth picking up--he calls them tracks "zero" which is the song "Delta Bound" and "eleven" which is "When You've Got A Good Friend."

You can buy this cd at John-Alex's website http://www.johnalexmason.com

Pete Anderson "Even Things Up: The Deluxe Edition"

This is a good cd you might have overlooked in January when it came out. It comes from Grammy-winning producer/guitarist Pete Anderson. All those great guitar lines snaking through those songs by country/rockabilly artist Dwight Yoakum, that was Pete Anderson. They worked together from 1986-2003. Now Anderson has re-released this "Deluxe" version of his fourth solo cd, with 4 additional songs cut live at the Starry Plough in Berkeley California last August.

Anderson sings, plays guitar and harmonica. He also plays drums on "Stop Me." He is backed by co-producer Michael Murphy on keyboards, drummers Herman Matthews and Jeff Donovan, and horn section Lee Thornburg and David Woodford, among others. All the songs are written or co-written by Anderson except "Room With a View," written by Michael Murphy & Lynn Coulter and sung by Murphy. The flavor of the disc is agreeably eclectic, veering from straight blues on "One and Only Lonely Fool" and the live "110 In The Shade" and "Live in Mississippi" to a jazzy turn on "Wes' Side Blues" to the Steely Dan-ish "Booker Twine" and the Tonight Show band-sounding "Dogbone Shuffle." Anderson acquits himself masterfully throughout--I like his vocals, and his guitar work is delicious. I love the instrumentals here, where the band gets to play and they all make some truly beautiful music. But the best song here is "Still in Love" presented twice--once in a studio setting with Anderson on vocals, and once in a live setting with Bekka Bramlett singing. I've played this song for three or four friends and their first response is to love it, then they all want to hear it again.

If you like recent releases by Dave Gross or Robben Ford, or if you liked Steely Dan, this record might be right up your alley. There's a lot here to like. Good musicianship, tasteful playing. I have a feeling this one will be in my cd player for quite a while.

You can buy this cd at http://www.vizztone.com

Junior Wells & the Aces "Live in Boston 1966"

This Delmark release is a showcase for Junior Wells & the Aces as a FABULOUS live act. Junior Wells on vocals and harp, Fred Below on drums, and the Myers brothers Louis on guitar and Dave on bass--this is a great band, a band of professionals, and they play for an hour, bringing to the concert stage a dozen songs, and every one is a gem. The result is simply awesome. If you love the blues you need this cd in your collection just as a historical document--but it's a lot more than that. I think Fred Below is the best drummer Chicago ever produced, and Junior Wells belongs on the short list of the greatest harp players of all time. Here you get the chance to hear these great musicians at their peak, making the music they love. The set list is tremendous, including "Messin' With The Kid," "Look On Yonder's Wall," "Worried Life Blues," and "If You Gonna Leave Me." And Delmark smartly leaves in the between songs banter--the set is studded with Junior Wells' personality. And the whole set is covers. Please notice that Junior didn't write a single song here--all he does is play them all with passion and fire and power.

You end up wishing you were there. Many thanks to Delmark for putting this one out. l dream of hearing a similar set by Magic Sam and his band. Does that exist in a tape vault somewhere?

You can buy this at http://www.delmark.com But when you do, go ahead and buy Junior Wells' "Southside Blues Jam" like I did. I know you've already got "Hoodoo Man Blues." Simply great music, and essential to every blues lover. You know, one of these days I should put together on this blog The Essential Blues Recordings-- according to Bruce.