Buck 69 – No Medicine Like the Blues
TRC Consulting (Self Released)
www.buck69.net
16 tracks

Really rocking blues! Hailing from Toledo, Ohio, Buck 69 is a mixture of Tom Clawson (vocals and rhythm guitar), John Sevilla (guitar, bass and drums), David Alan (drums), BJ Love (keys), Randy Paredes (guitar), Daryl Burgess (drums), Candice Coleman Lange (vocals), Alex Clawson (guitar) and a few others on horns, backing vocals, keys and such. These guys flat out rock it, but they can also deliver some solid blues. All original cuts, Tom Clawson penned a dozen of the tunes while Sevilla wrote the remaining four.

They open with “These Blues,” a nice hook to get the listener intrigued. Clawson shouts out the vocals as Sevilla wails on guitar in this driving and hot tempo-ed song.  The title cut “No Medicine Like the Blues” is a ng, mournful, slow blues with great feeling in Sevilla’s guitar and Clawson’s vocals. A trio of horns fills things nicely and Love’s keys are also a nice addition, but Sevilla and Clawson really sell this one for me. The Carlos Santana-like guitar solo starts about 2/3 of the way through and goes on for a few minutes; his work here is quite stratospheric and well done. “That’s Life” has a heavy horn sound for the horn lovers as Clawson croons on this bouncy cut.

Lange’s turn at lead vocals in “Without My Baby”and “Carry On” offer a nice contract to Clawson. The former is a breathy and sultry cut, while the latter is more up tempo with some nice sax offered up behind her by Ryan Sondergeld. Lange’s got good range and really can belt out a tune. “Tell Me Why” is a cool, slow blues with some more out there guitar work by Sevilla. They go a little out west with the kind of sappy but fun country tune “Don’t Shave My Beard When I Die.” Alex Clawson gets to tear it up on the guitar lead here. “My Car” is kind of lik Grand Funk Railroads meets the Blues, but guitar lovers will eat this up. The closing tune is a rockabilly cut with Alex Clawson on guitar, Paredes on slide and Love banging out the barrelhouse piano while Tom Clawson growls out the melody line. Wickedly hot stuff!

The lyrics on one or two cuts were a bit forced (Ugly Teacher Blues did little for me lyric-wise) but these guys can make any song into a party. 16 cuts in all, and most all of them are pretty damned good- a huge effort!  The big, rocking sound, vocals on the gravelly side by Clawson and the finesse side by Lange, and the huge guitar solos and leads make this an album that guitar fans will drink up heartedly and rocking blues fans will bow down to. I enjoyed the CD and I would think any live show with these guys would be something to behold!

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