Curtis Salgado – Fine By Me
Little Village Foundation – 2024
12 tracks: 44 minutes
Fine By Me, the latest album from bluesman extraordinaire Curtis Salgado, is a cornucopia of musical genres, playful lyrics, and talented musicians—all brought together with Salgado’s signature flair to create a bounty of memorable songs that will stir your soul and move your spirit.
Little Village, Salgado’s label, states in their one-pager that “Fine By Me is the latest evidence of Salgado wielding his impressive songwriting and vocal skills (in) a wide variety of styles…dashes of blues, gospel, R&B, jazz, funk, rock ‘n’ roll, and (of course) soul.”
Salgado has been a force in the blues world for nearly five decades and won the Blues Music Award for Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year in 2022 and 2023. In the early 1980s, he was a member of the Robert Cray Band, then sang with Room Full of Blues, and, eventually, went on to a successful solo career, racking up eleven Blues Music Awards. As many blues fans may know, Salgado was the inspiration for The Blues Brothers, after striking up a friendship with comedian John Belushi during the filming of the hit comedy movie Animal House in Eugene, Oregon.
Fine By Me was produced by Salgado, mixed by Sandy Solomon at KSM Studios in Los Angeles, and mastered by Gene Grimaldi of Oasis Mastering in Burbank, California. Salgado either wrote or cowrote all of the original songs. The album’s liner notes list a true cornucopia of musical talent—both session musicians and recognizable names. Eight of the album’s twelve tracks feature Christoffer “Kid” Andersen on guitar and keyboards and on four of those tracks, his wife, Lisa Leuschner (Andersen), sings background vocals. The Andersens were recently featured in Blues Blast Magazine and blues fans know that “Kid” is the guitarist for Rick Estrin & The Nightcats.
Other notable names include drummer Tony Braunagel, guitarists Ben Rice, Billy Watts and Anson Funderburgh, along with another bluesman extraordinaire, Robert Cray, who appears on one of the album’s cover tunes.
Both “Better Things To Lie About” and “Under New Management” feature an abundance of tight horn arrangements with distinctively different song styles. “Better Things…” has a soulful vibe with Salgado’s terrific harp riffs and growling vocals and features Kid Andersen’s funky keyboards. “Under New Management” is definitely R&B with a big band sound along with terrific guitar work by Billy Watts and Anson Funderburgh.
“Safe At Home” has a fun, funky backbeat with a “classic rock” sound—from Andersen’s keyboards to Lisa Leuschner’s harmonizing vocals to those subtle musical breaks. Those huge brassy horns return on “You Give the Blues a Bad Name,” another soulful number that’s slow and sultry. Watts and Funderburgh also return on “You Give the Blues…” with even more intricate guitar work. “The Big Chagrin” has a toe-tapping big band sound with New Orleans-style piano by Jeff Paris.
The title track, “Fine By Me,” is Salgado’s storytelling at its best, wrapped around a contemporary rock ‘n’ roll sound. According to Salgado, the playful lyrics were inspired by a dream he had after reading a Jackie Onassis biography. Salgado and friends do righteous justice to the album’s two cover songs: “I’m Gonna Forget About You” (by O.V. Wright) and the Cajun-fied classic “Niki Hoeky,” originally recorded by P.J. Proby in the 1960s. Robert Cray lends his voice and guitar to “…Forget About You,” a song he recorded with Salgado back in 1980 for Cray’s first album.
Ben Rice channels his inner flamenco guitarist on the tango-inspired “The Only Way Out.” The song also features Lindsay Reynolds on background vocals. “Hear The Lonely Hearts,” which Salgado describes as a “deep gospel song” features wonderful harmonies from The Sons of the Soul Revivers—brothers James, Walter, and Dwayne Morgan.
Fine By Me is overflowing with good times, terrific tunes, and an abundance of Curtis Salgado’s signature soul.
