Grant Sabin – Work
Gitcha Records
11 tracks
Colorado bluesman Grant Sabin offers up his third album for us to enjoy. It’s a great set of ten originals and one cool cover that is heavy into the Mississippi Hill country with some Delta Blues thrown in to boot. I really enjoyed this one.
Sabin handles the vocals along with playing guitar, harp and trumpet. A.J. Fullerton play bas and guitar and Forrest Raup is on drums and percussion. These three guys work up a wild storm of blues music to enjoy.
Sabin begins with the title track. It’s a heavy cut, mixing the juke joint with hill country. He sings with a gritty passion. The distorted guitar, slide and throbbing beat make for a cool intro. “Baby Wanna Be Right” opens with some heavily distorted harp. Sabin then goes into another throbbing cut with heavy drum and percussion driving the song along with guitar, bass and howling vocals. “Headshaker” opens with some dirty harp and the slow, heavy beat. Sabin again sings with hill country-esque passion. The throbbing groove is almost sexual in nature. The vocals and harp feature a bit of distortion which adds to the mystique.
“Luisa” is next up, a song with a lighter feel. The guitar rings as Sabin sings about his woman in this slower tempo-ed cut. He brings in the dirty harp to add to the feeling here, nicely done. Next up is “Picture,” a mid tempo piece with some organ like responses via Sabin’s trumpet to his vocal calls. The guitar work is solid, another cool cut with a driving beat. “Didn’t Sell My Ring” begins with some radio tuning and breaks into a rousing R.L. Burnside-ish song. A faster beat and funky vocals help sell this one. Sabin offers up more pretty guitar solos and blows some mean harp, too. “Judgement Day” follows, a delta styled Robert Johnson cover cut that rolls and tumbles nicely. A driving beat, passionate vocals and wicked guitar make this one really good.
Next is “I Know You,” with lots more heavy, hill country styled blues. The guitar and vocals wail and what’s not to like? Good stuff! “Sunny Days” has more of a Delta slide feel to the guitar but Sabin’s vocal surely hearken to the hills. He gets a great groove going and plays some really sweel licks. “Lucky Frog” is a lighter cut, not necessarily ethereal but in comparison this is much different in style, showing some variety. The guitars ring, the beat is swift and cool. The last track is listed as a bonus track. “Sacred Ground” concludes the album and Sabin places some really nice slide for us to savor. The beat and groove are all hill country styled and the album goes out with a bang. The guitar work is stellar and the vocals are slick. And we get a final dose of distorted and neat harp to enjoy, too.
I liked this one a lot. Modern hill country with a powerful trio of players. If you like your blues raw and edgy, then look no further. This is a well done set of original tunes with a super cover. Go listen to his one now– you won’t regret it!
