Cover photo © 2024 SweetMusicChica

 In This Issue 

Mark Thompson interviews Louis X. Erlanger about managing the music legacy of Paul Oscher. We have six Blues reviews for you this week including new music from Paul Oscher, Dustin Arbuckle and the Damnations, Blind Lemon Pledge, Roger “Hurricane” Wilson, Michael Van Merwyk and Rickey D Hayes. Scroll down and check it out!

Paul Oscher – Live at the Tombs House of Detention

Blues Fidelity Records

www.pauloscher.com

12 songs – 50 minutes

Here’s a treat for you! Paul Oscher died of COVID in 2021. But before his passing, he bestowed a huge catalog of unreleased performances to Blues Fidelity Records in the hope of continuing his legacy for future generations. And that’s exactly what the label is doing with this stellar CD, the first of several planned Oscher releases to follow.

Paul was still a teenager when Muddy Waters hired him to play harp in his band. The first white musician ever to be part of Muddy’s organization, he lived in Waters’ basement with keyboard player Otis Spann for a long period, enabling Oscher to pick up major piano and guitar skills, too – talents that he displayed throughout his life.

This set was captured at Christmastime in the late ‘80s, when Paul and an ensemble of top New York talent performed at the Manhattan House of Detention – aka The Tombs, bringing momentary joy to an enthusiastic audience that was incarcerated in one of the most notorious jails in America.

Paul sticks to harp and guitar with a veteran rhythm second composed of drummer Candy McDonald (Johnny Copeland, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee) and bassist Steve Gomes (Ronnie Earl, Coco Montoya) with David Maxwell – another Spann disciple – on the 88s. Bob Gaddy – a major R&B artist in his own right – and Rose Melody – who worked regularly with Oscher throughout his career – make guest appearances on vocals.

An understated treasure, Paul kicks off the action with two Little Walter classic, “Off the Wall” and “Blue Midnight,” fluidly delivering harp lines and giving McDonald and Maxwell space to play call-and-response to his lead. And the audience roars enthusiastically. The next two tunes feature Gaddy – who previously scored huge hits with “Operator” and “Rip and Run” – on piano and mic. His version of Big Joe Turner’s “Flip, Flop and Fly” brings the audience to its feet and clapping rhythmically in response before a stellar take on the Chuck Willis burner, “You’re Still My Baby.”

Melody – who appeared with Paul on his early recordings on Victoria Spivey’s label – joins the action for the first time for “Stagolee,” a rock-steady duet with Gaddy, before taking command solo for a languorous take on “Stormy Monday” Melody with Oscher delivering stinging guitar lines throughout. Then Maxwell comes to the fore, showing why he was a perennial BMA Pinetop Perkins piano player of the year nominee with a pair of instrumentals, a rollicking version of Meade Lux Lewis’ “Honky Tonk Train” and a dazzling take on “After Hours,” the Erskine Hawkins classic.

Oscher remains in support as Gaddy and Melody return to the stage and team on the familiar “Kansas City,” the Johnnie Taylor hit, “Steal Away,” and “Silent Night” before Paul closes the night on guitar with the down-and-dirty “Slideaway,” a reworking of the Freddie King classic, “Hide Away.”

This one will leave you with a smile. Sure, the recording techniques used in the ‘80s don’t hold a candle to what we have today. That aside, Live at the Tombs is a whole lot of fun. Here’s hoping there are more Oscher treasures from the vault on the immediate horizon.

Editor’s Note:

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer Marty Gunther has lived a blessed life. Now based out of Mason, Ohio, his first experience with live music came at the feet of the first generation of blues legends at the Newport Folk Festivals in the 1960s. A former member of the Chicago blues community, he’s a professional journalist and blues harmonica player who co-founded the Nucklebusters, one of the hardest working bands in South Florida.

Dustin Arbuckle and the Damnations – Live at the Shamrock

Self Released

www.dustinarbuckledamnations.com

9 songs, 49 minutes

The Blues is a music that is most engaging live. Many Blues studio albums are recorded with all the musicians playing together live. The true magic comes when the connection between musicians is then shared with an audience, each person feeding off each other’s energy in a communion. That is what happens on Dustin Arbuckle and the Damnations new record Live at the Shamrock. A home town institution in Wichita, KS, “The Sham” is a perfect venue for the Damnations to display the energy, spontaneity and joy of their rootsy Blues based music.

Dustin Arbuckle is a harmonica blowing singer. With a clear deep Rockabilly informed swagger and nimble harp chops, Arbuckle is a road dog grinder who has been laying down Blues and Roots music for almost 2 decades. When he teamed up with guitar ace Brandon Hudspeth, who has had recent acoustic success as half of Hudspeth & Taylor but is fully electric here, the Damnations were born. Complemented by a stellar rhythm section of Caleb Drummond on bass and harmony vocals and Kendall Newby on drums and harmony vocals, Arbuckle and Hudspeth offer a balanced and modern take on classic forms of American music.

“You’re Gonna Hear Me on the Radio” opens the set with a slowed down but jumpy ragtime romp. Focusing on songs written by friends and local songwriters, “Radio” is one of 5 covers. The Damnation original “Across the Desert” has a Hill Country boogie resplendent with chanting moans, Hudspeth grooving hard and dirty and Arbuckle blowing some mean syncopated harp. Channeling Levon Helm, the ballad “Dealer’s Lament” is a great vocal highlight. Instrumental up tempo Chicago Blues work out “Sioux City Strut” gives the band a chance to indulge in some really authentic swinging.

The centerpiece of this set is the 6 minute “Moonlight on the Mountain.” Minor keyed Blues, a spooky vibe is accomplished through reverb drenched guitar and a roiling bass/drum pattern. High and lonesome harmony vocals chase Arbuckle’s lamenting lyrics. An extended instrumental section breaks apart the groove and then reconstructs it. This performance really shows off this unit’s connection and interplay.

Dustin Arbuckle and the Damnations are a great band. They are the best kind of Roots act. With a reverence to the past, technique informed by real talent and excellent songwriting, this band has consistently produced great music starting with a live EP in 2019 (Live at the Hook & Ladder) and their fine 2020 studio album My Getaway. What makes them special, and is in full display on Live at the Shamrock, is their attention to tone. Arbuckle’s voice is so clear and strong, Hudspeth’s guitar sound is real and layered. The rhythm section booms and shuffles full of power and subtle syncopation. This is a band of talented practitioners doing the thing for real. Check them out if they come through your town. In the meantime listen to Live at the Shamrock and yell, dance and cheer along with music lovers in Wichita.

Writer Bucky O’Hare is a slide guitarist, songwriter and singer. Based out of South Eastern Massachusetts, Bucky plays Slide Guitar Soul Jazz and Funk Blues inspired by the music of the 60’s and 70’s all around New England.

 Blues Blast Music Awards Submissions 

Submissions from artists and labels for the 17th Annual Blues Blast Music Awards are open until May 31st, 2024.

Albums released between June 1. 2023 and May 31, 2024 are eligible this year.

Submit your music now. Click this link:
www.bluesblastmagazine.com/blues-blast-awards-submission-information

Blind Lemon Pledge – Oh So Good

OFEH Records

www.blindlemon-pledge.com

12 Track – 42 Minutes

In 2008, James “Blind Lemon Pledge” Byfield decided to pursue a musical career.  His interest in old style acoustic blues led him to create a performing persona in keeping with the greats such as Son House and Blind Lemon Jefferson. He came upon his new character name in a skit by comedian Martin Mull. Martin used the character of a white bluesman as both an homage and a parody on bluesmen. Originally James intended to only use the character for a one-shot, but found the name stuck with him.

Now 16 years and ten albums later, he continues to perform his mostly acoustic style blues on eleven original tracks and one cover. The San Francisco based musician plays guitar and provides the vocals on all tracks. He is joined by Peter Grenell on bass and Juli Moscovitz on drums. Together they deliver a fun blend of eclectic music.

The album kicks off with “Big Bill”, a worker who lives in the shadow of the boss man but is in love with Adeline, the boss man’s daughter. His slide guitar kicks in mid-song. He proclaims he is a “Junkyard Dog” and is howlin’ after that “pretty kitty cat”, who he asks to “purr for me”.  On the ragtime tune, “Oh So Good”, he gives testimony that he is reformed “since I got it so bad for you”.

“How Can I Still Love You” is a question from a man done wrong by his woman whom he states, “is always gone…nothing you ever say is true”.  “Hard Heart Honey Bee” increases the energy in a jump blues as he says, “she walks into the room like she owns the room”, but he “lost his heart to the hard-hearted girl”. He shifts into a Cajun two-step on “Ma Belle Cherie” as he has fallen for the one he yearns for. The song features a bass run that sounds like it is played on a jug.

There is a “Moon Over Memphis” “as a whippoorwill calls out your name” as he recalls the “King sings “Are You Lonesome Tonight” in another expression of loss of his love. “Go Jump the Willie” is a wacky “brand new dance number” “that will make you shake your feet”, “Grab your partner, make you shake your behind”. He moves back into another slow lament for another lost love, “Cora Lee”.

In the rhumba “Come Back Little Sheba” he declares, “you took my heart, you took everything”. He moves into a gospel tinged “Give My Poor Heart Ease”, as he begs God’s mercy to ease his pain from the loss of his love and notes they say, “God will never burden you with more than you can bear”.  The album closes with the only cover, “House of the Rising Sun”, which is, of course, yet another tale of life gone wrong. He pulls out a very eerie slide guitar to accompany the song.

Blind Lemon Pledge’s vocals may not be to everyone’s liking. His unique voice moves from slightly strained and soft to a plaintive cry. On this album he seems to be mostly focused on songs about lost love, which is certainly a theme of many blues songs. But his songs cross many genres and probably are best expressed as Americana, rather than blues. His lyrics and guitar work are also interesting and sometimes very unique.

Writer John Sacksteder is a retired civil engineer in Louisville, Kentucky who has a lifelong love of music, particularly the blues. He is currently the Editor of the Kentuckiana Blues Society’s monthly newsletter.

Roger “Hurricane” Wilson – Somebody Had to Say It

Blue Storm Records

http://bluestormrecords.com

9 songs, 44 minutes

It is an accomplishment if an artist can live a life full of music. Those people who can hustle and put together a career even if they never get the name recognition of a super star. Roger “Hurricane” Wilson is that type of artist. A prolific musician and Blues force, Wilson is an educator, disc jockey, writer, and promoter among other things. Hurricane’s record Somebody Had to Say It is an all original showcase of his highly fluid guitar chops and at times skewed writing style.

Unfortunately, there is not much information in the press materials about this album. The backing bands are listed as The Fishman Allstars and The Singular Sound Rhythm Section. Hurricane clearly sings and throws tasty guitar all over. This record is labeled as a compilation on streaming services and the sound quality does differ on a few tracks.

First of all, Hurricane is a very talented guitarist. With an integrated facility for multiple styles of Blues six stringing, Hurricane plays with the impressive balance of melody and technical mastery, often eschewing gimmicky shredding for meaningful and emotive displays. Hurricane’s vocals don’t match his guitar power. With a spoken, Country Western type of delivery, Hurricane clearly and plainly delivers his lyrics.

The opening two songs set a great tone for the record; “It Was A Good Run” into “Thinking Positive.” Reflective about life lived and how to approach age and modern life. “I’ll Never Worry About You Again” creates a beautiful link between Hurricane’s child and his parents, even if the rhyme scheme is a little clunky. “I’m Sorry I Waited So Long” is lush with some glistening guitar work and “Everything’s Gonna Be Ok” ends the album with Rock ballad yearning for hope.

A few of the songs on this collection deal with modern life and the friction created when trying to hold onto past societal norms. “If You Came to Hear Music (Then Shut Up & Listen)” addresses people who talk through concerts. Not a bad thing to comment on, but the lyrics, rhyme scheme and vocal performance don’t fully land. “Ok Millennial” is a bit of a hackney complaint about the next generation. While “You Do Your Job” is a good chugging reprimand to a person trying to change the way Hurricane does his job, ostensibly guitar playing. “Job” is a really effective and well crafted song.

Roger “Hurricane” Wilson is a Blues guitar master. A real hidden gem who wrangles the strings with the best of them. Somebody Had to Say It is a little inconsistent but it has some truly great moments. Hurricane is also very prolific, so if you want to check out more of his work, it is highly recommended.

Writer Bucky O’Hare is a slide guitarist, songwriter and singer. Based out of South Eastern Massachusetts, Bucky plays Slide Guitar Soul Jazz and Funk Blues inspired by the music of the 60’s and 70’s all around New England.

Life can be full of surprises. For guitarist Louis X. Erlanger, the journey had started playing with a blues legend at a young age before getting recruited for a band that ended up on a major record label, and toured the world. Later, Erlanger decided to concentrate on his family, finding work that gave him an education in another aspect of the music business. He continued to play, record, and produce with a number of blues artists, finally cutting some records of his own, albeit under an assumed name The sum total of those experiences made him uniquely qualified when a friend asked for his help.

“Yeah, well, I’ve known Paul Oscher since I was a teenager, and I’m 71 now, so it’s a long time. I can’t remember how old I was when I first heard about him, but it was probably at 15 or 16 years old. A friend of mine was hanging out with this guy who played amazing guitar, amazing harp, attracted a lot of girls, and who also said he was going to play with Muddy Waters one day.

“I always was interested in Paul after I heard that. Then Muddy came to town and Paul had joined him already. I saw him play with Muddy a number of times in New York. Later he left Muddy and started playing around New York, having these incredible jam sessions where all kinds of people would come down to see them. Big Walter Horton showed up for one of them. The legendary songwriter Doc Pomus used to go to a lot when Paul had a Sunday night gig at a place called The Fugue on First Avenue in New York. David Maxwell, the Boston piano player, also sat in with him a lot.

“I would sit in because I wanted to learn. Paul had an amazing sense of time, just natural musical sense. So I would try to pick up whatever I could from him When Paul started seeing a girl that was a waitress across the street from my apartment, that’s when we really started to become friends, because he would hang out at my apartment waiting for her to get off work. He wasn’t an easy guy to get to know. He’s always sort of in his own world a lot of the time.

“He turned me on to a lot of the black clubs in New York City that a lot of white people didn’t know about. There was this whole rhythm and blues scene going on that most white people didn’t go to, but Paul went to all of them because he wanted to play with those people. Those two worlds were pretty separate for a while. Paul was sort of a liaison between them. He had all these different blues fans following him around at that time.

“I knew a lot about recording. Paul knew that I could translate it as a recording engineer, I could translate how to get the sounds that he wanted. So he started asking me to help him out with that, and I ended up co-producing a number of his recordings. Down In The Delta, and Bet On The Blues, his latest Cool Cat, and one with Pinetop Perkins and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith that we just re-released called Rough Stuff. I just have a real high opinion of Paul, and that’s how I ended up being in charge of his catalog.

“It was a surprise to me. I mean, I talked to him a lot and I was on the phone with him the whole time he was sick. But I didn’t know he was going to actually leave me his catalog. I found out right before he passed, when he said, “I want you to continue putting out my Blues Fidelity stuff, and I want you to manage all my digital and recording assets”. I am honored to do that. It’s a big job. I was working with his former manager Nancy Coplin to get his stuff up from Austin. She helped me with a lot organizing . We also had to get the whole estate settled. I think it was over a year it took to get it all straightened out.

“There’s unreleased stuff by Bob Gaddy, a great New York City blues piano player, and stuff by Steve Guyger, who was one of Paul’s favorite harp players. There’s something he did with Little Sammy Davis.  Paul is playing guitar and Sammy’s singing and playing harp. Sammy had a beautiful voice, almost like Little Walter. And it’s got a sound that you don’t hear too much anymore, absolutely beautiful stuff. That’s something we have planned to release in the future.

“The first release is something that Paul told me about, but he wasn’t sure about putting it out because of the way it was recorded. He didn’t feel it was the best sound but I was able to improve it. It’s Paul in the 1980s with the whole band at the Tombs prison in New York City. What’s beautiful about it is it really brings to life what Paul used to do around New York all the time, which is bring out these rhythm and blues revues that had all these great people in them, really low down blues, just really great stuff.

“So this recording, which is coming out probably the end of February, has David Maxwell playing piano, Candy McDonald is playing drums, Steve Gomes on bass. And singing besides Paul are Bob Gaddy and Rose Melody, who used to sing with him all the time. They do all kinds of beautiful stuff, gospel stuff, rhythm and blues, and the deep blues. It’s a real reflection of what Paul used to do, a little change from the solo stuff that he’s done, but I thought people should really hear how incredible a group he had. Paul’s playing really great guitar and harp on it. That release will be on his Blues Fidelity label. People will be able to see all the information about it if they go to:    pauloscher.com  “

Erlanger is also considering re-issuing another project Oscher record, Alone With The Blues, with Gaddy just sitting at a piano, playing and singing the blues.

“Gaddy used to play at this place called La Cave in Manhattan. Paul went up there one day and recorded him. He had put this out a long time ago, but only on cassette. So I’m cleaning it up and getting it ready to out on CD and also online. That was one of the things Paul asked for when he was sick. He really wanted to get that one out again.”

Added to the mix is a book Oscher was writing about his life in music that did not get finished before he passed. His ex-wife, Suzan-Lori Parks, has been helping move the book towards completion. It contains stories like the time Oscher was in the Muddy Waters Band, living in Muddy’s basement along with piano legend Otis Spann, and traveling around the country as the only white man in the band of black musicians

“There’s tons of interesting stuff. I’ve been finding all kinds of photos with various people, Bobby Blue Bland and Junior Wells, people like that from back in the old days. So we want to pull all that together, but I don’t think that’s going to come out for probably at least a year or so. Of course, we have to get a publisher too.

“Do you remember the guitarist Wild Jimmy Spruill?. Well, Paul Oscher was not somebody to give out compliments unless a person was really, really good. We went to see Jimmy Spruill at this club in New York. I’d never seen Paul so mesmerized. Spruill was playing the most amazing rhythm guitar you ever heard, just incredible stuff behind the group. But in the middle of the show, Spruill picked up this heavy chair in the front row by one leg like it was a feather, and started playing slide with the leg, with the whole chair. And it was good slide, you know, not stupid barroom slide, but really good slide. Paul’s eyes were wide open and the next day he was talking about it all day long.”

“Paul always had specific ideas about everything. It could make him a pain in the ass, but it also was what made him such a great musician. And, you know, he was a good artist too. A lot of people don’t know that, but if you look at some of his album covers, they are well-designed and very striking. He had a very good eye and a very good ear. So he had this whole idea about what kinds of illustrations he wanted to have in his book. I want to be able to follow that direction.”

Erlanger got his start as a guitarist in a band called the Stingrays. Always looking for new places to play, one day he walked into a new venue called CBGB’s. He managed to get the band hired, performing with other acts like Television and Patti Smith. Disco was in vogue, but CBGB was the rare place where a band could play their own music.

“We were having a lot of trouble keeping bass players because they were all going off to graduate school and stuff like that. It was driving me crazy. With a bass player you have to teach them everything, because they’re the key to the whole sound. It was a lot of work. I was getting a little frustrated with that. Then one day I walked into CBGB, and Mink DeVille had just come in.

“They were okay, playing blues, and rhythm & blues. A little bit ragged, but pretty good. But when Willie DeVille, the lead singer, sang a version of “These Arms Of Mine”, in the Otis Redding style, he had a sound in his voice that I just went, whoa, who is this guy? I went up and talked to him, and the band asked me if I wanted to come down to a rehearsal of theirs and just jam. We got along really well. At the same time, the Stingray’s lost another bass player. So I thought, well, God, I like these guys. I really like the singer, had always liked working with good singers. Two days later they had an outdoor show in Midtown Manhattan. They asked me if I wanted to do that show with them. I did, and that’s when they asked me to join the band.

“We started playing at CBGB’s, and this whole circle circuit around New York, but nobody ever thought that this would become something known throughout the world. The scene started to get bigger and bigger. We were still playing for peanuts, but it became a real music scene with a lot of bands playing their own material. That brought down all of these people from record companies, seeing that something was happening, thinking they should get involved. So bands started getting signed. We got signed to Capitol Records by Ben Edmonds, an A&R guy. We cut Cabretta, our first album, in like two weeks It was mostly live.

“Right away, we go from playing all these dives in New York to suddenly playing theaters in Europe. We did a tour of the UK, on the bill with this group Dr. Feelgood. They were great. I think we did like 32 cities in 34 days. We had a great time, then when we got back to the States, we played this show, I can’t remember where. We get on stage, looking at the audience, and there’s Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, and Stephen Stills. Jagger and Stills are singing along with “Mixed Up Shook Up Girl”. And that’s how we knew like something was happening. I talked with Mick later. He really liked Willie’s singing a lot. He even said to me, “I’m an interpreter, but Willie’s a real singer”. Willie could sing anything. That was pretty heady stuff.

“We did a tour with Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe, and we played Chicago. I went out to Chicago and spent the week going around seeing Louis Myers, Eddie Taylor, and all these great people, getting inspired. I was asked to do a get-together with a bunch of Chicago rock Djs, so I took them all out to dinner on the record company’s tab, which eventually was probably charged out royalties. I thought afterwards we can go see Louis Myers, because I loved his playing. So we went to a club, and the DJs were bored, they were just bored to shit. I guess I was a failure as a promotion guy for rock people because I was too into the blues.

“Soon after came the drugs and the chaos that often happen. Willie was not always an easy guy to be around. Playing music with him was very easy because I could just sit and listen to his voice, be inspired. Eventually it led to me thinking, you know, how much longer can I do this? Do I want some kind of sanity in my life?

After leaving Mink Deville, the guitarist played with several groups including Bobby Radcliff for a while, and then a group out in Seattle called the Slamhound Hunters. He also found time to work with blues greats like Hubert Sumlin, Otis Rush, and R.L. Burnside. Then love came rolling around.

“ I met this woman, and we decided to get married, and I decided If we were going to have kids, I didn’t want to be on the road. So I got involved with music publishing. and I worked for this company. First I taught myself computer programming because I got really into computer graphics. Then I got a job working for EMI Music Publishing, which was the world’s largest music publisher, doing technology. When music started to go online, I went over to Bell Labs and saw one of the first portable things that was sort of the model for the I-Pod. So I was right in the thick of all of that, and learned early on a lot about the effect that online music was going to have on music publishing and songwriter income.”

In 2014, Erlanger released the first album by his alter ego, Sunny Lowdown, entitled The Blues Volume Low. Comprised of mostly covers, he handles the vocal and guitar with help from a rhythm section. His 2017 release, Down Loaded, received a 2018 Blues Blast Music Award nomination in the Acoustic Blues Album category. Right before the pandemic hit in 2020, his third album, Shady Deal, came out to good reviews, featuring a mix of covers and originals.

“Sunny Lowdown is still working, and I’m coming out with another recording called Down a Lonely Road. The idea is that, at my age, I’m heading down a lonely road because all my friends are starting to die. So it’s going to be heavy blues. And a lot of it is solo. I’d always been into it, but I decided to do it as sort of an experiment, and that’s why I didn’t do it under my own name. I didn’t know if it was going to work or not, but people obviously seemed to like it, so I’ve been happy about that.

“I stopped performing for a while because of COVID. My wife has some problems and I didn’t want her to catch the virus. But now I’ll be starting to play a lot, trying to push that record. I think it’s a really good record. There’s going to be a little bit of band stuff on it, but mostly it’s going to be solo. People can check it out at my website: www.sunnylowdown.com”

“One last thing I want to mention is that Paul wanted to get some younger blues players onto his label. Once I get settled, I want to look at that, because there are all these great people out there. I’m sure you know about Jontavious Willis, how good he is. There’s this guy I’ve been in touch with, Harrell Davenport, a young guy who’s totally into the blues. I’m always looking around for potential people that once we are ready, we might be able to put on the label and record. You’ve got to realize for me, it’s a labor of love. I’m not doing it for money, right? That’s number one. That’s the way I’ve done my whole life.”

“I think the music is going to give Paul’s legacy some notoriety. This generation has never seen a lot of the older blues artists live. And because of that, there’s something missing. When I was young, I played with John Lee Hooker when I was 16, so I was right up next to that music, and heard these subtleties that the original people had in terms of the way they told the story.

“With John Lee Hooker, you learn very quickly that you have to follow his voice, because he was telling a story, and he wasn’t going by 1-4-5, he was going by what’s going to make this story get across to the people that are listening. So you follow his voice, and you listen to where he accentuates it with his guitar, and that’s where you come in and out. That’s a whole segment of the blues that this generation has never heard, because today people don’t do that. You know, back in those days, the music was the story of black people. Now not only is the story not told, people don’t listen to the blues for the story as much anymore.”

Editors Note: “Heaven Stood Still”, a film about Willy Deville/Mink Deville is currently being shown across the US, Europe and Australia in association with the Doc ‘n’ Roll Films.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer Mark Thompson lives in Florida, where he is enjoying the sun and retirement. He is the past President of the Board of Directors for the Suncoast Blues Society and a former member of the Board of Directors for the Blues Foundation. Music has been a huge part of his life for the past fifty years – just ask his wife!

Michael Van Merwyk – Blues Everywhere I Go

Timezone Records

www.timezone-records.com

9 songs time – 42:44

Just when I thought real heartfelt blues had gone the way of the dinosaur, along comes this blazing mountain of a man from of all places Germany putting out a mostly ferocious and raw brand of blues. Unbeknownst to me Michael Van Merwyk has been at the music game for forty years now. With his booming growly voice and sinuous slide he creates atmospheric magic. He also wrote all but one song and assistance with lyrics on one song. His crew includes another slide guitar guru in Abi Wallenstein along with harmonica wiz Marc Breitfelder. Buckle-up for a taste of blues genius.

The title tune “Blues Everywhere I Go” digs right in with hard charging blues energy bolstered by chugging harmonica and guitar, along with nifty jumping piano. Michael wraps it up with his slithering electric slide guitar. A percussive romp follows with the slide driven “I Never Really Thought About Evil”. A pounding bass drum intro kicks off the slow and menacing “Raise Your Voice”, that speaks to civic courage. His electric slide guitar conjures up a midnight stroll through a graveyard. Accompanied only by his sliding resonator guitar and backing vocals by Jennifer & Andreas Grove, he delivers a short but effective version of Cephas & Wiggins’ “Cool Down”.

Abi Wallenstein slides his way through “Abi’s Boogie”, stuff that would scare the devil out of the devil himself. The ghost of Bo Diddley makes an appearance with thundering drums on “All Because Of You”. Abi slides his way around this one as well. Harmonica clicks in with the insidious beat. Georg Schroeter’s piano boogies its’ way along with harmonica on the spitfire blues of “Bye Bye Blues”.

A mellow vibe is achieved on the upbeat “Feel Like Going On” with its’ lilting slide guitar. The recording is closed out on the opposite slow but menacing vibe of “Liars & Fools”. The meandering electric slide guitar and piano create the perfect mysterious atmospherics.

This is truly an affirmation that creativity and real raw blues can co-exist and deliver a soul-satisfying result. The lyrics are substantial without being cliche. On top of it all Michael Van Merwyk and Abi Wallenstein you get slide guitar from the hands of masters. The supporting musicians are up to the task of elevating this splendid blues recording. Any blues connoisseur needs this in their collection. Music like this deserves wider recognition.

Reviewer Greg “Bluesdog” Szalony hails from the New Jersey Delta.

Rickey D Hayes – Story of the Blues

Self Released

https://hayesproductions.com/story-of-the-blues

11 songs, 44 minutes

Gary Moore was one of the pillars of Blues Rock. The Skid Row and Thin Lizzy guitarist blended British Blues, Stadium Rock, Heavy Metal and a real deal understanding of the Blues into a unique style. Cincinnati based multi-instrumentalist and musical renaissance man, Rickey D. Hayes has created a fitting tribute to Moore in his Story of the Blues. An album originally conceived of as a collaboration with his friend and vocal foil Dennis “Willie D” Williams, Story of the Blues grew into something else after Willie D’s untimely death after recording only one song. What emerged is a set of standard Blues fare given a Stadium Rock sheen that truly embodies Gary Moore’s hard rockin’ aesthetic.

Rickey D. Hayes is truly a musical Swiss army knife. He made his bones playing mandolin in The Gibson Brothers’ Bluegrass band. He has his own recording studio and production company; recording, mixing and mastering this album himself. Hayes makes all his own guitars, including all the ones he played on this record. Rickey played all the drums and bass as well and sings 2 tracks. Bob Kennedy provides the keyboards with Mike Johnson and the Cincinnati Horns punctuating the music with brass and wind. The bulk of the singing is done by Lizzie Swann who has a powerful upfront voice and delivery. Willie D’s posthumous performance is only on the final title track.

The material on Story of the Blues is pretty standard. “I Put a Spell on You” and “Fever” are well worn. “Walkin’ By Myself” gets an interesting interpretation as does “Looking Back.” The three Gary Moore tunes definitely stand out and snap with a different electricity: “Cold Day In Hell,” Cold Black Night,” and the title track.

What makes Story of the Blues unique is the Hair Metal lens that Hayes uses to interpret this music. Dedicating this album to Moore, Willie D and Eddie Van Halen, it’s not surprising that each of Hayes’ lead guitar performances crackle with Van Halen power. This is David Lee Roth Van Halen just to be clear. There is a fiery energy that makes one want to thrash their long hair back and forth, and in fact Hayes is pictured with very long hair that goes well down his back. This album is also mixed and mastered like one of those 80’s records. The sound is compressed and up front, in your face, making the listener “hot for teacher.”

Story of the Blues is not a quiet listen. It’s not a meditative Country Blues or Hill Country hypnotic boogie. It is music for a loud Summer BBQ volleyball tournament. If you like your Blues rocking and with well executed loud crunchy guitar, pummeling straight forward drums and soaring power vocals, this is for you.

Writer Bucky O’Hare is a slide guitarist, songwriter and singer. Based out of South Eastern Massachusetts, Bucky plays Slide Guitar Soul Jazz and Funk Blues inspired by the music of the 60’s and 70’s all around New England.