Bluesman Mike & The Blues Review Band – Blues Is My Business

Self-release

www.reverbnation.com/bluesmanmikethebluesreviewband

15 songs – 68 minutes

Blues Is My Business is Arizona-based singer, songwriter and bassist, Bluesman Mike’s fifth album. Featuring 15 songs with a nice mix of originals and covers, the album kicks off with the jazzy, swinging “Pack Up My Bags” before kicking into the grinding “Nothin’ Like You Used To Do.” It’s immediately apparent that the Blues Review Band is a tight little outfit, producing a jazz-influenced blues style that suits Bluesman Mike’s blues-soul voice perfectly.

The funky “24/7” features a great guitar solo from Chris Sabbarese, while Willie Dixon’s “You Shook Me” opens with some haunting harmonica by John Dubec. Bluesman Mike’s own “Voodoo Man” mines a traditional blues lyrical theme as the protagonist boasts of his control over nature and people.  “I Feel The Blues Comin’ On” features a lovely strummed guitar introduction and some neat piano from Paul Darrow, while Magic Slim’s “Goin’ To Mississippi” sees the band get a little dirtier. “Hot” is an accurate title given Chris Sabbarese’s guitar solos in the tune, which also features some smart arrangements.

Ann Peebles’ classic “I Can’t Stand The Rain” features the stunning voice of Jijjy Von and a glorious, almost gospel, a cappella finish. Johnny Guitar Watson’s “Real Mother For Ya” is given a suitably funky reading. Soloman Burke’s “Cry To Me” (here titled “Don’t You Feel Like Crying”) sees the arrangement stripped back with just TJ Henry on guitar, Kuban on bass and Bluesman Mike on vocals and is one of the highlights of the album for its raw simplicity.  Darrow’s piano lights up “I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water”, although his introduction to Freddie King’s “Going Down”, which closes the album, is a thing of wonder. The irresistible groove of “I’m On Your Side” suggests it’d be monumental in a live setting.

The core band is Bluesman Mike on vocals, Chris Sabbarese on lead guitar, Darrow on keyboards, Tim Robinson on drums, and Bryan Kuban on bass. In addition, Shawn Behanna adds saxophone to two tracks and Henry and Von add guitar and vocals respectively to another two.  Tim Robinson and Brian Pfahey both take the drum stool for two tracks each.

The album was recorded at Bryan Kuban’s studio (Kube Music) and Kuban has captured a series of fine performances.

There is much to enjoy in Blues Is My Business. Warmly recommended.

Reviewer Rhys “Lightnin'” Williams plays guitar in a blues band based in Cambridge, England. He also has a day gig as a lawyer.

Damon Fowler – Barnyard Smile

Landslide Records – 2024

www.damon-fowler.com

10 tracks:  44 minutes

Barnyard Smile is Damon Fowler’s third release for Atlanta-based Landslide Records. Fowler is a veteran bluesman who hails from Brandon, Florida, just outside of Tampa. Landslide’s one sheeter says this of Fowler: He’s a hard driving troubadour (making) music steeped with soul and representative of the many styles that make up the roots of American music. Critics have compared Fowler’s guitar work to Johnny Winter and Jeff Beck, while his slide guitar is reminiscent of the late Duane Allman.

Many blues fans will recognize Damon Fowler as a member of Southern Hospitality, often referred to as a Southern “Supergroup” that includes J.P. Soars and Victor Wainwright. Fowler also performs alongside blues harmonica sensation Jason Ricci in another supergroup called Desoto Tiger. In addition to Ricci, Desoto Tiger includes Boogie Long on guitar, Chuck Riley on bass, and drummer Ray Hangen.

Joining Fowler and bassist Chuck Riley on Barnyard Smile are drummers Justin Headley, Taylor Galbraith, and Aaron Fowler (Damon’s cousin), each featured on separate tracks; Dan Signor and Rob Stoney playing keys, also on separate tracks; and background vocalist RB Stone on track 6 (“Outskirts of Town.”)

The album was produced by Fowler and George Harris, who was also the engineer. Barnyard Smile was recorded at Creative World Recording in Largo, Florida and mastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering. All original songs were written by Damon Fowler, except “Grab My Hand,” which was co-written with Florida-based bluesman Eddie Wright.

Barnyard Smile kicks off with “That Ain’t Love,” a toe-tapping funky number featuring Fowler’s distinctive voice and Signor’s rhythmic keyboard backbeat. “Fast Driving Woman” with its hypnotic driving beat, snappy lyrics, and featuring Fowler’s booming bass guitar is one of the album’s more memorable songs. Fowler’s voice also shines on “Outskirts of Town,” along with his exceptional guitar work. “Outskirts…” is funky and soulful. A song that should get everyone out on the dance floor.

Damon Fowler’s songwriting chops are on display with soulful, bluesy tracks like “My Brother My Friend,” “These Games We Play,” “Catch You Crying,” and the country-infused “Grab My Hand,” another fun toe-tapping tune with ragtime-style keyboards by Dan Signor.

The instrumental “Fruita” highlights Fowler’s music skills with a mesmerizing highway song vibe, which reminds the listener of driving those lonely back roads of Texas. The song’s title may be a reference to Fruita, a scenic town located along Interstate 70 in western Colorado among the foothills of the Colorado National Monument.

Fowler and company infuse their roots-rock and bluesy soul into the album’s two cover tracks: Bo Diddley’s iconic “Roadrunner” and “Misery Loves Company,” written by country music star Jerry Reed and originally recorded and performed by the legendary Porter Waggoner in 1961. Fowler’s “Misery…” is a terrific nod to those country music artists of old and their Southern rock contemporaries.

Damon Fowler’s latest release proves that he is a hard driving troubadour who’s never forgotten his Florida music roots. Each track showcases his musical and songwriting prowess and is sure to please his current followers and draw new listeners and fans to his live performances.

Writer Ken Billett is a freelance writer based in Memphis. He is a Blues Foundation member and former docent/tour guide at the Blues Hall of Fame. Originally from Tampa, Florida, Ken writes about travel, music, and the Mississippi Delta.

Mr. Sipp – Old Time Church

Malaco Music Group

www.mrsipp.net

10 tracks/42 minutes

Castro Coleman, aka Mr. Sipp or The Mississippi Blues Child, began the climb of the ladder to fame by winning the 2014 International Blues Challenge. His star rose rapidly and he continues to produce superb blues, soul and now Gospel albums for all to savor. He returns to his church roots with Old Time Church as he and the cast of musicians who support him let the spirit move them and deliver ten fine performances of great hymns and Gospel tunes.

“When The Saints Go Marching In” opens the album and Mr. Sipp and company nail this great NOLA traditional number. He takes us back to the old church with “Glory Glory” as he kills the guitar lead and sings with true Gospel passion. The old hymn “Amazing Grace” is a spiritually filled rendition by Mr. Sipp. He and performers open slowly and reverently and the song builds in intensity about half way through. As they go home there some more instrumentals added as it concludes with faithful passion. “You’ve Been Good To Me” follows, a great old Gospel tune that Sipp gives his all with as do the rest of the musicians. The song builds up as the Spirit guides them all in this endeavor. “This Old Building” is a jumping spiritual that Coleman sings and plays with spiritually inspired near reckless abandon. Another super cut!

“If It Had Not Been For The Lord On My Side” takes things down in tempo as he and the backing singers take us to church with their souls and the spirit guiding them. The percussion and hand claps get the listener wanting to join in as the song begins. Then it’s “Come By Here,” another great Gospel tune. Mr. Sipp and company give us another outstanding performance. “It’s Alright” is the 1963 Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions cut that Castro takes us to church with. Well done!  Then it’s Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” and we once again get an emotional and powerful performance. If this doesn’t tear at your heart you just might not have one. Concluding the album is the famed 1967 gospel music arrangement of the 1755 hymn by clergyman Philip Doddridge that was done by the Edwin Hawkins Singers and became an international hit two years later. “Oh Happy Day” is a a classic and Castro does a amazing and excellent job with this one, too.

We finally got on the Malaco mailing list and are happy to review their albums. I truly enjoy all their releases and Mr. Sipp has done a spectacular job on this album of old time church songs!

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer Steve Jones is president of the Crossroads Blues Society and is a long standing blues lover. He is a retired Navy commander who served his entire career in nuclear submarines. In addition to working in his civilian career since 1996, he writes for and publishes the bi-monthly newsletter for Crossroads, chairs their music festival and works with their Blues In The Schools program. He resides in Byron, IL.

Lightnin’ Hopkins – Live from the Ash Grove…Plus!

Liberation Hall LIB-5140

www.liberationhall.com

20 songs – 41 minutes

The most heavily recorded of all post-War bluesmen, Lightnin’ Hopkins was one of the most talented pickers of his generation with a unique style that enabled him to play lead, bass, rhythm and percussion at the same time. It’s technique that made Rolling Stone magazine recognize him as one of the top 100 guitarists of all time.

Primarily delivering what’s known as talking blues, he performed in a relaxed, down-to-earth style that wowed audiences for decades, captivating them with his distinctive play and loose and free 12-bar style. After several attempts to make a name for himself, the Texas native finally hit the big time at age 34 in 1946 when he was signed to Aladdin Records, launching a career that influenced Hank Williams Jr., Townes Van Zant, Stevie Ray Vaughan and scores of others.

A welcome addition to his extensive catalog, 14 of the tracks here were captured in 1972 when Lightnin’ was at the top of his game in front of an enthusiastic audience at the Ash Grove, the revered club that was the epicenter of blues and folk music in Los Angeles from the beatnik era almost to the end of the war in Vietnam. Six bonus cuts come from sessions he played at In Your Ear, in Palo Alto in 1965 and 1972. And Hopkins’ comments between the tunes – which comprise six of the cuts — are just as precious as the songs themselves.

“Couldn’t Be Satisfied” opens the action with a memory of going to bed and crying because the singer couldn’t be satisfied…because his woman was in love with another man. The rich tones emitting from Hopkins’ ax mirror his torment. It’s an event that occurred so often in his life, he says in the introduction to the next song, that they don’t bother him anymore – and the reason why will make you chuckle.

The war comes to the fore in the languorous “Questionnaire Blues.” The queries come from the draft board, which wants to tear the singer away from his wife and child. The tempo picks up after a brief intro when Lightnin’ breaks into “Ain’t It Crazy,” a song full of sexual innuendo and lyrics that are now part of the American lexicon.

A two-minute interlude in which Hopkins speaks lovingly about life in the country and a childhood romance before describing an unfortune encounter with the girl’s father sets up “Don’t the Moon Look Pretty,” a tune he penned to honor the love affair and the lady’s memory. The son of a preacher and mother who was sanctified, he describes himself as “Black and Evil” in the song that follows because he doesn’t go to church and doesn’t want to be baptized.

The instrumental “Lightnin’s Boogie,” a picker’s delight with spoken accompaniment, changes the mood from the opening notes before Hopkins pays tribute to Ray Charles with his own take on the ’50s hit, “What’d I Say,” and concludes the set with the recommendation that folks visit their kin regularly before delivering his standard closer at the time, “How Long Have It Been Since You Been Home?”

Despite being captured in other settings, the six bonus cuts that follow — “Black Cadillac,” “Coffee House Blues,” a version of Tommy Tucker’s “Hi-Heel Sneakers,” “Lightnin’ Can Do It,” “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone” and “Hardly Trying” – follow suit.

As someone who saw Lightnin’ Hopkins in person on multiple occasions in my youth, he sounded exactly like this set, which is as crisp as the days of the recordings. Strongly recommended. Despite its age, this music will never grow old.

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.

Relationship experts state that “power couples” are confident and driven in their mission and are also encouraging and supportive of each other.  And while most people assume it would be extremely difficult to work side-by-side with one’s spouse, (especially in the music industry), couples such as Annika Chambers & Paul DesLaurier, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi, Tommy Castro & Deanna Bogart, The War and Treaty, Jason Ricci & Kaitlin Dibble, and Eric & LaDonna Gales show that it can be done successfully and with style.  Joining that short list of blues “power couples,” and displaying a wonderful synergistic blending of their talents, is Christoffer “Kid” Andersen and his wife, Lisa (Leuschner) Andersen.

“Kid” is a guitarist, singer, composer, arranger, and record producer/engineer who is perhaps best known as the guitarist for Rick Estrin and the Nightcats.  Originally from Norway, he began playing in bands at the age of twelve and became fascinated with the blues after seeing a clip of Robert Cray and receiving a cassette tape of Stevie Ray Vaughan.  From there he learned about the three “Kings”, T-Bone Walker and Howlin’ Wolf.  He also started to learn about playing behind a harmonica player by listening to a Little Walter album.  Kid has been living in the United States since the age of 21, loves America (even with recent political events), and has indicated that he feels “as much American as I do anything else”.  He first played with Terry Hanck’s band, later joined Charlie Musselwhite’s band, then toured with Elvin Bishop before joining the Nightcats after Little Charlie Baty retired.  He has been nominated numerous times for a Blues Music Award in the Best Instrumentalist-Guitar category.

Lisa became known to many when she made it to the final rounds of the show American Idol.  Her performances were sensational, and she was generally viewed as being “robbed” when she did not make it to the Top 12, and then was picked for a wild card slot but, explanation, was never given the chance to sing.  She is also a vocal instructor and singer with Foreverland (a tribute to the music of Michael Jackson).

Together this power duo has performed together as “Kid and Lisa”, recorded together, and jointly own Greaseland Studios (like “Graceland” but nowhere as fancy) where Kid is the CEO.  Greaseland Studios has produced well over 200 albums, including critically acclaimed releases such as the Blues Music Award-winning albums by Rick Estrin & the Nightcats, Jason Ricci & the Bad Kind, John Nemeth, DK Harrell, The Nick Moss Band, Terry Hanck and Curtis Salgado.  (And many others which were nominated for Blues Music Awards, such as the albums by Terrie Odabi, Wee Willie Walker, Chris Cain, Frank Bey, Mark Hummel, Billy Price, and Kevin Burt, just to name a few).  Blues Blast Magazine had the opportunity to catch up with this couple recently and Kid explained why it was important for him to start his own studio.

“When I was making records in other people’s studios, it was a big hurdle.  You have to communicate your vision to another guy who has no reference for it, and you might be uncomfortable in another person’s space. Or you tell the technical engineer what you want, and they get defensive and start talking over your head.  I just wanted to cut out that part. If I do everything, I don’t need someone to stand in-between me and my vision.  I learned everything I have to know so there didn’t have to be that in-between person.   I started Greaseland with the intention originally of making my own music whenever I wanted to, without depending on anyone else.  But with getting good at it, people found out and then I started helping other people.   I know a lot of like-minded people who have had the same frustrations, so with me being a musician, I can make that vision happen for other people.”

“My only interest is making music and making it as fun as possible for the artist.  People feel comfortable working with people they know will identify with their vision.  The fact that it is in our house keeps the cost down and takes some of the pressure away.  With the low-pressure situation, you have a more creative environment.  I want everyone in the same room, not having one person come in and do their track, and then another.  My role as a producer is to facilitate the proper understanding of communication between the front man and the guys in the band so they don’t have to get mad at each other.  Plus, people feel comfortable here and they are not afraid to touch stuff.  I’ve got cool stuff—a bunch of different instruments lying around.”

Greaseland Studio is well-known for the impressive number of instruments available, including about fifty guitars, many different types of bass guitars, a tambura, a sitar, a Hammond B3 organ, several Fender Rhodes keyboards, a Hohner clavinet, old synthesizers and a grand piano that is in their kitchen.  But it is Kid’s talent as a mixer and producer that makes the studio truly special. Jason Ricci noted that he was initially hesitant to use anybody other than Tony Daigle for his Behind the Veil release because he had been so happy with Daigle’s prior work; however, Mike Zito strongly encouraged him to consider Kid.  Ricci explained, ” I was definitely not interested even though I knew Kid was doing some ridiculously brilliant work. Having heard what he did for Aki Kumar way back on the “Aki Goes to Bollywood” record, I knew he was brilliant, but I was just protective and also worried that Kid was getting too busy, popular and trendy… BUT Mike insisted. Anyway, the result was crazy. There are so many things in the mixing of the record that I would have to explain now to another person in order for them to do what Kid did. Stuff I never thought I would have the privilege of having someone want to do to our music. It’s not just different levels and mixes, but old Chess-influenced tricks like adding Reverb on certain parts of solos, and keeping it bone dry on other sections. Every song was treated like it was its own album.  Everything was cared for and watered and loved. He’s simply incredible. It would be tough for me to go anywhere else after this, and I hope we both stay healthy enough to do it again and again.”  John Nemeth, who has been making records at Greaseland since 2008, summed up the experience by simply noting, “You won’t find two more talented and kind individuals than Kid and Lisa Andersen.”

Kid had the opportunity to learn everything he needed to become a master at record producing when he had time off from touring during the pandemic.  In fact, while many musicians were doing well just to survive that period, Kid and Lisa seemed to truly thrive, with many loving not only their polished “Greaseland Live” videos, but also the informal, low-tech “Bedtime Jamz” (which started as them just goofing around, but viewers wanted more).  Kid discussed this normally stressful time:

“If there is anything I can brag about related to myself, it would be that where other people see problems, I can see opportunities for new solutions and create growth.  Challenges are not bad—they force you to do something, and I welcome that.  To be honest, for as awful and tragic as everything was at that time, it was my heyday.  Somehow everything came together.  Everybody was streaming live, but we didn’t want to do what everyone else was doing.  Some people were going live with an acoustic guitar in the toilet.  We wanted to do a real production.  So, the first thing I figured out was, how was I going to get good sound to my streams?  Then I had to figure out how to use more than one camera, and then I was just off to the races.  I really loved it.  Every musician we knew was just sitting at home with nothing to do, so we could get the best people we knew in the state to come here and play for tips.  It worked great.  We had some success from playing on the ‘Can’t Stop the Blues’ shows, which was a REALLY great vehicle for us during COVID.  All of that eventually evolved into the ‘Greaseland Live’ shows.  And what was the most incredible and spiritually uplifting for me is that we made it.  People supported it and we never went on unemployment.  The kindness of strangers and the support of community people who cared about what we were doing—that’s how we pulled through.”

Kid and Lisa got together despite both being biased against the idea of dating someone in the business.  Lisa stated, “I didn’t want to be involved with a musician,” and Kid joked, “the last thing I wanted was to be with a ‘chick’ singer.”  In fact, when they first met, Lisa noted, “he kept staring at me, and I thought he was weird.” However, fate pulled them together, and Kid didn’t even know Lisa sang when he first became interested in her.  He explained:

“I had known her for a few years at that point, and her friend told me that she’s a singer, and I thought, ‘yeah, great’, but then her friend said that she was going to be on American Idol. Now, my twisted brain is actually greatly amused by that show, because it seems their main agenda is to ridicule and shatter the dreams of highly delusional people who are terrible singers.  So, hearing that she was going to be on the show, while it was a big deal, was by no means a stamp of quality in my head.  However, I watched it, and she sang “Sweet Thing” by Chaka Khan and she actually WAS good. No—she was unbelievably great!.”

They recently recorded their first album together, which is to be released in August.  This album is on Jim Pugh’s Little Village label, a non-profit record company with a goal to record artists who might not otherwise get heard.  Kid explained his relationship with that company.

“Little Village has been closely intertwined with Greaseland since the very start, with Willie Walker as our first artist.  What LVF does is such a worthy cause with an honorable mission.  I never wanted to push to release OUR music on LVF.  I felt like I would be using this great and noble platform for personal gain, to advance MY music career, and it would taint the spirit of what LVF stands for which is helping other artists.  At one point we were going to be on Gulf Coast Records, and it was with the help and encouragement from Guy Hale and Mike Zito that we started what became ‘Spirits and Soul’”. 

“But the thing was, Lisa and I are so happy doing our Greaseland thing, and we love the bands we are in. So, even though we had these two albums in us, we never really wanted to make the full leap into pursuing solo stardom.  We started to see that we wouldn’t really be right for a ‘normal’ record label that needs to make money from their releases.  We still work with Gulf Coast all the time, producing albums for their artists like Monster Mike Welch, Albert Castiglia and Jimmy Carpenter.  And we love Mike and Guy to pieces—nothing but love and gratitude there.  As for our albums now being released as part of the Little Village roster.  It was Jim (Pugh) who brought it up, and I’m glad he did.  With everything that Little Village and the Greaseland family have done and accomplished together, it just doesn’t make any sense for us to be anywhere else.  It’s our perfect home.  We sure are lucky to know some really great people and to play a part in great things being done.”

Kid described the unique appearance of the album.

“It’s a double CD with two front covers, and the credits are sideways.  It’s an unusual release and it made sense for us to do it like that.  It’s not what we would define as a blues CD.  I don’t want to be one of the many who records something that is not really a blues CD and tries to make a case for calling it the blues.  I think of it as unencumbered by genre labels.  I know a lot of artists would be afraid to take the risk.  It would be easier if we were to fit into a special little box, but we can’t.  It would be denying our goals if we made musical choices based on commercial or career considerations.”

Lisa added,

“My CD is called ‘Soul’ and his CD is called ‘Spirits’.  We’re on each other’s CD, but he sings lead on his and I sing lead on mine.  We’ve been working on these for a long time—since before the pandemic, and we wrote most of the songs.”

Kid revealed that the most emotional song on the double album is one Lisa wrote, called “Family” and the most interesting song on his disk is one about death.

“She wrote ‘Family’ all by herself.  It’s about her dad and brother.  They both have what used to be called Asperger’s Syndrome, so they’re quirkier than most.  Her Dad comes in on the third verse and sings, and it’s a very moving song.  I still have a hard time listening to it without tearing up.  I wrote one that made Risk Estrin say, ‘you are kind of a morbid MF!’  It’s called ‘Hey Mr. Reaper’ and it’s from the perspective of a person who is dying, and who has accepted that the only problem is it is taking too long.  I watched my mom go through that.  She died from cancer a couple of years ago.  I was in San Jose and got a call from my family in Norway that my mom was dying and she might not make it through the night even.  I caught the first plane I could, but this was during COVID.  The journey there took four or five whole days, and then I had to quarantine for a week before I was allowed to see her.  She miraculously stayed alive until I was allowed to see her.  We had one beautiful day together—the perfect ‘goodbye’, and then she was ready to go, but it wasn’t happening for some reason.  Watching her suffer, I started thinking of ‘Hey Mr. Reaper, don’t make your rounds so slow’ and I wrote the song for her, and for everyone who has been stuck pining for death like that.  Hey—every shitty situation deserves a blues song!  And the folks I wrote it for aren’t around to sing it, so I did it for them.”

“Spirits & Soul” (or “Soul & Spirits”, depending on which side you pick up first), is an intriguing album with very diverse song choices.  In addition to numerous originals (including a wonderful original by Lisa and her father called “I Miss You”), it contains the Jo Baker/Elvin Bishop song “Rock Bottom,” and Stevie Wonder’s “Free” on Lisa’s disk and Blind Willie Johnson’s “Nobody’s Fault but Mine,” and a unique version of Lennon & McCartney’s “Day Tripper” on Chris’ disk.  There are contributions from numerous high-profile guest artists, including Charlie Musselwhite, Latimore, Jim Pugh, Rusty Zinn and Sax Gordon Beadle, just to name a few.  One song about feeling the presence of those who have died contains an interesting collection of voice samples in the background, including Little Charlie Baty, James Harman and Michael Ledbetter.  And Chris’ disk ends with a powerfully written song that he co-wrote with Guy Hale which warns, “How can you get to dry land on a ship steered by fools?  We’re sinking deeper every day…we’re all gonna pay the price…we’re lost at sea for life on a ship of fools.”  While difficult to classify, this double album does contain enough bluesy numbers that blues fans will be likely to want to add it to their collection.

When asked if there were any rising young stars that they found particularly promising, Kid and Lisa were quick to agree on who should be named.

“Sean ‘Mack’ McDonald, DK Harrell, and Harrell ‘Young Rell’ Davenport!  Davenport is just seventeen or eighteen years old, and he plays harmonica and guitar and he’s awesome.  And he’s like a sponge.  I first saw him when he wasn’t even good yet, but I knew he had it.  Six months later he was incredible.  And DK—we think of him as our son.  He’s just fantastic!  Usually, if I think someone is great, that is the kiss of death, but he appears to be skyrocketing to the top.  Just before we made his record, he had such modest goals.  He said he just wanted to put a band together and play some festival gigs.  He didn’t have crazy expectations.  When I think about what he told me his goals were before we made the record compared to where he is now, it is insane.  He’s playing every festival on the globe, and he’s loveable as hell.  He’s so charming and sweet and genuine and talented.  It’s fun to see this whole wave of young, Black blues artists.  People used to say that young Black musicians weren’t interested in the blues anymore, but that seems to be changing.  It’s the most exciting thing I’ve seen as a blues fan—there’s a whole turning of the tides.”

We can be sure that Greaseland Studios will be around for a long time, and that the “power couple” of Kid and Lisa will continue to support young artists and help musicians accomplish their vision.  As Kid indicated, “When you are helping other artists fulfill their musical vision, you know you are contributing something to society.”  You can find out more about Kid and Lisa’s latest release at https://www.blues21.com/kid-andersen-lisa-andersen, learn where Kid is playing with the Nightcats at www.rickestrin.com, and follow Lisa’s activities at https://www.facebook.com/lisa-leu-andersen/.

Writer Anita Schlank lives in Virginia, and is on the Board of Directors for the River City Blues Society. She has been a fan of the blues since the 1980s. She and Tab Benoit co-authored the book “Blues Therapy,” with all proceeds from sales going to the HART Fund.

Rory Block – Positively 4th Street: A Tribute to Bob Dylan

Stony Plain Records

http://www.roryblock.com

9 Tracks – 62 minutes

Rory Block grew up in Greenwich Village in the era when that was a booming hot spot for many famous musicians. Her father was a country fiddle player, and her mother was a folk singer. Therefore, she was constantly surrounded by music from the day she was born. As a teenager, she regularly saw and heard many of the upcoming musicians of the day including folk legends like Joan Baez, Maria Muldaur, David Bromberg, and Phil Ochs. She started playing guitar at age ten and studied classical guitar at the suggestion of John Sebastian. Stefan Grossman introduced her to the music of the Delta blues guitarists.

Her father owned the Alan Block Sandal Shop located on 4th Street, which was a short trip away from the Village on the subway. The shop was a hot bed for the local performers to have jam sessions. Bob Dylan lived only two doors down from the shop and so she saw him regularly on the streets and sometimes in the Village.

At age fifteen, she left home to travel to the south to explore the Delta music sound. She learned her blues licks at the feet of Reverend Gary Davis and hung out with Son House, Bukka White, Mississippi John Hurt, and Skip James. She then moved to Berkeley, California where she started her career playing in the clubs and coffeehouses. She released her self-titled first album in 1975 and in 1981, a contract with Rounder Records catapulted her into many releases continuing into the 2000’s. She is a seven- time Blues Music Award winner, won Acoustic Guitar Player of the Year at the 2023 Blues Blast Music Awards, has been inducted into two Hall of Fames, all amid a host of other nominations.

Her recent albums have focused on looking back to her early exposures. Those releases were kicked off by her 2006 album, The Lady and Mr. Johnson, a tribute to Robert Johnson. Since then, she has recorded tributes to Son House, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Reverend Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, and Bessie Smith. The latter recording was her first in volumes of what she called “The Power Women in Blues”. The second issue in that series released in 2020 featured songs from Ma Rainey, Memphis Minnie and Sister Rosetta among others. 2022 found her doing acoustic versions from more recent female artists like Gladys Knight, Carole King, Etta James, and Bonnie Raitt.

Now she returns to her early days in Greenwich Village and provides her renditions of nine songs composed by Bob Dylan. Her song choices were based on songs “that leap up and cry out to me”. She opens the album with a straight-out blues song, “Everything is Broken” from Dylan’s 1989 album, No Mercy. “Ring Them Bells” also from the same album, is given an anthemic gospel approach with Rory filtering in her slide guitar to drive the song. The very well known “Like A Rolling Stone” again features her slide guitar and she layered in drums that she also played and while she follows the song in a very traditional manner, she manages to make it her own rendition.

“Not Dark Yet” comes from Dylan’s 1997 album, Time Out of Mind. Cindy Cashdollar played a baritone guitar with Rory on this song and is the only instrument on the album played by anyone other than Rory. The song is presented as a solemn ballad. Rory obviously feels the depths of the meaning of the song as she sings with noted emotions that “my sense of humanity has gone down the drain” and the base fear “that it is not dark yet, but it is getting there”. Certainly, a song chosen for the issues facing the world today. “Mr. Tambourine Man” is again one that is well known and certainly quickly brings up images of The Byrds. She plays this in a very straight forward fashion. “Positively Fourth Street” was recorded as a single in 1965 and never released on an album until it was included on a Greatest Hits album years later. The title is obviously a reference to Dylan’s early days in New York, but the song’s rebuke of someone whom he challenged with “You gotta lotta nerve to say you are my friend…” has long been questioned of who was at the basis of his wrath.

“Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” is another one of the much-played songs which deliver a strong message challenging government running amok, which again rings with as much truth today as when Dylan recorded it in the 1960’s. The lesser known “Mother of Muses” comes from Dylan’s 2020 album, Rough and Rowdy Ways. She sings this in a higher, somewhat warbly higher range and expresses a cry for those who gave their lives in attempts for the betterment of our lives.  The album concludes with an almost 21-minute version of “Murder Most Foul” which is also from the 2020 album. The album is a recital of the death of President John F. Kennedy and looks at other events that occurred in the era including the coming of The Beatles and Woodstock.

Many musicians have tackled the library of Bob Dylan over the years dating back to fellow folk singer Joan Baez, early proponents such as The Byrds, The Turtles, and Manfred Mann, and more recently Bettye Lavette released an album of all Dylan songs that she certainly made her own. Rory is the latest to tackle the complex songs of Dylan and certainly delivers excellent versions of every song shifting them into their acoustic roots. While there are certainly touches of blues in some songs, for the most part they are the folk songs that one most associate with Dylan. Rory’s slide and acoustic guitars shifts the songs from their more instrumented originals.

Reviewer 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.

Lara Price – Half & Half

Gulf Coast Records

http://www.laraprice.com

10 Tracks – 38 Minutes

Lara Price was abandoned at birth and became part of the Operation Baby Lift program that evacuated orphans from South Vietnam to the United States. She arrived in San Francisco in 1997 and immediately pursued her dream to become a singer. Her ambition carried her to tours across America and also to China and has resulted in this current album being her eighth release and her first on Mike Zito’s Gulf Coast Record label. Her 6th album, I Mean Business, garnered her a Best Soul Female Artist nomination at the 2017 Blues Music Awards.

The ever-prolific Kid Andersen produced, and as he routinely does, plays multiple instruments throughout the album including drums, guitar, bass and keyboards. The opening track on the album penned by Mighty Mike Schermer features Mike on guitar, alongside of Kid and Mike Zito also taking turns on guitar. The deep, sultry voice of Lara confirms that “We’re Still Friends” and asks that “we agree to disagree”. She follows that with a cover of George Jackson’s R&B song “Evidence” noting that “lipstick on your collar…is enough to put you away”. David Jiminez delivers some blazing guitar work followed by the sax of Dr. Matthew Maldonado.  She gets the place jumping with some blistering rock ‘n’ roll with Baxter Robinson’s driving piano work on a cover of Jack Clement’s “Fools Like Me”.

“Things Ain’t Everything”, which was co-written by Mighty Mike and Marcia Ball appeared on Mike’s 2013 album. Lara offers a dynamic cover of the song again with Maldonado’s sax powering the music. She slows things down on the original ballad, “Rain” co-written by Lara and David Jiminez, who provides the guitar and Lara softens her vocals for a deeply emotional song. David and Lara also co-wrote the next song and provides an excellent duet on “Days Ago”, as two former lovers split up.

Lara takes a turn on a jazzy version of Duke Ellington’s “Solitude”, with Matt Burger offering an acoustic guitar. Lara demonstrates her capability as an old-school torch singer in the vein of Ella Fitgerald or Etta James. “The Way Love Goes”, another tune co-written by Lara, is a winning R&B number with her establishing that love “sometimes just requires time”.  A cover of Ann Peebles’ “Trouble, Heartache & Sadness” is another old school soul number with backing vocals from Lisa Leuschner, Sue McCracklin, and Maureen Smith providing a Supreme’s-like group sound and with Baxter Robinson adding soulful keyboards. She ends the album with another George Jackson song, “Heart on a String”, which brings the album to a full circle with a high energy conclusion.

As noted, Lara demonstrates a wide range of vocal expertise ranging from jazz, blues, soul & R&B. Her voice bends to the styles demanded from each genre. She offers a definitive style that is worthy of every song on the album.

Reviewer 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.

Mean Old Fireman – Rescue 3

First Due Music Company

https://meanoldfireman.com

9 tracks/44 minutes

Ned Bollé is Mean Old Fireman; he’s a Massachusetts based singer/songwriter, slide guitar player who mixes up southern rock, NOLA styled music, and some blues into a production with mixed genres. This is his third release.

Ned handles vocals and guitar, plays some bass, and adds bass ukelele and banjo. Peter Chase adds his harp to a cut. Christina Lacoste is the backing vocalist and adds accordion to a track. Tom Martin plays bass on a couple of cuts. Shockwell Morency handles percussion and does vocals on “Lynn, Lynn.” Joey Pafumi and Rory Walsh share drum duties. Marty Phillips is on sax for three tracks. John Wadkins does all things keyboards throughout.

“I’m Not Crying” opens the album. It’s a rocking piece with a jumping sound. Lots of great sax, guitar, slide and a vibrant sound that grabs the listener. “12 Bars” follows, a blues cut with some funky keyboard, more good saxophone and nice done guitar. Bollé sings with a breathy pacing.  The banjo and uke come out for an acoustic version of “Werewolves of London.” It’s different but it works. The percussion sets the groove and some keys and slide round out the sound.

“Highland Blues” follows where Bollé takes bagpipe music and turns it into slide guitar driven stuff. It also works in this short but interesting instrumental. “Lynn, Lynn” is a heavy Gaelic and country sounding rocker with banjo, slide and electric guitar. Chanted vocals  abound. This is an old poem about the city of Lynn, Massachusetts. Lynn dates back to 1629 and was and is an industrial city and was known for violence and problems. Bollé and company give the poem an interesting musical cover. Next is “Dirty Water” which features some pretty harp, nice slide, and commentary on the waters and environs of the Charles River. Bollé howls out the vocals and the sax makes its’ final appearance.

“The Emptiest Drum” follows; this one is a dark tale with more slick guitar to savor. Things lighten up with “Romp,” a pleasant little instrumental piece with guitar, banjo and piano and it is a fun musical romp. The last track is labelled a bonus track and it reprises the Warren Zevon cut. This time it’s got slide acoustic and electric guitar and an island organ groove driving the tune. Another interesting take.

I must say this is not a traditional blues album and it was not intended as such. I don’t see the NOLA influences as much as claimed, but there is a variety of styles and influences here. Bollé delivers his vocals in a breathy and somewhat rough style. It’s not my cup of tea but it’s got charm. The songs are all quite novel and the approach is in your face and eclectic. The guitar, sax, keyboards and other instrumental work is really quite good. If you are looking for something a little off the beaten path, then perhaps this one is for you.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer Steve Jones is president of the Crossroads Blues Society and is a long standing blues lover. He is a retired Navy commander who served his entire career in nuclear submarines. In addition to working in his civilian career since 1996, he writes for and publishes the bi-monthly newsletter for Crossroads, chairs their music festival and works with their Blues In The Schools program. He resides in Byron, IL.