Bob Corritore & Friends – Early Blues Sessions

VizzTone Label Group

www.bobcorritore.com

16 songs time – 50:33

Blues harmonica ace Bob Corritore delves into his recorded archives for blues collaborations from 1984 to 2007. This is real deal blues with Bob supplying harmonica to every track. Although most of these artists have passed on to blues heaven, they left behind memorable blues moments. The first thing that caught my attention was the pristine sound quality and the separation of the instruments. Other than the featured artists, the backing musicians vary from track to track. Bob’s harmonica playing enhances every song.

One of my favorites is “Cool Calm Collected” by King Karl, who I’ve never heard of. It is cool and smooth and has Rusty Zinn and Johnny Rapp on guitars. Another is the unexpected jazz side of Robert Lockwood Jr. on Wes Montgomery’s “Naptown Blues”. He also does a good version of Robert Johnson’s “Ramblin’ On My Mind”. Robert lays down some jazzy guitar alongside of Eddie Hollis’s tasty organ. Lil’ Ed does a good representation of his uncle JB Hutto’s “Hip Shakin'”, with help from Johnny Rapp on second guitar. Chico Chism plays drums and contributes his gravelly pipes to Eddie Boyd’s classic “Five Long Years”, with Johnny Rapp on guitar and the iconic Pinetop Perkins on piano. Jimmy Rogers’ smooth voice and delivery graces “She Loves Another Man” with Buddy Reed on second guitar.

Bob Corritore delivers one of his more forceful harp turns on Tomcat Courtney’s original tune “I Wonder”. Chris James adds guitar and Tomcat shouts out the words with conviction. Henry Gray plays piano on Little Milton’s “I Want To Be The One”. This finds Milton in good form. Henry Gray sings and plays piano on his original “Showers Of Rain”, with Bob Margolin and Johnny Rapp on guitars. Lowell Fulson’ “West Texas Blues” begins life as Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “Matchbox Blues”. He is accompanied solely by his guitar and Bob on harp.

Bob Corritore and his blues cohorts dish out a heaping helping of old school style blues. It is also a showcase for Bob’s knack for complimenting the songs. He is truly a harmonica master. It is all winners here, simple and straight forward and honest blues.

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

Robbin Kapsalis – The Blues Is In The House

Blues House -2025

www.robbinkapsalis.net

10 tracks; 32 minutes

Robbin Kapsalis was born in Chicago and raised in Atlanta, but first came to prominence fronting Vintage #18, a Washington, DC band that released two well received albums. Now going out under her own name she is based in Europe, having recently married UK harmonica ace Giles Robson. This set was recorded in Nantes, France, with Robbin on vocals, Giles producing and playing harp and an all-French band: François Nicolleau and Nicolas Deshayes on guitar, studio owner Arnaud Gobin on bass and Cyril Durand on drums; Malted Milk founder Arnaud Fradin recorded, mixed and mastered the disc and adds dobro to one track and the late Joe Louis Walker guests on guitar on one track. The material is mainly drawn from the greats of the blues, one song reprised from Vintage #18’s repertoire and two songs come from Terry Abrahamson and Derrick Procell. The album is released on the label of John and Lisa Primer, John being a frequent collaborator with Giles when he tours in Europe.

The album is bookended by the two Abrahamson/Procell songs, both clearly about the music we all love. The title track opens proceedings and it’s a good one to show off Robbin’s deep alto voice, the two guitars playing off each other and Giles adding harp accents, one of those classic Chicago blues that makes it hard to stay still; Joe Louis Walker’s plucked solo may be one of the last things he recorded before his untimely passing. In contrast “Gotta Hear The Blues” closes the album in gentle style with the dobro and Giles’ buzzing harp. “Love Hangover” is the tune reprized from Vintage #18 and features Giles’ high register harp work over a chugging rhythm, another good one for the dancers.

Elsewhere Robbin and band pay tribute to some of the greats of the blues. Little Walter’s “Up The Line” rattles along and finds Giles channeling the great harp player while the pace drops for a lovely version of “Lead Me On”, best known from Bobby Bland’s 1960 original; this version has some excellent, subtle guitar work. The stop-start rhythms and accompanying harp support a relaxed vocal on Memphis Slim’s “The Comeback” and Robbin takes us all the way back to the 1930’s for The Memphis Sheiks’ “Sittin’ On Top Of The World”, a perfect vehicle for Giles to excel on the harp. “I Wanna Know” is a less well known number by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins but two absolute classics round out the selection: “Rollin’ And Tumblin’” is given a pacy treatment by the band; Slim Harpo’s “Shake Your Hips” is delivered in a really bright, driving performance by everyone.

Robbin’s vocals deliver these songs with conviction and the band offers excellent support. At just over half an hour this is a rather short CD but there are no weak tracks at all, making this a good disc of classic blues.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK who enjoys a wide variety of blues and roots music, especially anything in the ‘soul/blues’ category. Favorites include contemporary artists such as Curtis Salgado, Tad Robinson, Albert Castiglia and Doug Deming and classic artists including Bobby Bland, Howling Wolf and the three ‘Kings’.

Al Basile – Blues In hand

Sweetspot Records

www.albasile.com

13 Tracks – 58 minutes

Al Basile was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, on the north shore of Boston. He got his start as a writer and was the first person to get a master’s degree in creative writing from the Brown University. His poetry is regularly published in leading poetry journals and has four currently in-print books collecting his work from the 1970’s through the present. Obviously, this translates well into song lyrics.

His life took a turn when he met Duke Robillard in 1969. That meeting led to Al joining on trumpet in the early formation of Roomful of Blues in 1973.  The collaboration with Duke continues to modern times with Al playing with and contributing songs to Duke for his various albums. Al’s musical career took off from there and he has since played with Eddie “Cleanhead” Vincent, Red Prysock, Helen Humes, Joe Turner, and Johnny Shines. He has received two Blues Music Award nominations for Best Horns. Al started his own record company, Sweetspot Records, in 1998 and all subsequent albums including this latest were released on that label. He started a teaching career in 1975 and continued that for 25 years. After that period, he started focusing more on his own musical path.

This is the 21st album released by Al Basile.  Al plays cornet and provides the lead vocals. Mark Teixeira on drums, Bard Hallen on bass, Bruce Bears on keyboards, Jeff “Doc” Chanonhouse on trumpet, Doug James on trumpet, and Kid Andersen on guitar completes the band line-up for the album with Jhett Black guesting on guitar on “Ain’t What You Say”. Al says this album is more personal than his other releases as the songs are based on some of his recent experiences.

The album opens with “All Your Lies” as he tells “You lie so easy, you lie so plain, it makes me want to believe you all over again. Al’s laid-back vocals slide along moving into a cornet solo and before concluding with a guitar solo. He declares “Blues Is My Roommate” noting “Woke up this morning, blues grinning in my face. Said get used to it partner, cause I’m moving on in your place.”  The horns and guitar establish a low emotional pull with a an even keeled drum pulling things along all establishing a lonely man in some depression. The guitar, trumpet and organ all join to establish “Blues After Blues” as Al cries “Blues got drunk, staggered out the door. Right back next morning, looking for more”.

He asks, “How Is It?” “…that I ever let her take me away from you?” His liner notes ask “why do ever prefer the wrong person to the right one, even when we know the difference perfectly well?” Obviously, this is the story of a man who lost his love as a result of a foolish affair. He identifies That “When somebody needs your help, stop thinking about yourself and be a “Good Friend”. On “Leave It All Behind You” he establishes when you have made a big mistake you must “set it down and then move on. Put in the past, because the past is past and gone.” 

He concludes it “Ain’t What You Say (It’s What You Do)” in a cinematic tale of a woman that dragged him into some things that was out of his control as h expresses “Well talk is cheap and lies get spread but I could really use a helping hand. Got in so deep got left for dead but maybe you could be my right-hand man. I turned my head, screen went black. I haven’t seen her since that day.” The story continues as he explains, “Part of me is sorry as I’m walking out the door. But I’m getting “Older by the Minute”, and I ain’t your man no more.” “Thank You, Fool” becomes slightly more upbeat and moves into a more soulful approach as he thanks him “for setting the little girl free. You sent her on her way so we could meet one day. Now she’s the best that ever happened to me.”

“Good Rhythm” is another laid-back and slow-moving blues establishing “when she gets to movin’, gonna move her right.” A comfortable piano solo and smooth guitar slip the song along. “My Dearest Dream’ features an easy trumpet and piano as Al says, “you and the devil teamed up to bring me down”.  “You seemed to be all I ever wanted, and more than my dearest dream.” but “You turned out to be a phony and nothing like you seemed.”

He declares “You Ain’t That Fine” and tells her “If You think I’m fooled, if you think I’m blind. Think you got me schooled. Well, you’re overruled cause you ain’t that fine.” He finds the hard facts of life “When You Lose Your Money” you “find out your true friends, some will disappear, others stick with you to the end.”

The album as mentioned in several of song is a continuous story of a man working his way through some troubling relationships and times. The songs are low key with Al letting his cornet feature into much of the story.  Most of the songs depict a man lost in some despair and lonely. Only at the end does he indicate that there are some true friends that can help him through. The album presents the blues in its rawest form, no screaming high notes, just laidback, slightly jazzy blues with a feel that one should just sit back in a chair with a glass of a smooth bourbon to melt the blues away.

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.

Jill Newman – Little Bit Of Luck

Self-Release -2025

www.jillnewman.net

10 tracks; 38 minutes

Jill Newman grew up in Vancouver, started playing guitar in her teens and once played in an all-female Led Zeppelin tribute band! Now based in the Pacific North West, Jill and her band play around Seattle and up into Canada, the recent release show for this CD being in Vancouver. This is Jill’s third album and it includes nine originals and one cover. The musicians are, one assumes, Jill’s regular band: Scott Smith on guitar, Patrick McDanel on bass, Kelly Van Camp on drums and harmonica. In addition Annie Jantzer adds backing vocals to five tracks, Peggy Lee cello to one track and keys are added to seven by Joe Doria or Chris Gestrin. Jill herself handles lead vocals and lead, rhythm and slide guitar, even giving a credit to her dog Lucy who lay by her side as she composed the songs!

The title track opens the album with a steady rhythm and Kelly’s harp the main featured instrument, the song reflecting a thought that we have all had at one time or another: “I don’t need a pocket full of money, all I need is for you to stand with me, all we need is a Little Bit Of Luck”. Acoustic guitar and slide mesh with Jill’s guitar on the melodic and catchy “Lost Without You”, Annie’s harmony vocals working well before the jagged rhythms of “Lay My Worries Down” which has the first appearance of organ on the record, Jill also adding some good lead lines. “Making Up For Lost Time” is a slower tune with some aching lead lines from Jill, a song about regret: “All those questions turning round in my head makes me realize what didn’t get said”. Jill rocks things up a little more on “Not Gonna Change My Mind”, playing all the guitar parts, fuzzed-up rhythm guitar and harp overlaid with a fine slide solo on another song about moving on from a failed relationship.

Cello adds a mournful feel to “Someone Like You”, a tender ballad with acoustic guitar and piano that seems to celebrate a new person in the author’s life whereas “Crying Out Loud” carries on that gentle musical style but is about leaving, “Got my suitcase in the hallway, car keys in my hand, I don’t really want to stay; I know you love me but you couldn’t come around, there’s nothing left to say”. “I’ve Had Enough” is a fun trio performance which opens with a great upright bass line and again features Kelly’s harp work and incisive guitar work from Jill. The instrumental “Yellow Dog Shuffle” (presumably a reference to Lucy the labrador) carries on in similar fashion with Jill playing some funky lead lines over the band’s steady groove, aided by the organ. The album closes with the sole cover, “Love Has No Pride”, a song covered over the years by Bonnie Raitt and Linda Ronstadt, amongst others; Jill plays it pretty straight and the harmonies with Annie work well on the familiar chorus.

Jill’s vocals are clear throughout and she avoids any of the histrionics to which some singers resort, making this a pleasant listen. There are some blues influences here but the music is probably more in the Americana field.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK who enjoys a wide variety of blues and roots music, especially anything in the ‘soul/blues’ category. Favorites include contemporary artists such as Curtis Salgado, Tad Robinson, Albert Castiglia and Doug Deming and classic artists including Bobby Bland, Howling Wolf and the three ‘Kings’.

Bass players can sometimes seem like ghostwriters, failing to be credited for their crucial role in a great work.  While their contributions can often be overlooked by non-musicians, they have been called the “heartbeat” of the band, and “the glue that holds it together”.  In fact, jazz bass virtuoso, Charlie Haden, once said that “when the bass stops, the bottom kind of drops out of everything”.

Bass player (and producer and songwriter), Dean Zucchero, is one that is not overlooked.   He is highly sought-after, (for example, he has toured Europe with The HEALERS (feat: Thomas Buck-Nasty), toured Africa with Cyril Neville, produced, played bass and co-wrote songs on four of Ghalia Volt’s albums, and also toured Europe with Volt, just to name a few of his collaborations.  And the respect that other musicians have for him is evident by the number of remarkable artists who have been interested in being guests on his albums.  Blues Blast Magazine had the opportunity to catch up with Dean recently by video-chat.

Dean is originally from New York and played clarinet as a child before eventually finding his way to the bass.

“I was always fascinated with music and dreamt about playing an instrument, and as a kid I played clarinet, but I wasn’t really into it.  I didn’t connect with it.  I’d go to school dances where there was live music and see my cousin playing guitar and he was an inspiration.  At around the age of fifteen, my best friend started playing drums and he told me they needed a bass player.  I told him I could play, but I didn’t even own a bass at the time.  I talked my mother into buying me a bass and an amp for $35, biked back to my friend’s house and he showed me some songs.  I still remember them—“Rock and Roll” and “The Ocean” by Led Zeppelin, and “My Sharona” by The Knack, which was the number one song at the time.  I just put a lot of time into it and was able to pull it off.”

Dean originally pursued his career through several academic efforts.  He entered college but then dropped out at the age of 19 to form a band called Major Domo.  He later went back to school to obtain an associate’s degree in classical music (also studying jazz at the same time) but was one course shy of completing the tenure due to a paper in English literature which he was unable to complete because of competing musical rehearsals for industry showcasing. He hence ended up dropping out again.  He later attained a degree from NYU in pre-law and philosophy and planned to go to law school to become an entertainment lawyer.  Dean even stopped playing music for a few years to work at a law firm, gaining experience with the laws related to intellectual property.  However, he found that he simply lost interest in that plan and felt a strong drive to return to playing music.  So, he returned to the music world by practicing eight hours a day, did some studio work, and some work for commercials.

Throughout the 1990s and into 2000, Dean had the opportunity to play with numerous artists and also had the opportunity to see the world.

“In 2004, I went to China with Carlton J. Smith.  We played a three-month residency in Shanghai and then played for three months in Zurich at The Casa Bar, the oldest jazz club in Europe. As we were getting ready to head back, the owner of the club told me that the next band needed a bass player and offered to give me an apartment if I stayed.  I ended up staying five years in Switzerland and then moved to Piacenza, Italy to play with Sugarpie & the Candymen. I later went to Paris for a period while they completed their upcoming record.  Then I went home for three months, but I had given up my place in New York, so I just stayed at my brother’s house awaiting an upcoming tour in Italy with Sugarpie, but that ultimately fell through. So, I decided to check out what it would be like to live in New Orleans.  I went for a month and canvassed the whole place.  People were very friendly and inviting.  Musicians asked me to get up and play and within a week I had work playing with Troy Turner.  I decided to make a stay here in Nola, so after I went back and fulfilled some obligations in Europe, I did just that.”

“When I returned to New Orleans, I joined the Caesar Brothers, who are Cyril Neville’s nephews, and they pushed for me to get in Cyril’s band.  Of course, everybody wants to play with Cyril!  Working with Cyril is great.  I loved it.  He is a total professional.  He gives you a lot of freedom to play and you can ham it up, but you have to truly know the material.  The day of one particular Jazz Fest was the day after Prince had died, so Cyril decided he wanted to do a Prince song.  He said, ‘figure it out’, and we had to play it that afternoon at Jazz Fest.  That’s the kind of level he expects.  I also got to play with people like Ghalia Volt, “Sunpie” Barnes, Johnny Sansone, and Jonathan ‘Boogie’ Long.”

With so many venues shutting down during the pandemic, Dean was instrumental in organizing and hosting one of the very few exceptions–an acoustic blues series in the beer garden of the German bistro, Bratz Y’all, that met all requirements of the Covid guidelines.  The popularity of that series grew, and when Jazz Fest was cancelled, Dean hosted a mini jazz fest in the garden, offering two weekends of admission-free live music during which he was house bassist for all 17 bands.

“Everybody was eager to get out.  They came out and it broke the silence. Everyone had been so cooped up.  People were generous—the tips were crazy.  We added another day and at the end of the pandemic the owner asked me if I wanted to keep it going.  By that point it had become my day job.  It’s a boon to the business and it’s fun—I get to play with all of my favorite players.  People come in from other cities and contact me because they want to play.  If I have to go on the road, for example five weeks with John Nemeth this year, I just book everything and come back and it’s there.”

Dean is also a collector of vintage bass guitars and referred to himself as “a collector who plays”.

“In 1985 I bought my first vintage (1964) Fender jazz bass.  One night I threw it around and the head stock snapped off.  I had it fixed, and later on Meshell Ndegeocello’s partner bought it for her.  Then I bought a ’63 Fender Jazz, a 1966 custom Olympic white Fender Jazz, a 1968 and a 1974 Fender Jazz, a 1975 Precision Bass, and a 1993 Fender Precision Bass. I have a fascination with the vintage instruments.  I buy a bass a year and then usually sell one off.”

Dean was asked to help non-musicians understand the difference between a Jazz and a Precision Bass.

“The Precision Bass came first, with a split-coil pickup and is really meant to emulate the acoustic bass.  It has a big open hollow sound and a fat neck.  The Jazz Bass has a thinner neck and two single-coil pickups and a little more tonal ability.  Some people swear by the Precision while others love the Jazz Bass.  Some people play both to get different sounds.”

Dean has been recording extensively since the pandemic, and his 2023 album Electric Church for the Spiritually Misguided debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues chart. It included some of the finest singers and musicians in the blues, including Johnny Rawls, Johnny Sansone, Joe Krown Jason Ricci, Jonathan “Boogie” Long”, Ghalia Volt, John Fohl, Johnny Burgin, Waylon Thibodeau, Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes, and Terence Higgins.

“I had been thinking about doing a record for a long time.  I met a drummer friend, Doug Belote, and he had a friend with a reputable studio who was an excellent engineer.  I used a different way of recording. Typically, I would have us go in as a whole band and record as live as possible. This particular way was a very slow process of layering the music and ultimately took a year and a half.  I decided that I wasn’t going to do the vocals.  I can sing, but I have too much respect for the “vocalist.” I love a great singer even more than an outstanding guitarist.  So, I had numerous guests singing on the album.  I then tried approaching a couple of labels, but they weren’t interested because they said with all those guests, I couldn’t really ‘tour’ the record.  So, I just formed my own label, Pugnacious Records, and hired the very industry people I’d worked with in the past to get it out there internationally and on the radio. And then surprisingly I saw it debuted number one on the billboard blues album chart.”

Less than two years later, Dean released his second album, again with amazing guest artists.  His latest album is called “Song for the Sinners”.  It topped the blues chart Luminate at #1 (National sales only) and hit #8 on the Billboard charts.

“My digital marketing director said I had to go to the BMAs and just hang out the week my first album was #1.  It was cool, and I saw Bobby Rush there.  He was very approachable.  I told him I wanted him to be on my next record, and he said ‘sure’.  A week or two later, I finished the first song for my second album, and he played harmonica on it.  This new album is 100% me—no co-writers.  It didn’t come easy.  I put a lot of time into it.”

One of the most beautiful songs on the album is called “Never Fade Away” and features impeccable vocals by both John Nemeth and Tiffany Pollock.

“That song means a lot to me.  It’s about my mother.  She had passed away the year before.  It’s the story of a boy saying goodbye to his mother and her consoling him in the process, saying ‘forever ain’t long—but a day away’.”

Another song that held special meaning for Dean was “Crawfish No More”.

“I wrote that for John Boutte to sing.  He came in and just killed it, with only one or two takes—no fixes.  He’s a very charismatic and a very physical singer.  The lyrics might sound kind of humorous at first, but it’s really about the end of good times and the communal experiences that two people had eating crawfish.  I’m using metaphors for when a long-term relationship ends. Eating crawfish is a festive thing in New Orleans, but you don’t do it alone.  That’s the symbolism.  I remember going to the store when I was in the mood for crawfish, but I realized I can’t even eat crawfish anymore, and I thought that was an interesting line for a song”

With exceptional vocals by John Boutte, the poetic lyrics about the breakup demonstrate why English was Dean’s best subject in college:  “The bitter hour has come.  It tastes just like no-one.  A starving soul cannot endure such shame.  Malt beverage to chase the pain.  Empty plates held in vain.  As joyful years have turned to saltless tears.  Because it’s us you no longer adore.  Since our love has washed upon the shore.  I therefore don’t eat crawfish anymore.”  Those are not the only Zucchero lyrics that are beautifully poetic. Guest artist, Jimmy Vivino, sings a harder rock-type song written by Zucchero which references the Taoist concept of ‘biting through’ to overcome obstacles.

“Nowadays a lot of blues songs are just the set up for the guitar solo, but I wanted the emphasis to be on the song.  ‘Biting Through’ has a cool rock ‘n’ roll riff, but I tried to make the lyric kind of interesting.  I like to rock out but I think you can incorporate both.  I’m a lit major.  It’s what I was exposed to.  Lennon was a great writer, maybe because his aunt made him read all the English classics.  In the beginning of ‘Biting Through’, the hero is confident that his persistence is going to pay off:  ‘these walls you shield, you can’t conceal—I’m biting through.’  But in the last verse, the revelation occurs:  ‘the walls you shield are forever sealed—I take my cue.’  Metaphorically he breaks through with the revelation that his persistence isn’t going to break through because her walls are too high and too strong.”

Dean’s next goal is to improve his vocal ability.  He also plans to put out a book capturing the poetry of his lyrics.

“I’ve been working on the vocals.  Now I want to do a show where it is just me singing the songs from my two records, plus more recent unreleased compositions.  I’ve been working a lot on singing and playing. It’s hard, at first.  It’s like patting your head and rubbing your stomach—you need that kind of coordination to sing over playing the bass line. Paul McCartney was a brilliant bass player.” Danielle Nicole makes singing and playing bass look easy—she’s just been doing it forever.

Hopefully, you will have the opportunity to see Dean Zucchero perform live soon.  If so, you’ll see why he says that being a bass player “is an unassuming position, but we’re kind of the middle player connecting the earth to the sky”.  As an audience, we will look forward the opportunity to hear Dean sing more often and will continue to anticipate new elegant and meaningful lyrics from him.  And, if you are in New Orleans when the weather is nice, stop by his Blues in the Biergarten (or any of his other shows around town). You can check out his schedule at www.deanzucchero.com and his record label at www.pugnaciousrecords.com.

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,” and she and Mike Zito co-authored “Blues Therapy: Volume Two”. Profits from both books go to the HART Fund (which pays for medical expenses blues musicians cannot afford to pay) and can be found at http://www.bluestherapybook.com.

Manu Lanvin – Man On A Mission

Gel Productions

www.manulanvin.com

13 songs time – 48:13

Manu Lanvin is a French singer-songwriter-guitarist of great renown in his home country. Here he delivers music that ranges from singer-songwriter to rock, R&B, pop and blues in various configurations. He co-wrote twelve of the thirteen songs. The various musicians support his engaging songs in an imaginative way. His guitar playing tends to be in the mix, while coming out for the occasional solo. There is a hint of an accent in his pleasingly gravelly vocals.

He dives right in with the refreshing rocker “Just Need Me”, that includes Moog bass from Nicolas Bonniere. It quickly kicks into the poppy “I Can’t Get Enough Of You”, complete with “Ew-Ah” backing vocals and horns. More in the pop vein with “Did U See Judy?”. Manu unleashes some biting guitar licks on this one. The organ accents by Bennett Holland on “Change My Ways” are infectious. It is an engaging slow-burn ballad. Also more guitar antics. “I Got The Blues” comments on life’s big and minor travails to a relentless beat.

A tender reminiscence of his life is “Savigny-Sur-Orge”. Acoustic guitar and mellotron strings lend themselves to the melancholy mood. After describing childhood memories, did his mother suffer physical abuse at the hands of his father? The forceful “What’s The Matter With U?” is a seemingly lightly veiled tale of a certain orange-tinged politician. Slide guitar powers the tale of a bad boy on “Saving Angel”, as the narrator lists his bad vices. Manu reaches down deep for the pleading vocal on “I Don’t Wanna Say Goodbye”. He delivers some brief blues-rock guitar on “Could It Be Love?”. We’re taken back to a fifties-style rocker with “Make It Right”, complete with hand claps and Chuck Berry guitar riffing. The title song “Man On A Mission” is a hard charger with Moog, piano, farfisa organ and Mick Ravassat on slide guitar. “Une Nuit”French for One Night, has French lyrics with no translation in the enclosed booklet, but it sounds sincere none-the-less.

Manu and company have achieved a well thought out and realized slice of honest and heartfelt music. The production by Manu and Nikko Bonniere is spot on. The creativeness makes this a worthy addition to any music lover’s collection.

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

Leanne Binder – I Got Something To Say

Independent

www.LeanneBinderMusic.com

7 Tracks – 26 minutes

From a young age, Leanne Binder has been on a music driven journey. The Youngstown, Ohio native was accepted into the Youngstown State University’s Dana School of Music at age 12. That led her to the Ohio State University music program where she was majoring in opera. But by age 18 she started having troubles with her singing voice. After a period of rest where she started focusing on her songwriting, she regained her vocal prowess after working with a vocal coach and changing her musical direction to rock and blues. She formed her own label and subsequently released two albums which gained national attention and led to a tour in the United Kingdom. Returning home. she traveled to Nashville to record her third album, On the Inside, which led to her performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

She returned to Nashville to record this latest album. Lee J. Turner, the keyboard player for Darius Rucker, produced the album and plays piano, Hammond B3 and synthesizer. Leanne is the lead vocalist and was the co-writer with Lee on all songs. Bassist Brian Allen and drummer Josh Day play on all tracks with guitars by Chris Condon, Jon Conley, and John Shaw.

She opens the album with “Little Bitta (How Does It make You Feel”. She tells him, “I would rather be your shot of whiskey than a pretty hand to hold”. ” I claim I am not the devil. I pray that I’m no angel. Can I borrow a kiss, I promise to give it back.” Her vocals promptly remind of the vocal power of Janis Joplin only with a less raspy sound. She says “Drinking Stars” is based on a friend’s recipe book of champagne cocktails. In a smoky slow blues, she purrs “I got a green light, white lines in my headlights, nothing but ghosts left in my past”. “Take a seat in the front row, I’ve got something you must know. You had little to give and I expected too much.” before she blurts out “I have learned my lesson” with the guitar powering alongside of her vocals.

On “Let It Pour” she explains “I go to church on Sunday. I ain’t never told a lie. I ain’t never had a bad day and I only think of you when it rains in LA.” John Shaw rips through some slide guitar as Leanne concludes “I ain’t sung no sad songs. You never made me cry”.  “Broken Things” shifts to a gospel sound with Lee’s keyboards and backing vocals bringing a hymnal feel. Leeanne sings of “Shattered dreams and the beauty of broken things”. and notes “Aren’t we all carrying around these bits and pieces.”

Next, she declares “I Got Something to Say”. “I don’t know which side is heaven, but I’m looking for the light of day. I have been standing at the crossroads. I pray someone will show me the way.” “Tired of wasting all my time. Gonna leave all this pain behind.” She advises to “Do What You Love” in a rocking blues. I’ve gone to Memphis. Sing along with Elvis and midnight with the drop top down. The city in the rear view, a little something sitting next to you with no idea what we’re gonna do, but the night’s still young.”  She concludes with an acoustic version of “Broken Things”. Lee’s piano leads her second take of the song.

Leanne demonstrates the power of Janis Joplin in her vocals and the stylings of Bonnie Raitt in her presentation. But make no mistake, Leeanne is delivering a new voice of the blues that is uniquely her own. Her band superbly supports her at every turn. I am not familiar with her previous releases, but this one makes me want to find them and look forward to her next release.

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.