Peter Veteska & Blues Train – Full Tilt
Blue Heart Records BHR 056
www.peterveteskabluestrain.com
12 songs – 46 minutes
One of the most polished ensembles in the Northeast since forming in New Jersey in 2013, Peter Veteska & Blues Train simply smoke on this disc, their seventh effort in the past eight years, showing why they’ve become fan favorites up and down the East Coast.
As usual, this is a slick production that features Veteska on vocals and lead guitar with Alex D’Agnese and Coo Moe Jhee on drums and bass. But as they’ve proven successfully in the past, they’re far more than a power-blues trio. Enhanced by several top musicians from the region, they always deliver complex arrangements that have you begging for more.
And that’s true of this set of this collection of eight originals and four reimagined covers, which were recorded live with minimal overdubs at co-producer Joseph DeMaio’s Shorefire Recording Studios in the Garden State – a departure from their usual approach.
Adding to the mix here are several of their frequent co-contributors: Jeff Levine on Hammond B3 organ, Chuck Hearne and Rick Prince on bass, Mike Scotton on sax, Tony Perruso on trumpet and Mikey Jr. who contributes harp and vocals along with Jen Barnes.
Veteska’s guitar and Mikey Jr.’s reed work set up the opener, “Go Find Another Man,” which advises a lady that if she doesn’t like what she hears or sees, she should find someone else to fill her life. It’s a driving shuffle that features a smoking six-string solo before giving way to another on the 88s. Barnes takes centerstage for “I Wasn’t Wrong,” a deep shuffle that keeps the intensity on high while taking the foot off the gas somewhat. It’s a relationship song delivered from the opposite side of the fence but taking a different approach – in that the lady admits she wasn’t right either while asking for a reunion.
“Sad and Blue,” a torch song that lives up to its title, is a slow burner on which Peter bares his soul aided by Levine atop stripped-down rhythm. It gives way to a fiery, full arrangement of the Albert King standard, “I Get Evil,” which features strong accents from the horns throughout and leads into “Pack of Lies,” an uptempo complaint that finds the singer being ordered from his house while recounting all the words of love she’d spoken in the past.
Barnes and Veteska double-team “2:00 in the Morning,” an uptempo rocker, before the Train add their special sauce to the Beatles’ “One After 999,” with Peter and Mikey Jr. on the mic. “Take Back What You Own,” another duet that features Jen, lopes from the open and blazes vocally throughout before Levine’s featured on a tasty, unhurried and barebones trip down memory lane with a cover of pianist James Cox’s 1920s masterpiece “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out.”
The heat’s on high from the open of the next number, “Slow Down You Crazy Fool,” but the tempo’s slow. It’s a showcase for Veteska on guitar and mic that picks up steam as it flows. “Man About Town,” an intense instrumental, follows before Peter and Jeff team on a stripped-down take of Johnny Moore’s “Merry Christmas Baby” to close.
Another great effort from a unit that deserves far more recognition than it’s received.