Sonny Moorman – You Made All My Blues Come True
Atlas Records
CD: 10 Songs, 42:32 Minutes
Styles: Solo Blues, Traditional and Contemporary Acoustic Blues, Blues Covers
More than anything, perhaps what all artists long for is longevity: in their own bodies, and in their chosen sphere. It’s one matter to get fifteen minutes of fame. What about fifteen years, twenty, thirty – even forty? Cincinnati, Ohio’s Cyril “Sonny” Moorman has accomplished just such a feat, having been active in the blues and blues-rock business since 1975 (according to his Wikipedia page). Previously, he has been a member of rocker Warren Zevon’s touring band, and the Tomcats with members of Sly and the Family Stone. Far more recently, this year, in fact, Sonny was a finalist at the International Blues Challenge for Solo/Duo. At 71, Moorman is still going strong, playing stellar acoustic guitar on his latest release, You Made All My Blues Come True. He’s like an “unplugged” version of Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits: he understands that a guitar is a storytelling instrument, using notes instead of words. His raspy, gravel-strewn vocals definitely show his age, but his musical talent remains undiminished. On two original songs, one traditional tune (“Ramblin’ On My Mind”) with his own arrangement, and eight covers, he showcases blues past and present.
His personal website mentions more accolades he’s earned: “Moorman and his band headlined 2012 GABBAfest (where he played Duane Allman’s guitar!) and the Blues stage at the 2010 Montreal Jazz Fest. He appeared as a Band Finalist at the 2010 International Blues Challenge and won 2nd place in the IBC Solo/Duo competition in 2007. Moorman has released a number of CDs throughout his career, garnering critical acclaim and commercial success – including an excellent review of…More Live As Hell, by Blues Revue Magazine. Other accolades include being selected 2008 Blues Artist on the Rise by Blues Festival Guide Magazine.”
As Sonny is a solo act, no other musicians performed alongside him on this CD, but he’s sure channeled the style and work of several blues/rock legends. What blues die-hard has never heard “Come and Go Blues” by Duane Allman, for instance, and what rock devotee draws a blank at hearing “Maybellene” by Chuck Berry? Sonny’s album is a leisurely stroll down memory lane.
The title track has a catchy name and even catchier acoustic fretwork.
Track 06: “You Made All My Blues Come True” – “You said you loved me. That was a lie. You said you need me, but that was that other guy. If there’s one thing you sure did do, you made all my blues come true. Every line of every song, every man that was done wrong, that one thing you sure did do: you made all my blues come true.” This, ladies and gentlemen, is the essence of blues music, when one boils right down to it. Clear and haunting reverberations of Sonny’s guitar hammer home the message.
Moorman’s latest work mostly consists of covers, but when they’re played by the hands of a master, even blues’ oldest tracks seem new. Sonny, You’ve Made All My Blues Come True!
