The Kerry Kearney Band – Self Titled
Paradise Records
10 Tracks – 36 minutes
Kerry is a recognized slide guitar master. He got his first guitar at age ten and discovered the blues shortly thereafter. In 1998, former Jefferson Airplane vocalist Marty Balin heard Kerry play and immediately invited him to join his band for a tour. That tour extended to a five-year stint. In 1996, Kerry released his debut album. In 1999, the Long Island Voice voted him Best Guitarist. The Long Island Blues Society named him “Bluesman of the Year” in 1999. In 2013, he was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame. Kerry toured with The Allman Brothers Band and Dickey Betts and shared the stage with BB King, Robert Cray, Sonny Landreth, Robert Randolph and The Blues Brothers.
Kerry describes his music as Psychedelta, a term he utilized in his 2020 album release, Tales from the Psychedelta”. Kerry leads the band on electric, acoustic and slide guitar, mandolin and lead vocals. His band members include Jack Licitra on keyboards, Gerry Sorrentino bass, Mario Staiano on drums, and Nydia “Liberty” Mata on congas and percussion. Guests on this album include Mark Mancini on keyboards, Bill Lifford on harmonica, Camryn Quinlan on vocals, and Jeff Namoli on percussion.
Seven originals and three covers kick off with a cover of Bobby Rush’s 1986 song “All Your Love”. Bobby’s guitar work is on strong display in the song with Bill Lifford’s harmonica also getting a workout. “Harder to Breathe” features Camryn on lead vocals as she says, “love makes you crazy but I have already lost my mind”. Kerry’s slide guitar drives the song with some nice piano riffs and organ backing. “Walk Right out The Door” is a bouncy tune as he states he is ready to leave if everything is not right.
Warren Zevon’s 2003 song declares “These blues gonna “Rub Me Raw” again features Kerry’s slide with an organ accompaniment. “Voodoo Ways” rocks out as he cites “going house to house, there’s a party tonight. All the Cajun neighbors want to get it right. There’s chickens running around and one on the stove.” She curses you in her voodoo ways. I will be the one who refused to stay.” “A slide guitar by the fire light, a drum beating rhythm that feels so right, an owl calling out from a nearby tree, there’s something in these swamps that’s an enemy”, all with Kerry’s slide guitar slipping along again. “The “Bobbique Romp” is a peppy instrumental co-written with Jack Licitra and with Bill’s harmonica again in a featured role.
A cover of Bob Dylan’s 1975 song “Meet Me in the Morning” from his Blood on the Tracks album follows as he declares “the darkest hour is right before the dawn”. “Hear the rooster crowing, must be something on his mind. I feel just like that rooster; you treat me so unkind.” The words might be Dylan’s, but the song is pure Kearney. Kerry switches off to an acoustic guitar on a folksy instrumental “West of the Ashley”. On “Off to the Jubilee” he tells her to “put on your dress and shake it with the best, we won’t be home until two or three”. Camryn takes the lead vocals again on the seasonal “Santa’s Got a Brand-New Bag” noted as having been written by the whole band. She cries, “Santa took back all the presents we had”.
Kerry’s band is tight, and his slide guitar work certainly worth the price of admission. His vocals are sometimes slightly gruff but fits the music well and his lyrics catch your attention and can captivate. The music is generally high energy blues rock with a tinge of the delta passing through on occasion.
