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REVIEWS
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Colosseum - Live 05
There may not be too many surprises on a live album that neatly updates the band’s career with the powerful Dave Greenslade penned ‘No Pleasin’ (from 1997’s ‘Bread & Circuses’) and Clem Clemson’s truly excellent ‘Tomorrow’s Blues’ (from the 2003 album of the same name). But this double live album restores your faith in all that’s good about quality music from the enduring strength of the compositional work to the vibrant performance of a band in its fifth decade.
Recorded by engineer Miles Ashton, the purpose of the album is to present the full Colosseum live concert experience in the best way possible. And to that end ‘Live05’ is a success, showcasing several musically inspiring moments and giving the listener a real feel for the stellar individual parts that make up such a compelling whole. Colosseum are many things to many people, from the Progressive instrumental jazz rockers stylists of the 60’s to the more bluesy flavoured band fronted by vocalist Chris Farlowe. Happily ‘Live05’ strikes a good balance between all those elements drawing on a rich (albeit oft revisited) back catalogue that is reshaped and remodelled by the current line-up. And aside from the familiar set list there’s an undiminished core of excellent musicianship that lifts some occasional retro sounding music to new heights. A live Colosseum concert probably couldn’t be considered complete without either the three pronged ‘Valentyne Suite’ or indeed the climactic ‘Los Angeles’. Both are dusted down and revisited with interest. And while ‘Rope Ladder to the Moon’ may be a little frayed around the edges, the ever popular ’Theme for an Imaginary Western’ anchors the early part of the set by virtue of a strong melody line and poignant lyrics.
In truth the jazz/rock tinged instrumental blocks of 'Valentyne Suite’ may not sit easily in today’s slick musical environment but the suite is nonetheless a coherent triumph born of three linked parts. Barbara Thomson fills the late Dick Heckstall Smith’s boots on ‘February’s Valentine’ with a mesmerising kaleidoscope of tones ranging from the gentle and the warm to some piercing soprano notes. She glides her way through an undulating journey full of long sweeping notes that draw applause from the crowd before a perfunctory musical exclamation mark that segues into the opening riff of ‘The Grass Is Always Greener’. Clem Clemson’s gentle opening notes eventually lead him to a climactic electro storm before a coda of the riff and an explosive end. Farlowe shouts out, ‘Colosseum, what a band/’ as if briefly distancing himself from another highlight, but he still has much to contribute. The well thought out sequencing of the album presumably mirrors the live set list as Farlowe adds some idiosyncratic but very effective phrasing to breathe fresh life into ‘Stormy Monday Blues’. But its Clemson’s ‘Tomorrows Blues’ that provides another highlight as the subtle spacey intro – all sax, guitar and piano – and dreamy arrangement provides the perfect context for Farlowe to do his damndest to make the cut, even resorting to a brief falsetto on a fine vocal performance bolstered by Mark Clarke. Clemson’s brief explosive guitar solo acts as the perfect foil for Barbara as she explores the full contours of the song with some spine tingling notes at both ends of the register. There’s time for a cute segue from the stomping crowd to a brief, compact Hiseman drum solo before the hard riffed drama of ‘Los Angeles’.
‘Live05’ is a triumph based
on Colosseum re-interpreting of some of their best work.
If this line-up has any new material in its locker
things could really get exciting. There’s so much great
playing here and several musical peaks that it would be
churlish not to give the album 5 stars.
One of the most iconic of
the British bands of the late ‘60’s and ‘70’s, Colosseum
were a blend of the power of the Blues and the
inventiveness and subtlety of Jazz. They included
members of almost all the great bands of the time – from
Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated to Graham Bond’s
outfits and added the mighty Chris Farlowe on vocals.
After self-destructing over differences in direction in
the mid-‘70’s they became legendary and finally
re-surfaced as a unit in the early ‘aughties’. This set
captures them on a great night in Stuttgart in 2005 and
why it has taken so long to get a ‘proper’ release is
beyond me – the album, from 1st moments to the last, is
simply magnificent and a huge reminder of just how good
British Jazz/Rock could be. The band here are almost all
original Colosseum-ites – Chris Farlowe, Clem Clempson
on guitar, Dave Greenslade on keyboards and Jon Hiseman
on percussion with bass from Mark Clarke and, replacing
the sadly demised Dick Heckstall-Smith, Barbara Thompson
on horns and flutes and while they may be more portly
and grizzled than they were in their prime musically
they have chops that most modern musicians can’t even
dream of. There is no feeling either that the music has
stood still or been preserved in aspic – this is music
of real power and majesty and as relevant to day as it
ever was. |
 Ruf 1162 |
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24Pesos - Broken Busted and
Blue Great stuff – big, rollicking Blues and just a touch of Mexicali magic - 24 Pesos are on the rise and this album demonstrates why. It also makes a big statement about the quality of the Blues in Britain today – healthy, very. All the songs on this album are originals but there is a history lesson in just about every track. They touch on so many influences – no surprises for acknowledging Freddie King and Howlin Wolf as influences but not too many can get the funk feel of the Meters or the dirty raunch and nastiness of James Brown into their sound without outright copying and these guys really can – hell, they even get some Louis Jourdan swing in on the title number. Underpinning the guitars and some gorgeous Dobro slide is what sounds like a genuine Hammond B3 and those rolling chords give the sound a fat and rich tone that most bands don’t get near to. You can hear the live sound of the band and I would hazard a guess that they are a brilliant live act but the production is very tasty and it avoids squashing the life out of the band. Favorite tracks are probably the opener, ‘Maxwell Street’; ‘In The Summertime’, a rap over a slide and harmonica groove-tune; the closer ‘Neckbone And Gumbo’ with a real N’Orleans Meters/Allen Toussaint funk to it and the title track – a real piece of rock ‘n’ roll sass. This isn’t saying anything that hasn’t been said before but they sound as though they are having a great time making the music they love and the end result is one of the best Saturday night albums of the year. Music-News.com |
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Jimmie Vaughan -
Blues, Ballads & Favorites
I’m sure there are quite a few
Stevie Ray worshippers who are blissfully unaware he has an
older brother, one who has carved out a successful career in
the blues as a solo artist and with bands like the Fabulous
Thunderbirds. Jimmie’s own albums for Sony were terrific
efforts and if you haven’t heard them yet then go and seek
them out.
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EGYPT Blues
Kerosene For a band whose rock solid gigs used to sometimes cross over the thin dividing line between hard rock and simply being too loud, there’s real taste, restraint and balance to be found on the 2 min 36 seconds of wonderful bottle neck interlude on the phonetically titled ‘Fu Man Chew’. And Egypt have the wherewithal to pay attention to their sequencing as some glorious blood curdling wah wah follows on the mundanely titled but pile driven southern rocker ‘Waiting For the 353’. And if you can overlook the rather obvious choice of Walking Blues ‘ – albeit it features some fine slide playing from Eric - you will be belatedly rewarded by another killer laden rocker, the suitable titled ‘Rocking the Room’.
Well written and produced,
superbly conceived with a lovely retro tinge, Blues
Kerosene’ is easily Egypt's best album.
Bass player/ vocalist Alan Fish was in Terraplane with Tony McPhee in 1977 then in The Groundhogs line-up that recorded ‘Razor’s Edge’ in 1985. Apparently singer/ guitarist Eric Chipulina and drummer Peter Correa were also in The Groundhogs presumably as members of the touring band. So, of course there is that unmistakeable Hogs sound and even a solid cover of Tony McPhee’s superlative ‘Garden’. Also covered are Mississippi legend John Lee Hooker’s ‘Ride Till You Die’, the slow slide ‘Viola Lee Blues’ and a brilliantly restrained version of Robert Johnson’s ‘Walking Blues’, with more slide guitar-another Mississippi legend as it happens!
Some of the original songs
are no slouches either. Listen to ‘Lazy Maisie’, easily
mistaken for Led Zeppelin in their heyday. And how about
this for a title- ‘Fu Man Chew’- a great little solo
guitar instrumental? Then there’s the great wah wah
driven rocker ‘Waiting for the 353’ putting the band
firmly into the Cream, and later on Rory Gallagher,
family of heavy blues rock. Perhaps the best of the lot
though is ‘Bluesbelly’ which for some probably misguided
reason reminded me of the great Frank Marino.
Between them these three
guys have about a hundred years of playing Blues and
with names like Bo Diddley, The Rolling Stones, The
Beatles (!), the Groundhogs and The Kinks on their
various CVs you might expect a certain level of ability
to be on show, What you get is an album that is
thoroughly rooted in classic British Blues Rock and
played without any of the apologetic stance that many of
the veterans shape to these days – these guys are proud
of what they do and they do it damn well! |
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Oli Brown – Heads I Win, Tails You
Lose
The whirlwind start tells you
everything you need to know about Oli Brown, guitar
imitating vocal line, reverberating from the past (Robert
Johnson) filtered through Eric Clapton but modernised,
refurbished for an optimistic new dawn of first rate young
blues musicians, many of whom just happen to be signed to
Ruf Records. Indeed, I look forward immensely to seeing Oli
play in the company of the equally talented Joanne Shaw
Taylor on the New Generation Blues tour, more of which
later. The ‘remake remodel’ of blues shifts effortlessly
from ‘Evil Soul’ to ‘Makes Me Wonder’. Classic blues
influences and references are littered throughout this
recording but most of the compositions are original and the
guitar soloing is stunning. The two covers, ‘Fever’ and ‘No
Diggity’ work just fine. There is also a funk (‘Keeping My
Options Open’ and the foot tapping Free like swagger of ‘I
Can make Your Day’ ) and soul dimension to Oli’s music
In recent years, blues has been
getting cooler with people like John Mayer championing the
music to the masses through his A-list celebrity and smooth
pop sound. But what about on this side of the pond? Cue
Mister Oli Brown.
Without studio trickery, Brown takes these songs to a new
level and yes, his voice really is that good, and so is his
guitar playing. This album is dangerous and exciting - just
like the best art should be. Still only 19, it is fair to
say that Oli Brown is the great hope of English blues right
now. His short career has thundered along picking up
accolade after accolade with more widespread recognition
surely set to arrive following this, his second album.
Indeed anyone with the talent to bring legendary producer
Mike Vernon out of retirement like an excitable school boy
must have talent.
Finally released today, is
Heads I Win Tails You Lose, the second album from Oli
Brown. I’ve already posted a couple of times about Oli but
for fans of blues rock this is an essential purchase. When
the likes of Joe Bonamassa, Robben Ford and Walter Trout are
singing your praises and legendary producer, Mike Vernon,
comes out of retirement specifically to work on the album,
then you’ve got to be doing something right. Vernon, famous
for the Clapton Beano album with John Mayall’s Blues
Breakers (he also produced the follow up Mayall album with
Clapton’s replacement being a young Peter Green) gives Oli
much more muscle than on the debut. You get the sense,
however, that the two years since that CD’s release, spent
mostly on the road have also added to Oli’s art. He’s no
longer just the new young guitar slinger on the block and
this record struts with a confident air. Oli may not yet
have the champions willing to deify him, as the precious and
also very young Eric famously did during his Blues Breakers’
tenure, but he’s most definitely a guitar hero in the
making. Like Eric back then he also has youth on his side.
Who knows how far he’ll go?
Oli Brown’s debut album 'Open
Road’ was one of the best debuts from any British Blues
guitarist for a long while and I have been looking forward
to the follow up with bated breath.
Oli Brown is in a unique position. Still a teen and with a couple of years as a pro under his belt, he’s not about to become trapped by any genre or label, let alone sink under any burden of expectation. As Oli himself states on a Mike Vernon co-write, ‘I’m Keeping My Options Open’. And on the evidence of this album he’s made a wise decision as there’s enough stylistic diversity, different mood changes and markedly different guitar tones to suggest a young man still flexible and spontaneous enough to bend with the grooves. And grooves are what Oli deals in. Having worked up some funky credentials on his debut album, the new and appropriately titled ‘Heads I Win, Tails You Lose’ finds him with the winning partnership of famed producer Mike Vernon and a band comprising top session players. Oli opens with a gospel like vitality on ‘Evil Soul’ and slips right to the heart of a cutting edge shuffle on ‘Makes Me Wonder’ exploring a cool dynamic round a couple of verses before slipping into a full toned solo as messieurs Rackham and Little provide a tough counterpoint. Its back to his trademark funk on the afore mentioned ‘Keeping My Options Open’ and the stop-time, low down dirty groove and soulful chorus of ‘Real Good Time’ ‘Heads I Win, Tails You Lose’ benefits from a typically strong Vernon rhythm track with Jamie Little’s big drum sound giving Oli all the space he needs to break out. But it’s not until the soulful ‘Speechless’ that he really finds his feet on a very catchy hook. Unlike a couple of other songs here ‘Speechless’ is well suited to his range and almost as if in the mood he covers ‘Fever’ with a noticeably thinner tone to his solo. Oli’s core strength is his ability to emote through his singing. He does this on the slow blues meets white boy soul of ‘I Can Make Your Day’. Mike Vernon’s production comes into its own with its subtle pacing of the song and an unspoken dynamic that captures the feel of the piece before Oli brings a brief but masterful solo to the boil. The staccato drum track works particularly well as the song hangs on Oli’s every word, before his ringing notes take over. This is the kind of song that after a hatful of live dates will surely become a standard bearer. At times as on ‘Take A Look Back’ it takes a particularly muscular guitar run to bring a little bit of spark to a track that only just finds its suitable resolution via the chorus. But just as you think you have his measure Oli ups the ante with clever reading of Blackstreet’s ‘No Diggity’, on which the vocals are superbly arranged and Dave Lennox’s keyboards underpin the groove. Oli’s phrasing is as intuitive as his timing is excellent and he leans into his solo with plenty to spare, the mark of a player beyond his years. And almost as an afterthought he throws in a slow blues ‘Love’s Gone Cold’ on which he once again gets right inside the lyrics. Let’s face it you either feel the blues or you don’t and Oli’s got 'em! The closing exuberant chant of (I Feel) 'On Top of the World', finds Oli bringing his unique rapping style to fore before the chorus takes the song home. A great end to an interesting album.
Oli Brown stands alone in
the new generation of blues players simply because he
uses blues as a base metal rather than considering it as
the whole recipe. His music is always outward looking
in its search for something more diverse and interesting
and this album is a major step along the way.
The whirlwind start tells you everything you need to know about Oli Brown, guitar imitating vocal line, reverberating from the past (Robert Johnson) filtered through Eric Clapton but modernised, refurbished for an optimistic new dawn of first rate young blues musicians, many of whom just happen to be signed to Ruf Records. Indeed, I look forward immensely to seeing Oli play in the company of the equally talented Joanne Shaw Taylor on the New Generation Blues tour, more of which later. The ‘remake remodel’ of blues shifts effortlessly from ‘Evil Soul’ to ‘Makes Me Wonder’. Classic blues influences and references are littered throughout this recording but most of the compositions are original and the guitar soloing is stunning. The two covers, ‘Fever’ and ‘No Diggity’ work just fine. There is also a funk (‘Keeping My Options Open’ and the foot tapping Free like swagger of ‘I Can make Your Day’ ) and soul dimension to Oli’s music (the excellent ‘Speechless’). Dave Lennox’s keyboards add a nice backdrop to the soulful ballad ‘Not A Word To Say’ and are even better on the Booker T & The MG’s feel of ‘Real Good Time’. It’s always interesting listening to a blues player expanding into a space on a slow burning blues and there is one of them here called ‘Love’s Gone Cold’, all 7 minutes of it. Needless to say, Oli doesn’t disappoint on this one and produces an incendiary solo right on cue! Produced by Mike Vernon there is no doubt that, already, only two albums in, Oli Brown has the voice and the licks to become a standard bearer of the new blues generation. The only room for improvement as far as I can hear is in the lyrics which tend to be almost exclusively about relationships- fair enough but broadening the subject matter might propel this young artist to even greater heights. ‘I feel on top of the world’ sings Oli in the final track ‘ Phil Jackson - Blues in the South |
 RUF1160 |
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The Jimmy
Bowskill Band - Live  Classic Rock Magazine |
 RUF1158 |
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COCO MONTOYA - I Want It All Back -
Ruf 1153 Montoya is still best known for his ten year stint with John Mayall and for his axe duels with Walter Trout in that band. He learned his art at the knee of telecaster master Albert Collins and despite the fact that he plays his guitar left handed and upside down (like the other Albert, Albert King) manages to emulate the fire and attack that Collins was famous for. This is the latest in a long line of albums by Coco since he left Mayall and it takes a very different track. The CD was produced by Keb Mo and Jeff Paris, both of whom play on the CD. The aim of the album is to focus on and highlight Montoya’s vocal skills. To that end, with a couple of exceptions there is little that could be called raw blues here. One exception is a terrific version of ‘Fannie Mae’ featuring Rod Piazza and Honey Alexander (Mrs Piazza). Other music ranges through soul and Motown like 'Forever' (originally done by the Marvelettes) and The One Who Really Loves You' (a Mary Wells' hit). Two outstanding songs are 'Cry Lonely,' and 'As Close As I Have Come,' both co-written by award-winning songwriter Gary Nicholson. The axe work is polished, but not fiery (save on Fannie Mae) and the vocals are fine, albeit that sometimes the phrasing does remind me of Keb Mo! I wonder why? Ian McKenzie - Blues in the South |
 RUF1153 |
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As Good As it Gets
The cross pollination by the
artists is shown up in stark relief by Elvis Presley
appearing in the Rockabilly and Rock 'n’ Roll sets and
Lonnie Donegan in the Rockabilly and Skiffle and truthfully
the whole oeuvre could be put in the catch all 'Rock & Roll’
but that is niggardly carping when one can enjoy the talents
on offer here and, quite frankly, I don’t give a hoot is
Ricky Nelson’s 'My Babe’ is Rockabilly or skiffle or Rock
'n’ Roll – it is great in any of those languages.  Lonnie
Donegan
Album:Just About As
Good As It Gets! Vol 2
Label:Smith & Co
Website:
http://www.smithco.nl
With the novelty hits,
chewing gum on bedposts etc, it's become easy to
under estimate the importance that the impact of
Lonnie Donegan has had on British music. Hopefully
something this two cd compliation of his early
years, 1952-59, will go someway to correct. Donegan
laid the groundwork for music to make the switch
from being for adults to being for youth, smoothed
the transition via skiffle for folk and blues to
become rock 'n' roll. In doing so he helped define
whata teenager was. Without him it's argueable there
couldn't have been a Beatles. A man with a genuine
legacy.
Fatea Website  Various
Artists
Album:Great British
Skiffle Vol 4
Label:Smith & Co
Website:
http://www.smithco.nl
Skiffle was the gateway
drug to rock 'n' roll, taking folk and mixing it
with blues and jazz elements. It was the right time
and right place, the war years were over, a bit a
spare cash, simple tunes and a belief that almost
anyone could do it lead to the skiffle boom and a
rapid expansion of the number of people able get
and/or make their own instruments. Yeah sure that
was a load of bands that could barely string a note
together, let alone a song, but there were plenty
that could. There's some real classics included in
the 2 cd compilation, including The Vipers, Alexis
Korner and Chas McDevitt.
Fatea Website  Various
Artists
Album:Great British
Rock 'n' Roll Vol 4
Label:Smith & Co
Website:
http://www.smithco.nl
Whilst the early days
of rock 'n' roll in Britain consisted mainly of
local artists doing cover versions of US tracks, but
it wasn't long before the homegrown artists were
starting to add their own material and style to the
proceedings, much to the annoyance of many a parent,
journo and record company exec. The rock 'n' roll
revolution wasn't without casualties, record
companies were trying to convert their rebelious
signings into balladeers, the jazz journos already
war weary from skiffle hated rock 'n' roll with a
passion. There's bucket loads here to show why they
were wrong and rock'n' roll lived
Fatea Website  Various
Artists
Album:Great British
Rock 'n' Roll Instrumentals
Label:Smith & Co
Website:
http://www.smithco.nl
Dance music in it's
various guises brought a revived interest in the
instrumental, traditional music has always had a
place for it, but it dropped out of favour as far as
pop and rock were concerned. Dance bands had been
delivering instrumentals into the charts for a while
so it wasn't a surprise that rock 'n' roll would
follow. A number of the novelty hits remain well
known today, but the more mainstream stream numbers
barely bother radio show compilers these days. This
compilation goes a fair way to start addressing the
balance. Sax, guitars, bass and even drums get to
lead.
Fatea Website  Various
Artists
Album:Great Rock 'n'
Roll Instrumentals Vol 2
Label:Smith & Co
Website:
http://www.smithco.nl
The likes of Johnny &
The Hurricanes(sax/organ), Sandy Nelson(drums),
Duane Eddy(guitar) all go someway to explaining why
this is the 2nd volume of 2cds, whilst the Brit
equivilent is on volume 1. It's also explained by
the speedy adoption of rock 'n' roll by some of the
US dance and swing bands. The smaller groups were a
lot easier and cheaper to get out on the road. The
quality of the musicianship across this compilation
is of a high standard, you can hear the heritage of
the bands in their material, but they also know how
to rip it up.
These two releases from
Smith & Co cover the years 1951-1965 and 1950-1960
respectively. There are some big names on Volume 3
from 2009 (Chuck Berry Bill Haley, Fats Domino,
Duane Eddy and Richie Valens rubbing shoulders with
country pickers like Chet Atkins and Link Wray) and
lesser known, criminally underrated acts like The
Champs and B.B. Cunningham. For some inexplicable
reason Volume 2 has followed Volume 3 in 2010! That
aside, there are some landmark recordings here like
Duane Eddy and the Rebels ‘Forty Miles of Bad Road’
and ‘Royal Blue’ by lesser known act The Royal
Teens. Santo and Johnny provide an interesting take
on Chuck Berry’s ‘School Day’ and also included is
their much imitated ‘Sleep Walk’, described by Dave
Travis in his comprehensive liner notes as ‘breaking
all the rockin rules of 1959’ with its Hawaiian
ballad style and proving so globally successful that
‘it attracted a massive number of cover versions
from almost every record producing nation on the
planet’ (and rightly so!) Chuck Berry, Chet Atkins
(whose ‘Boo Boo Stick Beat’ sounds Bo Diddley like
in places) and Sandy Nelson (‘Teen Beat’) are among
the more famous names on the CD but, in compilations
like this the most rewarding thing is to listen out
for obscurities of the era or ‘one hit wonders’ like
Preston Epps whose 1959 US #14 hit ‘Bongo Rock’ is
quite unique. CD 2 is high octane stuff, mostly with saxes and it all sounds so good (in terms of audio if not always in composition!) with familiar classics like ‘Red River Rock’ by Johnny and the Hurricanes (Their ‘Reveille Rock’ later is hilarious) rubbing shoulders with the manic sax of Sil Austin on ‘Train Whistle’, more restrained on the aptly named ‘Shufflin’ Home’ and a previously unheard version of ‘Pinetop/’s Boogie Woogie’. There’s also the Glen Miller swing of Red Prysock and his House Rockers, some jovial ‘novelty’ stuff like The Champs ‘Double Eagle Rock’ (would have been good for the Benny Hill show!) and the Hot Toddies impersonation of ‘Rockin’ Crickets’ as well as two from Bill Haley and the Comets, perhaps not the ones you would expect, ‘A Rocking Little Tune’ even featuring accordion, not what you’d associated with rock n’ roll- and nicely constructed guitar and sax solos which you certainly would! ‘The Zombie Walks’ by The Rebel Rousers, complete with short organ and guitar breaks, is a particular treat.
These CDs are
definitely aimed at collectors and need to be
sampled rather than devoured whole. Many of the
iconic recordings are there as well as some even
ardent fans of early rock ‘n’ roll may not expect
and, as such, are indispensible for all serious
collectors and students of the ‘rock ‘n’ roll era’
between 1950 and 1965.  Various
Artists
Album:Great Rockabilly
Vol 4
Label:Smith & Co
Website:
http://www.smithco.nl
Whilst the appearance
of Elvis, Eddie, Gene, Buddy etc, give this
compilations the big names, it's often the lesser
known acts that give them their highlights. Songs
that are every bit as good as the familar ones they
are sprinkled in with, but by artists that may have
not been able to sustain the quality over a
sustained period. A lot of the 'names' deliver
alternative versions of songs, making this a pretty
essential collection, not only for people
rediscovering their youth, but also for any music
fan heading back to the source. Some absolute
screamers highly recommended
 Cliff
Richard
Album:As Good As It
Gets!
Label:Smith & Co
Website:
http://www.smithco.nl
During 1958-1959, Cliff
Richard was essentially a pretty boy covers singer.
A good voice and more than capable of looking the
part. The vast majority of his records fearuring
tracks from the other side of the pond from some of
the biggest names, Cochran, Vincent, Holly and
Perkins amongst others. It put him in the perfect
position for when Britain started adding it's own
touches to rock 'n' roll, one he never really looked
back from, but also one that explains his success in
what was the Empire, but hardly bothering the charts
in America. He can certainly sing the songs, but
relate to them, no.
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JEFF HEALEY - Songs
from the Road f this CD / DVD is the kind of stuff that will be released from the archives since his demise last year then it serves as both a send off as well as a lesson / riposte to the snide releases that frequently squander the legacies of the great n' gone. It also helps that Healey didn't do a great deal to aid such operations, not exactly being noted for below par, off key n' kilter performances. In some areas that may have made him seem as staid and bored geography teacher-like as Clapton and Cray but not so. Here, recorded in Norway, one of the Londons and hometown Toronto, Healey literally tears through a set of classics culled from the blues, rock'n'roll, psychedelia (Cream's White Room would make Jack Bruce stand in shame in the corner for eternity at the piss poor power-deprived trio version he treaded out on his own recent live album) all liberally interspersed with his trademark biting, barking and bullshit-less guitar breaks, that often spill over into Skynyrd style off road racing between him and t'other guitar (the equally electrically laudable Dan Noordermeer) and harpistrionic maestro. The guy had soul that swings through songs that are tired standards in most anyone's else's repertoire (Hoochie Coochie Man with a ridiculous bout of breathtaking guitar of the if my mouth opens any wider please come by my house, stick some dynamite in it and blow me up thanking ye kindly calibre, Stop Breaking Down and the fuckin' Beatles - though he does urinate from mystical heights that no Amahashhead Yogi could ever envisage on While My Guitar Gently Weeps). The DVD has a slew of different tracks too including Highway To Hell and Neil Young's Like A Hurricane. That The Mission even managed to do a far better version of this song should in no way belittle this one, Healey on top fart-about form. Colossal. Any little prick wanting to learn should start here from now on, it might at least make 'em stop before releasing a simperingly limp album of glossy slop. Stu Gibson Sleazegrinder http://sleazegrinder.blogspot.com
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Various Artists -
Double CD - Just About As Good As It Gets - Great British
Rock'n'Roll Vol 3 - The original Rock'n'Roll Recordings 1956 - 1958 The success just goes on; this series of historical British rock'n'roll recordings can seem to do no wrong - quite right too!! Yes, more 'Just About As Good As It Gets' featuring 'Great British Rock'n'Roll Vol 3 - The original Rock'n'Roll Recordings 1956 - 1958'; bet you didn't even know that there was this much material out there!! Words fail me, there's really nothing for me to say or add that could make a difference here - the music speaks for itself! As this series builds I'm finding it difficult to express the worth of this fantastic collection; anyone even vaguely interested in the history of modern popular music should have this in his/her collection - this is pretty-much the beginning of it all as we now hear it and know it! Another sixty-eight tracks on this two disc release explain, through music, the birth of a musical 'monster'. But, it's much more than simply re-visiting the past, this is just as much about the now and the future as far as rock'n'roll music is concerned - absolutely enthralling stuff from days long gone that left their mark, planted the seeds and now live on through this inspired series of releases. Listen, I'm not gonna make any difference to what happens commercially with this work, it sells itself, it don't need Toxic Pete to enthuse and get moist around the genitals to make it happen - I can certainly post these words onto the 'net' but, at the end of the day, the 'Just About As Good As It Gets' series will find its level and its place out there. Just make sure you're in on it though - you don't wanna miss it - it's exceptional stuff!! Peter J Brown aka toxic pete (www.toxicpete.co.uk) |
 Smith & Co SCCD1171 |
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Various Artists -
Just About As Good As It Gets - Great British Skiffle Vol 3
- The original Skiffle Recordings 1952 - 1958
From everything I heard so far from this 'Just About As Good As It Gets' series, the skiffle works are, without doubt, my personal favourites. 'Great British Skiffle Vol 3 - The Original Skiffle Recording 1952 - 1958' is an audio history lesson that lets the listener imbibe on the simplistic beauty of skiffle music; that infectious syncopated blend of blues, country and jazz that rocked the world and set new markers that others then took and used as bench-marks for the new world of rock'n'roll / popular music. As British as these works obviously are you can still hear American influences especially on the more country weighted songs; the vibe is just so basic but bloody catchy and of course there was often a slightly flippant core that people associated with and took to their hearts. I consider myself somewhat blessed because skiffle was part of my up-bringing, I heard it nearly every day during my more tender years and it obviously had a pretty powerful effect on me that has stayed with me for years and years and ye....ok, that's enough!! Skiffle always moved me more than its close cousins rock'n'roll and rockabilly; of course, the great Lonnie Donegan was probably the most well know of the skifflers of the age because he was fortunate and talented enough to be able to rise from obscurity to stardom with his infectious and very tangible music - but, Donegan was just one very small part of a massive and pretty robust musical movement and here you can sample a hefty slice of what was happening fifty years ago. Anyway, no amount of words from me will make a difference here; 'Great British Skiffle Vol 3' will surely prove to be as popular as all the rest of the 'Just About As Good As It Gets' series so far - and rightly so, 'Great British Skiffle Vol 3' is another sixty-two tracks of swingin' syncopation from a golden age that influenced millions and helped change the way music was written, composed and recorded. Skiffle is in my heart and I hope it'll soon be in yours - great album!! Peter J Brown aka toxic pete (www.toxicpete.co.uk) |
 Smith & Co SCCD1172 |
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Various Artists -
Just About As Good As it Gets - Great Rockabilly Vol 3, The
Original Rockabilly Recordings 1954 - 1958 Another seventy tracks make up this formidable album, 'Great Rockabilly Vol 3'; another in the series, 'Just About As Good As It Gets' series which features 'The Original Rockabilly Recordings 1954 - 1958'. Rammed with powerful, energetic songs that so typify the Rockabilly era, 'Great Rockabilly Vol 3' may not be exactly timeless music but it sure is ageless and musically defining. Hosts of artists both the well known and not so well known are conjoined on this wonderfully vibrant and educational work. Of great historical importance, the Rockabilly age never did quite die out as witnessed by the plethora of sound-alikes, tributes and originals outfits still plying their trade through this lively and extremely likeable form. 'Great Rockabilly Vol 3' is as relevant now as it was when these great songs were originally recorded, such is the strength and influence of this often maligned genre. Some say Rockabilly is just rock'n'roll under another name, others just don't get the vibe. Rockabilly is I suppose a melding of rock'n'roll with skiffle, all bare witness to the great artists of the blues and jazz eras, all sit quite comfortably together musically but each still seems to have its customer pigeonhole that separates it from the others. Whatever the pros and cons of the form, Rockabilly happened and is still happening and the millions of fans and followers can't all be wrong can they. Absobloominglutely! Rockabilly lives on and this brilliant compilation offers the chance to hear and experience some of its early beginnings, to sample the essence of the genre as it was back then and very much as it still is now. 'Great Rockabilly Vol 3' is burstin' with toe-tappin syncopation, knee-jerkin' rhythms and finger-poppin' grooves; 'Just About As Good As It Gets' indeed! 'Great Rockabilly Vol 3' is just one small part of the 'Just About As Good As It Gets' historical music series; a piece of history that refuses to go away and die - and why should it? Rockabilly lives on - go get this and hear where it all started! Peter J Brown aka toxic pete (www.toxicpete.co.uk) |
 Smith & Co SCCD1170 |
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Various Artists -
Just About As Good As It Gets - Great Rock'n'Roll
Instrumentals - The Original Rock'n'Roll Recordings 1950
- 1960
 Sunday Express
Wow,
what a great compilation! Part of the 'Just About As
Good As It Gets' series this is the album that could so
easily have been forgotten about.
'Great Rock'n'Roll Instrumentals - The
original Rock'n'Roll Recordings 1950 - 1960' is an inspired
compilation; I probably wouldn't have thought about getting
this one sorted! But thankfully it's not only sorted but now
available for all to hear and cherish. Sixty-three fantastic
instrumental tracks on two great discs; blues, jazz, skiffle,
rockabilly and rock'n'roll all on one album, all at one
time, all absolutely as they were back then - what a
pleasure to behold. |
 Smith & Co SCCD1173 |
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Joanne Shaw Taylor -
White Sugar - RUF1147
Here’s an impressive major
label debut from a young lady who seems to have been around
for ever on the British blues scene, despite her still
tender years – born in 1986. Joanne Shaw Taylor has had the
female blues guitar market pretty much to her self in the UK
since she first toured at aged 14, and on “White Sugar” she
shows a maturity, both in songwriting and playing, way
beyond her age.
What a very pleasant surprise this turned out to be!!
Well actually no, not really as surprise cuz I've kept a
watchful eye on this girl's progress ever since I saw
her when she was still at the tender age of seventeen
(just!) and she was already making a massive impression
with her shy but workmanlike approach to her industrious
blues music.
How do Ruf keep doing it?
Yet another blues sister joins the fold and quite
possibly the best yet. Joanne has thrown down the
gauntlet with this recording and achieves a consistency
that her stable mates (Sue Foley et al) would find it
hard to emulate. I love the mixture of swampy heavy
blues rock riffs of ‘Going Home’ and ‘Bones’ (an
absolute standout) with the sensitivity of ‘Just Another
World’. Joanne teases a tantalisingly clean and pure
sound from her Telecaster and her touch is angelic. I am
still reeling from the realisation that someone so young
could produce something so beyond her years. (Apparently
no less than Dave Stewart has come to a similar
conclusion). She even has the sultry voice to go with
her formidable blues licks. The words are good too!
Things get really heavy on ‘Who Do You Want Me To Be’
proving that Joanne can mix it with the best of them.
The slow walking blues of ‘Time Has Come’ is also a
treat and Joanne’s guitar fills are a joy to the ear.
Let’s not understate this- the playing is nothing short
of phenomenal and every bit as good on the audacious
instrumental title track. The arrangements are also
superb no better illustrated than on ‘Kiss The Ground
Goodbye’. (Jim Gaines the producer’s pedigree is the
likes of Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert
Collins). ‘Heavy Heart’ verges on reggae and further
emphasises the tightness of the rhythm section of David
Smith and Steve Potts. The band fire on all cylinders on
‘Watch ‘Em Burn’ and the album ends with another slow
blues with the yearning in Joanne’s voice of an
intensity seldom heard since the days of Janis Joplin.
Although the press release tells us that Jo cut her
teeth in the UK from age 14 (!) the Tennessee blues
never sounded so good (for that was where ‘White Sugar’
was recorded). Jo really does let her guitar do the
talking. I have only one question- when is Joanne Shaw
Taylor coming to Scotland? Definitely my blues album of
the year! ‘White Sugar’ is released in January, 2009 so
it could be my blues album of next year as well! |
 
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Oli Brown - Open Road
This young British talent has
provided a real freshness to playing the blues.
Oli Brown has taken in the
influences of the great British blues players of the past
and those of his contemporaries such as Aynsley Lister to
take up the baton for the 21st century. He has already
shared a stage with greats such as Koko Taylor, Walter
Trout, John Mayall & Buddy Guy and is ready to take his
place in the spotlight. Psycho is a contemporary blues
played by a power trio. The rhythm section of Fred Hollis on
bass and Simon Dring on drums ably backs Brown’s guitar in
its quest for the elusive note. The eponymous title track is
a mid-paced grinder with nothing out of the ordinary in the
voice. Stone Cold (Roxanne) is a shuffling blues in the
Kansas City style and there is no doubting his credentials
as he lets it rip on the chorus. The first cover, Can’t Get
Next To You has him not really out of first gear yet and
this needs a bit of pace injected. It’s another contemporary
blues rock with the introduction of Govert Van Der Kolm on
organ. Shade Of Grey is slow again and has a spoken vocal
intro. It does build a little and turns to the funky side.
Oli Brown has played
guitar since the age of twelve and his first main
influence was Jimi Hendrix. In 2005, when invited to the
States to guest with American Blues band Blinddog Smokin’,
he learned about stage performance, soloing and some of
the history and meaning of the Blues, which has all
helped develop his writing, singing and playing to
produce a formidable performer. He has opened for
artists such as Buddy Guy and Taj Mahal in the States
and back in England has played alongside the legendary
John Mayall. The latter is highly significant, as Oli
Brown’s music stands comparison with the great British
blues bands of the 1960s. As well as Hendrix, other
influences include Chris Cain, Albert Collins, Freddie
King, B.B. King, Albert King and Tom Waits. Towards the
end of 2006, whilst playing at jam sessions in Norwich,
Brown met drummer Simon Dring and asked him to join the
band. Talented bass player Fred Hollis soon joined and
in March 2007 the Oli Brown Band performed their first
gig at The Walnut Tree Shades in Norwich. Since then
they have played up and down the country to increasing
acclaim, recorded a live session for BBC Radio 2’s Paul
Jones Blues Show, and signed to Ruf Records. The
excellent Open Road, Oli Brown’s first official album,
was recorded in Germany and proves that the authentic
blues sound is alive and in safe young hands. ‘A great
talent’ – John Mayall.
The travellers to the
crossroads seem to get younger every year. I wonder if the
devil still charges an immortal soul or does he do special
rates for teenagers.? The rule book says that blues
guitarists do their apprenticeship as the sidesman in a
number of bands before making a name on their own. Oli Brown
and his album, "The Open Road" basically tears up the rule
book and discards it, almost casually in the nearest bin.
That a blues guitarist can have so much talent so young, it
makes you sick :-) God knows where he'll be with some life
experience to draw on.
Live Review -
The Oli Brown Band, Leicester Nov 30 2007 |
 Ruf1139 |
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