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Colosseum - Live 05
Recorded on a 24 track digital in Germany and Austria,
Colosseum ‘LIVE05’ overcomes its instantly dated title
by virtue of an inspired musical performance and the
unexpected excellence of Chris Farlowe in the autumn of
his career.
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.
Pete Feenstra -
www.getreadytorock.com
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.
The two CD’s here were actually recorded in a number of
German halls in 2005 but the editing is seamless and the
music flows brilliantly.
The first Cd features a stunning version of ‘Theme For
An Imaginary Western’ as well as Jack Bruce’s ‘Rope
Ladder To The Moon’ with an terrific organ solo courtesy
of Dave Greenslade and their magnum opus ‘Valentyne’s
Suite’ featuring contributions by all the band – Barbara
Thompson’s playing is especially fine on ‘February’s
Valentyne’.
The second disc kicks off with a belting version of
‘Those About To Die’ before getting all bluesy on our
asses with the classic ‘Stormy Monday Blues’ which gives
Chris Farlowe a chance to show just why so many people
rate him as one of the greatest British vocalists of all
time. The drum solo introduction to ‘Los Angeles’ will
surprise a lot of people as he keeps it to less than 3
minutes before the band launch into ‘Los Angeles’.
This is proper grown-up music for people who want to
hear skill and talent as well as riding the hurricane of
a huge band and there are moments that are completely
exhilarating. Not one for callow youth but us old-un’s
need our pleasures too.
Andy Snipper
www.music-news.com
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Ruf 1162 |
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.
His style is nothing like Stevie’s, there’s a cleaner, more
precise sound that comes off his guitar, but he has plenty
to offer and knows how to get the party started – as so many
Texan players do.
This latest album is a mixture of bluesy rock ‘n’ roll,
horn-laden shuffles and pumping jump-blues with a couple of
late night, lighters out ballads thrown in. The band really
sound like they’re having a blast across the 15 tracks, with
the horn section of Kaz Kazenoff and Greg Piccollo the
perfect foil for Jimmie’s swinging guitar playing.
Also along for the ride is legendary Texan singer Lou Ann
Barton. She busts a lung on Little Richard’s Send Me Some
Loving and duets handsomely with Vaughan throughout the
Fats Domino-inspired I’m Leavin’ It Up To You.
This might not go down a storm with the Stevie Ray fans
but it’s a real Saturday night, get-in-the-mood record, and
it’s buckets of fun! Try it.
Drew Hobbs Hi Fi Plus Magazine

Bluesmatters
Magazine |
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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.
Pete Feenstra
www.getreadytorock.com
Even though I
loathe the term 'blues-rock', you would have to say the
hard-rocking trio, Egypt, are firmly in that camp, with the
ten tracks on “Blues Kerosene” featuring a mix of band
originals together with a few blues chestnuts. The trio, who
have vast experience, and initially formed in 1987, consist
of Eric Chipulina (guitar and vocals), Alan Fish (bass and
vocals) and Pete Correa (drums), indeed, all three have at
one time been a member of the legendary British band, The
Groundhogs. The band are down to business on a fiercesome
version of John Lee Hooker's “Ride Till You Die”, before
slowing it down for the band composition “Back To The Pack”,
and then taking it up on the rocking “Bluesbelly” - all
featuring Chipulina's thick guitar tone and the driving
rhythm section. They doff their caps to classic blues on the
very old Noah Lewis song, “Viola Lee Blues” with Eric
Chipulina's sparkling slide guitar prominent, and a dip into
Tony McPhee's material with the evergreen “Garden”. Robert
Johnson's timeless “Walking Blues” is given a somewhat
reverential workout here, again highlighting
Chipulina's slide work. The album closer, “Rocking The Room”
is a rousing chunky rocker that sort of captures and
highlights the band's sound. The band appear to be based in
East Anglia, with plenty of dates on the book . . . for
those who like it rocky, check them out!
Grahame Rhodes - CD Short Takes.com
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.
Phil Jackson Blues in the south
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!
The album is a mix of classics – John Lee Hookers 'Ride
Til You Die’, Robert Johnson’s 'Walking Blues’ and a
great cover of the Groundhogs signature 'Garden’ – and
self-penned material and their own stuff sounds about on
a par with the rest.
Check out 'Fu Man Chew’ for subtlety or 'Lazy Maisie’
for great driving music and a belting vocal performance.
'Walking Blues’ features some terrific slide playing and
'Rocking The Room’ sounds like a great set-closer for
their live show. To be frank I can’t find a weak number
out of the 10 tracks here.
Eric Chipulina plays guitar with a wonderful full-bodied
Gibson sound and Alan Fish’ bass is almost jazzy in its
melody lines but Peter Correa holds the whole thing
together with some solid and buzzing drumming – a
classic 3 piece and playing the way that only a 3 piece
can. I really would love to see these guys live.
Don’t get me wrong, this is not groundbreaking stuff. It
is played with real care and a lot of love for their
style of music and you really get the feel of a band who
play this music because it works for them and playing
together is the best thing that they can do but it isn’t
taking Blues to the 'next level’ or 'Redefining the
Blues for the 21st Century’. If you are a lover of
progressive Blues – the likes of Groundhogs or
Leafhound, Atomic Rooster or Budgie – this will tweak a
lot of buttons for you.
Andy Sniper
www.music-news.com
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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
(the excellent ‘Speechless’). Dave Lennox’s keyboards add a
nice backdrop to the soulful ballad ‘Not A Word That I 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
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.
When most people think of blues music, they either think of
a band from yesteryear reiterating their old hits to a crowd
of our parents or of the traditional Mississippi blues man
sat by the delta wailing about when he woke up that morning
his woman had left him.
At just 19, this good looking
youngster from Norfolk is a professional, signed and touring
musician who gains his education from music and the people
he meets on the road. And at this tender age, Heads I Win,
Tails You Lose is his second release to date, released on
the legendary blues label Ruf Records.The album starts with
an excitement you rarely hear much of these days with a
track called ‘Evil Soul’, which is a country fuelled funky
soul rant about the evil girl we all know. But this high
energy does not dissipate an inch; in fact it only increases
over the next few tracks getting groovier and pilling on the
soul on tracks like ‘Keeping My Options Open’. Oli must be
commended for his song-writing prowess; it would be easy for
a young musician with talent such as his to pile on the
guitar solos every ten seconds, but every track he has
written here puts the song first with a strong sense of
feel, groove and maturity far beyond his years.
The album includes two covers: ‘Fever’ by Etta James and ‘No
Diggity’ by Blackstreet and Dr. Dre. These are genuinely
original and ‘No Diggitys’ rise through the iTunes blues
singles chart is testament to this. Over the albums’ 12
tracks, there is jazzy slow blues, upbeat shuffles, funk and
soul with a blues edge. The lyrics of the last track on the
album “I feel on top of the world…” speak for themselves.
This album was produced by Mike Vernon who has worked with
the likes of Peter Green, Eric Clapton and The Blues
Breakers in the past, and to understand why this blues
legend was lured out of retirement to work with Oli, just
take a listen to the record.
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.
Christian Walsh
www.southsonic.co.uk
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.
Believe the hype. Oli Brown is a cut above his
contemporaries. Opener “Evil Soul” gives the album a
swashbuckling introduction, its riff sounding like a faster,
leaner version of Ian Parker’s “Where I Belong”. There are
many highlights here – the late night blues of “Not A Word I
Say”, the Peter Green-esque “Love’s Gone Cold” and the crisp
funk of “Real Good Time”.
There’s also interesting choices of covers with “Fever”
getting a Hammond drenched outing here and perhaps most
intriguingly, Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” revealing itself to
be the best blues song never written. Of course, in less
capable hands, this would have been a mess but this is Oli
Brown we are talking about. Let us not forget to mention
Brown’s guitar playing either. There are some stinging
guitar solos here, especially on “Evil Soul” and “I Can Make
Your Day.”
If anyone can lead the long overdue Blues crossover into
the mainstream, we need look no further than Oli Brown. His
show at The Brook on 20th May will be a cracker!
Paul Lane
www.playitloud.com
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Uncut Magazine |

Bluesmatters
Magazine |

Maverick Magazine |
This is Oli’s follow up to his critically acclaimed debut,
Open Road, and legendary producer Mike Vernon has brought
the best out of him again. Evil Soul is a hi-octane opener
which is driven by the drums of Jamie Little. Brown’s voice
has improved since my review of Open Road and two years of
almost constant touring has helped that so much. His guitar
work is still stunning on this snappy introduction. Makes Me
Wonder is a fluid blues which is slightly jazzy in some of
the passages. The piercing guitar is the focal point. The
metronomic Keeping My Options Open is a grinding blues based
rocker whereas Speechless turns to a softer rock with a
sophisticated feel. Brown’s guitar needs no encouragement to
come to the fore and he confirms his status as one of the
UK’s premiere guitarists. His treatment of the classic
Fever, by playing it in a 60s R&B style is a success. It’s
always hard to do something unusual with such a well known
song but he does add a different feel to it overall.
Not A Word I Say is the first slow song on the album. It is
moody and smouldering with the guitar as the star again. It
builds well from the middle onwards. I Can Make Your Day is
another grinding blues but a bit on the heavier side this
time. Oli lets it rip here on the type of song that Joe
Bonamassa excels at. Real Good Time has punchy guitar with a
soulful feel. The funky Take A Look Back has a slicing
guitar and the funk continues with No Diggity. Oli switches
effortlessly between styles but the one constant is his
guitar. Love’s Gone Cold has to be a blues with a title like
that. This is slow and dark before it explodes into life
when Oli lets that guitar go. Unfortunately, the album has
to finish sometime and On Top Of The World is a wonderful
sing-along song to wrap things up with. Played with panache,
it is a testament to Oli’s all round growth.
Oli Brown will help form the future of British blues.
David Blue.
www.Bluesblues.com
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?
Properganda Magazine
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.
In the event he has produced a real cracker of an album and
shows real development from the early stuff.
He is writing good songs and sounding a lot older than his
years would suggest. 'Evil Soul’ has a really wired sound
and some fine guitar work from Oli while 'Speechless’,
altogether more subtle and emotive, shows the way that his
vocal style has developed as well as his songwriting.
He is perfectly happy covering classic numbers in his own
way too. 'Fever’ sounds waaay different to the old Brenda
Lee classic and his version of 'No Diggity’ is funkier and
more sassy than should be allowed for a young Brit.
When he slows it down and moves into classic territory as on
'Love’s Gone Cold’ – albeit one he wrote himself - he shows
again how much his playing and his singing have grown as he
lays down a spare and soulful Blues with a superb chiming
solo in the middle.
The production is by Mike Vernon and it is a symbol of the
regard that Brown is held in that one of the great British
Blues producers came out of retirement for this album but
the result is a really fine album that does not just sound
like a clone of the Yardbirds or Manfreds.
Oli Brown is a real talent in the making and on the evidence
of this album he ain’t far away from the complete article.
www.music-news.com
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| Classic Rock Magazine |
Guitar & Bass Magazine |
Guitarist Magazine |
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.
Pete Feenstra -
www.getreadytorock.com
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 |
The Jimmy
Bowskill Band - Live

Classic Rock Magazine |

RUF1158 |
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 |
|
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.
The names here simply resonate all that was great about the
music coming out of America and Britain in the late fifties:
Duane Eddy, Chuck Berry, Chet Atkins or Elvis from the US
and John Barry, Chris Barber, Bert Weedon or Lonnie Donnegan
in the UK. The lesser names are even more a joy to behold:
Dean Hightower or Muvva 'Guitar’ Hubbard or The Royaltones –
incredible stuff.
Of all of the albums I think my favourite is probably 'Great
British Rock 'n’ Roll Vol 4’ if only because of the tunes by
the lesser lights such as Terry White & The Terriers or The
Drifters (The Shadows later) version of 'Be Bop A Lu La’ but
also because the attempt to sound American and therefore 'Kool’
creates a weird British swagger - Cliff actually did rock
once upon a time!
As usual some of the material here is positively magnificent
and some is absolutely bizarre but very little is poor and
if this is your style of music you will be in for hours of
fun.
Music-News.com
Lonnie
Donegan
Album:Just About As
Good As It Gets! Vol 2
Label:Smith & Co
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
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
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
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
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.
Fatea
Website
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.
(Phil Jackson for Zeitgeist)
Various
Artists
Album:Great Rockabilly
Vol 4
Label:Smith & Co
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
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.
|
|
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
An excellent example of a true Bluesman in his natural
environment – live.
Jeff Healey had many fans in this country and there was a
general sense of incredulity when his death, at 41, was
announced last year. He was about to start a new tour of
Europe and the UK and he had a stunning new album, 'Mess Of
Blues’ just released that was the best thing he had done in
years.
This release from Ruf combines a DVD of his band’s
performance from Notodden, a top Blues festival, in Norway
in 2006 and a CD of live performances from London and
Toronto from 2007.
Every track on the CD is another example of a solid and
thoroughly classy Bluesman doing his 'thing’ without any
flashy gimmicks or special effects and with a huge sense of
fun and pleasure coupled with some really fine playing by
Healey and his band.
Tracks like 'I’m Ready’ which features a terrific guitar
solo and boogies along at a fair pace or a very modern
version of Robert Johnson’s 'Stop Breaking Down’ all get
your boogie shoes a’shuffling while his version of the
Beatles 'Come Together’ actually remind us just how good the
Beatles music could be as well as demonstrating the link the
Healey made with his audience.
All the songs on the CD are covers and they range from the
aforementioned tracks to Willie Dixon, John Hiatt Greg
Allman’s 'Whipping Post’ and even Graham Nash with the
audience again coming into p[ay on George Harrison’s 'While
My Guitar Gently Weeps’ which has all the emotion of the
original but also adds a dark overtone. Best track on the
album is probably 'White Room’ but there really isn’t a
single duffer here.
The DVD is a fine indication of Healey onstage with his
unusual way of playing with the guitar on his lap and again
has some particularly fine performances Neil Young’s 'Like A
Hurricane’ is immense and AC/DC’s 'Highway To Hell’ shows
that he can do heavy as well.
Healey didn’t seek the huge venues – he was happiest playing
clubs and mid-sized rooms where he could communicate with
the crowd – and his music is scaled for the stages where he
was happiest. This gives some idea of the man at his best.
Sorely missed but not forgotten.
Andy Snipper
www.music-news.com
|
 
|
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
|
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 |
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 |
|
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.
'Great Rock'n'Roll Instrumentals' is a really exciting work;
all this wonderful material could so easily have been
overlooked simply because of the natural trend towards the
vocal offerings of the age. Every bit as exciting, every bit
as enticing, every bit as worthy, 'Great Rock'n'Roll
Instrumentals' just about fills in all the missing places
that the other great albums in the series didn't quite
fulfil - and what a great vibe and what a fantastic buzz
this is! Because it's not genre specific (even though its
title suggests it's just 'Rock'n'Roll'!) you've got
yourselves something here that offers great variety and
t'riffic flexibility; something for most moods, something
that's easy on the ear and just so..well, superb!!
Educational and historical, 'Great Rock'n'Roll
Instrumentals' gives a great insight into the hearts and
minds of the musicians of that age; not content to just
record the more obvious vocal tracks these 'guys' were brave
enough to lay down their thoughts in music alone, a brave
thing for those times methinks! Anyway up, 'Great
Rock'n'Roll Instrumentals' is a must-have addition to the
'Just About As Good As It Gets' series, more than just
worthy this is essential! Bloody great stuff this - I love
it - think you will too!!
Peter J Brown aka toxic pete
(www.toxicpete.co.uk)
|

Smith & Co
SCCD1173 |
|
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.
Recorded in Tennessee, with crack producer Jim Gaines (SRV,
Albert Collins, Bobby Mack) at the helm, and the top rhythm
section of Steve Potts on drums, and David Smith on bass,
the album’s ten tracks possess nine originals, and just one
cover – a mighty version of The Hoax’s “Bones”, off the
“Humdinger” album.
Her vocals are both sweet and tender, and gritty when
required, with her fiery guitar licks of the highest
calibre. The opening “Going Home” is a mid-tempo rocker that
builds; with the following “Just Another Word” riding on a
Memphis soul groove, with some lovely clipped funky guitar.
The afore-mentioned “Bones” struts in fine Texas style, with
the rocking “Who Do You Want Me To Be?” containing more
biting guitar, and backing vocals from two ladies simply
known as Vicky and Heather.
“Time Has Come” has echoes of The Hoax again, a rolling
blues with lashings of sweet guitar; the title cut “White
Sugar” has a New Orleans rumba feel to it, with a switch of
pace on the very nice “Heavy Heart” – a soulful poppy song,
with nice vocal and nice groove.
Taylor digs into a Texas feel again on “Watch ‘Em Burn”,
driven by the excellent throughout Steve Potts and David
Smith; with the closing epic 8-minute plus “Blackest Day”
being a gritty slow blues with some sweet leads, building to
intense solos, and smouldering vocal – a very fine end to a
most impressive album.
It’s easy to see how Joanne Shaw Taylor has been feted by
musicians such as Dave Stewart – this is a very classy
effort from the girl from the Black Country of the West
Midlands, and comes highly recommended! With the likes of
Dani Wilde arriving on the scene now it looks like the UK
will have a few lady blues players to savour!
GRAHAME
RHODES - Bluesinthenorthwest.com

Classic Rock
Magazine
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.
By asking around in the blues fraternity and keeping an
eye open for her name I knew how much progress Joanne
was making. Now, with her debut album, 'White Sugar',
I've at last caught up with her in 'real time' as it
were! Wow, the girl's good!! Joanne has honed her honest
yet adventurous guitar style and is now expressive,
fluid and totally professional. Vocally (she didn't even
sing the last time I saw her live!), Joanne's turned
into a blues monstress; gutsy yet soulful, ballsy yet
poised! Her songwriting is bloody fantastic too and
she's put together a great band to assist with her
attack on the established and pretty scary blues scene.
The girl's not just done good - she's a bloody marvel!!
'White Sugar' is absolutely splendid from start to
finish; full of moody energy, absolutely rammed with
quality - modern electric blues at its best! It's
certainly 'up there' with much bigger names and presents
itself superbly to challenge for blues notoriety. Joanne
shows that not only can women sing the blues but 'white
women from Britain' can, and that they can also compete
on equal terms with the best of 'em out there. Her
sensational guitar playing is matched by her soulful
vocal delivery to render her sweet songs 'real' and
believable; so, Joanne is not just a guitarist of
distinction, she's also one helluva blues 'shouter'!
I really can't find fault with this excellent album -
Joanne has managed to keep it very 'open' and very
organic; the mix and production are absolutely spot-on -
never over-complicated, never flashy - beautifully
proportioned, superbly honest. Of course there's loads
of great guitar solos to get yer rocks off to but it's
much more than just a guitar-fest and overall 'White
Sugar' really is an all-round triumph. Joanne Shaw
Taylor proves that she's got the talent, the heart and
the head for life in the blues fast-lane. As a debut
work 'White Sugar' is outstanding and I can't even begin
to think what's still to come from this brilliant lady
of the blues!
'White Sugar' by beautiful Joanne Shaw Taylor is a
stunning debut album; it delivers everything it needs to
and shows what can be done when natural talent meets
dedication and long-term commitment. Due for release at
the end of January 2009, 'White Sugar' by Joanne Shaw
Taylor sets a very high standard right at the start of
the year - it's gonna be a hard one for others to
compete with and I can see 'White Sugar' receiving major
plaudits and reaping massive rewards as its ups the ante
and sets the bar at such a height that the rest will
struggle to keep up.
Peter J Brown aka toxic pete (www.toxicpete.co.uk)
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!
Phil Jackson for Blues in the South
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Oli Brown - Open Road
This young British talent has
provided a real freshness to playing the blues.
In the final analysis it doesn’t matter a jot where Oli
Brown and band hail from and equally, the ages of the band
are of no importance because OPEN ROAD is an exciting
example of white-hot blues.
For the record Oli Brown, Fred Hollis and Simon Dring are
young and British but more than that the trio have grown up
immersed in the blues and all three understand intimately
the power that the blues contains. You would be disappointed
if a young band didn’t play with a certain excitement and
energy but the Oli Brown Band adds a razor sharp clarity and
focus to that energy and excitement. Once you’ve listened to
about 30 seconds of the opening track Psycho, it will come
as little surprise to learn that one of Oli Brown’s heroes
was a certain Jimi Hendrix, the comparison is obvious and
not particularly outlandish. Oli Brown, like Hendrix, is a
naturally gifted and powerhouse guitarist and a musician who
pushes his talent to its limit. In fact, so strong a
presence is Oli Brown that you have to continually remind
yourself that this is a band effort and that’s a bit of
shame, because without Hollis and Dring OPEN ROAD would
certainly lack some of its spark. They are the ones that
provide the foundation allowing Brown to soar.
At heart OPEN ROAD is good old-fashioned, kick down the door
guitar blues, although the version of the Ram Jam Band’s
Black Betty is a bit of an eye-opener. But within that
framework Brown and co groove their way through the aptly
titled New Groove, indulge in a little guitar pyrotechnics
with Played By The Devil and Can’t Get Next To You and show
real pain and emotion with Missing You.
The talent of all three members of the Oli Brown Band is
clear for all to hear but it’s the freshness and complete
lack of tired cynicism that help create the magic.
When Oli Brown was advised by Carl Gustafson of US Blues
outfit Blinddog Smokin’ to form his own band it was good
advice, we should give thanks that this young blues talent
had the good sense to follow it.
Michael Mee Maverick
Magazine

Classic Rock Magazine
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.
All The Kings Horses has a heavy intro and highlights Brown
as one of many playing this type of blues at the moment, and
he’s certainly not the worst by any manners of means. This
has his best guitar work yet and the pounding drums from
Billy McLelan breathe life into it as it builds to a
fantastic crescendo. Black Betty (yes it is the Ram Jam
song) has a drawled vocal and although essentially the same
as the Ram Jam cover of Leadbelly’s song, Oli does let
himself go -- short and sweet. Missing You is a slow,
uncomplicated blues with incisive guitar bursts -- this will
be a great live track. New Groove is a beefed up Robert Cray
style strolling blues in parts but we have had to wait until
Played By The Devil before we get any genuine pace and this
is a highlight as he shows how good he really is.
Complicated is slowed down again but I’d have rather had him
sprinting for the finish although this 21st century blues is
a good finish to an intriguing album.
David Blue

Mojo Magazine
Rock n Reel
With personal endorsements
from many blues legends many of whom he has already
supported, Oli Brown is indeed a precocious talent and ‘Open
Road’ has got to be one of the most energising blues
recordings I’ve heard for a long time.
Usually it’s a good idea for a young blues artist to include
some covers and Oli and his band oblige with solid versions
of Strong/ Whitfield’s ‘Can’t Get Next To You’, Allison/
Solberg’s ‘All The King’s Horses (the guitar break is
brilliantly constructed and the band whip up a frenzy); and
the populist touch of Lead Belly’s ‘Black Betty’.
But it’s on some of the original compositions like the angst
ridden ‘Psycho’ with its touch of Hendrix the title track,
the musically literate, well observed slow blues ‘Shade of
Grey’ and the magnificent ‘Missing You’ that Oli reveals his
true potential and growing maturity as an artist. The clean,
fluid guitar playing and a clear, expressive voice are also
great assets and two different rhythm sections provide solid
backing. Govert Van Der Kolm’s B3 also enhances the sound on
a couple of tracks .My only reservation, and it’s a slight
one, is that ‘Stone Cold (Roxanne)’ sails a bit too close to
‘Shakin’ All Over’.
That aside, Oli Brown is one young man we’re going to be
hearing a lot more about. Well done, Ruf Records for
discovering another new blues talent!
Phil Jackson

Guitarist
Magazine Sunday Express
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.
www.new-classics.co.uk
First off, I'm going to say that I've
seen Oli and his band play twice so far, once as support for
Devon Allman's Honeytribe and once as headliners, showcasing
this album. Both times I walked away knowing that I'd seen
something special. This is a band worth following. For the
guitarists amongst you, here is what you need to know:
The boy has tone..............and he's not afraid to use it!
And he's so frikkin' young and talented it's enough to make
you hang up your guitar, lock yourself in the bathroom and
cry for your Mommy. If that's not bad enough, at 18 years
old he's got himself a damn fine blues voice.
And he writes his own stuff.
And he has a record deal.
At this point I know you're dying for me to say something
like 'he's good, but y'know, all he plays is pentatonics so
he's got a long way to go...'
Not so. He plays all over the frikkin' place. Just when you
think he's going to do one thing he hits a colour note then
tears off in another direction.
And... and...
And I haven't even got round to reviewing the CD!
"Open Road" is definitely a strong debut album. If I had to
mark it down for any reason (and I'm totally nit-picking
here!) it would be that I think a couple of the tracks could
have been arranged more like their live performance.
Onstage, the band consistently sizzles but at times the
recorded tracks veer more towards a jazzier vibe.
The biggest example is the album cut of "New Groove". Played
live it's an edgy, funky, balls to the wall song. On the CD
it's a much more laid back. I'd have preferred them to push
the tempo and add a bit more snap. In general the drums have
been mixed further into the background than I expected, I
guess. I get why: so that you can hear every note Oli's
plays. I'm sure that I'll get used to the different mix of
the recordings and love them after a couple of listens.
Hey I just listened to "New Groove" for the second time and
already I'm starting to feel it more. See, I told you I was
nit-picking! Y'know I just figured out what the deal is. The
album is meant to be played LOUD! Amps to 11, puh-lease!
If you like blues with a twist, buy this album. You will not
believe that this sound is created by a bunch of guys who
are only just over the UK legal drinking age.
Kenski
Hey Oli, where you going with that axe
in your hand? The teenager who’s the most talked about
talent in blues music is incredibly only 17, yet comparisons
are already being made with the late, great Jimi Hendrix.
Oli Brown isn’t any ‘60s throwback in terms of image.
Hendrix was all flower power ruffles and bubble perm – Oli
peers out from behind a severely straightened modern fringe.
Hendrix was American, Oli carrries the blues torch for the
Brits.
And yet.. .it’s hard for comparisons not to be made. Oli
definitely has much of the Hendrix sound – the sharply
chopped, ice-clear notes, totally uninhibited, loose rhythm
style, effortless chord switches, that inate ability to mix
it up according to mood, hard or soft.
Maybe Oli doesn’t hit quite so much feedback and wah-wah but
his playing’s as sharp cut and stylish as an Armani suit.
Judge yourself in Oli’s debut album Open Road (Ruf Records)
which hopefully lays down a blueprint for many great things
to come from Boy Wonder.
From the opening track Psycho, which bears easy comparisons
with Voodoo Chile, Oli and his three-piece outfit (a la
Hendrix Experience) wade into a mean and moody, fast and
frantic and sometimes just damn stylish brand of blues, much
of which stands comparison with anything turned out by
luminaries such as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and
Peter Green at a parallel stage in their careers.
Having already shared a stage with contemporary bluesmen
such as Koko Taylor, Walter Trout, John Mayall and Buddy
Guy, Oli isn’t about to be backward about coming forward,
nor in denying his roots.
Indeed, the up-tempo rock version of Black Betty is an
all-too-short but exhilarating take on an old classic by
‘King of the 12 string’ Leadbelly. Two minutes of ecstasy
that end in an honourable draw – Huddy Leadbetter couldn’t
get near Oli on guitar, but then Oli can’t sing with the raw
power of Leadbelly.
Shade of Grey takes us off somewhere more along the
jazz-blues fringe and its laid-back mood is obviously
something Oli’s comfortable with. He isn’t afraid to rein in
the volume and get up close and personal with that axe
rather than just hammering it hell for leather.
The spare, minimalist feeling of a tight trio suits Brown’s
style, with the teenage bluesman flowing effortlessly
between lead and rhythm guitar, ably backed by a sharp,
snappy band. It’s encouraging to note that eight of the 11
featured tracks have songwriting input from Brown himself.
Oli can moan and get a little hoarse for the blues cause but
it’s interesting to note that like Hendrix, singing isn’t
his greatest strength…yet. There’s plenty of moan and angst
but he’s no Paul Rodgers or Freddy Mercury...though things
could improve with more maturity, as Clapton proved. No,
Oli’s magic is in his fingers.
My personal favourite here is the sad and wistful Missing
You, which has style, mood and some sweetly laid-back
playing plus some soulful vocals, and the jazz-club
flavoured Complicated, but in truth there isn’t a dud track
here and everything shines in his hands.
Original, sublimely talented, a brilliant live force – just
how far can he go? Who knows – but I’ve heard, I believe and
I've seen the Promised Land.
Alan Candy - Luton Today
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.
Fatea Magazine
Live Review -
The Oli Brown Band, Leicester Nov 30 2007
Right. I'm going to say something controversial now.
Sometimes the blues gets boring. There, I've said it and now
I'll tell you why. I've spent many an evening in front of a
band of highly competent musicians, playing 12 bar at
various tempos, and dear reader, I've been yawning behind my
pint glass by the fifth song.
I arrived at The Musician in Leicester knowing that The Oli
Brown Band are very good - everyone "in the know" said so,
and the mini album in my possession backed that up. What I
wasn't prepared for was just how good. From the first chord
to the final screams of the encore, I was enthralled by the
twists and turns of where Oli took me. Oli's band is a three
piece, with Fred on a six string bass,(believe me, this is
not just for show - he plays all 6 of them well enough to
turn your knees to jelly) and Simon holding it all together
on the skins. What I noticed, was that despite their young
age and therefore you might think, lack of experience, was
that they are not afraid to use space in their songs. Many
older musicians would to do well to remember that it is not
neccessary to fill up every space in a song - Oli's use of
light and shade is sublime.
This was my kind of blues, a set tinged with Stevie Ray
Vaughan influences, but definitely with Oli Brown's own
signature stamped all over it.
As I was leaving, a grey haired gentleman of senior years
was speaking to Oli outside the venue. I happened to
overhear him whisper to Oli as he shook his hand "The blues
is in safe hands"
I smiled because I knew this was true, and also because I
remembered that I didn't yawn once all night.
Webmaster Stitch - GFI Promotions |


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