BLUES JUNCTION Productions
7343 El Camino Real
Suite 327
Atascadero, CA 93422-4697
info
This is the first full length album’s worth of material released by Swedish vocalist and harmonica player Knockout Greg in sixteen years. It’s a good thing because we were starting to miss this guy. However, this album sounds like he never left, in that Greg Andersson aka Knockout Greg remains in full possession of his tremendous talents. Andersson has always had a fascination with gulf coast rhythm & blues and on this outing, he wades even deeper into the swamp. His band with the stripped down, twin guitar approach is the perfect fit for this type of musical vision. This ten-song program consists of all original material written by Bjorn Viitanen save one tune penned by the Godfather of the Scandinavian blues scene, the late Sven Zetterberg. The Jukes are Gunmar Muvemba Lyndstrom and Viitanen on guitars, as well as little brother Marcus Andersson on drums. This ensemble is up to the task as they lay down a serious groove. This one is not to be missed.
For those of us who are familiar with the British harmonica great and terrific vocalist, Steve “West” Weston, it is almost impossible to believe that this brand-new release is the first solo album of his long and storied career. For those of you who are new to this phenomenal talent I have to ask, 'Where the f*ck have you been? Oh, that’s right, you have been jerking each other off in Memphis to the point where you have so much gunk in your ears that you can’t hear anything on the other side of the Atlantic (except 1960’s era British blues-rockers of course) or on the other side of the Rockies for that matter.' Weston is a giant in the alternative and real blues universe in which the blues foundation types have no real interest. This eleven-song program of original material written by Weston also features an all-star combo of Tomi Leino on guitar, upright bass player Lars Näsman and Mikko Peltola on drums. Yeah, three other major cats with whom you are also not familiar. This album is a masterpiece and receives my highest recom…oh hell, never mind.
Per “Sam Rocket” Näsman has had a similar career trajectory as that of Knockout Greg. We haven’t heard from this Swedish vocalist and harmonica player since the early 2000’s. He is back with a retooled band and has made perhaps the surprise album of year. Caught in the Groove was produced by Per’s younger brother Lars Näsman, the double upright bassist from the renowned Swedish blues band Trickbag. The ubiquitous guitarist Tomi Leino (also of Trickbag fame) recorded and mixed this exceptional album. The opening number, the album’s title track, penned by Per Näsman pretty much sets the tone for this wild, swinging affair. Great covers of Guitar Slim, Jimmy McCracklin and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and others executed to perfection by this band make this a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience.
Shay is from San Diego with a background in the theatre. She is a hard-working performer who sings in a variety of musical settings. One of the roles she plays is that of the blues diva. To her great credit, she plays this role very well. Her brand-new album, A Woman Rules The World, on the Little Village Foundation label is a testament to that fact. A Woman Rules the World is a quantum leap forward for Whitney Shay. She has grown in her live performances and has also made strides in that other arena, the studio. Shay doesn’t completely avoid many of the vocal clichés that are rampant in this music, yet she doesn’t get bogged down in that mire either. The album’s producer, Kid Andersen, does a marvelous job on many fronts and deserves much credit for capturing an emerging talent in the blues field.
The Belfast Cowboy returns to one of his favorite hang outs, the world of Jazz. This time out he shares the billing with the modern master of the Hammond B3 organ, Joey DeFrancesco. Joey D is the heir apparent to fellow Philadelphia area native Jimmy Smith. It was DeFrancsesco who reinvigorated an interest in this instrument in the 1990’s a few decades after much of the world discovered the B3 for the first time through Smith. This jazz master is also a fine trumpet player as demonstrated on a few tracks on You’re Driving Me Crazy. Morrison, as we all know, is a unique vocal stylist who doesn’t sound like anybody except…Van the Man. He is also a multi-instrumentalist who plays alto sax on a handful of tunes here and the harmonica on one other. Guitarist and long-time DeFrancesco sideman, Dan Wilson, also makes marvelous contributions to You’re Driving Me Crazy. A combination of Morrison originals with a light sprinkling of jazz and blues standards makes this generous fifteen song, seventy-minute program an enjoyable listen.
Mark Mumea’s Silver Kings have gone through some personnel changes over the past few years. However, this latest iteration of the band may be the best line-up to date. Guitarist Mumea along with longtime bassist and now principal vocalist Jerry Careaga are joined on this outing by Billy Bates on guitar, harp man Mark Bukich and pianist Rick Sterbentz. Once again, on their brand-new release, they perform renditions of post war, early electric blues gems. In this sub-culture of the blues world, there is no band anywhere in the world that is more respected than the Silver Kings. It is a pure form of blues that was originally recorded between 1937 and 1952 before other musical genres began to assert themselves into the language of the blues. Enjoy twelve brand new tunes performed by the Silver Kings that are pulled from this period.
Yet another fine album produced by Kid Andersen at his Greaseland Studio in San Jose, California. This, the Sao Paulo, Brazil, based blues man’s debut album features some tasteful and mature guitar playing and fine support by Kid Andersen playing bass on all nine tracks and a variety of instruments including a Hammond organ, a Farfisa compact organ, an acoustic guitar and a six-string bass on half a dozen other tunes. The exquisite blues drumming of June Core is heard throughout the program. Jim Pugh plays piano on three tunes on this album. John Blues Boyd and Whitney Shay also make wonderful contributions, each taking a vocal turn on a track.
These French blues men are celebrating their tenth anniversary as a band by releasing this, their fourth CD. They have undergone some personnel changes since we last heard from this very talented band. They continue to be led by Norman Rosiaia. He is the band’s lead singer, guitarist, harp man and principal songwriter. Rosaia leads this four-piece ensemble through a twelve song program of all original material presented with several r&b flavors, many with an underpinning of jazz and west coast swing.
What makes Never Too Soon is the voice and delivery of Marina Crouse. She wields a naturalistic instrument which is imbibed with warmth. It has an unaffected expressiveness that is simply refreshing. Her singing carries with it none of the vocal histrionics and clichés that mar so many female vocalists in this field. They, unlike Crouse, have never taken the time to learn the elusive and subtle dialect of the blues. She performs in two languages, yet seamlessly blends both to deliver missives in the international language of music. (This CD sits in our June Monthly Album Spotlight. For a complete review, check that out.)
Franchi is an emerging young star in the blues field. He has grown by leaps and bounds since coming onto the scene a few years ago. By way of illustrating this, and if you will excuse an over simplification, he has gone from being a Stevie Ray Vaughan devotee to being a Jimmie Vaughan devotee. If he was able to connect those dots and make that leap, than Franchi has demonstrated a whole new level of sophistication and maturity in communicating in the language of the blues…not an easy thing to do. Anson Funderburgh produced this 13-track program and even plays lead guitar on two songs.
Copyright 2022 BLUES JUNCTION Productions. All rights reserved.
BLUES JUNCTION Productions
7343 El Camino Real
Suite 327
Atascadero, CA 93422-4697
info