New Releases -
January 2000
Dark Angel Blues Band Crazy Old
Blues Indie
This band of veterans now has something permanent for us to listen to between their infrequent live gigs.
Crazy Old Blues is an eight-song mini CD that I hope will encourage them to do more. The band has had a consistent lineup of
Brian Stoliker on vocals; Paul
Corbett, guitar; Stuart Elliot, saxes;
Ed Zankowski, tenor sax; Bill Lyons, bass;
Doug Balfour, piano; Mike "Moose"
Moszyinski, guitar & harp and John
Moszynski, drums. They first came to my attention about ten years ago when they released a
four-song cassette that featured Bob
Robinson, a veteran blues singer from Spartanburg, North Carolina who first began performing with
The Revelaires in Detroit before moving here in the mid-sixties. There weren't a lot of gigs with Robinson in semi-retirement although
a solo gig of his with fellow ex-Detroiter Jodie
Drake
boo Watson and Her Fabulous Band Opening Moves bW0043
An eclectic first album from a veteran local activist and performer who has lately been making herself better known in our community, hence some comments now about an album of original songs that came out earlier this year. She describes her style as blues-fusion and the CD leans perhaps more to jazz and pop settings but there are a couple of songs that show what she can do in settings that are more blues friendly. The opening song, "Just Come Back" grabs immediate attention with its "Love, Peace & Happiness"-related riff; "(Don't Say) You Don't Love Me" showcases a powerful, Aretha-influenced voice and "The Sweetness" rocks along nicely and with more honesty than some listeners would like. The band you will see features boo on piano and vocals with Kevin Barrett on guitar; Rachel Melas, bass; Mark Adam, drums and the backup voices of Lisa Lindo and Laura Lindo. The CD features eleven players including Jani Lauzon on backing vocals & wooden flute and Graeme Kirkland on drums.
The Russell Jackson Band The Alley Man
Bluestone Records RJ094/Festival
The now Vancouver-residing bassman Russell Jackson is a former Silent Partner, along with Mel Brown and drummer Tony Coleman. Coleman and Jackson, along with Andrew "Junior Boy" Jones, were Charlie Musselwhite's and Katie Webster's band before that; both are alumnae of B. B. King's Orchestra as well. The Alley Man is Jackson's first solo project and it turns out to be a solid, if short, effort. The songwriting credits show all eight songs as his so I guess he's assuming credit for his versions of "Blues With A Feeling" and "I Hear Some Blues Downstairs". Of the originals, "A Woman Needs"
(some good advice!), "99" and "Tossin' and Turnin'" are very good indeed. His vocal debut was on the Antone's Silent Partners album, If It's All Night, It's All Right in 1989 and this album proves he should have debuted a lot earlier (good singers are always in short supply) but then it's taken a little while for even the news of this album to travel east! The band includes Johannes Grames on guitars; Graham Guest, keys and Ivan Duben on drums with a number of hired hands. Bluestone Records is at 1755 Robson St., Vancouver BC V6G 3B7 and 604-683-6235.
Craig Morrison & The Momentz Rocket
Radio 7 Nights Music 7NMC-04
Longtime Montreal resident and Victoria BC native Morrison is a York University-trained ethno-musicologist and author who has, oddly enough, been a professional musician since high school. The title of his first book, Go Cat Go, Rockabilly Music and Its Makers, pretty much sums up the music on this CD but it's played honestly and the blues roots of the music are evident, particularly in the heartfelt tribute to Vann "Piano Man" Walls, "When Captain Vann Plays The Blues", "One Mint Julep" and "Boogie Woogie Country Girl". Outside of Morrison on guitar and vocals, the lineup of The Momentz changed too frequently to list easily and the eighteen songs were recorded at various sessions, club dates and concerts over the past decade and more but with surprisingly consistent recording quality for all that. The cover photo reproduced here was taken by Linda Gross. Check out www.craigmorrison.com or 514-272-0367.
Jim Diamond & The Groove Syndicate Somewhere Somehow BEATS A DAY JOB Records JD-2635
Jim Diamond is a Toronto native who lives in Franklin, Kentucky, just north of Nashville TN. after stops in Michigan and Ohio. The current version of The Groove Syndicate was formed in 1996 when he met his wife Beth who took over the drum chair and they promptly recorded their first CD, Angel Child. With some new members plus a fine group of studio players, they're ready to take Somewhere Somehow, their second album, to the next level which includes a stop at this summer's Kingston Blues Festival. One of Diamond's first compositions was a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan, who remains a major influence although Freddie King and Buddy Guy are also cited. Special guest on the album is Vaughan's former keyboard player, Reese Wynans and the addition of Joe Digiuseppe on tenor sax to the band adds a George Thorogood sound to the mix. Diamond is a fine vocalist for this style of electric blues and several of his songs here are standouts: "Special Kinda Love", "Surfin' The Blues(for Dick Dale)" and "Highway 401"(not in Kentucky and not quite politically correct, but with a fine horn arrangement!). You can reach Jim at 270-586-9839 or www.jimdiamond.com.
Joe Louis Walker Silvertone Blues Blue Thumb 547 721/Universal
This is Walker's long-planned acoustic album and he has invited a few friends along: James Cotton, Alvin Youngblood Hart and Vancouver piano ace Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne, although none of them guest together. Wayne appears on four of the twelve songs and gets a co-writing credit on the title song and on the piano-led instrumental, "Kenny's Barrelhouse". A couple of the songs show that Walker's creative muse is not running at quite the same speed as his recording plans but this is still a fine acoustic blues album by a younger generation artist on a major label. More highlights are the uptempo "Trouble on Wheels", with Wayne and a rhythm section; "Letting Go", with Cotton; "Born In Mississippi" with Hart and the solo "Bad Luck Blues".
Super Chikan What You See Fat Possum 80389/Epitaph
James "Super Chikan" Johnson is Big Jack Johnson's nephew and his nickname comes either from his version of the famous chicken scratch guitar riff or from his "Quick Chicken" Clarksdale, MS cab-driving nickname. Whatever its source, it's the name(and spelling) that has stuck. In keeping with Fat Possum's recent recording policy, however, this is not quite a straight ahead blues album. For one thing, it's short, only 37 minutes running time and for another, it covers a variety of musical styles with only one of them, "willie brown jr." full of effects but not of the tape loop variety. Otherwise, it's pretty solid if not up to the same level as his Rooster Blues' Blues Come Home To Roost with Super Chikan on guitar accompanied by bass & drums and a sax player who could be any one or more of several names listed. Short, lower case titles are also part of the style here and the best ones are "ain't nobody", "you said" and his uncle's "big boy now". Fat Possum promises that Super Chikan will be on the road promoting this album all this year, so we should be able to check out the live show too.
- John Valenteyn, jayvee@ican.net
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