New Releases -
July 2000
Sonny Del Rio 40 Years Of Rock `n Roll And All I've Got's The
Blues Sonstone 101
"Grampy, let's rock" giggles granddaughter Heather at the opening of this CD, and the title says it all after that. Along with all the rock `n roll, saxman extraordinaire Dennis Grasley's favourite memories are of playing on Ray Materick's Signature album and Richard Newell aka King Biscuit Boy (Stony Plain) but for most of us, Crowbar comes mostly to mind. After that and after some time out west, he's now back in Hamilton and has put together his first solo CD. It's something of a vanity project and three of the songs won't be of much interest to readers of this column, but the rest make it worthwhile for sure. Richard (Don't Call Me Biscuit Boy) Newell leads the highlights with some fine harp on "Treat Your Baby Right", "7th Avenue Blue" and "Jailhouse Blues"; Dixon Yarmouth plays guitars; Ronnie Lodge handles most of the bass chores; Jessie O'Brien, keys; Randy Scott, Bob Haydon or Johnny Stone are the drummers. Del Rio, of course, plays the saxes and comes up with some very gruff but surprisingly effective vocals for someone who doesn't sing. "Birthday Suit" and "She's Got 44's" won't win marks for political correctness but they do show that the rock `n roll spirit is still there when it needs to be. Available at selected stores in the Hamilton area or contact sonnydelrio@hotmail.com.
Jimmy Witherspoon with The Duke Robillard Band Stony Plain/Warner Music SPCD 1252
This album is best enjoyed after Stretchin' Out-Live (Stony Plain SPCD 1250) which is the Duke Robillard Band's set that evening at Richard's on Richards in Vancouver. It was November 26, 1995 and the last stop of a mini-tour in support of Spoon's Blues (Stony Plain SPCD 1211), the excellent studio album Duke had just produced with Witherspoon. With the CBC tape machines rolling again, the second set opened with the band doing "Glide On" before Spoon is introduced. His songs this night are the oft-performed hits of his 50-year career and not the (for me) more interesting ones chosen for Spoon's Blues but that special vibe that Robillard always manages to create carries Spoon along and brings out some fine late-career moments. "Goin' Down Slow" is especially poignant. The band, of course, is superlative and each member gets fine solos. At the end of the set, Spoon calls Long John Baldry up to duet on a crowd-pleasing "Times Gettin' Tougher Than Tough", a song Spoon wrote and first recorded with Jay McShann in 1947 and which Baldry, with his Hoochie Coochie Men, recorded in 1964. With this CD, we now have the entire show and Spoon's very last recordings - he would pass away less than two years later.
Blue Room Great To Be Alive Soundpulse
Since their last appearance three years ago at the Talent Search, Blue Room have been busy. They've written forty new songs in a variety of styles, added a second drummer and a sax player and, on building on the strength provided by their more frequent live shows, have put out a CD containing the fourteen crowd favourites of these new songs. The crowds chose well, this is a far bluesier album than Into The Night, and should greatly increase their visibility. Blue Room is Brian Neller, lead vocalist; Paul Sanderson, guitar; Fraser Lawrason, bass; Frank Watt, drums; with Pat Quinn is the new drummer and Norm Ryan, sax. Neller and Sanderson, either separately or together, supplied almost all this new material and some of the highlights are the new set closer, "Red Beans and Rice", "Blues In The City", "Get Outta The House", "Deeper Into The Blues" and "Who's On The Telephone? (a fine new road song). Great To Be Alive was produced and arranged by Paul Irvine and is available at fine stores through IndiePool and www.indiepool.com/blueroom.
Carlo P. Spinnazola Spinnazola Indie
The only solo performer in the Talent Search finals this year is also a poet, and a prolific one - he performed all new compositions written using his National during the journey here from his home in Cape Breton. His CD consists of ten quiet, original, mostly solo songs with "Damned", "Ride", and a brief but effective reworking of traditional lyrics entitled "In My Time Of Dying" the best examples of his blues imagery. Call 902-562-4854.
Midnight Mojo Midnight Mojo Delta Fisch DF 25 3765 28
Chatham's Midnight Mojo are Michael Schatte(age 15) on guitar and vocals, Steve Regnier(26) on bass and Kristofer Ryken(18) on drums. Their youth has not been misspent in poolhalls but instead on honing their musical skills, as their performance here proved. The CD is an impressive mix of originals and mostly Chicago standards with their "Thank You Mr. Wolf" leading the way. A portion of this CD was recorded at O'DonnelI's After Dark in Chatham and so might look for them there. I hope we hear much more from this group. They have a website, www.midnightmojo.com or 519-351-6714.
Rick Robichaud Robichaud Road Indie
This Newmarket ON-based band has guitarist/songwriter/vocalist Robichaud backed by Travis Harrison (son of the Cameo Blues Band's Ray Harrison) on bass & vocals, Bruce "Bam Bam" Morrison on drums & vocals and Jim Kreuger on rhythm guitar & vocals. Sax, harp (Tortoise Blue), keys and backup singers all help out on Robichaud Road, which effectively proves they have what a working band in Ontario needs, from rock to rockin' blues to country. They also have a sense of humour ("Ph.D in R&B"). The made-for-Downchild "Hit Rock Bottom" and "Can't Trust Lust" are highlights. If you see their name on a marquee, you should check them out. Contact Jim Kreuger at krugdesn@home.com or 416-617-7243.
Live the Johnny Russell Band Whippersnapper
Backtrack BR1264
Veteran Ottawa piano man Johnny Russell (Agopsowicz) actually leads two bands here, one featuring Southside Steve (Marriner) on harp, with George Prendergast on bass, Bill Brennan on drums and Chris Swain on rhythm guitar. The last four songs feature Scotty Doubt on lead guitar with Russell, Prendergast, and Brennan. and "Live" seems to mean in this instance live in the studio as opposed to a live recording in a club. Southside Steve is the young man who was introduced to us at the Harp Workshop in April and his huge tone and confident playing are well to the fore on the first eight songs, especially the title instrumental and "Top Of The Harp". Two tasty instrumentals, "Whirlaway" and "Earlybird" show off Scotty Doubt's guitar mastery.
The non-instrumentals are well selected from 50's Chicago and Russell's vocals are spot on, if a trifle low in the mix. Contact johnnyrussell@ottawa.com.
The Hurtin' Blues Band Piece Of Cake Itsa Music Company IMC-HBB-CD-1001
Lee Holmes and crew hail from Iroquois Falls in Northern Ontario where they put on their own annual Porquis Blues Festival (on July 8 this year, see last issue). Their CD shows them to be a solid, no frills bar blues band with good original material. Holmes plays bass and handles most of the vocals, Mike Burton is the guitar player and sings the two songs he wrote, Al Lamore is the drummer, Corbz Plummer plays harp and Marc Albert keyboards. "Someone Said" and the title song, (a welcome to Porquis Junction set closer?) are the highlights for me. Alana Pierini co-wrote most of the songs with her partner Holmes and she has come up with some attractive artwork for the CD and the press kit. She's at apierini@ntl.sympatico.ca or 705-232-5932.
Smoke Wagon Blues Band Cool Hand Lueck Indie
Corey Lueck is the harpist/vocalist/leader of this band whose Wild West image/ artwork is very effective. Lueck, John Dawe & Ward Pike(who play on all the songs) and six other players, all got together in the studio in Hamilton last winter with plenty of their beverage of choice to record a (mostly) acoustic blues album. Fourteen songs made the album and of them, six are originals but these are often more rock than blues. The remainder are some oft-recorded blues chestnuts in performances that sometimes make you forget other versions but I hope for their livers' sake that these young "working class Canadian musicians" can learn to play well without the liquid assistance - especially Lueck and his vocals. If they can "keep their stick on the ice", as they say, they should be around for a while. Call 905-639-9402.
- John Valenteyn, jayvee@ican.net
Toronto Blues Society Copyright _ 2000