New Releases -
December 2001
Michael Jerome Browne Drive On Borealis BCD138/Festival
Stephen Barry Original disques BROS - 11004
Once upon a time there was The Stephen Barry Band, which, from this far along Highway 401, was the longest-running blues band in Montreal. This group recorded only five albums over some thirty years but its lineup on Gold (disques BROS) has diversified itself into a veritable mini-industry recently. The two at hand prove the wisdom of this plan. Drive On extends Browne's role as a songster, a performer who draws on any and all musical styles to entertain. His specialty is all American folk music but he obviously has a special affinity for blues and for rural pre-WWII blues at that. As on his first CD, Michael Jerome Browne, he uses fragments and themes as starting points for essentially new songs - a time-honoured tradition indeed. He has an assist this time in lyricist B.A. Markus and her contributions keep everything firmly in the present - "Children", for instance, has lyrics on the state of the earth sung over a new Browne melody played on his gourd/banjo. So do Browne's choice of non-blues songs, from George Jones, Sam Cooke and Stevie Wonder and Al Green, whose "I'm A Ram" supplies the title and, says Browne by way of explanation, "Teenie Hodges' guitar lick is straight from the Delta". This may appear too diverse to be a useful listening experience but in Browne's vocal cords & hands it all makes sense. One further new composition by this team deserves mention and that's "Cancer Ward Blues" dedicated to Harry Vann Walls and Ruth Palefsky Vann. Ray Bonneville guests on vocals and harmonica and former Barry Band mates Jody Golick, sax, and John McColgan, drums are on hand with Nicolas Caloia on bass. Jordan Officer, on leave from Susie Arioli, helps out on guitars as he does on Original.
Stephen Barry's CD is far more folk oriented but vocal contributions from drummer Gordon Adamson and guitarist Andrew Cowan make it feel more like a Band album than a solo one and in fact, for the last three songs, this could be considered a Band album with Jordan Officer replacing Browne. But with Barry's "Dr. Love", the blues quotient starts climbing and "Blues Stay Away", "Cry For Me" and "Rollin' & Tumblin'" (with a Balafon moving it back to Africa) put the album back on the blues shelf. Keep `em coming, guys!
The Nationals Double Slide Chester
3/Indie
Kensington Kat Brian Cober has an album of new songs he'd like you to know about. Cober plays guitar with two slides, over the top, hence the title; with him in The Nationals are Paul McNamara on bass and Ian Green, drums. On several songs they get prominent help from Eric Webster on organ. "Lay It On", with its Lou Reed-style vocal leads off a disc that should make this veteran band a lot better known than it is. "Only The Lonely Knows", "Not An Ordinary Man", "Better Get Ready", Pound `O Pain" and Nowhere Left To Ride" are many notches above ordinary bar band blues tunes and really benefit from superb production from "Big" Ben and Alec Fraser. Highly recommended. Check `em out at Grossman's or go to mp3.com/thenationals and check out "Only The Lonely Knows".
Rick Washbrook Lucky Man Indie
Rick Washbrook (the bluesman)'s studio CD, Wedding In The Rain, from a couple of years ago featured him as a talented singer & songwriter. This time out for Lucky Man, he's chosen to feature his guitar on a program of songs from the Chicago blues tradition. The occasion was last May 5 at the Winchester Arms in Lindsay, where he now lives, and Dennis Pendrith was on hand to cover the bass chores and John Crown the drums. There is plenty of fine guitar playing on this sixty-minute CD but the vocals are low in the mix and sound indifferently recorded. He also plays jazz and www.washbrook.com prominently features a tribute CD for Lenny Breau.
Sunny Fournier My Kind Of Blues
SAR-631829/Indie
Sudbury's Sunny Fournier has been hard at work with Ken Whiteley once again, reprising their collaboration on 1997's One More For the Blues. My Kind Of Blues is a program of 13 originals that, as usual for Fournier, is infused with the music of his idol, B.B. King and asking B.B. King Band alumnus Russell Jackson, now residing in Vancouver, to play bass helps lends an air of contemporary authenticity to the proceedings. Once you get used to it, however, you'll find that Fournier has a strong album here - after all, he has picked an excellent role model and the new songs are all very good ones. Helpfully, producer Whiteley brought along his arsenal of instruments, the kind that you wouldn't hear on a B.B. King album and Fournier's harp changes the sound as well. The rest of the band assembled for this CD is also a huge asset: along with Fournier on lead guitar, Whiteley, and Jackson, Maureen Brown is on drums with Michael Fonfara & Richard Bell, keyboards; Pat Carey handles tenor & baritone saxes and the very effective horn arrangements; Colleen Allen is on alto sax and Chris Whiteley, trumpet - this band smokes! Among the highlights : the ballad "See You In My Dreams", the slide/harp feature "I Feel Free", the very Downchild-sounding "Women" and the long slow blues "Tired". This is definitely one to check out if you get the chance, you can email Sunny at bluesun@hotmail.com to find out more about this album and the three previous ones (www.sunnyfournier.com is under construction). His CD release here is skedded for Feb. 15 at The Silver Dollar Room and you should circle that date in your calendar.
Pappy Johns Band Blame It On Monday Indie
Some of the most seasoned players on the Rez
Bluez circuit, The Pappy Johns Band is
Faron Johns on lead vocals; Chris
Johns and Lorne Greene on vocals and guitar;
Don Powless on bass; Oren Doxtator on drums; and
Al `Gator' Kroll on alto sax. I've caught these players a
few times now over the years and always grumbled
about not having a CD to play. Now I have a fine
one indeed. Faron Johns is one of the best blues
singers working and he gets to shine on the opening
"Wishing Princess" and the blues ballad "Blame It On
Monday" which also features a tremendous sax solo
from `Gator' Kroll. Both of these and three others
are excellent original tunes. Seeing "Shame,
Shame, Shame", "Walking By Myself" and "Key To
The Highway" on yet another CD might make you
groan but they get workouts only a veteran band could
pull off, with lyric changes that also help keep them
fresh. For more info, e-mail Rez Bluez at
rezbluez@hotmail.com. The Pappy Johns Band
are currently the resident house band for
"Buffalo Tracks", a variety show on the
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (A.P.T.N.) every Friday at
8:30 pm & 1:30 am (EST).
Archie Edwards The Toronto Sessions Vol.
1 NorthernBlues NBM0006/Festival
This Piedmont-style guitarist made three trips here in the mid `80's, courtesy of Serge Sloimovits. On one of them he recorded enough of his repertoire for two CD's but arrangements could never be made to release them until now. There aren't many recordings available in this style and his original songs are excellent. His versions of songs from the tradition are always interesting. In listening to this CD, it's not hard to imagine yourself at his barbershop in Washington DC watching him play with his friend Mississippi John Hurt long into the night. The shop has now become something of a shrine and the meeting place for the D.C. Blues Society, which he helped found and pictures of the CD release party there are at www.northernblues.com. Edwards passed away in 1998. When Vol. 2 comes out next year, it will more than double the recorded output of this overlooked bluesman. Five of the songs recorded in 1980 & 1983 for Germany's L + R Records are currently available on Living Country Blues (Evidence ECD26105), including a version of "The Road Is Rough And Rocky", his first recording, on a SRI 45rpm from 1977. His 1994 Mapleshade CD, Blues `N' Bones, with Richard "Mr. Bones" Thomas and The Nighthawks' harp man Mark Wenner, is available through their website at www.mapleshaderecords.com.
Johnny Jones Blues In The House NorthernBlues NBM0007/Festival
When Nashville, TN is mentioned, blues is not usually the word that comes next. But
Fred James is working hard to correct that impression.
Fortunately, the guitarist and producer has some great talent
to help him in his crusade. Jones (not the same
Johnny Jones that played piano for Elmore
James) is just one of a group that includes
Charles Walker, Earl Gaines, Clifford Curry, Al
Garner and Roscoe Shelton who perform tough blues & R&B in
sections of Nashville country fans don't know exists. They
all recorded in the `60's but only rarely since then.
Blues In The House is Jones' second recent outing if
you count a Dutch CD, I Was Raised On The
Blues (Black Magic), and the others also have recent CD's on
which it seems they all make guest appearances. A
strong singer and lead guitarist, Jones sounds a bit like
a cross between Fenton Robinson and Otis
Rush especially on "I'm Gonna Love You" or "The Blues
Is In The House" (Walker duets on this one). As
a producer and accompanist, James has to be one of the most supportive people around. His
rhythm playing is always spot-on and he provides
strong original material and bands so all his projects,
and he has worked with all six of these guys now, can
all
be safely recommended. Blues In The House is by
far the easiest to acquire here though, so go for it!
Various Artists Blues Xmas Evidence ECD26118
Yes, it does use the "X" in the title and boasts the most amazing lineup of talent. The songs are all instrumental and nary a one is a blues! They are all carols you know and love (hate) done as blues instrumentals - "White Christmas" by Michael Hill, Southside Slim & Kim Wilson, "We Three Kings" by Tommy Castro & Corey Harris; "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" by Paul Oscher, Guitar Shorty & Charlie Musselwhite, "Deck The Halls" with Son Seals, Denny Freeman & Sugar Blue, the list goes on. The only complaint is that sometimes it's hard to listen for the individual players because the songs tend to recede into the background but that's probably what you'd want it for anyway. Enjoy.
Various Artists Blind Pig Records 25th Anniversary Collection Blind Pig BPCD 2002/Warner Music
This one is already in Ian Angus' Gift Guide and I wanted to add that the two discs of label highlights are augmented by a CDR containing seven different video tracks: interviews with Muddy Waters, Snooky Pryor & Deborah Coleman plus concept videos.
Also Received And Waitlisted:
Penny Lang Gather Honey Borealis
Beau Kavanagh Beau Kavanagh and the
Broken Hearted Justin Time
Free Agents In The Network Indie
Reverb Rockers Nickel Plated
Blues Indie
Ken Rhyne Caught You White-Handed
Fat City (US)
Dan Klarskov The Blues Is A
Feeling
Clear (Denmark)
Andy Collins Barron Delta Blue
Indie (Australia)
- John Valenteyn, jvalenteyn8724@home.com
Toronto Blues Society Copyright _ 2001