September
2003
Glamour Puss Wire & Wood NorthernBlues NBM0018/Festival
Album number four and proof positive that this band deserves its new national status. Roaring out of the block with three straight rockers, they then stay true to their New Brunswick roots with a blend of Cajun, French and acoustic blues originals. First time producer Michael Jerome Browne has done a marvelous job with the recording and the performances, adding guitar, fiddle and harmony vocals and generally taking things a step higher. The drive and spirit, though, belong to the long-standing lineup of Ron Dupuis on drums & vocals, Travis Furlong on guitar & vocals, Paul Boudreau on bass & vocals, Roger Cormier on keyboards & vocals and Don Rogers on sax & vocals. Phillipe Lucy & Roland Bourgeois augment Rogers for a horn section throughout. Newcomer Charlie A'Court guests on acoustic guitar along with Browne on "Wire & Wood", Furlong's paean to his guitar. Cormier's "(Elle est) Dangereuse" has a most effective melody line and the list of 12-bar blues with French lyrics is not a long one. John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" gets the Animals treatment, capturing every bit of the energy in that version. "Maman Don't Play No Zydeco" gives Browne's fiddle a workout in a Doug Kershaw-styled arrangement that get re-done at the end in French, a fifteenth song on a fourteen song CD. Just before that though comes "Million-Air", another excellent Furlong song about some self-inflicted blues. All the songs here could be called thinking-while-dancing music because the lyrics go far beyond the usual. Check out the first page again for their dates here and make sure you get there early!
Morgan Davis Hogtown Years Morgan
This is not an album of new songs for Morgan but it does put some long-unavailable ones in your CD player and gives you a bonus besides. The chief highlight is the group of five songs from 1982's I'm Ready to Play, never transferred to CD and therefore absolutely necessary for those of you without a turntable. Then there are four songs from 1989's Morgan Davis, the short-lived Stony Plain CD and two songs each from Live at Grossman's and Blues Medicine, the most recent albums. The bonus is a demo recording with Al Lerman of "Buddy Bolden's Blues" from 1996. This music has aged very well indeed: if you haven't heard "Satisfaction Guaranteed" or "Why'd You Lie?" with that horn section, you've got to get this CD. "Why'd You Lie" was the song that Colin James had the hit with and now the original is here again. He now calls Nova Scotia home but Morgan's tenure here provided me with some of my favourite Hogtown musical memories and maybe that Knights of the Mystic Sea 45 can be on the short list for Volume two of the Hogtown Years! For now, this is available only from Morgan, either from the bandstand or via e-mail from www.morgandavis.com.
Paul James Band La Vie en Bleu Lick 'N' Stick PJ002
This is a new album from Paul for his fans, his first of new recordings in fifteen years. In addition to four of his own songs, the CD contains new recordings of the most frequently requested songs by his fans over his career. His long time band is intact here with Gary Gray, piano & organ; Brian Kipping, bass and Adrian Vecchiola, drums. Sarah McElcheran and Jim Bish are the horn section with Alec Fraser on occasional bass (and engineering). "Hey Now Rosie" is a new song set to a Fred McDowell/R.L. Burnside riff that cooks along nicely. Paul's Bob Dylan interpretations have the distinction being recognized by the man himself, with invitations to join the band at various Toronto area gigs over the years and there are three fine ones here: "Like a Rolling Stone", "It's All Over now Baby Blue" & "Highway 61 Revisited". "Gloria", "Carol", "Louie Louie" (with intelligible lyrics) and a couple of Stones songs are part of the well-played program that should be a delight for fans. Visit www.pauljamesband.com if you can't get to a show.
David Rotundo Blues Ignited Featuring
Enrico Crivellaro Stone Pillar SPP0005
A superb second album arrives from our '02 Talent Search and Maple Blues Awards New Talent winners. Still very much rooted in the Chicago blues tradition, this CD features a generous program of originals by vocalist/harpman Rotundo. The sterling lead/rhythm guitar work is by regular Pete Schmidt and/or by Enrico Crivellaro from the Royal Crown Revue and James "Icepick" Harman's band and whose new Electro-Fi solo CD will be reviewed in the next column. Also returning is bassist/co-producer Shane Scott and pianist extraordinaire Julian Fauth. The new drummer is Greg Cooper. As I wrote for the first CD, Rotundo has a gift for writing memorable songs in a tradition that is woefully short of them now, with too many sounding hackneyed or trite. Just listen to "Stranger" or "Worries & Trouble" or "Sellout Or Starve" as examples. "Drinking Overtime" is another example of a new twist on a topic with a long history. As a band of relatively young players, they have completely absorbed the sound of this tradition, knowing when and when not to play. Rotundo's vocals sound especially good, up-front and well recorded, the only quibble being the over-reliance on the Omar & the Howlers growl on "Sellout or Starve". Crivellaro's two features are "Let's have a Good Time" & "The Sway" both co-written with Rotundo and showing those West Coast techniques to excellent advantage. A special highlight is Rotundo's tribute to Muddy Waters with "I Got To Move" with Jack de Keyzer on electric slide and Tony Ajo on drums, a great choice as an album closer. "Blues Ignited" is a fine new harp instrumental. As Rotundo and Crivellaro have several weeks of gigs lined up this month, you`ll be able to get this from the bandstand or you can go to www.davidrotundo.com.
Pete Schmidt + Shane Scott Blues Approved Stone Pillar SP006
When sidemen want to record as leaders they have some obstacles to overcome. Last time out, these two contributed a valuable service by putting out a CD that you could sing or play along with. This time they've asked several blues men to co-write songs with them and then record them in the studio. Chuck Jackson, Ricky Day, Jerome Godboo, Little Bobby, David Rotundo and Mark Stafford are the guest vocalists. Mel Brown plays piano & organ on eight songs; Jack de Keyzer, slide guitar and Doctor Nick, harp. Scott takes three vocals and there are three instrumentals in a one-hour program. I haven't listed all the participants here for lack of space but members of the David Rotundo band fill many of the missing parts. First off, Scott acquits himself well as a vocalist but it might be a while before he's as well known as his guests. His "Gimme all Your Money", with de Keyzer on slide is one of the highlights. Others are a couple of lovely slow blues: Ricky Day's "Back on Top" and Chuck Jackson's "Blue Moon Blues". Schmidt shines on guitar throughout, especially on the Magic Sam-influenced "No Need To Be Alone" with Little Bobby. There are now getting to be quite a few CD's that give you a variety of voices & styles on one disc. They also serve to document our very active scene and they are well worth seeking out, especially this one. Go to www.peteschmidt.com.
Duke Robillard Exalted Lover Stony Plain SPCD 1293/Warner
This is the new album in Duke's main career, as opposed to his overtly blues series or his work with mentors. As such it touches on all kinds of American roots music but he is still mainly a blues man and there is a great deal to enjoy here. Eight of the ten tunes are originals and the opener "Down Home Country Girl" gets things off to a bluesy, roaring start. He seems intent on creating a sound that he hoped Roomful of Blues would give him, at least on those early albums and quite a few of the players here have long associations with him. But seeing as I enjoyed those albums a great deal, I have no problems at all with this band. "Real Live Wire" is a rockabilly rouser followed by what the notes call a `lounge blues'. It's the title song and the subject of the cover art with seductive French narration in the middle and seemingly about his guitar. "Deep Inside" brings us back to blues as in soul-blues followed by a duet with Debbie Davis, "How Long Has it Been" that recalls Texas blues styles. Early country music is represented by the excellent "Love Made a Liar Out of Me" and "Double X Daddy" does the same for the double-entendre R&B song. James Wayne's "Travellin' Mood" gives the nod to New Orleans. This all sounds a little too diverse but the strength of the songwriting and the quality of the performances keep everything together.
Jay McShann Goin' To Kansas City Stony Plain SPCD 1286/Warner
Three albums into his "third", Stony Plain, career, McShann is still going strong. This one has him backed by a trio of Duke Robillard and a couple of Kansas City veterans: Milt Able on bass and Tommy Ruskin on drums. McShann has a couple of new songs but does more of the fine ones recorded earlier in his career when he had people like Walter Brown and Jimmy Witherspoon singing and he didn't have to. There are also a couple of songs featuring Johnnie Johnson, Chuck Berry's pianist and musical arranger. McShann was his idol early on and still is and they have fun playing and singing together. A duet remaking his first big hit, 1943's "Confessin' the Blues" with Maria Muldaur isn't nearly as effective as his version of "Trouble in Mind", with Duke on acoustic guitar, perhaps his 87 years are catching up with his voice. There is another interview with Holger Petersen to end the latest of what I hope will be a long series. I'd like to end here by extending my congratulations to Holger on his being made a Member of The Order of Canada for his efforts on behalf of Canadian & roots music.
Various Artists Shout, Sister, Shout-A Tribute to Sister Rosetta
Tharpe M.C./Stony Plain SPCD 1294/Warner
I think it's only because of the relative lack of attention paid to gospel music that Rosetta Tharpe is not the household name she should be. As a young guitar playing gospel singer in the 40's, she moved to electric guitar, married gospel to swing music, crossed over to record secular music as well as gospel and generally became an extremely important role model for women (and men). Marc Carpentieri of M.C. Records and Maria Muldaur have put together a tribute that just might change this. Many of her most famous songs are here, recorded by more people than I have space for and you'll be surprised at how many of the songs you recognize, so much a part of the cultural fabric have they become. The Holmes Brothers are the band for many of the tracks and the contributions of Joan Osborne, Phoebe Snow and Odetta should be recognized. Ms. Muldaur, Marcia Ball, Tracy Nelson & Angela Strehli perform wonderfully, singly and together to give you just one more highlight.
- John Valenteyn, jvalenteyn8724@rogers.com
Toronto Blues Society Copyright _ 2003