November
2004
Downchild Come On In Downchild DMCD 014/Festival
Celebrating 35 years with a new album and a national tour, I'm pleased to report that this is a fabulous collection of new songs that are unmistakably Downchild. This burst of creativity occurred only in August, making this CD something of a record-breaker for completion. From start to finish, one is amazed that such vital music lies down such well-trodden paths. The slide guitar intro to "Come On In" instantly recalls "It's a Matter of Time" from We Deliver, a very effective invitation to enter Downchild's world and lose your blues. The unexpectedly serious "Scars" serves to remind that this isn't always a good-time blues band. But fear not, for losing your blues is easy with songs like "There's a Blues Band There", "Jump Right Up" or indeed the wonderful instrumental "Cotton in My Ears" with James on harp. He heads a guest list that is most unusual for a Downchild album but Donnie Walsh, Chuck Jackson, Mike Fonfara, Pat Carey, Gary Kendall and Mike Fitzgerald are augmented by quite a few friends. Peter Jeffrey on trumpet fattens the horn sound as he has on past albums and Gene Taylor takes time off from the Fabulous Thunderbirds to sit in on piano. Pentti Glan of Steppenwolf fame guests on drums also. But it's the guitar chair that features the most fireworks: Jeff Healey, Tom Lavin and David Gogo each contribute to the good times with Donnie either switching to harp or alternating solos. The TO stop is at the Mod Club on November 17th, be there.
David Gogo Vibe Cordova Bay CBR-0332/Cordova Bay/Universal
Cordova Bay, Gogo's label, wanted an album of original material that would stand the test of time, says the press kit. The multiple-award-winning guitarist responded with an album that "looks forward and backward at the same time, fashioning songs that reflect the place he came from and would show a new direction for blues". It seems that direction is rock. "Love in the City", featuring and co-written by Tom Wilson, of Blackie & the Rodeo Kings fame, is supposed to be a tribute to a band he grew up listening to, the Rolling Stones. Unfortunately, he did his job too well because it sounds like a Stones song as opposed to a David Gogo song. There is also a Bruce Springsteen sound-alike and Jeff Healey's contribution, is on ""She's Alright" a nod to Creedence Clearwater Revival. With this CD being distributed by a major label, I'm not surprised he wanted to reach out to radio and mainstream success but let's be honest about it. There are two songs here that will keep it from being filed in another room, though. "Silk and Stone" and "Why Don't You Show Me" will have to tide us over `til the next CD.
Powder Blues Blues + Jazz = Blazz Blue Wave BWRCD 12002
Blues + Jazz = Blazz = vintage Powder Blues. There are some nice jazzy things happening here, principally in the horn charts but don't let that four letter word turn you away from acquiring a fine new Powder Blues CD. This band has often leaned towards the music of some of the larger bands of the golden era of R&B, that of the 40's and early 50's, and have just extended it slightly this time. Leader vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Tom Lavin shares the spotlight with his horn section throughout, from his opening "Cooking with the Blues" through a couple of songs from the back catalogue, "Disappearing Baby Blues" and "Swami Swing".
Highlights from the jazzier songs are the Strayhorn classic "Take the `A' Train" and Buddy Johnson's "Send Out for a Bucket of Beer". Lavin and co-arranger Bill Runge have done a fine job and solo credits go to Jerry Cook, Runge and Ross Taggart.
Check it out at www.powderblues.net.
Harry Manx Road Ragas Dog My Cat DMCR 11012/Fusion
A wonderful evening in Australia, beautifully preserved, might just be Manx's finest disc so far. The hour includes songs from all his previous albums plus a couple of new ones with Manx choosing from his array of stringed instruments; the gospel group Heavenly Lights from West Eats Meet joins him on stage for "Take this Hammer". You may recall my complaint about the lack of blues on that CD and this column is happy to report that the blues quotient here is dramatically higher. The word `ragas' in the title is an apt choice as that comfortable voice and distinctive thumb-picking pattern in his music are at their most hypnotic.
Chick Roberts Blue Turning Gray Old Blue Goat OBGR001
Chick Roberts has most recently been associated with Mariposa in the Schools and has been an active member of our folk scene for over forty years. It was he and Amos Garrett, when they were both in the Dirty Shames, who took John Hammond to see Levon & The Hawks, a visit that led to music history being made. The folk scene, then perhaps more than now, was very much into blues and people kept saying to Roberts that he should do a blues album. He always responded by saying he wasn't old enough. Well, the album's out now so I guess he's old enough and he isn't lying when he sings Eddie `Cleanhead' Vinson's "Past Sixty Blues". This CD is a kind of snapshot of that bygone era: the Climax Jazz Band, who accompany Roberts on four songs, seems a perfect choice because that kind of instrumentation doing vaudeville blues was a more important part of the scene then, Jeff Healey's Jazz Wizards notwithstanding. Garrett also plays on four; Eddie Baltimore brought his dobro and David Gogo his electric guitar among the many other players. The glue for all this is Tony Quarrington, who, in addition to producing, plays guitars, mandolin and tenor banjo. Roberts tackles old favourites of his and some other songs that are age-appropriate, such as the Fats Waller tune that gives the CD its title. It is perhaps not a coincidence that Garrett's recent Acoustic Album covered much the same musical territory. As of this writing, www.chickroberts.com is under construction but he has copies for sale at Sam The Record Man.
Los Gatos Los Gatos Katz
Gatos is Spanish for cat and this is a band led by Doran Katz on vocals & bass, Steve Katz on guitar and Jonny Katz on guitar. Rounding out the lineup: Martin Aucoin plays keys, Mike Fitzpatrick is at the drum kit and Mario Del Monte Jr. plays percussion. The Latin connection is important because the three Katz brothers have been in a variety of local blues bands over the years and this new one is a blues band with a decidedly Latin beat. I'll bet Little Walter did not imagine his "Temperature" quite this way. Latin jazzer Ray Barretto gets a co-writer credit. It didn't faze Jack de Keyzer who guests on lead guitar. I could have done without "Black Magic Woman" but it is probably inevitable in this context. Lloyd Price's "Have You Ever Had The Blues" works the best in this arrangement but Doran Katz' "Isle of You" augers well for new material. I hope this band keeps at it for a while. There's the tentative feel of a new project here that more work will remove and there's a whole library of Willie Bobo's music to check out!
Mark Hummel Blowin' My Horn Electro-Fi EFI 3386/Festival
The measure of a live album is whether or not it stands as an album or whether it is just a keepsake for the crowd that was there that night. Blowin' My Horn passes that test easily. Programmed as a 76-minute set but recorded over two nights, one at the Silver Dollar and one at the Slye Fox in Burlington, this US west coast harp player and his band turn in a varied and exciting listening experience. Charles Wheal is on guitar behind Hummel, Steve Wolf on bass and Marty Dodson on drums. At The Silver Dollar show, Mel Brown played keyboards and his contributions bring a valuable dimension in musicality and colour. The set list is an impressive one with original songs carrying the load. "Gotta Make a Change" makes his political feelings clear and one hopes he doesn't have to write a new blues after November 2nd. "Everything (I Do is Wrong)" is a heartfelt slow blues with fine solos from Wheal and Hummel. This album is a harp lover's delight.
Dan Treanor & Frankie Lee African Wind NorthernBlues NBM0023/Festival
Treanor makes and plays a variety of ancient African instruments but he also writes some very good blues songs and Frankie Lee, a badly under-recorded vocalist, does a fine job of performing them. Treanor plays guitar or harp most of the time, so what we have here is an album of contemporary blues songs with African instruments for accompaniment as opposed to an African-sounding disc. In fact, the African instruments are a real bonus as the CD would seem to hold up very well without them as a couple of the songs attest ("Mean Woman Blues", "Tell Me Mama"). Still the substitution of percussion for a drum kit on most of the songs, plus flutes, African banjos and a kind of diddley bow add an exotic layer here. Treanor also seems to like songs built on drones, which lend themselves to this kind of colouration. The title song is the one with the strongest African involvement, with a chorus as well, but it's about fishing for catfish. "Texas Son" seems written for Lee, with references to his few recordings (`ladies and the babies'). If you've been intrigued by African roots of the blues articles and want a gentle introduction, this CD may be for you. It is also a very good blues CD.
Paul Rishell & Annie Raines Goin'
Home Tone Cool TCL-CD-51570/Artemis
This guitar/harp duo's love of (mostly) pre-war songs continues unabated. As usual, they've put an awful lot of themselves into it, with research, new arrangements, new lyrics, and spirited performances. Three gospel songs stand out. On Washington Phillips' "I Had a Good Mother and Father" they use an ancient Koa wood acoustic guitar and a Hawaiian Mandolin Harp to replicate the mysterious instrument Phillips used. Two of Charley Patton's songs, "I'm Goin' Home" and "Some of These Days (I'll Be Gone)" are included, one re-worked the other live. One post war song, Big Maybelle's "Candy", is a chromatic harp workout for Raines. This album and others like it are an excellent introduction to a world of music that is otherwise available only on difficult to listen to 78rpm discs or their sometimes dodgy transfers. You could do much worse than having Rishell and Raines as your guides.
John's DVD Pick
Colin James Presents The Blues Masters Sanctuary 88330-9/EMI
Yes, this is the CBC's The Blues from 1966 in its 1996 incarnation. That's the 45 minute version with Colin James inserted for Barry Callaghan and reduced from two hours or 90 minutes, depending on which older version you saw. Longer versions from the CBC archives were the subject of two TBS events early in our history. Until more of that becomes available, though, this is an amazing lineup for any blues fan. Muddy Waters & his James Cotton/Otis Spann Band, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Sunnyland Slim and Willie Dixon were all there together in a CBC studio. Going by memory, this is `the greatest hits' of the original and James does a good job as MC, although digitally inserting James into the old tape was a nice effect, once. A Jukebox feature lets you choose any of the twelve selections.
- John Valenteyn, jvalenteyn8724@rogers.com
Toronto Blues Society Copyright _ 2004