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February 2007

Donald Ray Johnson Travelin' Man MarVista

We heard at the Summit that the blues is alright in the American South, only it's often called soul blues by everyone else. Perhaps its foremost practitioner north of the border is Calgary's traveling drummer, Don Johnson. This is his fourth album and his best one yet. He has been on the road with Maurice John Vaughn and Vaughn contributes the title song, one of the best recent road songs. It leads into an expertly selected sequence, including "Steamy Windows", a song Tony Joe White wrote for Tina Turner, and a fine version of "Last Two Dollars", the monster hit by the late Johnny Taylor. "Me & Jack (Daniels)" is a very good Johnson original on the perils of drinking, with Sonny Rhodes guesting on lap steel. He also delivers another soul blues update, this time of Elmore James' "Yonder Wall" that's every bit as good as the version of Lightning Hopkins' "209" on the 20 Years - Saturday Night Blues compilation. "Reconsider" is a very good version of the Lowell Fulson standard. Johnson's own "Apple Tree" moves even closer to contemporary R&B with Johnson handling the programming so often associated with this sound. Vaughn gets a nice guitar solo though. Bill Withers' "Who Is He?" keeps it modern and funky but without the programming. The CD closes with his daughters performing an a capella gospel original, "You Reign King Jesus". A wide variety of contemporary styles then, all superbly done. Samples of this CD and the previous two are up at www.donaldray.com and it shows that his music is also available for downloading.

Bill Johnson Blues Band Live Self

Unknown to me until his name appeared on the ballot for guitar player of the year, Johnson came to the show and although he lost out to Sue Foley, he did impress during his guest appearance in the winners jam after the awards. He hails from Victoria, BC and he bought this CD with him, recorded live at the Central Bar & Grille there a couple of years ago. As with many live recordings, some of the songs are warhorses and are perhaps longer than they need to be for listening outside the context of the night. That being said, he's an exciting player, from the T-Bone Walker/B.B. King school, and he has a good band: Gary Preston, on keys, harp & vocals, Rick Erickson on bass and Paul Nixon on drums. The slow blues "Hurtin' Man" is a fine Johnson original and Preston contributes the excellent "I Feel Like Loving". Billy Branch's "How Can I Stand It?" is certainly not over-recorded nor is Duke Robillard's "Too Hot to Handle". The climax though is a treat: Papa Lightfoot's "Come On Baby", one of the most raucous Delta blues recordings you will ever hear, with its heavily distorted harp and vocals sung through the same mike. The band roars through this one, Preston is hot and Johnson tops it with his slide solo. The crowd loved it, you will too. Unfortunately, from his press kit it seems all except Erickson have moved on since that night. Still, the CD shows quite clearly why he was nominated. His web address is not obvious: http://web.mac/oxborough/iWeb.Site/Welcome.html. I can't emphasize enough how important it is for players to participate in events like the Awards or the JUNOs. It's a most effective way to get your name out there.

Treasa Levasseur Not a Straight Line Slim Chicken

Music writer Charlie Gillette famously divided post WWII blues into bar blues (Muddy Waters), jump blues (Johnny Otis) and club blues (Charles Brown). Of the three, Brown's quiet, `supper club' blues usually gets short shrift but this CD and those by DK Ibomeka and Dione Taylor bring the distinction to the fore. Brown's blues credentials are never questioned but it's not often remembered how few blues he actually recorded. Ms. Levasseur brings a quiet, bluesy feel to all her work and you should enjoy a couple of her songs very much. "Brother Lover", "Asking Me to Give You the Blues" and "Solitary Man" are excellent songs, with Sean Cotton on guitar, Richard Bell on keys, Carlos del Junco on harmonica and Michelle Josef on drums, among others helping out. Master producer David Baxter gets it right again. Find out more at www.treasalevasseur.com.

Kevin Phillips and the It Men Big Chop Suey KJM

Kevin Phillips is the newcomer here as all the It Men are familiar names to this column. Phillips is not forthcoming about his history only saying that he escaped a previous life to follow a less lucrative path. Unfortunately, this is probably only half funny. With his George Clooney looks and singing & songwriting talent, I fervently hope his decision is a good one. With Dennis Keldie on keys, Bob Brough on sax, Mike Sloski on drums, Kevin Vienneau on guitar, John Yelland on bass and Jerome Godboo guesting on harp, we're definitely talking bar blues from that list. But the list breaks down when it comes to these modern blues _ there aren't any twelve bar blues here. In fact, it's much closer to jazz in form. He calls "Big Chop Suey" to get out of trouble or he buys "New Shoes" to forget his problems or he has a "Couch Potato Day" pretending he's Leon Redbone. "Change Me" is certainly blues, a soft-spoken but determined message about not changing. Louis Jordan is lovingly recalled with "Porter". "Kitchen" brings Captain Beefheart into the mix with particularly effective harp work from Jerome. There are samples & buying info at www.kevinphillipsandtheitmen.com.

Zed Head Texas Cufflinks Smokehead

This is a new band that pays tribute to ZZ Top and bassman/vocalist Fog Johnny (Burkitt) even has the long beard and dark glasses to look the part. Neil Chapman with his eveready guitar carries the main musical load and Smilin' Bob Adams is on harp. There are several drummers involved but one is Tony Nolasco of McKenna Mendelson Mainline fame. Bill King guests on keyboards. The songs are mostly original, with lyrics by Johnny Burkitt but musically firmly in the guitar trio style, with lots of cars, Harleys and women. Johnny says it's all done in fun and it sure sounds like it but you might already have guessed that this isn't meant for everyone. That said, "Texas Twister", "Fast Ford Freddy", "Mortal Man" and "Voodoo Love" are pretty good songs. Their version of the Young Rascals' "Good Lovin'" is as well. Go to www.zedhead.ca.

Terry Gillespie & The Granary Band Brother of the Blues TEKA

Gillespie is one of the founders of the Ottawa blues scene where he moved in 1967 to escape the draft, having spent some time in Detroit playing behind people like Howling Wolf & Albert Collins. A teen named Sue Foley used to sneak into the clubs where he played. He recorded two albums, Heaven's Radio Active and Uptown Babies, in 1979 and 1980 and each will be re-issued with extra tracks this summer. After a hiatus of twenty years, he's back. He first re-surfaced as a member of The Granary Blues All-Stars, a band of veterans whose first CD, Again, was released in 2004. He and Brian Monty shared the vocals on that one but he gets top billing here. The rest of the lineup is the same with Stephen Barry, bass, Peter Measroch, keys, Martin Boodman, harp, Jody Golick, sax and Gordon Adamson, drums. A special guest for this album is Sue Foley on guitar. All eleven songs here are Gillespie originals and by no means are they all blues. His press kit, at www.TerryGillespie.ca), makes clear his interest in other styles. The title song puts the blues in the context of world events set to a Dire Straights-like groove. "Big Boy" has a good Jimmy Reed groove. "Carl Nicholson" is a clever reggae tune that name checks several mentors, including Van Morrison, whose sound then proceeds to dominate the CD. "Those Days Are Gone" is a good one, on a good shuffle groove, though it copies Van's horn sound as well. Not until "Bathtub", a rather inconsequential musing on that subject, does the voice of the opening songs return. Some of these songs seem to have been around for a while: "Kruschev" is a Dutch Mason-style boogie that refers to what I would have thought was a long-forgotten figure. Adamson adds prominent percussion parts in addition to his kit and enlivens almost every song.

Little Miss Higgins Cobbler Shop Sessions EON

In Meacham SK, there's a cobbler shop. It's been there since the '30's and it would seem a perfect place to record a CD's worth of songs that reflect that era. Little Miss Higgins and Foy Taylor re-create the team of Memphis Minnie & Joe McCoy, assisted by Melodi "Pistol" Hawkesford on drums and Big Dave McLean on harmonica. Miss Higgins' voice reminds me of another Memphis Minnie disciple, Sue Foley, without (yet) quite her assertiveness. There are songs here by Big Bill Broonzy, Lil Green and her idol but nine are by Miss Higgins or the duo. They aren't all in a `30's style or all acoustic but the package adds up to a very entertaining whole. Songs by Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell ("You Turn Me On I'm A Radio", with guitar, dobro & banjo) plus their own "Rule Breaker" add a contemporary edge. A Miss Higgins solo, "Slaughterhouse" ensures the proceedings don't get too cute. She's based in Nokomis SK and the web site is www.littlemisshiggins.com.

Sonny Del-Rio Welcome to Saxland Race

Hamilton's sax legend, a member of Crowbar and colleague of Richard Newell, King Biscuit Boy, has a new, fourth, album. Saxland seems to be a place set in amber, a perfect re-creation of fifties rock and roll and boy, does it rock! Sonny handles the gruff but effective vocals, the late Mark Severn, guitar, Jack Pedler, drums, Nick Nickafor, bass and Jesse O'Brien, keys. They storm through songs from the era and songs about it. Del-Rio contributes three originals, "Terrible Times" is a Tom Waits-ish song with a curious accordion accompaniment that appears to say that things were a lot better than they are now. "Getting Laid and Drinking Wine" at least hints that all was not well. Otherwise, though, if you're turning your party into a sock hop, you might try this one. The web site is www.SonnyDelRio.com.

- John Valenteyn, jvalenteyn8724@rogers.com

 

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