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February
2008
Braithwaite & Whiteley Sugar & Gold Self
Diana and Chris have been working together for quite a while now and this new CD, released for Black History Month and sub-titled “New Songs From The Underground Railroad”, began life as a schools project in 2004. The Braithwaite family arrived here four generations ago through the Underground Railroad and they settled, along with other recent arrivals, in Wellington County. That story is chronicled in “By The Shores of Lake Huron”. Most of the other songs are more general in theme, with Underground Railroad “conductors” teacher & lawyer Mary Ann Shadd and physician Alexander Milton Ross profiled. The title song uses an English folk melody to tell the story of a young Englishman who sets out to sea and who is horrified to discover he is on a slave ship, bringing new slaves for the cane fields and mines of the new world. “Freedom Train” and the reprise of “Woke Up This Morning” chug along nicely with Chris’s electric guitar work and the rhythm section. Kevin Fox’s cello is a pleasing addition to “Sugar and Gold” with Chris’s acoustic guitar. This is a chapter of our history that isn’t nearly as well known as it should be. I can’t think of a better entry point than this disc. If only all educational efforts were so entertaining! Although the site is still under construction, please go to www.braithwaiteandwhiteley.com for more info.
Whiskey Howl Whiskey Howl Pacemaker/EMI
A classic Canadian album finally becomes available. Long sought after by many and prized by those who own it, it can be yours on CD on February 25th. The LP took a little while to come out after its recording and the band had broken up by the release date, in 1972, but what a band: John Witmer, vocals; Michael Pickett, harp and vocals; Richard Fruchtman, bass and vocals; Dave Morrison, guitar and vocals and Wayne Wilson, drums. They would re-unite several times and one of those recordings was belatedly released last year. Whiskey Howl introduced several songs that have come to be identified with the Toronto scene: Memphis Slim’s “Mother Earth”, Louis Jordan’s “Caldonia” & “Let The Good Times Roll” and B.B. King’s “Early In The Morning”. It also featured an oddity in those days of electric Chicago blues, an a capella version of Leadbelly’s “Rock Island Line”. There were very good originals as well and one can only speculate as to what might have happened if the momentum could have been maintained. Sadly, some of the original members are no longer with us to see its return to service. I think you’ll find that the album holds up remarkably well after 35 years. Congratulations to Pacemaker and may I be so bold as to recommend some hard-to-find Dutch Mason LPs, Putting It All Together, for one.
Wild
T & The Spirit Fender
Bender Jazzhaus
Tony Springer has been a mainstay of the club scene here for many years now and it’s a pleasure to welcome a fine new album. Many of our players do better in Europe than they do here and this disc’s German origins are testimony to that phenomenon. However it got here, you should get one. It’s the bluesiest effort yet from the man many wanted to portray Jimi Hendrix on film. (The fact that Tony is right-handed is an obstacle, of course.) There are several Hendrix-inspired songs here, but there are also fine versions of Rick Estrin’s “My Next Ex-Wife” and of the Albert King hit, “I’ll Play The Blues for You”. Of the originals, from the opening instrumental, “Let’s Go”, to the power ballads “Life Goes On” and “Finders Keepers”, to the new blues “Keepin’ It Real” to the ambitious, eight-minute “Twilight Zone”, there’s much to enjoy here for Tony’s fans, new fans and fans of string bending, Fender or otherwise. Wild T is well supported throughout by Guenther Kapelle on bass and Chris Lesso on drums. Three keyboard players help out on various songs, Herve Bassett, Enzo Lapadula and Steve Koven. Mr. Kapelle also supplied a song, “The Hard Way” and co-produced. The recorded sound is of demonstration quality. The release party is at Jeff Healey’s Roadhouse on February 2nd, but if you don’t see this in time you can still go to www.wildt.ca. It’s an attractive, full service web site.
Matt Walker Low Down Self
Drummer Matt Walker might be familiar to some as he was a member of Jake & The Blue Midnights and The David Rotundo Band before returning to Alberta to work on his solo debut. That he would do this was obviously only a matter of time given the songwriting talent and the powerful & effective vocals on display here. He returned the favour, though, by inviting the Rotundo Band out west for many of the songs. There are four Chicago blues standards and they are a treat. “Hoodoo Man Blues”, for instance, is quite different from the Junior Wells original but stays true to its intent. There is stunning guitar from Dan Dufour. The six originals are not quite at the level of Junior Wells or Elmore James, but they are good. “Hangin’ Over Bad News” is a hangover lament, with some fine harp by Dr. Nick Ouroumov. “Time” is a storming rocker, with Rotundo, Doug Jensen on guitar & bass with Gary Bowman on organ. It’ll be interesting to see Walker do this one live! “Worried Blues” is a long slow blues with Dr. Nick, Shane Scott & Peter Schmidt all getting kudos. Walker’s lyrics here are good but he seems less convincing vocally. The title song deserves its role, with its arresting, a capella plea for help opening followed by Jensen’s slide under Rotundo’s harp. Bowman’s piano is the only other instrument as Walker continues his distorted lament. Altogether a fine debut album. His web site is www.matthewwalker.ca.
The
Shaftmen Mining The Blues
Self
This band of veterans is from Timmins and they’ve put together a fascinating blues rock album produced by Jack de Keyzer. John Emms is the lead vocalist and songwriter; he also plays guitar and keyboards. John Savard is on lead guitar with Gil Boissonneault on bass and Mike Charette on drums. They cook. The mining analogy is an apt one, with all the members from mining towns in Northern Ontario and Quebec and one of them still working in the mines. The band is a fairly recent one but it’s clear there’s chemistry happening here. Emms writes a music column for the Timmins Daily Press and has been in music since the 70’s. His songs are of uniformly high quality and he’s not afraid to address social and political questions in them, as “Walk On” shows. And I’m sure “Shaftmen Boogie” draws howls of approval at performances. Many of the songs use rock changes and they’re mostly uptempo but “4am Blues” shows they can do a straight ahead slow blues and it features a fine solo by Jack as well. “Same Old Situation” is perhaps the bluesiest of the rockers. “Midnite Feelin’ Bad” adds a tender ballad to the mix before “Journey’s Over” adds some power. This one plus a couple of others would not be out of place in the Bob Seger working class songbook – not a bad thing by any means. Jack’s other guest appearance is on one of these, “Never Knew Much”. Their web site is www.theshaftmen.com and it has audio samples among its services.
Steve
Payne No Commercial Value
digitdoc
English acoustic bluesman Payne’s frequent visits are partially explained by his having family here. This is certainly a good thing for us as he is a talented but much under-rated performer. He’s here for Winterfolk with a new CD, its title reflecting a perhaps realistic view of blues versus pop music sales but it is not at all a reflection of its content. That content is a series of perceptively drawn vignettes from a long life on the road. “Pedestrian Jesus” is a dramatic depiction of the ‘real’ Los Angeles, with Stuart Gordon underlining the stark lyrics with his violin, moving it several notches above what has become a cliché, however true. The theme continues with “Not Afraid Anymore”, with accordion, banjo & drums helping out his slide guitar. “Detroit”, several songs later, moves the location of urban decay but not its seriousness. “Animal Farm” and “Funny Tasting Chicken” widen the focus to all of American culture and I can see them being quite humourous live. “She Walks In Dreams” and “When Rita Leaves” are tender ballads leaning more to his singer/songwriter mode but “Little Miss-Understood” brings out more of his caustic wit. Recording an acoustic guitarist always presents issues of how to fill out the sound. Payne has created an attractive listening experience while not giving himself impossible songs to perform solo. Well worth acquiring. Check out www.steve-payne.net for his March/April Canadian Tour and www.abetterworld.ca for the Winterfolk schedule.
- John Valenteyn, jvalenteyn8724@rogers.com
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