Larry Garner - You Need To Live A Little / Embarrassment To The Blues?

Album: You Need To Live A Little
Size: 146,3 MB
Time: 63:36
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1995
Styles: Louisiana Blues
Art: Full

01. Another Bad Day (4:58)
02. Someone New (3:20)
03. Miracles Of Time (4:51)
04. Four Cars Running (5:00)
05. Live A Little (6:16)
06. The Preacher Man (7:37)
07. Shak Bully (5:18)
08. Rats And Roaches In My Kitchen (5:52)
09. Don't Run Talking (4:56)
10. Keep Playing The Blues (6:14)
11. Had To Quit Drinking (3:50)
12. Nobody Special (5:19)

A witty, imaginative songwriter, crisply concise guitarist, and convincing singer, Baton Rouge Larry Garner is the proverbial triple threat -- and a good bet to rise to blues stardom in the immediate future. His major-label debut is a wondrous collection filled with songs that don't embrace simple cliches ("Four Cars Running," "Another Bad Day," and "Shak Bully" are anything but routine). "Miracles of Time" is almost pop-soul in its structure, while "Rats and Roaches in My Kitchen," Garner's lowdown tribute to swamp blues pioneer Silas Hogan, benefits from Sonny Landreth's burrowing slide guitar. ~Review by Bill Dahl

Thanks to Marc.
You Need To Live A Little

---

Album: Embarrassment To The Blues?: Live In Europe
Size: 164,4 MB
Time: 71:30
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2002
Styles: Louisiana Blues
Art: Full

01. Dreaming Again ( 4:20)
02. Had To Quit Drinking ( 6:18)
03. Born To Sang The Blues (10:31)
04. Somebody ( 7:57)
05. Larryism I/II ( 1:58)
06. Where The Blues Turn Back ( 6:04)
07. Larryism III/IV ( 1:41)
08. Blues Ain't Nothing (12:18)
09. Keep On Playing The Blues (11:52)
10. The Haves And The Have Nots ( 8:28)

It is impossible to discuss Larry Garner's history without mentioning the European connection. Although the bluesman is from Baton Rouge, LA, Europe is where he enjoyed his first taste of commercial acceptance. The singer/guitarist recorded for a British label (JSP Records) before he recorded for any American companies, and the late '90s and early '00s found him recording for the German Ruf label. This Ruf release documents a 2001 gig at a club in Germany, where Garner provides an inspired dose of electric Louisiana blues and often detours into Louisiana soul. Garner isn't a blues purist; not everything he does has 12 bars, and he is a perfect example of a bluesman who isn't afraid to explore other areas. While Jimmy Witherspoon was a bluesman with jazz leanings and Stevie Ray Vaughan was a bluesman with a strong love of rock, Garner often shows his appreciation of classic '60s and '70s soul. R&B offerings like "Somebody," "The Haves and the Have Nots," and "Where the Blues Turn Back" indicate that Garner probably could have had a meaningful career as a retro-soulster if he had made soul instead of blues his primary focus. But the blues are Garner's foundation, and he sings the Louisiana blues with plenty of conviction on "Born to Sang the Blues," "Blues Ain't Nothing," and "Had to Quit Drinking." One of the nice things about this CD is Garner's willingness to share humorous anecdotes with the audience; during "Born to Sang the Blues," for example, he tells the audience about how people he knew in church urged him to give up secular music -- luckily, they didn't get their wish. From Louisiana blues to Louisiana soul, Embarrassment to the Blues? paints a consistently attractive picture of Garner's live show. ~Review by Alex Henderson

Thanks to Marc.
Embarrassment To The Blues?

---