Time: 47:39
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Electric blues
Art: Front
1. Hummingbird (2:40)
2. Love Me Twice (5:41)
3. Lousy Dime (3:33)
4. Sure As The Stars (3:14)
5. It's A Blues World (5:24)
6. Hard To Love (4:10)
7. Frying Pan (3:07)
8. What I Know (4:32)
9. Tide Blues (3:41)
10. Those Things You Said (3:21)
11. Looking For 2 O'clock (2:41)
12. Dew On The Grass (3:02)
13. Brothers (2:27)
As one might expect from a Ph.D. college professor, Toronto-based Sugar Brown’s blues are both deep and eclectic. His journey to this point is rather unusual for a blues artist. He was born Ken Kawashima, to a Japanese father and Korean mother, raised in Bowling Green, OH before migrating to Chicago to pursue his studies. Okay, now you likely figured out that Brown fell in love with blues while in Chicago. Yes, and he went further; playing with Taildragger (who gave him his nickname), Rockin’ Johnny Burgin (who plays extensively on this album), Willie Kent, and many others. Welcome to Sugar Brown’s third album, It’s a Blues World (Calling All Blues!).
These are all Brown (vocals, guitar, harmonica) originals but he’s not at reticent in providing his influences and inspirations for each one. He cites John Lee Hooker and Frankie Lee Sims for the opening “Hummingbird.” Right away, Brown selects a different kind of instrumentation than many blues artists, using Julia Narveson’s (aka Minnie Heart) baritone sax to drive the tune. Other tracks feature fiddle and banjo for example. “Hard to Love” was inspired by the acoustic fingerpicking stylings of Floyd Council and of Kansas Joe McCoy, husband of Memphis Minnie. “Lousy Dime,” an album highlight has the feel of Tom Waits with Nichol Robertson’s banjo and Minnie Heart’s fiddle giving it a country blues vibe. The passionately sung title track is an homage to Little Mack Simmons but the lyrics stem from America’s plight under Trump.
Lonnie Johnson and Big Bill Broonzy echo through “Tide Blues’ and “Love Me Twice’ is based on Bob Dylan’s “it’s Not Too Late” channeled via Chicago’s West Side sound. Brown is mostly old-school, rendering country blues in “Brothers,” boogie in “Lookin’ For Two O’Clock,” jump blues in “Dew On The Grass,” and hints of rock n’ roll with “What I Know.” There’s no doubt that Brown is a rising talent, putting his knowledge and passion together full throttle for this effort. /Jim Hynes
These are all Brown (vocals, guitar, harmonica) originals but he’s not at reticent in providing his influences and inspirations for each one. He cites John Lee Hooker and Frankie Lee Sims for the opening “Hummingbird.” Right away, Brown selects a different kind of instrumentation than many blues artists, using Julia Narveson’s (aka Minnie Heart) baritone sax to drive the tune. Other tracks feature fiddle and banjo for example. “Hard to Love” was inspired by the acoustic fingerpicking stylings of Floyd Council and of Kansas Joe McCoy, husband of Memphis Minnie. “Lousy Dime,” an album highlight has the feel of Tom Waits with Nichol Robertson’s banjo and Minnie Heart’s fiddle giving it a country blues vibe. The passionately sung title track is an homage to Little Mack Simmons but the lyrics stem from America’s plight under Trump.
Lonnie Johnson and Big Bill Broonzy echo through “Tide Blues’ and “Love Me Twice’ is based on Bob Dylan’s “it’s Not Too Late” channeled via Chicago’s West Side sound. Brown is mostly old-school, rendering country blues in “Brothers,” boogie in “Lookin’ For Two O’Clock,” jump blues in “Dew On The Grass,” and hints of rock n’ roll with “What I Know.” There’s no doubt that Brown is a rising talent, putting his knowledge and passion together full throttle for this effort. /Jim Hynes
It's A Blues World (Calling All Blues!) mc
It's A Blues World (Calling All Blues!) zippy
1 comment:
Thanks Rooster... Imma make my Maple Blues Award vote...
Post a Comment