Showing posts with label Ghost Town Blues Band. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ghost Town Blues Band. Show all posts

Thursday, May 6, 2021

Ghost Town Blues Band - Dust The Dust

Size: 100,5 MB
Time: 43:12
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2010
Styles: Electric blues, rocking blues
Art: Front, inside, tray, cd

1. One More Whisky (Feat. Davis Coen & Daddy Mack) (3:28)
2. Come Together (2:41)
3. Dust The Dust (3:02)
4. C.C. Rider (5:22)
5. Suga' Mama (5:27)
6. Comfortable Way (4:14)
7. Baby Please Don't Go (3:19)
8. I Put A Spell On You (4:12)
9. Give Me A Minute (4:11)
10. Move On (3:06)
11. Goin' Down (4:04)

The Ghost Town Blues Band tout themselves as "not your grandpa's blues band," which is a way to convey that the Memphis-based collective accentuate their roots with funk, soul, New Orleans jazz, rock jams, and hip-hop. Their blues-based fusion combined with a dynamic live show helped the sextet build a following through the course of the 2010s, with the group gaining momentum toward the end of the decade as their 2018 album, Backstage Pass, and its 2019 sequel Shine both placed in the upper reaches of Billboard's Blues chart.

Led by guitarist/singer Matt Isbell and featuring his old high school friend Taylor Orr on lead guitar, Ghost Town Blues Band first came into view in 2008. Prior to that, Isbell had been gigging frequently as a rock guitarist, but around that time, he had the notion to form a band that was based in the blues but could explore outside its confines. One of the first musicians hired was Suavo Jones, a trombonist who helped underscore the group's debt to the Big Easy. Over the years, the lineup shifted quite often, but Isbell managed to persuade Orr to join toward the back half of the 2010s. The lineup solidified with drummer Andrew McNeill, bassist Matt Karner, and organist Cedric Taylor.

This wasn't the incarnation of Ghost Town Blues Band heard on either their 2009 debut or its 2012 sequel, Dark Horse, but it started to come into shape with 2014's Hard Row to Hoe. That album elevated their profile, as did their live shows which featured the band entering the stage as a second-line horn section. Soon, their fan base increased, as evidenced by the live Backstage Pass album went to number four on Billboard's Blues charts in 2018. A year later, they delivered the studio set Shine - the lineup expanded to feature Kevin Houston on sax, as well - and the record debuted at number one on Billboard's Blues chart upon its release in 2019. /Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic

Dust The Dust mc
Dust The Dust zippy

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Ghost Town Blues Band - Shine

Size: 128,5 MB
Time: 54:28
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Memphis Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Full

01. Running Out Of Time (3:37)
02. Soda Pop (2:38)
03. Shine (3:49)
04. Lyin' To Yourself (3:45)
05. Givin' It All Away (8:17)
06. Dirty (4:10)
07. High Again (5:00)
08. My Father's Son (4:25)
09. Evangelie (3:22)
10. Carry Me Home (6:27)
11. Heading Nowhere Fast (4:33)
12. Hey There Lucinda (4:21)

Personnel: Matt Isbell: lead vocals, guitars; Taylor Orr: guitar, vocals; Suavo Jones: trombone, vocals; Kevin Houston: saxophones, vocals; Tim Stanek: keyboards; Matt Karner: bass, vocals; Preston McEwen: drums.

Horns, harmonies and homegrown instruments combined with an energetic and roots rich festival set makes Ghost Town Blues Band one of the “must see live bands on the festival scene today.” Both Andrew McNeill behind the drums and Matt Karner on the bass guitar are a punishing rhythm section behind multi-instrumentalist/frontman Matt Isbell with raunchy cigar box guitar licks and raspy “Dr. John-like, whiskey and gravel-soaked vocals.” With the addition of Trombonist Suavo Jones, Cedric Taylor on B3 and Taylor Orr on lead guitar, the grooves go from fresh to funky as the band gains more notoriety in the blues festival and jam circuit. Ghost Town Blues Band has performed all across US and Canada at over 100+ festivals and will perform more than a half-dozen international tours in Canada and Europe in 2019.

Shine

Saturday, May 5, 2018

Various - Highwater Records: Blues In Black & White

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:33
Size: 95.1 MB
Styles: Assorted blues
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[4:12] 1. Jasmine - Brokenhearted Blues
[5:28] 2. Estha - What I've Lost
[3:07] 3. Matt Uselton - Hungry Spell (Feat. Ryan Peel)
[3:13] 4. Nick Black - Call My Landlady
[2:55] 5. Ashley L - Campbell's Soup Song
[3:08] 6. Matthew Brannan - Put Your Loving Arms Around Me
[5:05] 7. Kevin Owen - Ain't Got No Job
[4:08] 8. Ghost Town Blues Band - Goin' Down
[5:21] 9. Kennard Farmer - Holy Spirit, Don't Leave Me
[4:52] 10. Robert Jackson - Going 'cross The Bottom

High Water Recording Company: US blues, gospel and jazz record label founded in 1979 by Dr. David Evans and Memphis State University. The label first only released singles, but from 1983 began to release LPs as well, mostly of acts from the local Memphis area. Many of the label's recordings were reissued on CD in the late 90s by Hightone Records.

Highwater Records: Blues In Black & White mc
Highwater Records: Blues In Black & White zippy

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Ghost Town Blues Band - Backstage Pass

Size: 154,7 MB
Time: 66:41
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Full

01. Come Together ( 6:33)
02. Tip Of My Hat ( 4:28)
03. Shine ( 3:57)
04. Givin' It All Away ( 6:46)
05. Big Shirley ( 4:41)
06. Whipping Post (15:58)
07. I Get High ( 9:53)
08. One More Whiskey ( 4:24)
09. I Need More Love ( 9:58)

The Ghost Town Blues Band has one foot in Memphis and the other in New Orleans. The GTBB represented The Memphis Blues Society at The International Blues Challenge in 2013; and again in 2014 when they finished in second place. The GTBB’s last album, and most successful, was 2015’s “Long Road to Hoe”.

The band is led by Matt Isbell, guitars, harmonica and vocals. The horn section of Kevin Houston, sax and vocals; and Suavo Jones, trombone and vocals gives them their New Orleans vibe. The seven piece band is rounded out by Taylor Orr, guitar and vocals; Tim Stanek, keyboards; Matt Karner, bass; and Preston McEwen, drums. Isbell is their primary songwriter.

The band is famous for their exciting live performances. They capitalize on their New Orleans connection by including covers, and segueing in and out of them, like they do down in The Big Easy. “Backstage Pass” was recorded live at Lafayette’s Music Room in Memphis on July 29th, 2017. The album is produced by McEwen and co-produced by the band.

The band opens with a hill-country version of the Beatles “Come Together” which clocks in at well over six minutes. The band morphs into “Norwegian Wood”, then into Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love”, and eventually swings back to “Wood” to conclude this crowd pleaser. Featured are solos by Jones and Isbell while McEwen hammers the skins.

“Tip of My Hat” is reprised from the bands last recording and Jones’ “bone” helps complete the New Orleans second line.

“Shine” is a new original from Isbell and pays homage to Stax and Motown. “Givin’ It All Away” co-written by Isbell and Orr is a jammin’ groove once again featuring Jones. “Big Shirley” is a boogie-woogie showcase featuring the bands new piano player Stanek.

“Whipping Post” is a sixteen minute tribute to the late Greg Allman with Stanek’s organ and Karner’s bass prominent as Isbell sings “sometimes I feel like I’m tied to the whipping post”.

“I Get High” “every time I think about you” is from George Porter Jr., of the Meters. The song appears on Porter’s 2007 solo album “It’s Life”. Featured are guitarists Isbell and Orr who delve into The Allman’s “Ramblin’ Man”. The song segues into the Stones “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”.

“One More Whiskey” is reprised from the band’s debut recording 2009’s “Dust to Dust”. This bourbon based anthem is a shuffle featuring Isbell on harmonica.

“I Need More Love” is from Robert Randolph and features Isbell on a guitar made from grandma’s silverware chest. Each band member gets a chance to solo before drifting into Spencer Davis’ “Gimme Some Lovin’”.

Isbell concentrates on being bandleader and making everyone sound great on this live set. ~Richard Ludmerer

Backstage Pass

Friday, January 23, 2015

Ghost Town Blues Band - Hard Road To Hoe

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:02
Size: 89.4 MB
Styles: Rockin blues, Memphis blues
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[3:08] 1. Hard Road To Hoe
[3:01] 2. Big Shirley
[2:38] 3. Tip Of My Hat (Feat. Brandon Santini)
[3:30] 4. My Doggy (Feat. Brandon Santini)
[0:57] 5. Mr. Handy Man
[3:21] 6. Hate To See Her Go
[4:00] 7. Tied My Worries To A Stone
[3:20] 8. Dead Sea
[5:33] 9. Nothin' But Time
[1:43] 10. Dime In The Well
[4:25] 11. Seventeen
[3:22] 12. Road Still Drives The Same

Matt Isbell- Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica Preston McEwen- Drums Josh Roberts- Bass, Guitar Jeremy Powell- Keys Suavo Jones- Trombone Marque' Boyd- Sax.

Beale Street’s latest success story and 2014 INTERNATIONAL BLUES CHALLENGE 2nd Place Winner is Ghost Town Blues Band. Their debut release Dust the Dust, (Inside Sounds) has received an impressive amount of airplay throughout the US and Europe. The recording won the European Independent Music Label Award for “Top Sound” in blues. Both Preston McEwen behind the drums and Poyee Yancy on the bass guitar are a punishing rhythm section behind Matt Isbell with raunchy cigar box guitar licks and chainsaw rhythms. With the addition of horn section Suavo Jones, Marque Boyd and Jeremy Powell on keys and finally Josh Roberts on lead guitar, the grooves go from funky to funk-nasty as the band gains more notoriety in the international blues scene.

Ghost Town Blues Band is a modern blues band with an intimate knowledge of both blues, rock and improvisational jams. At the same time, the band’s raw energy and intensity is reminiscent of some of the best blues that rock n' roll has ever offered. The band can turn on a dime from North Mississippi hill country grooves to classic electric urban blues and funk and Allman Brothers style jams. This Memphis-based, gritty, seven-piece has been touring the US and Canada since its inception in 2009, gaining a strong following within the Blues and Jam Band circuit.

Hard Road To Hoe mc
Hard Road To Hoe zippy

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Ghost Town Blues Band - Dark Horse

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 41:42
Size: 95.5 MB
Styles: Blues rock
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[3:26] 1. Another Lover
[4:29] 2. Memphis Train
[2:50] 3. Finish What You Started
[3:28] 4. Dark Horse
[3:52] 5. Meet Me At the Juke Joint
[0:37] 6. Blues Box Breakdown
[4:15] 7. Memphis Blues
[4:06] 8. Before You Hit the Ground
[2:58] 9. Messin' with the Kid
[3:12] 10. Good to Be Me
[3:53] 11. Real Funky Groove
[4:31] 12. Biscuit Test

Beale Street’s latest success story and 2014 INTERNATIONAL BLUES CHALLENGE 2nd Place Winner is Ghost Town Blues Band. Both Preston McEwen behind the drums and Alex Piazza on the bass guitar are a punishing rhythm section behind Matt Isbell with raunchy guitar licks and chainsaw rhythms. With the addition of horn player Silky Smooth Suavo Jones and Jeremy Powell on keys, the grooves go from funky to funk-nasty as the band gains more notoriety in the international blues scene.

Ghost Town Blues Band is a modern blues band with an intimate knowledge of both blues, rock and improvisational jams. At the same time, the band’s raw energy and intensity is reminiscent of some of the best blues that rock n' roll has ever offered. The band can turn on a dime from North Mississippi hill country grooves to classic electric urban blues and funk. This Memphis-based, gritty, six-piece has been touring the US since its inception in 2009, gaining a strong following within the blues and Jam Band circuit.

Dark Horse mc
Dark Horse zippy