Howard & The White Boys - Strung Out On The Blues

Size: 135,8 MB
Time: 58:41
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1994
Styles: Electric blues
Art: Full

1. Nightcrawler (3:13)
2. She Can Cook (3:15)
3. Nightmare Man (3:20)
4. Baby's Painting The Town (5:09)
5. Stick In The Mud (4:27)
6. I'm Gonna Hate Myself In The Morning (3:14)
7. Let Me Be Your Slave (5:26)
8. I've Got My Mojo Working (5:39)
9. Havin' A Good Time Is A Full Time Job (2:46)
10. Turn On Your Love Light (6:44)
11. Black Cat (3:16)
12. Strung Out On The Blues (5:26)
13. The Blues Are Killin' Me (4:27)
14. Montezuma's Revenge (2:14)

Fourteen high energy blues tracks played by Howard McCullum (vocalist/bassist), Dan Bellini (guitarist & harmonica player), Jim Christopulos (drummer), and guitarist Steve Asma. "She Can Cook" contains all the elements of good blues, humor, good playing, heartfelt singing, realistic lyrics about a woman who's not a beauty queen, or a whole host of other things, but can cook. Some songs, like "Nightmare Man," are as much Country as Blues. However, they never stray far from genuine blues as is evident with "Baby's Painting The Town," "Turn On Your Love Light," "Black Cat," and two pile drivers: "Strung Out On The Blues," and "The Blues Are Killing Me."

Bellini displays his mouth harp skills on "I'm Gonna Hate Myself In The Morning," and a guitarist plays some saucy riffs on "Let Me Be Your Slave." They give Jimmy Reeds' "I Got My Mojo Working" a steroid injection, Bellini's harmonica drives the classic at a frantic pace. The sound is mediocre, but Howard and the White Boys' enthusiasm helps to buffer the primitive recording. /Andrew Hamilton, AllMusic

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

Strung Out On The Blues mc
Strung Out On The Blues zippy

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Howard & The White Boys - The Big Score

Size: 130,0 MB
Time: 55:19
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1999
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Leave The Lights On (5:16)
02. Judge (5:25)
03. It's All You (3:44)
04. I Need Some Cash (5:12)
05. I Thank You (4:59)
06. The Last Time (4:48)
07. Trouble Follows You (4:01)
08. You'll Come Back (4:36)
09. Walk Before You Run (4:14)
10. A Fool For You, Baby (4:17)
11. Bring It On (4:29)
12. All Work And No Play (4:14)

During the 1990s, Howard & the White Boys became one of Chicago's favorite local blues bands before slowly expanding their reach beyond the Windy City. The band formed in 1988 while most of the members -- Dan Bellini (guitar/harmonica), Howard McCullum (vocals/bass), Steve Asma (guitar), Jim Christopulos (drums) -- were studying at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb. The band's first break came when they opened for B.B. King. Later, they would perform alongside numerous other blues superstars such as Koko Taylor, Albert King, Junior Wells, Luther Allison, and Bo Diddley. In 1994, Howard & the White Boys released their first recording, Strung Out on the Blues, which the Los Angeles-based Mighty Tiger Records released and which featured mostly songs written by the band.

Around this same time, Howard & the White Boys began appearing regularly at Buddy Guy's Legends, a popular blues club in Chicago. The exposure broadened the band's audience, and before long, Guy embarked on a Midwestern tour with Howard & the White Boys as his opening act. All of the touring began to take a toll on Asma, who left the band to concentrate on academic pursuits. Another guitarist, Rocco Calipari, replaced Asma, and the band began touring extensively throughout the States (later touring Europe). Mighty Tiger released the band's second album in 1997, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? The album attracted the Philadelphia label Evidence, who signed Howard & the White Boys to a four-album deal and released The Big $core (1999). During this same year, Calipari left the band to spend time with his family. In his place came another guitarist, Giles Corey. Yet he too left the band, and in July 2001, Calipari returned. ~ Jason Birchmeier

The Big Score

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Howard & The White Boys - Live At Chord On Blues

Source: CD
Size: 169,1 MB
Time: 73:51
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2000
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Havin' A Good Time Is A Full-Time Job ( 4:51)
02. You'll Come Back ( 4:48)
03. Leave The Lights On ( 6:00)
04. Use Me ( 6:28)
05. Turn On Your Lovelight ( 7:40)
06. Bo Diddley (12:10)
07. The Barber ( 5:49)
08. Bad Attitude ( 7:17)
09. I Got My Mojo Workin' ( 8:12)
10. Sex Machine (10:31)

Howard is black and his White Boys play the blues. And their claim to fame is a colourful, crowd-friendly pastiche of bar music that bends blues to rock, adding elements of soul and funk. This hard-working Chicago band has earned the respect of no less than Buddy Guy and, hoping to harness the enthusiasm of their live show, offers up this powerful sample of their material. Potential oozes from their first few originals, which make the most of original guitarist Dan Bellini and newcomer Giles Corey, but a reliance on cover tunes almost scuttles the show. A solid rhythm section provides the drive while Bellini blows exceptional harp behind songs like "I Got My Mojo Workin'," but this album falls short of turning bar patrons into rabid fans and the band's odd preference for taking covers off on obscure '70s segues does them no favours (James Brown's "Sex Machine" is reborn with Metallica, Aerosmith and Deep Purple references). This disc portrays a band who is clearly having a ball, but a re-analysis of their significant strengths might set them on a road less travelled and more worth their musical while. ~Eric Thom

Live At Chord On Blues

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Howard & The White Boys - Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?

Size: 164,9 MB
Time: 70:52
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1997
Styles: Electric Blues
Art: Full

01. Heat Seeking Missile ( 3:54)
02. Bad Attitude ( 6:33)
03. What Would I Do? ( 7:09)
04. One Good Woman ( 6:31)
05. Tight Pants ( 5:41)
06. When The Rug's Pulled Out ( 5:16)
07. Be Careful What You Ask For ( 4:13)
08. Guess Who's Coming To Dinner ( 4:54)
09. Don't You Leave Me ( 4:11)
10. King Jack & Two Queens ( 5:33)
11. You've Been Gone Too Long ( 5:41)
12. Call Muddy Waters (11:12)

Features good tunes that get marred by a drab, mono-sounding mix. Instrument separation isn't pronounced, let alone Howard McCullum's vocal, giving the tracks a muddy sound. "Bad Attitude"'s chugging beat gives it legs, while some tasty guitar licks accent "What Can I Do," a blues ballad. Both "One Good Woman" and "Tight Pants" have commercial potential, each with memorable beats and conversational lyrics. The band pays homage to Muddy Waters with "Call Muddy," and get high marks for the emulation, but the title track, "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner," treads a well-worn path, lyrically and musically. A top-flight producer would do wonders for this group. ~Andrew Hamilton

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?

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Howard & The White Boys - Made In Chicago

Size: 113,4 MB
Time: 48:11
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2006
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. She Loves My Automobile (3:18)
02. Walk Away (8:13)
03. Good Booty And Bbq (5:23)
04. Walking To My Baby (3:07)
05. I'm In A Phone Booth Baby (4:07)
06. Yonder Wall (4:19)
07. Cold Cold Feeling (7:57)
08. Black Cat Bone (5:17)
09. Coming Home (6:26)

Howard McCullum brings Chicago blues to a worldwide audience. He and the members of his band first met in college at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb back in 1988. They've been living the Chicago blues ever since, making the Windy City their home and serving as ambassadors for their contemporary sound.

While the band's fusion of funk, R&B, and rock with contemporary blues strays pretty far from the pioneering colors of Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon, they've got the same emotional outpouring and fiery guitar action that has always characterized Chicago blues.

Several selections, such as "Walking to My Baby, come clearly from the blues mainstream. Guitars and keyboards replace harmonica in their lineup, filling the role successfully. McCullum sings convincingly about hot relationships, failed romance, havin' a good time, dedicated love, lonely nights, growing apart, and sad, sad hearts.

Cold Cold Feeling recalls the session's truest and most traditional meaning of the blues, as Howard and the White Boys soak up a mournful aura in a fit of passion. Everyone can relate to their message. With McCullum's poignant vocals and his band's fiery guitar attack, this one hits home.

Black Cat Bone brings back the funk and the dance that we're gonna miss, now that James Brown has passed. McCullum gives this one a fierce texture that burns hot and bright.

Walk Away and "Coming Home both move slowly and sincerely with a country flavor, as Howard and the White Boys take their opportunity to share an original message through their music. The latter, an instrumental number, brings everyone together in a passionate mix of emotion that grows gradually hotter and hotter. Made in Chicago is a clear winner, proving to the world that good blues continues to pique our deepest feelings.

Personnel: Howard McCullum: vocals, bass; Rocco Calipari: guitar; Pete Galanis: guitar; Jim 'Bukka' Christopulos: Drums; Daryl Coutts (tracks 1,2,3,6,8,9), Dave Friebolin (tracks 1,4,5,6,7): Keyboards

Made In Chicago

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Howard & The White Boys - Rosa's Lounge

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:50
Size: 155.3 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[6:43] 1. Heat Seeking Missle
[7:56] 2. Strung Out On The Blues
[4:21] 3. Trouble Follows You
[5:24] 4. Judge
[7:39] 5. What Would I Do
[5:55] 6. Guess Who's Coming To Dinner
[4:46] 7. Black Cat
[4:53] 8. The Last Time
[8:22] 9. Walk Away
[6:12] 10. The Blues Are Killing Me
[5:34] 11. That's Alright

Anyone who has had the great fortune of seeing a show at the renowned Rosa’s Lounge in Logan Square, on Chicago’s Northwest side, knows it is a windowless hotbox of pure blues and soul. Hard-working quartet Howard & the White Boys caught lightning in a bottle there on one summer night in 2013, recording their show and releasing it in October of 2014 as their sixth album, simply titled Rosa’s Lounge.

The eleven-song set is not only a high watermark achievement for the band but a spot-on example of modern Chicago blues. The formula of two guitars, bass, and drums is worked to precision here, with the rhythm section laying down grooves that mix the tight new sound of modern R&B and gospel with classic blues and soul riffs, while the guitars trade gritty leads -- all designed to emphasize Howard McCullum’s big baritone and hot shot bravado.

Rosa's Lounge

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