Larry Griffith Project - Bonafide

Size: 118.0 MB
Time: 51:10
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Soul
Art: Front

01. Hoodoo Hannah (7:52)
02. Always Going To Be Something With You (5:53)
03. It Ain't What They Call You (4:58)
04. I Know (4:57)
05. I Do, I Did, I'm Done (5:58)
06. Slow Grind (6:23)
07. Had Enough (5:14)
08. I'm Free (5:03)
09. Mama Tried (4:48)

Larry Griffith has been based in Atlanta since 1990 and has produced a series of albums and EPs over the years. His latest Bonafide reflects a turbulent time in his personal life, a break-up and throat surgery. Larry wrote all the songs here and leads from the front on vocals and guitar, with Barry Richman (guitar), Rashaan Griffith (drums, keys), Dana McCarthy (bass), Michael Milsap (keys), Tom Regeski (sax) and Little Joey Hoegger (harmonica). 2Blu (Teresa Lynn and Deborah Carr) are on backing vocals and George Price (guitar), Ray Tanner (trumpet) and Steven Milsap (drums) appear on one track.

The album opens with the swampy “Hoodoo Hannah”, the jungle beat and harmonica fitting well with the theme. Larry has a good voice and it all works fine, but simply goes on too long, the track running close to eight minutes with lots of repetition. Indeed, brevity is not Larry’s thing as several tracks follow a similar pattern and would have been much better if shortened, “I Know” being another example (mind you, with a lyric like “I know that you know that I know” it is hard to vary things). One of the strongest tracks is “It Ain’t What They Call You” which encourages us to ignore name-calling and concentrate on doing the right thing, with excellent backing vocals from 2Blu, soulful sax and a nice guitar break. “Slow Grind” has music in a similar soul vein but some pretty explicit lyrics in which Larry brags about his sexual abilities – definitely not one for mainstream radio!

The break-up songs dominate the album. “I Do, I Did, I’m Done” is quite a bitter song as Larry sees his marital promises receding into the past as he now realizes the marriage is over. “Always Going To Be Something With You” recounts the difficulties in Larry’s relationship, “Had Enough” is a slower number with lyrics about the break-up with another good horn and strings arrangement and “I’m Free” represents Larry’s sense of freedom after the break-up. The last track on the album “Mama Tried” pays tribute to Larry’s mother in raising her family in difficult circumstances.

Some of the songs could have benefited from a little judicious editing as they stayed around a bit too long.

With a good singing voice, original songs and a real handle on the soulful side of the blues, Larry Griffith has all the attributes needed to succeed. ~JOHN MITCHELL

Bonafide

---

Larry Griffith - Get Up

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 21:37
Size: 49.5 MB
Styles: R&B/Soul/Blues
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[3:57] 1. My Jack Is Jumpin'
[4:24] 2. Get Up, Get Out
[3:44] 3. Can't Go Back
[5:11] 4. I'm Tired
[4:19] 5. Why, Baby

Larry was brought up in the inner city of Cincinnati, Ohio by a single parent along with nine other siblings. The dilapidated three tiered tenement literally shook with the radio and vinyl record sounds of everything from blues, gospel, and soul, to jazz. It was in this fertile, eclectic musical environment that 9 year old Larry first picked up a pen and copied the lyrics of Willie Dixon, Bob Dylan, Laura Nero, Billy Strayhorn and countless others. Larry marveled at these wonderful storytellers and it eventually led him to write his own stories.

Two brothers returning from the military armed with funds from the GI Bill allowed the Griffith family to upgrade to the Walnut Hills section of Cincinnati, which housed the legendary King Records. Seeing great artists in the neighborhood like Freddie King, Bill Doggett, Hank Ballard, Ivory Joe Hunter and even the Godfather of Soul himself James Brown was an ordinary occurrence. As a matter of fact it was Wesley Hargrove of Hank Ballard’s Midnighters who first took 16 year old Larry into Federal Records recording studio to drum on several demos. This led to stints as a session drummer, weekend touring and a bird’s eyes view of the not so pretty side of the business all while still in his teens. Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys had a profound effect on Larry because of the way Jimi married sonic sounds with futuristic, introspective lyrics. It was also around this time that he fell in lifelong love with the lyrical phasing of John Coltrane.

Relocating to Atlanta, Georgia in the 1990s, Larry discovered then quickly became immersed in the thriving Atlanta blues scene. It was here he had finally found a musical genre wide enough to accommodate his eclectic tastes. Still, it wasn’t until the early 2000’s that “the dream” turned everything on its ear. While staying at a backwoods motel in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Larry who previously had no designs on or inclinations toward guitar experienced the same dream three nights in a row. In “the dream”, he was onstage ripping it up on guitar like a man possessed, working the deep delta juke joint crowd into a sweet, sweaty frenzy. Fully awakened, Larry came back to Atlanta and told his friend and bandmate, Chicago Joe Jones of his strange dream. It was Joe who then gave Larry his first guitar, a no-name something or other that he had found at a garage sale for a $1. From these humble beginnings and equipped with the visual of the Mississippi delta dream, Larry strapped on, plugged in, turned up and began chipping away.

Get Up

---

Larry Griffith Band - Shake It Loose

Size: 99,3 MB
Time: 34:56
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Soul
Art: Front

01. Keep Ridin' (5:18)
02. Every King Needs A Queen (6:03)
03. All I Really Wanna Do (6:07)
04. Our Love Is In Good Hands (6:12)
05. Ain't Puttin' Up (5:40)
06. Shake It Loose (5:34)

Based in Atlanta, Larry Griffith is a gifted guitarist/songwriter who flies under the radar despite producing stellar original material in an unhurried soul-blues style. Whether he’s refashioning a New Orleans classic or delivering his own take on world events, his words are fresh and strike to the heart of the situation.

Griffith was born in Cincinnati and grew up in one of the toughest neighborhoods the Queen City has to offer. One of 10 children raised by a single mother, he started writing songs at age nine, influenced by the music regularly streaming from record players in the three-story tenement where he lived. In his early teen years, the family relocated to the Walnut Hills section of the city, nearby legendary King Records, where Larry regularly spotted a plethora of music royalty – including James Brown, Freddie King, Bill Doggett and others – on the street and in town to record.

It was through one of those chance encounters at age 16 that Griffith’s life changed forever. Wesley Hargrove, a member of Hank Ballard’s Detroit-based band The Midnighters, took the young man under his wing and into the Federal Records studio to play drums on a demo session, an invitation that soon led to Larry embarking on stints as a session drummer who toured with bands on the weekend.

Griffith relocated to Atlanta in the early ‘90s, immersing himself in the local blues scene, but didn’t pick up the guitar until a vivid dream while in Clarksdale, Miss., a decade later. In the vision, he saw himself driving a crowd wild with his skills on the six-string, something he’d never fantasized about in real life. Back in Atlanta, he related the story to a bandmate, guitarist Chicago Joe Jones, who helped him acquire a $1 guitar and begin a quest that made that dream a reality.

Shake It Loose appears to be the third album in Griffith’s catalog, following High Wire Walkin’ in 2006 and Get Up in 2015. His only other release appears to be a single, entitled “You Can’t Turn A Hoochie Into A Housewife.” Larry wrote, arranged and produced all of the material on this one, backed by Mike Lowry on lead guitar, Tom Regeski on horns and Dana McCarthy on bass. Rashaan Griffith and Mike Milsap appear on keys and Rashaan and Steven Milsap deliver drums. And background vocals are provided by Sanctuary, consisting of Darshana Gettle, Tyra Tomlinson Beatty, Sharon Hill and Lavaida Monique.

The album kicks offer with a single-note guitar solo and choral introduction for “Keep Ridin’,” a song that’s based on Chick Willis’ “Stoop Down Mama.” While Willis’ lyrics were a simple plea for the lady to “let me see,” Larry’s words are a lot more direct while still remaining clean enough for radio airplay and sure to put a smile on your face. “Every King Needs A Queen,” a medium-slow statement that “every man needs someone to hold on to” as he professes his love for the woman at his side. “Need my baby in my arms,” he sings, “sayin’ everything is all right/And in that itsy bitsy moment/Well, well/Lies the meaning of my life.”

The tempo picks up slightly for “All I Really Wanna Do,” which continues the desire to remain at the lady’s side. The message is delivered through a warm call-and-response between Griffith and Sanctuary and features a strong mid-tune guitar solo and solid bass run toward the finish.

The slow blues “Our Love Is In Good Hands” carries the theme forward with a thinly veiled religious theme — in that the hands are clearly God’s without having to say so – while delivering a strong political message. He pulls no punches as he speaks out against police brutality, racial oppression, poverty and more, all the while remaining respectful and with his head held high. The one positive constant is the woman at his side.

“Ain’t Puttin’ Up” — which states: “I ain’t puttin’ up what you’re puttin’ down/You treat me like some Ringling Brothers clown” – speaks out against a woman who stumbles home drunk in the middle of the night before the uptempo title cut, “Shake It Loose,” ends the set with a positive affirmation to bring about a positive outcome by stirring things up, stated simply: “I’ll be the ladle/If you’ll be the soup.”

This package will please fans of soul-blues everywhere both for the quality of Griffith’s material and the overall quality production. ~by Nartin Gunther

Shake It Loose

---

Larry Griffith - 2 albums: Shake It Loose / Highwire Walkin'

Based in Atlanta, Larry Griffith is a gifted guitarist/songwriter who flies under the radar despite producing stellar original material in an unhurried soul-blues style. Whether he’s refashioning a New Orleans classic or delivering his own take on world events, his words are fresh and strike to the heart of the situation.

Griffith was born in Cincinnati and grew up in one of the toughest neighborhoods the Queen City has to offer. One of 10 children raised by a single mother, he started writing songs at age nine, influenced by the music regularly streaming from record players in the three-story tenement where he lived. In his early teen years, the family relocated to the Walnut Hills section of the city, nearby legendary King Records, where Larry regularly spotted a plethora of music royalty – including James Brown, Freddie King, Bill Doggett and others – on the street and in town to record.

It was through one of those chance encounters at age 16 that Griffith’s life changed forever. Wesley Hargrove, a member of Hank Ballard’s Detroit-based band The Midnighters, took the young man under his wing and into the Federal Records studio to play drums on a demo session, an invitation that soon led to Larry embarking on stints as a session drummer who toured with bands on the weekend.

Griffith relocated to Atlanta in the early ‘90s, immersing himself in the local blues scene, but didn’t pick up the guitar until a vivid dream while in Clarksdale, Miss., a decade later. In the vision, he saw himself driving a crowd wild with his skills on the six-string, something he’d never fantasized about in real life. Back in Atlanta, he related the story to a bandmate, guitarist Chicago Joe Jones, who helped him acquire a $1 guitar and begin a quest that made that dream a reality.

Album: Larry Griffith Band - Shake It Loose
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:58
Size: 80.1 MB
Styles: Soul blues
Year: 2016
Art: Front

[5:18] 1. Keep Ridin'
[6:04] 2. Every King Needs A Queen
[6:07] 3. All I Really Wanna Do
[6:12] 4. Our Love Is In Good Hands
[5:41] 5. Ain't Puttin' Up
[5:34] 6. Shake It Loose

Shake It Loose mc
Shake It Loose zippy

---

Album: Highwire Walkin'
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:17
Size: 103.7 MB
Styles: Soul blues
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[4:09] 1. Better Man
[3:51] 2. Oh, My Lawd!
[3:07] 3. You Ain't Walkin Out That Door
[3:13] 4. Out Of My Reach
[3:57] 5. One Of Us Got's To Go
[2:27] 6. Without Annette
[2:47] 7. Lunatic On The Line
[4:38] 8. Head Over Heels
[4:20] 9. Tell Her
[4:02] 10. This Love Of Ours
[4:43] 11. You're The One
[3:57] 12. Rethinkin My Thoughts

Highwire Walkin' mc
Highwire Walkin' zippy

---

Larry Griffith - Hard As It Gets

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:15
Size: 105.9 MB
Styles: Soul, Funk, Electric blues
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[3:45] 1. Drivin' Me Away
[4:20] 2. Blues Is Callin' My Name
[3:40] 3. Damn If It Didn't Rain
[3:21] 4. Hard As It Gets
[5:08] 5. I'll Specialize
[3:47] 6. Somebody Better Call Somebody
[3:45] 7. It's Time
[3:22] 8. Don't Wanna Be Here
[2:56] 9. Cora Lee
[3:31] 10. Keep Ridin'
[4:05] 11. Let Yourself Slide
[4:30] 12. One Good Woman

What does it mean to ‘live the blues’? The cover art of the great new album from Ohio native Larry Griffith is a black-and-white photograph, depicting several men in various hats, lined up to receive a “FREE Cup Coffee and Doughnuts for the Unemployed”. “Free Soup,” read two hopeful words in the shop’s window. This is about as Hard As It Gets in life, and Larry would know. According to his website, “Larry was brought up in the inner city of Cincinnati by a single parent along with nine other siblings. The dilapidated, three-tiered tenement literally shook with the radio and vinyl record sounds of everything from blues, gospel, and soul to jazz.” Now an Atlanta resident, Griffith has since produced all-new material, twelve original songs for this CD.

Alongside him are guitarists Mike Lowery, Rara Starblanket, and Delta John Harris; bassists Dustin Sargent, Rara Starblanket and Tommy Vickery; keyboardists Kevin Thomas, Rara Starblanket, and Bobby Mobley; blues harmonica player Jeff Baker; drummers Damian Lewis and Larry himself; and additional vocalists Stephanie Carll, Jon Harris and Rusty Hayes.

Hard As It Gets mc
Hard As It Gets zippy

---