Size: 138,7 MB
Time: 60:04
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2025
Styles: Blues/R&B
Art: Front
1. Can't Be Anybody But Myself (4:20)
2. Beer In The Morning (3:36)
3. Too Old To Be Young (4:40)
4. Caffeine Blues (4:11)
5. Kansas City O'Clock (3:20)
6. Kick'n A Deuce (4:20)
7. Yolo (3:39)
8. Three Blind Mice (6:21)
9. Really Nice Girl (4:35)
10. Dive Bar Romance (3:41)
11. Fore Day Rider (4:05)
12. Truth Dressed Up Like A Lie (4:06)
13. Rather Be Happy Than Normal (4:08)
14. People Not Politics (4:56)
This album’s songs are shaped from a blues that comes from another kind of clay. Kansas City is not deep South blues - it threads its coat from a Big Band fabric, with jazz, rhythm & blues, jump blues & ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll without a chaser. The inspired blues roots of the South is there, but it’s been shaken through a colander of musical history. It’s dirt, soil, with the roots & branches still nestled in it. Not yet, muddy but dusty & fertile.
Instead of Muddy Waters, it’s fried in Louis Jordan batter - instead of Robert Johnson, it has T-Bone Walker scuffs on its shoes. There’s an effervescence to it. There are 14 feisty hours on the face of Kansas City O’Clock. Its showcase introduces foreign ears to the storied music of Kansas City. Its style, attitude, & well-nourished blues ancestry. It’s a big-band/swing approach to the blues, with honking sax & arrangements that are exciting arrangements. Mike Bourne doesn’t have a compelling voice, but he does have a Cab Calloway-Louis Prima energy that’s the diesel that runs rich in these tunes.
The opener is bracing. It will remind younger listeners why their grandparents knew how to dance when the melodies were stripped of all discipline. “Can’t Be Anybody But Myself” is a hot number. More of a jump-blues with a detour through the R&R tradition is the cool “Beer In the Morning.” Wow. Nice arrangement, great playing. The saxes pump like a tug boat smoke stack. Surprisingly, what makes this all the more engaging is the slightly laid-back vocal production. Good choice. It captures a “live” feel.
“Too Old To Be Young” is entertaining like the old ‘40s Ted Lewis & his orchestra. Sharp trumpet solo, well-generated sax, zealous guitar with a steady one-two beat & rolling piano notes come together in a masterful arrangement. Bourne’s vocals are a bruised croon, incisive & savvy. Some finger-breaking piano on the upbeat New Orleans-gumbo-oriented “Caffeine Blues.” A well-shaped piece rooted in the ‘40s vocal style. Bourne has strikingly beautiful melodies to go along with his expressive voice. “Three Blind Mice” has a little Dr. John jambalaya vocalizing anchored to a bellowing sax. This isn’t meat & potatoes blues. It’s more espresso cheese cake with a maduro cigar. /John Apice, Americana Highways
Personnel: Mike Bourne (guitar, vocals); Bryan Herrman, Stephen Dougherty, Kerry Denton, Pete Maier (drums); Johnny Burgin (guitar); Jim Beisman (piano, organ); Patrick Recob, Paul Diffin (double bass); Dougan Smith, Dan Star, Ryan Styles (saxophone), Mister B.T., Nick Hmelak, Austin Barry (trumpet), Bob Paige (piano); Maria Bounds, Stephanie Howie, Stephanie Robertson, Hayley Raxafsky (background vocals).
Instead of Muddy Waters, it’s fried in Louis Jordan batter - instead of Robert Johnson, it has T-Bone Walker scuffs on its shoes. There’s an effervescence to it. There are 14 feisty hours on the face of Kansas City O’Clock. Its showcase introduces foreign ears to the storied music of Kansas City. Its style, attitude, & well-nourished blues ancestry. It’s a big-band/swing approach to the blues, with honking sax & arrangements that are exciting arrangements. Mike Bourne doesn’t have a compelling voice, but he does have a Cab Calloway-Louis Prima energy that’s the diesel that runs rich in these tunes.
The opener is bracing. It will remind younger listeners why their grandparents knew how to dance when the melodies were stripped of all discipline. “Can’t Be Anybody But Myself” is a hot number. More of a jump-blues with a detour through the R&R tradition is the cool “Beer In the Morning.” Wow. Nice arrangement, great playing. The saxes pump like a tug boat smoke stack. Surprisingly, what makes this all the more engaging is the slightly laid-back vocal production. Good choice. It captures a “live” feel.
“Too Old To Be Young” is entertaining like the old ‘40s Ted Lewis & his orchestra. Sharp trumpet solo, well-generated sax, zealous guitar with a steady one-two beat & rolling piano notes come together in a masterful arrangement. Bourne’s vocals are a bruised croon, incisive & savvy. Some finger-breaking piano on the upbeat New Orleans-gumbo-oriented “Caffeine Blues.” A well-shaped piece rooted in the ‘40s vocal style. Bourne has strikingly beautiful melodies to go along with his expressive voice. “Three Blind Mice” has a little Dr. John jambalaya vocalizing anchored to a bellowing sax. This isn’t meat & potatoes blues. It’s more espresso cheese cake with a maduro cigar. /John Apice, Americana Highways
Personnel: Mike Bourne (guitar, vocals); Bryan Herrman, Stephen Dougherty, Kerry Denton, Pete Maier (drums); Johnny Burgin (guitar); Jim Beisman (piano, organ); Patrick Recob, Paul Diffin (double bass); Dougan Smith, Dan Star, Ryan Styles (saxophone), Mister B.T., Nick Hmelak, Austin Barry (trumpet), Bob Paige (piano); Maria Bounds, Stephanie Howie, Stephanie Robertson, Hayley Raxafsky (background vocals).
Kansas City O'Clock mc
Kansas City O'Clock gofile
