Ben Rice & RB Stone - Out Of The Box

Size: 89,2 MB
Time: 38:57
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Blues Rock
Art: Full

01. Hot Rod Mama (2:35)
02. Easy, Easy Rollin' Down The Road (3:57)
03. Hey Politician (3:32)
04. Hoodoo Workin' Overtime (3:30)
05. Swamp East Boogie (4:00)
06. Jesus Needs A Gig (4:18)
07. Meet Your Maker (3:22)
08. Bad Blood On Mean Whiskey (2:45)
09. Crushin' On The Bartender (3:00)
10. Train Of Time (3:24)
11. Lobo Jam (4:29)

Out of the Box, a cigar box guitar project by Ben Rice and RB Stone caught my attention in a magnificent way. Rice and Stone have written eleven original blues tracks which they perform using an assortment of cigar box guitars comprised of 6 and 4 string Washboards, Swampeast Cigar Box, and a Lobo Cigar Box. Backing Rice and Stone on this self-produced project is drummer Dave Melyan, bassist Joseph Barton and Jimi Bott on tambourine. Bott, the award-winning blues drummer who has played with the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and The Proven Ones, also recorded and mixed the record.

The guys bust out in full rockabilly style on “Hot Rod Mama”, both tearing it up on 6-string Washboards. The slide sounds terrific, and their vocals are dynamic. Melvan’s back-beat and Rice’s mesmerizing riff instills a relaxed North Mississippi vibe to “Easy Rollin’ Down the Road”. Stone breaks out his harmonica on the delightfully cool retro track “Hoodoo Workin’ Overtime”. There’s a bit of a Howlin’ Wolf essence about this one that I adore. “Swamp East Boogie” puts a smile on my face with every listen as Stone lets loose on his SwampEast CBG. The Southeast Missouri area they sing about is very familiar to me. “Bad Blood on Mean Whiskey” has a menacing ambiance and a badass attitude that is irresistible.

The grand finale of this splendid album is a song called “Lobo Jam”. This four and a half minute instrumental jam consists of an edgy driving rhythm and lots of smoking slide guitar. I absolutely love it. This album is a must for blues and cigar box guitar fans. ~Phillip Smith

Out Of The Box MP3
Out Of The Box FLAC

---

R.B. Stone - Some Call It Freedom (Some Call It The Blues)

Size: 102,6 MB
Time: 37:22
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Blues Rock, Delta Blues
Art: Front

01. Hill Country Stomp (3:57)
02. Some Call It Freedom (3:58)
03. 35 Miles To Mobile (3:02)
04. Yoyo Lover (3:17)
05. Mind Your Bizzness (3:13)
06. Another Thief (3:22)
07. Nickajack (1:58)
08. You Don't Want Me (2:22)
09. Won't Stop Rockin' (3:30)
10. Weapons Of Mass Persuasion (4:05)
11. Standin' On Top Of The World (4:33)

RB Stone’s parents were huge music lovers; his father, a blues/boogie, rock ‘n’ roller and his mother, a fan of Tennessee Ernie Ford, Janis Joplin, Herb Alpert, Johnny Cash, Sly and the Family Stone, Elvis and the wide variety of hits from the 60’s. At 12, his mother showed him some chords on the piano and Bill Withers’ hit “Lean On Me” was the first song he learned, which started the ball rolling in his long blues/boogie composing career.

Eighteen and just out of high school, music was still a dream that seemed to belong to others, so he hired on with the railroad traveling the Midwest with a 90-man rail gang four days a week. After two years he accepted an offer as an assistant manager at a plumbing, electric and heating store in Ohio, rose to the level of manager and accumulated a house, two cars, two trucks, and two motorcycles.

Restless at 23 RB sold everything but a truck, some harps and a guitar and headed to Colorado to be a cowboy and play music. There he met a horse trainer and lived on an Indian Reservation in Ignacio where he slept in a barn learning horses by day and teaching himself guitar at night. A few months later he got good enough at both and started getting hired by local outfitters to run back-country horse packing, wrangle horses and entertain the guests around the campfire.

Since those early beginnings, RB’s life and career have taken many twists, turns, bumps and bruises accompanied by significant accomplishments. Independent and flying under the radar he has 15 albums under his belt, toured 32 countries & 5 continents, sold over 40,000 albums most of them at his shows. He has a song catalog with Gwen Gordy of the Motown Dynasty at EMI. He’s had principal roles in national commercials, appeared in national music videos and his songs have been recorded by artists such as The Marshall Tucker Band. RB has worked with many major acts from Jazz Greats Hiroshima to The Charlie Daniels Band, has a 14 piece Roots Music Production Show featuring his songs, a Billboard Magazine Songwriting award, to name just a few of his achievements.

Some Call It Freedom (Some Call It The Blues)

---

RB Stone - Lonesome Traveler's Blues

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 39:03
Size: 89.4 MB
Styles: Americana, Electric blues
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[3:51] 1. Mississippi Woman
[4:20] 2. Lonesome Traveler's Blue
[3:40] 3. Fairweather Friends
[3:32] 4. Ain't Gonna Bring Me Down
[4:56] 5. Born Into The Blues
[3:12] 6. The Devil's Satisfied
[4:17] 7. Master Of The Craft
[4:07] 8. Find Yourself A Fool
[3:28] 9. Man With A Minivan
[3:36] 10. Don't Be Mean

“Roland Bennett Stone, Jr., has lived the dreams of many a young man. He's led the "cowboy life," ridin' and ropin' and bustin' broncs on "the circuit," as well as leading the life of a bluesman, with some fifteen Americana albums under his belt. A fantastic singer, composer, guitar and harp player, RB has just released "Lonesome Traveler's Blues," where he puts his perspectives on life and love to music, with ten smokin' originals that will have you wantin' more when it's over. Take "Born Into The Blues," for example. The story of a man who "comes from a long line of sad news" features stinging guitar from Billy Crain. RB's whisky-soaked baritone fuels the autobiographical title cut where he laments "I'm a long way from home..where I'm at, I'm not known." ~Nashville Blues Society

Lonesome Traveler's Blues mc
Lonesome Traveler's Blues zippy

---

RB Stone - Loosen Up!

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 35:24
Size: 81.1 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[3:07] 1. High Horse
[4:18] 2. Long Gone Lonesome Blues
[3:02] 3. Loosen Up
[4:20] 4. God Heals You When You Cry
[3:05] 5. Texas Drunk Tank Blues
[5:07] 6. A Bad Case Of Blues Goin' On
[3:03] 7. I Ain't Buyin' That Bull Today
[4:03] 8. Gone As Gone Can Be
[2:45] 9. She's Too Hot To Handle
[2:30] 10. Harley Heart

This CD has all the makings to shake up the juke joint with a mixture of bar rockin' blues and southern rock. "Loosen Up" features songs written by RB and co-written with Tom Hambridge and Ray Kennedy. The CD was produced by Grammy Award Songwriter and Producer Tom Hambridge.

"R.B. Stone lives in his own kick-ass roadhouse, where the songs rock you from side to side and the words bite back at you. This is the true originality of a renegade spirit" ~Michael Kinsman

Loosen Up! mc
Loosen Up! zippy

---