Saturday, August 31, 2019

Donna Angelle & The Zydeco Posse' - I'm Just A Country Girl

Size: 94,4 MB
Time: 40:05
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Blues Zydeco
Art: Front

01. I'm Just A Country Girl (4:06)
02. Zydeco Ride (3:04)
03. Chicken In My Yard (3:57)
04. Clean Up Woman (4:35)
05. Everybody (4:11)
06. I Want You (3:20)
07. Groove Me (4:11)
08. Bye Bye, Baby (3:43)
09. Daddy, Daddy (4:10)
10. Satan We Gonna Tear Your Kingdom Down (Gospel) (4:41)

Just as Donna Angelle's career as a zydeco musician was taking off with nightly gigs that kept her hopping between her home state of Louisiana and Alabama, New Mexico, Texas, and back again, she suffered a long period of downtime thanks to a serious auto crash. The multi-instrumentalist, who was born in St. Martin Parish as Donna Charles, had already begun making a name for herself as a bass player. Her choice of instrument was considered unusual for the leader of a zydeco band, as was her gender, since a bandleader in the genre would normally be a male accordionist. When she finally bounced back from the accident, the determined bandleader put out a few recordings and opened for acts that included Beau Jocque, Denise LaSalle, Latimore, and Chubby Carrier.

Angelle's love of music made itself known early in life. When she was eight years old on Cypress Island, her parents started to encourage her budding musical talent. In seventh grade in the town of Breaux Bridge, Angelle became a member of her school's band. With her music teacher's guidance, during this time she studied the flute, viola, saxophone, and clarinet. In addition to her teacher's encouragement, she also found inspiration in the recordings of artists such as Gladys Knight and Curtis Mayfield. Television's American Bandstand and Soul Train provided further influence. Upon her 1970 high school graduation, Angelle found work as a keyboardist with Bobby Price, for whom she also contributed vocals. She went on to join Cosmic Sky, a local Louisiana band, within 12 months.

With a desire to lead her own musical outfit, Angelle established a band that she dubbed Chapter IV, a name derived from a Bible verse. When a series of bassists didn't work out, she took up the instrument herself to avoid similar problems in the future. Thanks to her ability to play the instrument, she also worked with Archie Bell and Barbara Lynn. Then the accident occurred and sidetracked her until 1994, when she pulled together a new band that concentrated heavily on a blend of zydeco, hip-hop, and soulful, classic oldies. Bad Weather Productions' Mike Lachney signed her to a deal within months. Lachney is the producer behind such zydeco acts as Rosie Ledet, Lady T, John Delafose, and Pee Wee & the Boll Weevils. The following year, Angelle's Zydeco Soul, her first recording, was issued in cassette form. In 1997, she hooked up with Maison de Soul, a label run by Floyd Soileau. The following year, the company released her Old Man's Sweetheart CD, which also features her backing band, the Zydeco Posse. Down the Bayou followed, with Angelle departing from bass on a few numbers to switch to the accordion. ~Linda Seida

I'm Just A Country Girl

Ash Grunwald - Mojo

Size: 113,6 MB
Time: 48:23
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Hammer (Feat. Terry Evans) (4:53)
02. Ain't My Problem (Feat. The Teskey Brothers) (3:12)
03. Waiting Around To Die (Feat. Joe Bonamassa, Josh Teskey & Ian Collard) (4:17)
04. Whispering Voice (Feat. Kasey Chambers) (2:55)
05. Human (Feat. Mahalia Barnes & Harry James Angus) (4:20)
06. Trouble's Door (Feat Mahalia Barnes & Kim Wilson) (5:04)
07. Mountain (Feat. Mahalia Barnes) (3:21)
08. 3Am (Feat. Harry James Angus & Ian Collard) (4:36)
09. How Many More Years (Feat. Eddy 'The Chief' Clearwater & Ian Collard) (5:05)
10. Whipping Boy (Feat. Terry Evans) (3:33)
11. The Boogie (3:12)
12. Goin' Out West (Feat. Kim Wilson) (3:50)

Ash Grunwald, loved for his crowd frenzied shows and blistering guitar playing, has critics and fans raving about his unique blend of roots, beats and a whole lotta groove for over a decade. Nominated for a swag of awards and winning a few, Ash proves why he is one of Australia’s most loved bluesmen.

Recorded in the US and Australia, Mojo is Ash’s first new studio album in four years and features guest appearances by The Teskey Brothers, Mahalia Barnes and Joe Bonamassa amongst others.

Mojo

Friday, August 30, 2019

Various Artists - The Young Lions: Chicago Blues Guitar Heroes

Year: 2009
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:57
Size: 160,0 MB
Styles: Blues, Chicago blues
Scans: Front

1. Little Joe Lee - Lucky Lou (3:52)
2. Shakey Jake, Freddie King & Magic Sam - Call Me (If You Need Me) (3:04)
3. Louis Myers & Junior Wells - Lord Lord (2:41)
4. Otis Rush, Louis Myers & Charles Clark - Row Your Boat (3:04)
5. Earl 'Zeb' Hooker - Frog Hop (2:31)
6. Fenton Robinson & The Dukes - Tennessee Woman (2:27)
7. Syl Johnson & Junior Wells - Lovey Dovey Lovey One (2:10)
8. Little Joe Lee - You May (3:13)
9. Earl 'Zeb' Hooker - Guitar Rumba (2:54)
10. Clear Waters & His Band - Hillbilly Blues (2:33)
11. Morris Pejoe - Screaming And Crying (2:46)
12. Little Milton - I'm A Lonely Man (3:12)
13. Otis Rush - All Your Love (I Miss Loving) (2:39)
14. Otis Rush - I Can't Quit You Baby (3:05)
15. Otis Rush - It Takes Time (2:50)
16. Otis Rush - Double Trouble (2:46)
17. Magic Sam - All Your Love (2:59)
18. Magic Sam - 21 Days In Jail (2:44)
19. Magic Sam - Easy Baby (3:34)
20. Magic Sam - Love Me With A Feeling (2:12)
21. Buddy Guy - Sit And Cry (3:06)
22. Buddy Guy - Try To Quit You Baby (2:41)
23. Buddy Guy - This Is The End (3:01)
24. Buddy Guy - You Sure Can't Do (2:41)

No info found for this compilation, so let the music speak for itself.

The Young Lions: Chicago Blues Guitar Heroes mc
The Young Lions: Chicago Blues Guitar Heroes zippy

Moonshine Society - Sweet Thing

Year: 2019
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:42
Size: 112,2 MB
Styles: Blues/R&B/Soul
Scans: Front

1. Sweet Thing (Feat. Jason Ricci) (5:19)
2. Shake (3:48)
3. Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean (4:56)
4. Come On Home (5:52)
5. Southern Road (Feat. Jason Ricci) (3:45)
6. Biscuits, Bacon, And The Blues (3:17)
7. Use Me On Gilded Splinters (6:58)
8. I'd Rather Go Blind (5:21)
9. Deal The Devil Made (4:06)
10. The One Who Got Away (Bonus) (5:15)

Moonshine Society's much-anticipated sophmore album Sweet Thing. The album features celebrity special guests Ron Holloway (Dizzy Gillespie, Gil Scott-Heron, Susan Tedeschi, Gov’t Mule) and Jason Ricci (Johnny Winter, BMA-award winning harmonica player). The album is a celebration of gritty blues, New Orleans R&B, and Southern Soul primarily written by lead singer Black Betty. 10 full length tracks including six original tunes, two covers, one mashup, and a bonus track.

Sweet Thing mc
Sweet Thing zippy

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Shakey Jake & The All-Stars - Further On Up The Road

Year: 1969/1992
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:02
Size: 79,2 MB
Styles: Electric blues, harmonica blues
Scans: Full

1. Everything Gonna Be Alright (2:41)
2. Hold That Bus, Conductor (3:21)
3. Strollin' On The Strip (2:33)
4. Respect Me Baby (3:33)
5. I Will Always Love You (3:12)
6. Three Times Seven (3:06)
7. Further On Up The Road (3:01)
8. A Hard Road To Travel (3:25)
9. Save Your Money Baby (2:40)
10. Too Hot To Hold (3:19)
11. Long Distance Call (3:06)

Jake Harris knew how to shake a pair of dice in order to roll a lucrative winner. He also realized early on that his nephew, guitarist Magic Sam, was a winner as a bluesman. Harris may not have been a technical wizard on his chosen instrument, but his vocals and harp style were proficient enough to result in a reasonably successful career (both with Sam and without).

Born James Harris, the Arkansas native moved to Chicago at age seven. Admiring the style of Sonny Boy Williamson, Harris gradually learned the rudiments of the harp but didn't try his hand at entertaining professionally until 1955. Harris made his bow on vinyl in 1958 for the newly formed Artistic subsidiary of Eli Toscano's West Side-based Cobra Records. His only Artistic 45, "Call Me If You Need Me"/"Roll Your Moneymaker", was produced by Willie Dixon and featured Sam and Syl Johnson on guitars.

The uncompromising Chicago mainstream sound of that 45 contrasted starkly with Jake Harris' next studio project. Prestige's Bluesville subsidiary paired him with a pair of jazzmen - guitarist Bill Jennings and organist Jack McDuff - in 1960 for a full album, Good Times (the unlikely hybrid of styles working better than one might expect). The harpist encored later that year with Mouth Harp Blues, this time with a quartet including Chicagoan Jimmie Lee Robinson on guitar and a New York rhythm section (both of his Bluesville LPs were waxed in New Jersey).

Jake Harris and Magic Sam remained running partners for much of the '60s. They shared bandstands at fabled West Side haunts such as Sylvio's, where he was captured on tape in 1966 singing "Sawed Off Shotgun" and "Dirty Work Goin' On" (later available on a Black Top disc by Sam) - and Big Bill Hill's Copacabana before Harris moved to Los Angeles in the late '60s. He recorded for World Pacific and briefly owned his own nightclub and record label before returning to Arkansas, where he died in 1990. /Biography by Bill Dahl, AllMusic

(For personnel and recording details, see artwork included.)

Further On Up The Road mc
Further On Up The Road zippy

Benny Turner - When She's Gone

Year: 2016
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:35
Size: 114,2 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Front, back

1. I Can't Leave (3:22)
2. Pity On This Lovesick Fool (Feat. Marva Wright) (3:43)
3. Because Of You (Feat. Dr. John) (5:19)
4. Ain't No Sunshine (Feat. Bob Margolin) (4:46)
5. So Deep (Feat. Charles Brown) (6:47)
6. If I Can't Have You (4:41)
7. Have You Ever Been So Lonesome (6:01)
8. Reconsider Baby (Feat. Bob Margolin) (3:04)
9. That's Alright - I'll Get Over You (5:22)
10. Black Night (Feat. Charles Brown) (6:25)

This is an excellent album, packed with real quality musicianship, vocals, material and soulful feeling. Benny Turner is not just another bluesman but the brother of the late, legendary Freddie King. With this guy, we have a true bluesman, brought up in the tradition from a family that was positively steeped in the blues. The fourth release from Texan, Turner, the ten tracks here include sure-fired soulful vocals and quality bass from Turner with some subtle support from Muddy’s old guitar support sideman player Bob Margolin. Dr John even puts in a rare appearance on rhythm guitar on one track.

Margolin displays his sheer quality and experience with a wonderful slide-based take on Bill Withers’ hit standard Ain’t No Sunshine, turning it on its head in places. For the past fifty or so years, Turner has been happy to skip the spotlights, working as bandleader for the former widely acclaimed Blues Queen of New Orleans, Marva Wright, (one track, Pity On This Lovesick Fool, features a duet recorded before she passed), and shoring up countless big-name players including a decade or so on bass, performing and touring with his late, elder brother Freddie King. /Iain Patience, Blues Magazine

When She's Gone mc
When She's Gone zippy

Honeyboy Slim & The Bad Habits - Who Put The Jinx?

Year: 2019
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 28:20
Size: 65,4 MB
Styles: R&B, rock & roll
Scans: Front

1. Night Fighter (Feat. Vanja Lo) (1:58)
2. 5-0-2 (2:59)
3. No Parole (2:27)
4. Who Put The Jinx (3:59)
5. Comin' Down Your Way (3:03)
6. Going Down (2:40)
7. Too Much (2:09)
8. Guns Of Bofors (3:12)
9. Gotta Go (3:07)
10. Wiggin' Out (2:40)

From the forests of Småland, Sweden, Honeyboy Slim & the Bad Habits delivers their debut album "Who Put The Jinx?", a well-knit rock & roll album of the best cut. However, despite being a debut album, one should not believe that the quartet are freshmen in any way. Previously, the band has released a single and an EP, but above all they have acquired a great routine through countless gigs around the world - from Lofoten, Norway, in the north to Spain in the south, from small towns around Sweden to Las Vegas in the USA.

A bunch of guest artists also contributes on the album. Patrik Kolar (Club Killers, Moneybrother, Florence Valentin, Weeping Willows and others) play piano while Torbjörn Eliasson (The Lancasters, The Beat from Palookaville) and Tobias Einestad (The Lancasters, Domestic Bumblebees) act as horn section. Vanja Lo from The Vanjas sings on "Night Fighter", where also Mr Magnatone adds an extra guitar.

Personnel: Josef Steinwall (guitars, vocals); Jacob Steinwall (guitars, vocals); Sven Andersson (bass); Linus Sollin (drums).

Who Put The Jinx? mc
Who Put The Jinx? zippy

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Van Zant - Red White & Blue (Live)

Size: 144.6 MB
Time: 62:58
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Southern Rock
Art: Front

1. Takin' Up Space (Live) [3:05]
2. Ain't Nobody Gonna Tell Me What To Do (Live) [3:34]
3. Sweet Mama (Live) [3:29]
4. Wild Eyed Southern Boys (Live) [5:46]
5. Things I Miss The Most (Live) [4:08]
6. I Know My History (Live) [4:29]
7. Help Somebody (Live) [4:25]
8. Plain Jane (Live) [4:04]
9. I Can't Help Myself (Live) [4:10]
10. I'm Doin' Alright (Live) [4:00]
11. Red White & Blue (Live) [5:31]
12. My Kinda Country (Live) [4:17]
13. Call Me The Breeze (Live) [5:46]
14. Sweet Home Alabama (Live) [6:07]

The Van Zant clan from Jacksonville, Florida has been called The First Family of Southern Rock. Over the years, the Van Zant family’s recordings have unquestionably impacted both fans and contemporaries alike on a worldwide level, among multiple generations. Brothers Johnny (Lynyrd Skynyrd) and Donnie (38 Special) joined together over twenty years ago to delve deep into the family’s country-tinged roots and formed Van Zant. The two were inspired by the fact that their late brother, Ronnie, the spiritual leader and original lead vocalist and chief songwriter for Lynyrd Skynyrd, had always wanted to do a country record. “Let’s do it for him,” avowed the brothers. Red White & Blue (Live) is a recently unearthed live Van Zant show recorded on January 28, 2006 at Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Georgia. It is the only concert recording in existence from the only tour by the brothers. From the exuberance on crowd-pleasers like “Takin’ Up Space” and “My Kinda Country” to the heartfelt message of their big Country Singles chart hit “Help Somebody” (which hit #7 in 2005) to the butt-kicking versions of 38 Special’s “Wild Eyed Southern Boys” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Call Me the Breeze” and “Sweet Home Alabama,” the Van Zant brothers are clearly firing proud and true on all cylinders. One of the most telling lines from the title track, “Red White & Blue” — a song the Van Zants wrote but first appeared on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 2003 album, Vicious Cycle — is, “We’re trying to sing the truth to you.” That line alone encapsulates exactly why the Van Zants have always had such a deep connection with their audiences. The Van Zants’ significant contribution to southern rock, country and popular music across the board have created an unparalleled legacy. They may even be The First Family of American Music. It doesn’t get any more Red White & Blue than that.

Red White & Blue (Live)


Charlie Wooton Project - Blue Basso

Size: 106.6 MB
Time: 46:35
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Blues, R&B
Art: Full

1. Jaceaux [3:34]
2. Reflections [4:47]
3. I Don't Know [4:58]
4. Come On Come Over [4:29]
5. Dime Note [3:34]
6. One Night [4:25]
7. Fulton Alley [7:00]
8. Tell Me A Story [3:36]
9. Front Porch [4:26]
10. Miss You [5:41]

Featuring Performances by Sonny Landreth, Anders Osborne, Damon Fowler, Eric McFadden, Living Color’s Doug Wimbish, and vocalist Arsene’ DeLay.

BLUE BASSO by the Charlie Wooton Project establishes the New Orleans bassist as a master of his craft. Fans of Royal Southern Brotherhood and the New Orleans Suspects already recognize Wooton as a world class instrumentalist, but BLUE BASSO shows that Wooton has much more to offer.

BLUE BASSO is Wooton's tribute to the legendary bassist Jaco Pastorious, whose influence on electric bassists rivals the impact Jimi Hendrix had on electric guitarists. Like Pastorious, Wooton combines a staggering technical genius with a probing musical eclecticism that allows him to play fusion, blues, R&B and funk with equal facility and make it all hang together in a personal sound.

Blue Basso

Monday, August 26, 2019

Fake Idea - 166 BPM

Size: 101.2 MB
Time: 44:05
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Pop, Rock, Soul
Art: Front

1. Hoodoo Smell [2:55]
2. Slighty Mellow [2:40]
3. Don't Turn the Stereo Down [3:21]
4. Bloodthirsty Lover [3:41]
5. Turning Crazy. Pt. 1 [0:44]
6. Little Sister [3:34]
7. Ashes of Love [4:02]
8. Browner Than U [3:14]
9. I'm Right On Time [3:21]
10. Turning Crazy. Pt. 2 [1:00]
11. So High [2:05]
12. Bullshit for Masses [5:01]
13. Hit the Ground [4:32]
14. Turning Crazy. Pt. 3 [0:32]
15. Wanna Try?? [3:16]

Fake Idea consists of Julien Chalmet (vocals, guitar and keyboards), Alex Soubry (guitar and chorus), David Hazak (bass and choir) and Pierre-Erwan Grenet (drums and percussion). The quartet already has a little bottle. The band is formed in 2008, the songs are written from 2012. 166 Bpm : this is the tempo (bpm = number of Beats Per Minute) of the fastest rock track of the album, the equally good named "Do not Turn the Stereo Down". For the cute anecdote, this title also refers to the heartbeat of a child in the womb of his mother. During the time of writing, the Orléanais have all become dads. When we tell you we're not dealing with little blues.

A fearsome and creaky riff, and the battery that street: the opening of "Hoodoo Smell" which inaugurates 166 Bpm has the merit of putting everyone in agreement in less time than it takes to say . Must we admit it? We would not have spontaneously bet on good old Orleans, but on the other side of the Channel, or even across the Atlantic ... Nor on a first album. But here is a solid French formation that has digested its influences and mixes energetically along a well produced disc.

166 BPM


Climax Blues Band - Hands Of Time

Size: 152.7 MB
Time: 66:34
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Blues, Rock
Art: Front

1. Ain't That A Kick In The Head [4:14]
2. Straight Down The Middle [5:41]
3. What's Your Name [5:07]
4. Flood Of Emotion [4:38]
5. Top Of The World [3:50]
6. My Music [4:40]
7. 17th Street Canal [5:56]
8. Simple Song [3:03]
9. The Cat [4:47]
10. Hands Of Time [5:19]
11. Faith [5:52]
12. Hard Luck [4:55]
13. Wrong Time [4:42]
14. Getting There [3:43]

Founded in the 60's, by Colin Cooper, Climax Blues Band has always focused on its roots, a unique combination of jazz and blues. After 50 years, 21 albums, the classic world-wide hit "Couldn't Get It Right" and tours of the UK, Europe and the US, Climax Blues Band are now touring with "Hands of Time", a new album of original material and still playing the blues in a creative way that has always been synonymous with their name.

Hands of Time is the 21st album by Climax Blues Band, consisting of 13 new original songs, plus a bonus unreleased track ‘Getting There’ with the late Colin Cooper.

It was recorded at Silk Mill Studios in Staffordshire, UK and is a mixture of bluesy funk, soul and jazz-rock, all of the ingredients that have kept the band working for over 50 years.

The album has a fresher more modern feel to it than on previous releases and is being well received by the industry. You can hear a selection of the new songs played live by the band when they embark on their major UK & European tour staring in 2019 to promote the album’s release.

Colin was the founder member of Climax Blues Band back in 1968 and led the band with Pete Haycock through great success and recognition through the 1970s and 1980s, with huge selling albums like FM Live and Gold Plated, hit singles Couldn’t Get It Right and I Love You.

George Glover joined the band on keyboards in 1981, Haycock left in 1984 and Lester Hunt came into the re-vamped Climax in 1985, Roy Adams joined in 1987 and Neil Simpson in the early 1990s. Colin Cooper was leading the band with a return to the kind of blues that got the band started before his untimely death. His wish was the for the band to continue and the recruitment of Graham Dee and Chris ‘Beebe’ Aldridge was made with a view to broadening the Climax sound again and take on new musical influences, move forward creatively which was the Climax Blues Band trademark, rather than rely on the past glories.

The live album Security Alert was released in 2015 and reflected this move forward and the fact that Climax were delighting old and new fans alike throughout the UK and Europe. Roy Wood of ELO and Wizzard fame mixed the live album.

Hands Of Time

Philipp Fankhauser Blues Band - Live: So Damn Cool

Year: 2003
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:02
Size: 140,8 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. I Feel So Good (3:52)
2. That's Alright (4:46)
3. Introduction (Why Wrong Is Right) (2:00)
4. Baby Please Don't Go (4:08)
5. Key To The Highway (3:51)
6. Black Cat Bone (6:25)
7. Soon As The Weather Breaks (7:06)
8. Early In The Morning (4:03)
9. Bring Your Fine Self Home (6:55)
10. Ain't Nobody's Business (5:43)
11. Dedicated (3:43)
12. Life's So Damn' Cool (4:37)
13. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (3:46)

Philipp Fankhauser is a Swiss blues singer/guitarist who experienced Top Ten success in his homeland after two decades of recording activity. Born in 1964 in Thun, Switzerland, he began playing music during the late '70s after taking an unlikely interest in the blues as a teenager. His interest in the blues was compounded after he attended the 1981 Montreux Jazz Festival, where he witnessed firsthand a performance by Albert Collins. Other American blues legends he saw at the Montreux Jazz Festival during the early '80s included such luminaries as B.B. King, Koko Taylor, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. In particular, a 1984 performance by Johnny "Clyde" Copeland left a lasting impression on Fankhauser; in fact, the two became acquainted and the Texas legend became a mentor to the Swiss novice, whose performance career was becoming a full-time occupation around this time period.

In 1987 Fankhauser founded the Checkerboard Blues Band and began touring throughout Switzerland, playing dozens of shows a year. The Checkerboard Blues Band featured vocalist Margie Evans, and made their recording debut in 1989 with Blues for the Lady, which Fankhauser produced and on which he also sang. The Checkerboard Blues Band - sans Evans - returned in 1991 with their second album, With a Feeling; two other albums by the band followed - Dedicated (1992) and the live album Thun-San Francisco (1994), the latter featuring Evans - before Fankhauser recorded the solo album On Broadway (1995) in Memphis with producer/songwriter Dennis Walker. Beginning in 1994, Fankhauser resided in the United States, where he toured with his mentor, Copeland, until the Texan's death in 1997. In the meantime, a best-of album, His Kind of Blues (1996), was compiled as a gap-filler.

Fankhauser subsequently returned to Switzerland in 2000 and resurrected the Checkerboard Blues Band for a new album, Welcome to the Real World (2000). Following a live album by the Philipp Fankhauser Blues Band, the trio showcase Live - So Damn Cool (2003), Fankhauser signed a recording contract with Memphis International Records and proceeded to release Talk to Me (2004), a solo album recorded in Memphis with producer David Less. Fankhauser then signed with Funk House Blues, a Sony BMG subsidiary, and released his most commercially successful albums to date: Watching from the Safe Side (2006) and Love Man Riding (2008), the former of which was a Top 20 hit on the Swiss albums chart, the latter a Top Ten hit. /Jason Birchmeier

(For personnel info, see artwork included.)

Live: So Damn Cool mc
Live: So Damn Cool zippy

Robert Randolph & The Family Band - Brighter Days

Year: 2019
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:36
Size: 89,4 MB
Styles: Blues/Soul/Gospel/Rock mix
Scans: Front, back

1. Baptise Me (4:06)
2. Don't Fight It (3:35)
3. Simple Man (3:03)
4. Have Mercy (4:17)
5. Cut Em Loose (3:37)
6. Second Hand Man (3:03)
7. Cry Over Me (4:47)
8. I Need You (3:23)
9. I'm Living Off The Love You Give (3:25)
10. Strange Train (5:15)

When does a pedal steel guitar not sound like a pedal steel guitar? When Robert Randolph wraps his hands around the fret board, raising it above his head as he sparks a pulsating, sliding howl that sounds like Duane Allman on steroids. Randolph may not have been the first pedal steel practitioner to bring the buzzing wail of his instrument to the gospel genre but he is surely the most famous. He’s been testifying to rock, blues, religious and jam audiences since around 2000, delivering rousing, sweat-soaked shows that may not turn sinners into saints but leaves audiences wowed by his longtime band’s sheer energy, passion and intensity.

Other than bringing in veteran producer Dave Cobb for studio release number six, little has changed in Randolph’s approach on Brighter Days. There’s a smattering of rousing, near frantic, dance-inducing music (with a message) exemplified by tunes such as “Don’t Fight It” and the Stevie Ray Vaughan-styled five minute closer “Strange Train.” The latter ends with an explosion of notes that are both brutally intense and transcendentally uplifting. But Cobb mixes up the approach, shifting Randolph to the slow, swampy Staple Singers’ “Simple Man” and the hard New Orleans funk of “Second Hand Man.” The opening “Baptize Me” rides a tough, blues rocking groove that wouldn’t be out of place on a Kenny Wayne Shepherd disc as Randolph lets loose with a roaring, sizzling solo that blasts out of the speakers.

Letting sister Lenesha Randolph handle lead vocals on the sweet, soulful “Cry Over Me,” compete with a particularly honeyed pedal steel break, also alters the vibe. And the disc’s other cover of “I’m Living Off the Love You Give,” a minor hit for Little Milton, takes the title lyric and applies it in a more spiritual sense as Randolph grinds out a tough, funky Stax groove topped by a typically ferocious solo. Cobb is credited as co-writer with Randolph and others on half these 10 tracks, and guitarist on all of them, so his input is felt to an even greater degree than for some of his many other productions.

The set’s lone misstep however is the schlocky ballad “I Need You.” It’s a showcase for Randolph’s soulful vocals that may be well meaning but are sunk by a glossy MOR arrangement and simplistic chorus of “I need you like a flower needs the rain.” Not exactly Dylan-level poetry there. Regardless, this is another in a series of solid, R&B-soaked Sacred Steel albums, each a little better and more focused than the last, that further cements the pedal steel’s - and Robert Randolph’s own - musical place both in and outside of the church. /Hal Horowitz, American Songwriter

Brighter Days mc
Brighter Days zippy

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Cameo Blues Band - All Play And No Work

Size: 167.7 MB
Time: 73:07
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2002
Styles: Blues, Rock
Art: Full

1. Linda Lu [5:13]
2. Wide-assed Groove [4:47]
3. Crossroads [5:34]
4. Piston Poppin' Queen [5:43]
5. The Walk [3:34]
6. Highway 61 [4:19]
7. Rockin' My Life Away [5:22]
8. Yah Yah [4:08]
9. Kind Hearted Woman [5:52]
10. Who's Been Making Love [3:19]
11. You Can't Sit Down [3:04]
12. Going to Chicago [6:48]
13. Why Can't You Be Happy [5:17]
14. Mercury Blues [4:08]
15. Kansas City [5:52]

This is the Rockin' Roots based Blues band from the famed Hotel Isabella's Cameo Lounge, and was the breeding ground for most of the Toronto Blues scene from 1978 'till the present.

In the fall of 1978 Ray Harrison replaced Scott Cushnie as the keyboard player in a quartet, singer Hock Walsh was fronting at the Isabella Hotel (Toronto, Canada) in the Cameo Lounge. Ray had just crawled out of the wreckage of the hugely popular Canadian band Crowbar. The band was in disarray after a roadie had rolled the band truck into oblivion.

The original band consisted of Omar Tunnock (Fathead) bass, and Billy Bryans (Parachute Club) drums and Hock Walsh (Downchild Blues Band): vocalist. Hock moved on and was replaced by Fraser Finlayson (Cueball). Fraser lasted a few months and was followed by Tony Flaim (Downchild and the Dukes). Flaim then quit and went back on the road with Downchild and Chuck Jackson (currently with Downchild) was hired to front the band. By then the line-up of the band was: John Bride (guitar), Omar Tunnock (bass), Paul Armstrong (drums), Wayne Mills (tenor sax) and Ray Harrison on Hammond B3 and piano.
Anyone who can attest to seeing this band holding musical court in the cramped smokey confines of the Cameo Lounge at the ‘Izzy’ truly really got their money’s worth. Besides hearing and seeing the band, which in my opinion was as good as it got, you might have also seen and heard the likes of Georgie Fame, Spencer Davis, Huey Lewis, Sting, Dan Ackroyd and Kelly Jay, to name a few.

Heady times these, and not easily forgotten. As the band moved around to other locals, different singers came and went with Malcolm Tomlinson being the first to replace Chuck. This was in the early eighties. " During the 80’s and 90’s we were known as the ‘cameo appearance’ band." Says Ray. Other singers included Walter Zwol (Brutus) and myself John Dickie (Mondo Combo, Prima Donnas). With the addition of Michael Sloski (Bruce Cockburn) and Tom Griffiths (Colin Linden) from this era we have the nucleus of the great rhythm section heard here. " Everyone would bring something different to the table so the audience never quite knew what to expect, just that it was going to be good." Says Ray.

All Play And No Work   MEGA

J.P. Soars - Let Go Of The Reins

Size: 110.1 MB
Time: 48:05
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Blues, Funk
Art: Full

1. Been Down So Long [5:38]
2. If You Wanna Get To Heaven [3:38]
3. Freddie King Thing [3:17]
4. Let Go Of The Reins [5:21]
5. Crow's Nest [4:47]
6. Lonely Fire [5:11]
7. Have Mercy On My Soul [4:10]
8. Let It Ride [2:40]
9. Minor Blues [4:11]
10. Time To Be Done [5:22]
11. Old Silver Bridge [3:46]

J.P. Soars brings us a brand new CD produced by Tab Benoit. It was recorded at Tab’s Whiskey Bayou studio in Houma, LA. The bands is Soar’s Red Hots with drummer Chris Peet on the bass and Tab on the drums. Tillis Verdin plays on 6 tracks with his hot B3 organ. The session came together quickly and resulted in a very cool album. Credits for songs are noted and the rest are originals by Soars.

Things start off with blues, New Orleans and some funk blended up in a stew of sweet stuff. The repetitive guitar riff gives it funk, Soars’ gutsy vocals and stinging guitar are firmly rooted in blues quite interesting and well done with a NOLA vibe . The guitar is predominant and really super here. Verdin’s B3 also adds nicely to the mix and offers a good solo to boot. “Been Down So Long” is the opener which is a spiced up and sped up Soars rework by of a J.B. LeNoir’s tune. Next it’s Soars take on the Ozark Mountain Daredevils with “If You Wanna Get to Heaven.” The take is not the pop rock of the OMDs but a more gritty and grinding style with Soars’ big guitar and gruff vocals behind a similar driving beat. The 1973 tunes gets a big facelift here with Soars in charge and the organ giving fine support. “Freddy King Thing” is J.P.’s take on Freddy with a sweet guitar lead and driving beat. Soars growls in his inimitable style and offers up more fantastic guitar. The backline is driving and the B3 is helping out, too. Next is the title track that opens with some interesting guitar work, blending hill country and a sort of psychedelic approach to good effect. Soars sings with emotion, the guitar is primal and modern at the same time, and the beat gets the pulse up a little. Quite interesting and effective stuff!

“Crow’s Nest” is a sweet instrumental with a jazzy feel. The B3 wails, the guitar picks out some nice stuff and the groove is cool. J.P. and Tillis let it all hang out here. Next is a song co-written with Tab entitled “Lonely Fire.” A slow ballad, the song’s simplicity is a big selling point with restrained guitar and organ with Soars giving us a toned down set of vocals. The acoustic guitar work is big and meaty, with a Spanish guitar feel. “Have Mercy On My Soul” is a free wheeling and dirty cut with Soars in full growl and a heavy beat. Soars solos twice in similar fashion, with some hot licks to thoroughly enjoy. “Let It Ride” is a nice country bluegrass cut written by Randy Whatley. Soars sings like he’s getting ready to be a Gospel singer (well, that’s a stretch) and plays some super pedal steel guitar.

“Minor Blues” is a Django Reinhardt cut that is a dark instrumental with an air of mystery and intrigue. Soars plays his guitar evocatively and it’s just another cool cut to add to the mix. “Time To Be Done” is a straightforward funky blues rocker with a nice groove and great organ work. The guitar gives us a funkiness as Soars wails. The album concludes with some banjo and slide in the downhome “Old Silver Bridge.” Soars sings a bit, but it’s mostly a pretty banjo piece with layers of the instrument to enjoy. Soars mixes it up well and gives us an eclectic but very cool ending this album.

There is lots to enjoy here with great original cuts and some fantastic takes on some older tunes. Soars and Company are imaginative and musically adroit, offering an interesting set of tunes with variety and outstanding musicianship.

What’s not to like here? This is all great stuff and J.P.’s fans will love it. New to Soars? Then this is a great example of what he can do. Benoit’s helped produce and pull out a super set of tunes that will make your summer travels a lot of fun as you savor this CD over and over again. I highly recommend it!

Let Go Of The Reins

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Michael Bloomfield - Don't Say That I Ain't Your Man! Essential Blues 1964-1969

Year: 1994
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:00
Size: 164,4 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. I've Got You In The Palm Of My Hand (2:26)
2. Last Night (3:23)
3. Feel So Good (2:54)
4. Goin' Down Slow (3:39)
5. I Got My Mojo Working (2:39)
6. Born In Chicago (w. The Butterfield Blues Band) (3:08)
7. Work Song (w. The Butterfield Blues Band) (7:54)
8. Killing Floor (4:11)
9. Albert's Shuffle (6:54)
10. Stop (4:22)
11. Mary Ann (Live) (5:27)
12. Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong (Live) (11:03)
13. Don't Think About It Baby (3:34)
14. It Takes Time (Feat. Nick Gravenites) (Live) (4:07)
15. Carmelita Skiffle (Live) (5:12)

Fifteen tracks covering the pioneering blues-rock guitarist's '60s work, which was by far his best and most influential. Bloomfield worked with a bunch of bands during the decade, and the compilation flits rather hurriedly from his contributions to the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Electric Flag, to his collaborations with Al Kooper, as well as some late-'60s solo tracks (none of his groundbreaking mid-'60s work with Dylan is here).

Collectors will be interested in the first five songs, which date from previously unreleased sessions produced by John Hammond in late 1964 and early 1965. Featuring Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, this pre-Butterfield Blues Band outfit plays convincingly, but the material is standard-issue, and Bloomfield's vocals are thin and weak (they didn't improve much over time). As befits Bloomfield's considerable but erratic talent, this is an interesting but erratic compilation; seek out the first two Paul Butterfield albums for a more cohesive showcase of his skills. /Richie Unterberger, AllMusic

(For personnel and recording details, see artwork included.)

Don't Say That I Ain't Your Man! Essential Blues 1964-1969 mc
Don't Say That I Ain't Your Man! Essential Blues 1964-1969 zippy

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Margie Evans - Another Blues Day

Year: 1984
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:50
Size: 91,9 MB
Styles: Blues
Scans: Front

1. Another Blues Day (4:36)
2. Loser (4:37)
3. I've Been Buked (A Capella Vocal) (4:09)
4. The Lighthouse (6:21)
5. Come To Me (6:00)
6. Let The Telephone Ring (3:52)
7. I've Been There (6:12)
8. Chilly Waters (3:59)

From the suffering of one woman, the pain of a soul which is continually thwarted in its advancement by the evil forces of abusive love, racism, financial burden, and sexism, "Another Blues Day" was conceived. Afro-Americans were and are born in the blues. The blues is huddling beneath a worn, soiled blanket on a winter's night because you have no other. The blues is yet another job rejection: Two unspoken negative strikes - black and female. In Margie's case, the blues is struggling for twenty-five years to make and aesthetic and commercial contribution to the folk art of blues music.

The cathartic quality of this music - the reason it was created in the first place - and the ascending, undefeatable spirit which emerges is this album's triumph , its resolution. Here Margie recreates another blues day, just one more in the continuing day by day struggle of a human being who needs to survive in the face of barbed-wire hurdles. The blues you hear in this album is Margie's personal statement, but all races and ages can relate. After all, is life fair? On any continent?

That's the problem. The solution is to surmount and survive. This is he message in Margie's music. So much hurt, so much pain, so much suffering. It`s real with her, too. Yet, those who know Margie always experience her bouyant and compelling laughter. This isn't silliness. It's a survival technique. And she will make it. It's that same control of events and ascendency of spirit which permeates this recording. Complemented by eletric guitar, sax, keyboards, bass, drums, and (sometimes) flute, Margie wails her story. She's a shouter, unmistakably from the mold of Bessie Smith, Big Mama Thornton, or Mahalia Jackson. Her empassioned vocals, fully mature at this stage in her career, embody the pain of Afro-Americans from slavery to the present. The instrumental accompaniment is as real as the voice. The sound is up-to-date, contemporary, yet uncluttered by recording studio gimmickery.

The blues ist he truth. It's the straight shot. So ist his album. In these eight songs, Margie goes throught her day: Waking to face turmoil, acknowledge the historic plight of Afro-Americans (listen to her mournful yet beautiful acappella version of “I've Been Buked“), experiencing a spiritual awakening (“Lighthouse“), attempting to share her joy and love with a special man, and receiving his cruel and icy response to this devotion.

It's a concept album: A story. The tears drop from her brown cheeks like heavy dew on an early morning's flower. Yet she shouts her pension to withstand and survive. Keep on keepjng on. That's what we all must do. The clouds will pass. When they do, Margie will be ready. /Original LP liner notes by Greg Drust

Another Blues Day mc
Another Blues Day zippy

Philipp Fankhauser With Checkerboard Blues Band And Friends - Welcome To The Real World

Year: 2000
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:44
Size: 115,1 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Front

1. Welcome To The Real World (4:13)
2. Home Town (Thun) (5:18)
3. You Don't Know (4:33)
4. Going To Dallas (3:31)
5. Sunnyland (Muddy Waters Blues) (4:27)
6. Greater Man (4:04)
7. The Things I Used To Do (3:14)
8. Cut Off My Right Arm (4:31)
9. I've Been Loving You Too Long (4:12)
10. Flyin' High (Yesterday) (2:56)
11. Bring Your Fine Self Home (5:27)
12. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (3:14)

Philipp Fankhauser is a Swiss blues singer/guitarist who experienced Top Ten success in his homeland after two decades of recording activity. Born in 1964 in Thun, Switzerland, he began playing music during the late '70s after taking an unlikely interest in the blues as a teenager. His interest in the blues was compounded after he attended the 1981 Montreux Jazz Festival, where he witnessed firsthand a performance by Albert Collins. Other American blues legends he saw at the Montreux Jazz Festival during the early '80s included such luminaries as B.B. King, Koko Taylor, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. In particular, a 1984 performance by Johnny "Clyde" Copeland left a lasting impression on Fankhauser; in fact, the two became acquainted and the Texas legend became a mentor to the Swiss novice, whose performance career was becoming a full-time occupation around this time period.

In 1987 Fankhauser founded the Checkerboard Blues Band and began touring throughout Switzerland, playing dozens of shows a year. The Checkerboard Blues Band featured vocalist Margie Evans, and made their recording debut in 1989 with Blues for the Lady, which Fankhauser produced and on which he also sang. The Checkerboard Blues Band - sans Evans - returned in 1991 with their second album, With a Feeling; two other albums by the band followed - Dedicated (1992) and the live album Thun-San Francisco (1994), the latter featuring Evans - before Fankhauser recorded the solo album On Broadway (1995) in Memphis with producer/songwriter Dennis Walker. Beginning in 1994, Fankhauser resided in the United States, where he toured with his mentor, Copeland, until the Texan's death in 1997. In the meantime, a best-of album, His Kind of Blues (1996), was compiled as a gap-filler.

Fankhauser subsequently returned to Switzerland in 2000 and resurrected the Checkerboard Blues Band for a new album, Welcome to the Real World (2000). Following a live album by the Philipp Fankhauser Blues Band, the trio showcase Live - So Damn Cool (2003), Fankhauser signed a recording contract with Memphis International Records and proceeded to release Talk to Me (2004), a solo album recorded in Memphis with producer David Less. Fankhauser then signed with Funk House Blues, a Sony BMG subsidiary, and released his most commercially successful albums to date: Watching from the Safe Side (2006) and Love Man Riding (2008), the former of which was a Top 20 hit on the Swiss albums chart, the latter a Top Ten hit. /Jason Birchmeier

Welcome To The Real World mc
Welcome To The Real World zippy

Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers - For The Chosen Who

Year: 2005
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:27
Size: 114,3 MB
Styles: Electric blues, harmonica blues
Scans: Full

1. I'm A Love You (3:54)
2. You Can Make It If You Try (2:47)
3. Broken Hearted Blues (4:21)
4. She Made My Blood Run Cold (4:17)
5. Shoestring (3:40)
6. Ground Hog Blues (4:01)
7. Description Of A Fool (5:34)
8. Trace Of You (4:02)
9. Honey's Blues (4:48)
10. Got To Find My Baby (3:42)
11. Call Me Dangerous (4:26)
12. Blues Player (3:50)

There's a house party happening - come on in. Singer/Harp master Rod Piazza sports these jukin' blues like a sharkskin three-piece. And, the merry hipsters he's fronting are equal to the groove. With this release (and DVD), Piazza and his Mighty Flyers get back to the roots of what drew them into the blues in the first place while at the same time investigating the funkier side of things For The Chosen Who" is a concept, a philosophy of Piazza's that deals with the old adage 'You don't choose the blues, the blues chooses you.' With this release, he reaches out to both long-time fans and the next generation of those to be chosen. A great value!

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

For The Chosen Who mc
For The Chosen Who zippy

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Philipp Fankhauser & Checkerboard Blues Band - Thun-San Francisco

Year: 1994
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:20
Size: 178,3 MB
Styles: Electric blues, Chicago blues
Scans: Front

1. Thun-San Francisco (8:11)
2. Two O' Clock Blues (12:38)
3. Wella Wella Baby La (2:48)
4. Black Cat Bone (7:16)
5. Down In The Valley (5:15)
6. Chicago By Night (6:47)
7. Got My Mojo Working (6:10)
8. Introducing Margie Evans (1:27)
9. Evil Gal Blues (Feat. Margie Evans) (3:54)
10. Blue Blue Blues/My Kind Of Blues (Feat. Margie Evans) (11:01)
11. Something You Got (Feat. Margie Evans) (4:56)
12. Pie In The Sky (6:50)

Philipp Fankhauser is a Swiss blues singer/guitarist who experienced Top Ten success in his homeland after two decades of recording activity. Born in 1964 in Thun, Switzerland, he began playing music during the late '70s after taking an unlikely interest in the blues as a teenager. His interest in the blues was compounded after he attended the 1981 Montreux Jazz Festival, where he witnessed firsthand a performance by Albert Collins. Other American blues legends he saw at the Montreux Jazz Festival during the early '80s included such luminaries as B.B. King, Koko Taylor, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. In particular, a 1984 performance by Johnny "Clyde" Copeland left a lasting impression on Fankhauser; in fact, the two became acquainted and the Texas legend became a mentor to the Swiss novice, whose performance career was becoming a full-time occupation around this time period.

In 1987 Fankhauser founded the Checkerboard Blues Band and began touring throughout Switzerland, playing dozens of shows a year. The Checkerboard Blues Band featured vocalist Margie Evans, and made their recording debut in 1989 with Blues for the Lady, which Fankhauser produced and on which he also sang. The Checkerboard Blues Band - sans Evans - returned in 1991 with their second album, With a Feeling; two other albums by the band followed - Dedicated (1992) and the live album Thun-San Francisco (1994), the latter featuring Evans - before Fankhauser recorded the solo album On Broadway (1995) in Memphis with producer/songwriter Dennis Walker. Beginning in 1994, Fankhauser resided in the United States, where he toured with his mentor, Copeland, until the Texan's death in 1997. In the meantime, a best-of album, His Kind of Blues (1996), was compiled as a gap-filler.

Fankhauser subsequently returned to Switzerland in 2000 and resurrected the Checkerboard Blues Band for a new album, Welcome to the Real World (2000). Following a live album by the Philipp Fankhauser Blues Band, the trio showcase Live - So Damn Cool (2003), Fankhauser signed a recording contract with Memphis International Records and proceeded to release Talk to Me (2004), a solo album recorded in Memphis with producer David Less. Fankhauser then signed with Funk House Blues, a Sony BMG subsidiary, and released his most commercially successful albums to date: Watching from the Safe Side (2006) and Love Man Riding (2008), the former of which was a Top 20 hit on the Swiss albums chart, the latter a Top Ten hit. /Jason Birchmeier

(Recorded live December 28th, 29th and 30th 1993 at Mühle Hunziken, Rubigen.)

Thun-San Francisco mc
Thun-San Francisco zippy

Five Horse Johnson - Fat Black Pussy Cat

Year: 1999
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:22
Size: 130,5 MB
Styles: Blues-rock, rock
Scans: Front, tray

1. Lightning When I Need (4:12)
2. Fly Back Home (5:16)
3. So Low (3:55)
4. She Don't Know (4:50)
5. Sermons In The Yard (5:16)
6. Say We Can (3:10)
7. Bleachin' Bones (3:56)
8. Climb Right Through (4:38)
9. I Cried (5:59)
10. Dead Language (15:06)

Five Horse Johnson comes straight out of Toledo, OH, with big riff, get down, rootsy, middle American rock & roll that takes acid blues and Led Zeppelin and mixes in influences like the Black Crowes, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Aerosmith, and ZZ Top. The band - made up of Eric Oblander on harps and vocals, Brad Coffin on guitar, Steve Smith on bass, and Mike Alonso on drums - got together in 1995 and began opening for acts like War, Southern Culture on the Skids, Atomic Bitchwax, the Queens of the Stone Age, and R.L. Burnside. In 1998, they released Double Down. The critically acclaimed Fat Black Pussycat followed in 1999 and The No. 6 Dance came out on Small Stone Records in 2001. /Biography by Charles Spano, AllMusic

(Note: There is an alternate version of "I Cried" as a ghost track at the end of "Dead Language".)

Fat Black Pussy Cat mc
Fat Black Pussy Cat zippy

Tommy Huxley's Blues Avenue - Taking The High Road

Size: 57.0 MB
Time: 24:53
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Blues/Rock
Art: Front

1. 1. Tommy's Boogie [3:36]
2. 2. Goin' to Nashville [3:50]
3. 3. Ana Maria [4:21]
4. 4. Testify [3:35]
5. 5. Slide In [2:30]
6. 6. Kitchen Blues [6:58]

A high energy Blues instrumental record with fiery guitar work reminiscent of SRV, Slash, Santana and John McLaughlin!
Bay Area native and blues guitarist extraordinaire, Tommy Huxley is a man on a mission. Possessing a frightening skill on the fret board far beyond his years, Tommy is here to honor the rich tradition of American Blues music, while taking the audience on an unforgettable ride of technical mastery and showmanship.

Tommy Huxley's Blues Avenue consists of seasoned professionals with impressive resume's of their own. Bassist Jordan Brysk is a groove orientated player with extensive roots in Latin Jazz, Rock and Blues. Drummer Rian Robinson is a hard hitting yet dynamic player with heavy roots in Rock, Blues and R&B.

Tommy’s travels have seen him performing on stages up and down the great state of California and Europe delivering a fiery musical sermon that pays homage to the legends Freddie King, Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnny Winter, and Otis Rush.

Taking the High Road is Tommy's second solo album with six super high energy Blues inspired instrumental tracks and that will thrill your ears and soul!!

Taking The High Road

Tommy Grills - The Hard Side Of The Blues

Size: 98.5 MB
Time: 42:39
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Blues
Art: Front

1. Driving Me Away [3:52]
2. Hardside Of The Blues [2:46]
3. Help Me [5:24]
4. On The Blues Side Of Town [5:55]
5. Thats Alright [5:28]
6. Little Red Rooster [4:38]
7. Running From The Law [1:49]
8. Peanut Butter Woman [4:45]
9. Bad Bad Love [4:42]
10. Mean Old World [3:17]

Tommy “Bluz” Grills grew up in the Rochester, NY, area exposed to some of the top Jazz, Blues
and Folk Artists while working at his father’s nightclub “The Nugget” during the late 60s to early
70s. Greats like Miles Davis, John Hammond, Freddie King, Harry Chapin, John Prine, Steve
Goodman, Bobby Whitlock and many more played there. While they were all huge influencers on Tommy, it was
the BB King crossover classic “The Thrill Is Gone” that sealed his love of Blues. As he says, “It
was the vocal-like quality of BB’s guitar – he could make it cry.”
Tommy met and played with James Cotton’s band in 1977. He was offered a spot in the band
but had to decline at that time for personal reasons. Around the same time period, Tommy met
and played with Robert JR Lockwood and met Albert Collins . Those three were his
biggest influencers. Shortly after, during the late 70s, he formed his first Blues Band, playing
inner city bars and local venues around the Rochester area.
In 1982, Tommy played two shows with Albert King. Following that, he reconnected with James
Cotton and toured with him throughout the Northeast and Canada until James had to stop
touring due to health reasons.

The Hard Side Of The Blues

The Seamus McGarvey Band - Seamus O'Boogie

Size: 124.0 MB
Time: 53:48
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Blues Rock
Art: Front

1. Rambling On My Mind [3:53]
2. Don't Start Me Talkin' [3:05]
3. Roll Over Beethoven [3:10]
4. Sea Of Heartbreak [2:30]
5. It's Too Late To Cry [3:28]
6. Willie And The Hand Jive [3:08]
7. Gilbert Presley [0:50]
8. Don't Leave Me Now [3:18]
9. Honey Don't [3:34]
10. Rose Of Mooncoin [2:06]
11. Look On Yonder Wall [3:03]
12. I Ain't Superstitious [3:02]
13. Introducing Seamus O'Boogie [0:22]
14. Break-Up [2:43]
15. Deep River Blues [3:38]
16. Bacon Slicer [0:09]
17. Don't Get Around Much Anymore [2:12]
18. Hotel Happiness [3:39]
19. Walk On [3:10]
20. Belfast Introduction [0:11]
21. Mush Mush Mush Tural-i-Addy [2:28]

Out May 2019, Johnny Rock Records presents the debut album from this family based group, 'The Seamus McGarvey Band'. The result of a long term idea from musician Pat McGarvey (Southern Tenant Folk Union, The Arlenes) to involve his brother John (Johnny Marvel's Blues Groove) and their Dad Seamus in the making of a studio record, something they'd never done despite decades of playing together. The tracks on this release, made famous by Johnny Otis, Sonny Boy Williamson, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Doc Watson and many others, have special meaning to the family as well as being some of the twentieth century's greatest songs, so listen to them together in this one 'Boogie-ing' place.

It was after the recent passing of Seamus's older brother John, his sister Colette and Pat's father-in-law Ronnie Arnott that the idea became fully realised and Pat began to seriously think about how to put the project together. The main thing was to build the song list upon his Dad's interest in music, which throughout his life had made him a record collector, amateur musician, singer with family members and frequent attender at concerts and festivals. Thinking practically it was decided to record the album in Edinburgh so John and Seamus booked their flights up from England and Pat invited two celebrated local musicians along to help - Jed Potts on guitar (Blueswater, The Hillman Hunters) and Calum McIntyre (Adam Holmes Band, Karine Polwart, Bombskare).

Seamus O'Boogie

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Sonny Boy Williamson - The Chess Years (4 CD)

Aleck Ford/Little Boy Blue/Rice Miller/Sonny Boy II lived and worked with his sharecropper family until the early 1930s. Then he travelled around Mississippi and Arkansas and encountered several itinerant musicians (Big Joe, Robert Johnson, Robert Lockwood). In 1941 he had a more or less permanent home in Helena, Arkansas. He played on the King Biscuit Time radio show, advertising King Biscuit Flour. It was at this point that the radio program's sponsor, Max Moore, began billing Miller as Sonny Boy Williamson, apparently in an attempt to capitalize on the fame of the well-known Chicago-based harmonica player and singer Sonny Boy Williamson (birth name John Lee Williamson).

In 1949, Williamson relocated to West Memphis, Arkansas and lived with his sister and her husband, Howlin' Wolf. He started his own KWEM radio show from 1948 to 1950 selling the elixir Hadacol. He brought his former King Biscuit musician friends and others to West Memphis to perform on KWEM Radio. Williamson's first recording session took place in 1951 for Lillian McMurry of Jackson, Mississippi's Trumpet Records. Sonny Boy already had begun developing a following in Chicago beginning in 1953, when he appeared there as a member of Elmore James's band. And when Trumpet went bankrupt in 1955, Sonny Boy moved to Chicago. From 1955 to 1964 he recorded about 70 songs for Chess subsidiary Checker Records.

In the early 1960s he toured Europe several times during the height of the British blues craze and he recorded with The Yardbirds and The Animals. He appeared on several TV broadcasts throughout Europe. Upon his return to the U.S., he resumed playing the King Biscuit Time show on KFFA, and performed in the Helena, Arkansas area. As fellow musicians Houston Stackhouse and Peck Curtis waited at the KFFA studios for Williamson on May 25, 1965, the 12:15 broadcast time was closing in and Sonny Boy was nowhere in sight. Peck left the radio station to locate Williamson, and discovered his body in bed at the rooming house where he had been staying, dead of an apparent heart attack suffered in his sleep the night before.

Album: The Chess Years
Year: 1991
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:40+63:29+64:59+64:49
Size: 155,3+148,0+151,3+150,5 MB
Styles: Harmonica blues
Scans: Full

CD 1:
1. Work With Me (2:53)
2. Don't Start Me Talkin' (2:36)
3. All My Love In Vain (2:50)
4. Good Evening Everybody (2:35)
5. You Killing Me (On My Feet) (3:24)
6. Let Me Explain (2:55)
7. I Know What Love Is All About (2:40)
8. I Wonder Why (1:32)
9. Your Imagination (3:01)
10. Don't Lose Your Eye (3:03)
11. Keep It To Yourself (2:50)
12. Please Forgive (2:51)
13. The Key (To Your Door) (3:16)
14. Have You Ever Been In Love (2:54)
15. Hurts Me So Much (2:38)
16. Fattening Frogs For Snakes (2:22)
17. I Don't Know (2:26)
18. Like Wolf (2:50)
19. This Is My Apartment (2:38)
20. Cross My Heart (3:23)
21. Born Blind (2:33)
22. Ninety Nine (2:39)
23. Dissatisfied (2:43)
24. Unseen Eye (2:57)

CD 2:
1. Your Funeral And My Trial (2:30)
2. She Got Next To Me (2:34)
3. Wake Up Baby (2:57)
4. Keep Your Hand Out Of My Pocket (2:49)
5. Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide (2:19)
6. Unseeing Eye (3:08)
7. The Goat (2:45)
8. Cool Disposition (2:43)
9. I Never Do Wrong (2:55)
10. It's Sad To Be Alone (2:55)
11. Open Road (2:54)
12. Santa Claus (2:44)
13. I Can't Do Without You (2:48)
14. Checkin' Up On My Baby (1:57)
15. Temperature 110 (2:17)
16. Peach Tree (2:32)
17. Lonesome Cabin (3:04)
18. Somebody Help Me (2:20)
19. Down Child (2:33)
20. Trust Me Baby (2:44)
21. This Old Life (2:36)
22. Too Close Together (2:13)
23. Too Young To Die (2:54)
24. She's My Baby (2:08)

CD 3:
1. Stop Right Now (2:26)
2. The Hunt (2:46)
3. Too Old To Think (2:50)
4. That's All I Want (2:16)
5. One Way Out (2:01)
6. Nine Below Zero (3:29)
7. Got To Move (2:27)
8. Bye Bye Bird (2:37)
9. Help Me (3:10)
10. Bring It On Home (2:35)
11. One Way Out (2:27)
12. My Younger Days (3:20)
13. Tryin' To Get Back On My Feet (2:06)
14. Decoration Day (3:25)
15. Stop Cryin' (2:32)
16. I Want You Close To Me (2:59)
17. One Way Out (2:45)
18. I Can't Be Alone (3:17)
19. Don't Make A Mistake (3:32)
20. Understand My Life (2:25)
21. Find Another Woman (4:34)
22. My Name Is Sonny Boy (4:48)

CD 4:
1. The Key (To Your Door) (2:36)
2. Hurts Me So Much (Take 3) (2:50)
3. Cool Disposition (Take 1) (2:51)
4. Dissatsified (Take 3) (2:59)
5. Cross My Heart (Take 3) (2:57)
6. Ninety Nine (4:08)
7. She Got Next To Me (2:32)
8. Fattening Frogs For Snakes (2:59)
9. Nine Below Zero (4:17)
10. Your Funeral And My Trial (Take 5) (2:17)
11. Cool Disposition (Take 3) (3:13)
12. The Goat (Take 1) (2:44)
13. Ninety Nine (Take 1) (3:01)
14. Cross My Heart (Take 2) (2:21)
15. Hurts Me So Much (Take 4) (2:43)
16. Nine Below Zero (Take 3) (3:32)
17. Your Funeral And My Trial (Take 2) (2:07)
18. Checkin' Up On My Baby (2:35)
19. Little Village (12:01)

The Chess Years (4 CD) Part 1 mc
The Chess Years (4 CD) Part 1 zippy

The Chess Years (4 CD) Part 2 mc
The Chess Years (4 CD) Part 2 zippy