RIYL: Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses, Derek & the Dominoes, The Derek Trucks Band

The Black Crowes are going on hiatus in 2011 and already delivered a great new double album with last year’s Before the Frost… Until the Freeze combo. You can always count on these guys to mix things up, though. So instead of issuing a standard greatest hits package to tour behind, Croweology finds the band delivering newly recorded acoustic versions of two albums’ worth of material. The songs run the gamut from classic hits to deep album cuts. There aren’t as many rarities as one might hope for, but there’s a strong variety of material, some cool new arrangements and some great jams that are unusual for studio albums.

The set opens with a pretty standard rendition of “Jealous Again,” but this is the song that put the band on the map, so it’s an appropriate opener. But a new arrangement of “Share the Ride” demonstrates how the band is out to try some new things. The beat is based on a drum machine and hand claps, which make for a particularly funky groove. Guitarists Rich Robinson and Luther Dickinson throw down some great six-string interplay here and put on a clinic throughout the album for how two-guitar bands should operate.

“Non-Fiction” takes on a more majestic aura, while “Hotel Illness” smokes with some extra bluesy harmonica and a back yard sort of vibe. “Wiser Time” – perhaps the band’s ultimate jam vehicle – features more superb guitar interplay on a stellar spacey jam. “Cold Boy Smile” is the only previously unreleased tune and features a mystical type of intro jam that recalls the Doors’ “Riders on the Storm” before shifting into more of a Crowesy blues vibe with Chris Robinson offering some of his most heartfelt vocals. “Under a Mountain,” a barnburner on the band’s underrated Three Snakes and One Charm, receives a new arrangement that transforms the song into Led Zeppelin IIIterritory with gorgeous results. And that’s all just on disc one.

“She Talks to Angels” kicks off disc two and features some extra fiddle that gives the song an Americana flavor. “Morning Song” is one of the shining gems of the set with its warm groove, sparkling slide guitar and more of that backyard honky-tonk rock vibe. It’s also got a great hand-clap breakdown jam in middle with Chris singing about how “music got to free your mind.” “Downtown Money Waster” is another highlight with some great banjo and fiddle that make for a fresh, higher energy arrangement. “Thorn in My Pride” – the band’s other supreme jam vehicle – receives deluxe treatment as the band blends their Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead and Clapton influences together for another stellar jam on this perennial fan fave.

The entire set features a slew of subtle embellishments that feel like fresh paint strokes on classic art work, just little enhancements that ring with tasty new flavor. The CD version also tries to keep the old school album vibe alive with beautiful psychedelic fonts and a picture inside that turns into a pop-up book with two crows sitting by a campfire in the forest, smoking a spliff while some purple mushrooms grow nearby. It all enhances the band’s classic rock vibe that is sadly all too rare these days. (Silver Arrow Records 2010)

The Black Crowes MySpace page

RIYL: Tom Petty, Mick Jagger, Paul Westerberg

San Francisco Bay Area troubadour Paul Manousos is back with his third solo album, on which he continues to distill a seasoned approach to rootsy rock and blues. Manousos has a voice that oozes classic rock, at times recalling such legends as Mick Jagger, Tom Petty and even Otis Redding. The talent is definitely there. But this album isn’t likely to make much of an impact due to how it’s filled with too many slow songs, mysteriously camouflaging Manousos the rocker.

Opening track “Getting Better” is an exception, a mid-tempo rock number that holds much promise. Things slow down on “Outside of Town,” a soulful tune where Manousos does some fine crooning. This is cool too, but the album eventually becomes too heavily weighted in this direction. “One Eye Open” is an upbeat mid-tempo rocker that lifts spirits and sounds like a cross between early ’70s Stones and modern Texas troubadour Ryan Bingham.

The rest of the album is filled with heartfelt vocals, but not much rock. “R.E.D.” is an acoustic tune with some bluesy harmonica, while “Kindly Said” offers a stripped-down romantic ballad. “The Way You…” features some bluesy riffs, but it’s yet another slow tune. A cover of Glen Campbell/Jimmy Webb number “Wichita Lineman” is a well done romantic lament, but again seems to show that Manousos is more into the country-ish flavor than the rock these days. “Getting Out” is deep bluesy cut that sounds like a soundtrack song from a cool noir flick, with some fuzzy guitar and swirly organ. “Long Long Way Back Home” closes it out with a mercifully rocking tune that sounds kind of like a lost Heartbreakers song.

Manousos does the whiskey-soaked bluesy balladeer thing very well but the lack of sonic diversity here will probably prevent this album from taking off. It seems like he’s doing himself a disservice by pigeonholing his sound in this narrow direction, which is hard to understand if you’ve seen him rock out live. (Shock & Fall Recordings 2010)

RIYL: Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi

Megan McCormick’s debut album Honest Words is a blend of guitar-driven, bluesy rock and a dreamy Lilith Fair vibe.  Her voice falls in a pleasant, Sheryl Crow range, but with less cigarette smoke grit. Meanwhile, her guitar playing has the passion and technical prowess that should call the attention of people who dig the likes of Susan Tedeschi and Jimmie Vaughan.

The album kicks off with “Shiver,” a funky groove set against a blues riff that finds the singer suffering from the fever of a new love – simultaneously exciting and scary. This song is quickly followed by “Things Change,” a poppy song that begins with a traditional Texas blues arrangement before quickly becoming a peppy pop song. It has a chorus that would make Bonnie Raitt proud.  “Do Right” is nice enough, but a tad too generic with lyrics like “sold my soul to rock ‘n roll” and what not. “Wreck” is poignant, full of regret and heartbreak; “Oh My Love” is a shuffling, acoustic country tinged ballad and “Driveway” is slow and mournful; a tale told from the perspective of a woman dying at the wheel of her crashed car.

There are plenty of wonderful sounds on Honest Words: beautifully sung vocals, exemplary guitar playing and lyrics that are, for the most part, cliché-free. Unfortunately the album is a little too sleepy. For an artist who seems so grounded in the blues, a few more up-tempo rockers would have been welcome. After a string of slow songs, “Addiction,” a crunchy rock song jumps in as a much-needed wake up call. But then things slow right back down again. Bummer.

Nevertheless, McCormick is a nice discovery when so many female artists are either extremely pop or acoustic singer songwriters. For her next effort, here’s hoping she cuts back on the ballads and kicks it up a notch or two. (Ryko 2010)

Megan McCormick’s MySpace page
Click to buy Honest Words from Amazon

RIYL: The Grateful Dead, Los Lonley Boys, bands that the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame hasn’t gotten the head out of their asses and enshrined yet

Los Lobos are back with another fine album, Tin Can Trust. Do these guys ever put out a weak effort? This new collection of songs by the venerable east L.A. band, an American institution, is a much looser affair than their last album of original recordings, 2006’s The Town and the City. It has the feel of some of their earliest LP’s, such as How Will the Wolf Survive, By the Light of the Moon, and their triumphant The Neighborhood. Each song on Tin Can Trust has feels immediate, recorded with minimum overdubs, delivering the optimum effect of hearing Los Lobos live in a concert hall or some out-of-the-way drinking hole.

“Burn It Down:” is the lead track and first single. It’s a solid, radio-friendly song that features the great Susan Tedeschi singing background vocals with lead singer David Hidalgo. The second song, “On Main Street,” while simple in execution and lyrical content, has the right mood of a hot summer afternoon in the neighborhood. Try listening to it and not imagining yourself cruising around with one of your buds, the windows down, the radio cranked.

Cesar Rosas keeps the band grounded to their Chicano heritage with two excellent Spanish sung songs: the upbeat, rocker “Yo Canto,” and the more traditional (more accordion-driven) “Mujer Ingrata.” The title track is another example of Los Lobos’ gift for constructing a song out of repetitive simple chords and basic beats, creating something wondrous. Meanwhile, “Do the Murray” is a fantastic “get your ass of out that seat and dance” rockabilly/blues/Deadhead instrumental from the band. Hell Yeah!

Speaking of the Grateful Dead, that band’s lyricist Robert Hunter supplies words for a couple of songs, including the powerfully done “All My Bridges Burning,” which finds Rosas digging deep for his vocals. The band also covers the Dead’s “West L.A. Fadeaway” to great effect.

At this point in their career, in which Los Lobos primarily tour to support themselves, there seems no reason for the band to continue putting out new albums. They have enough material from their storied career that they shouldn’t need additional music. Yet, as artists, they are driven to continue creating and finding ways to express themselves through their music. Tin Can Trust is indication that Los Lobos is still one of the best bands around. Let’s hope they continue putting out more records for years to come. ( Shout! Factory 2010)

Los Lobos MySpace page
Purchase Tin Can Trust through Amazon

RIYL: Indigenous, The Arc Angels, Eric Johnson

Couldn’t Stand the Weather was Stevie Ray’s second album and many fans consider the 1984 classic to be his best work. It’s full of the pioneering Texas blues virtuoso playing that made Stevie Ray famous. Now the new Legacy Edition expands the album with a slew of additional tracks, plus a second disc featuring most of the songs performed live in Montreal during the band’s 1984 tour.

The live disc absolutely smokes, making this package a big winner. Adding this to the remastered album makes this release the go-to disc for any newcomers who might wonder where to start with SRV. From the scintillating “Scuttbuttin’” opener to the epic title track to the smoldering cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” the album is just one classic after another. Then you have Stevie Ray branching out with a variety of blues styles throughout the rest of the album. Another cover, “Come On (Part III)” updates Hendrix’s cover of the blues classic and it plain smokes.

Then you get into the live disc where Stevie Ray was in his true element. But it’s also here that the Double Trouble rhythm section of drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon demonstrate what a lean, mean rhythm machine they were. They’re tight in the studio, but they really step up in the live setting. The band comes out guns blazing on “Testify,” which immediately conjures visions of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, where not only was Jimi ripping it up, but Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding were often going for broke as well. There’s a reckless yet focused abandon that Stevie Ray and Double Trouble display like perhaps no other power trio has since the Experience.

“Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)” gets an almost 12-minute workout here that is worth the price of admission, as does the 10-minute “Tin Pan Alley.” The latter is more of a straight blues, but features Stevie Ray delivering some of his finest old-school playing. The gorgeous ballad “Lenny,” that SRV dedicated to his lady, also receives an epic 11-minute workout. The entire release is a worthy expansion of this classic album. (Sony Legacy 2010)

RIYL: John Doe, Birdmonster, Jeffrey Lee Pierce

Dax Riggs started as the lead singer of Acid Bath, a sludge/stoner metal band that was heavier than an elephant on Jupiter. After Acid Bath he went onto Agents of Oblivion and then Deadboy & the Elephantmen before finally just going solo with We Sing of Only Blood or Love. With each successive release, Riggs’ sound became more sonically mellow, even if his lyrics and own vocal delivery remained as raw and powerful as ever. On Say Goodnight to the World, Riggs starts strong (and loud) with the blues-rocking title track, and hints of his old metal ways can be heard on songs like “No One Will Be a Stranger” and “Gravedirt on My Blue Suede Shoes.” But the rest of the album is more barren and stark than anything Riggs has recorded to date. It’s occasionally interesting, but after a while the bleakness of it all becomes overbearing. The cover of “Heartbreak Hotel” is interesting, and certainly matches the somber lyrics of the song, but for the most part this album alternates between being horribly depressing, sleep-inducing or background noise.

If you thought Beck’s Sea Change and Nebraska by Springsteen were too upbeat, this is the record for you. (Fat Possum 2010)

Dax Riggs MySpace page

RIYL: Albert Collins, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Freddie King

In the 1980s, when rock music took a slick turn and anyone playing the blues was kind of poo pooed, several artists carried the torch until the rest of the music world woke up from their hairspray-induced coma and rediscovered the blues. The two most prominent were Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robert Cray. Cray’s status is often overshadowed by the flashier Vaughan, but his place in the annals of blues rock is just as important as the deceased guitar god from Texas. The Robert Cray Band has continued to put out solid, plucky albums (18 so far) since their debut in 1980, while still dazzling audiences with their phenomenal live concerts. That expertise of the Robert Cray Band is on full display throughout Cookin’ in Mobile, this new CD (a DVD of the same concert is also available).

Recorded earlier this year at the historic Saenger Theater in Mobile, Alabama, Cray and his solid backing band of Jim Pugh on keyboards, Richard Cousins on bass and Tony Braunagel on drums, deliver a tight set of songs that rock the house right from the get go with the opening scorcher “Our Last Time.” Classic hits like “Right Next Door” and Cray’s signature song, “Smoking Gun,” are opened up for extended jamming between the musicians. The latter clocks in at over seven minutes as Cray decides to school his audience on what blues rock guitar sounds like. Elsewhere throughout the album, Pugh takes the spotlight, in particularly on “One in the Middle,” which has a killer organ solo by Cray’s longtime sideman.

While the album may appear to look short with just 12 songs on it, in actuality, only two of them clock in at under five minutes. What you get on Cookin’ in Mobile is a real concert experience, with the band giving the songs new life from their studio counterparts. You may not be able to see each pained expression Cray gives when making his Fender sing, but you can feel the passion from his playing on every track. If you’ve never had the opportunity to catch the Robert Cray Band in concert, Cookin’ in Mobile is a fine place to start. (Vanguard Records 2010)

Robert Cray MySpace Page
Purchase Cookin’ in Mobile from Amazon

RIYL: Susan Tedischi, Lucinda Williams, Sheryl Crow,

On her second album, Broken Promise Land, Anne McCue delivers a tightly produced group of songs that is well paced and refreshing.  For the record, she’s backed by a rhythm section that consists of Ken Coomer (Uncle Tupleo, Wilco) on drums and Bones Hillman (Midnight Oil) on bass. Together, this trio creates a hard rocking sound that also pulls from the blues, country, and folk. It’s music that McCue calls “cosmic biker music.” On each track, the singer sings with a cool, lovely voice that draws you in. But it’s her killer guitar playing that keeps you coming back for more and her ability to write a catchy song that makes Broken Promise Land so memorable.

Bad ass songs like “Don’t Go to Texas,” “Rock ‘n Roll Outlaw,” and the title track show that McCue is staking her claim in the new blues movement that has made the White Stripes and the Black Keys popular. Elsewhere, on “Motorcycle Dream,” and “God’s Home Number,” a noirish, spooky number that reminds me of late night drives through the city, McCue uses crafty wordplay and a cool, slinky voice to lure you in until she unleashes a killer guitar solo.  Each track on Broken Promise Land flows naturally into the next, making this a complete listening experience and not just another album where you’re looking for the next hit single.

It’s easy to understand why McCue has gained fans in the likes of Nancy Wilson of Heart and Americana queen Lucinda Williams. McCue attacks her guitar on each song with a bevy of blues and classic rock that recalls some of the legends of the ’70s, including Wilson, while her songwriting and singing voice have an urgency and a haunted nature that recall the kind of passionate southern tales Williams has recorded during her storied career. There is a comfortableness about this music that makes it kind of timeless; no matter how many times you hear it, you never get sick of it. It’s the type of music that can form the soundtrack to peoples’ lives.  Broken Promise Land is a great listen and you’ll find yourself coming back to it again and again after your initial time through it. (Flying Machine Records 2010)

Anne McCue’s offcial website

Click to buy Broken Promise Land through Amazon

RIYL: The Vaughan Brothers, Southern Culture on the Skids, Hacienda Brothers, Los Lobos

Guitarist Dave Gonzalez (Hacienda Brothers) and singer Mike Barfield, the core of Austin’s Stone River Boys, came together in 2008 when Gonzalez recruited musicians for a benefit tour to help raise money for his ailing Hacienda Brothers bandmate, singer Chris Gaffney. Gaffney was battling cancer and Gonzalez recruited musicians from Austin’s fertile talent pool, including Barfield, nicknamed “the Tyrant of Texas Funk.” Sadly, Gaffney succumbed to the disease, but the tour continued with proceeds being sent to Gaffney’s widow. Along the way, Gonzalez and Barfield began writing songs and eventually started laying down tracks while on the road. The good karma from the Stone River Boys’ noble gesture is evident as their debut album, Love on the Dial, is one of the most lively collections of music you’ll hear this season. Perfect for barbecues and games of cornhole; or just hanging out with your baby trying to stay cool (or heat things up) on a hot summer night.

A cover of Stephen Bruton’s “Bluebonnet Blues” propels the album forward like a sturdy old Ford and sets the tone of an album that crosses traditional country music with Texas blues and ’60s soul music for a hybrid  the Boys like to call country funk. The sound is best exemplified in “Can I Change It,” which blends a Steve Cropper guitar lick with a steel guitar playing like a horn section, and “The Struggle,” which brings to mind the Fabulous Thunderbirds in their ’80s heyday.

Elsewhere, the band adopts more traditional country sounds, such as “Lovers Prison” and the lovely “40 Acres,” a heartfelt lament of times gone by. The highlight of the record may be their cover of the Gerry Goffin/Carole King classic, “Take a Giant Step.” Fusing country, soul and a surf guitar twang, they create a magical, dreamlike song, something you’d expect to hear from Chris Isaak or Los Lobos.

The combination of Barfield’s voice and Gonzalez’s guitar playing have created  unique group. Barfield sings with bravado and a sincerity that seems lacking in so much of the slick country music that gets radio airplay. Meanwhile, Gonzalez’s guitar slinging is sharp and economical. When he needs to, he can put on a display of fast fingerwork, but he is such a fine musician that he knows when the song calls for fireworks and when it requires something more subdued. (Cow Island 2010)

Stone River Boys MySpace Page
Click to buy Love on the Dial at Amazon

RIYL: Eric Clapton, The Allman Brothers Band, Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses

The Derek Trucks Band is finally giving way to the overdue and inevitable Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi Band (the pair married in 2001), which perhaps means the end of the road for this phase of Trucks’ career. Trucks is an amazing slide guitar talent and this is a top-rate band, but the highlights are here and there, whereas just about every song with the new Trucks/Tedeschi band is pure magic. But the foundation for the greatness of the Trucks and Tedeschi group comes from what the DTB has been laying down for the past decade. If this is it for the DTB, Roadsongs is a great swan song – it documents what a hot band this has been, while also whetting the appetite for the new band.

A top highlight is a sweet 14-minute jam on jazz standard “Afro Blue,” which serves notice on how Trucks is not just a blues master but quite the jazzman as well. There’s great flute work from keyboardist Kofi Burbridge and fantastic jazzy blues riffing from Trucks. Tunes like “Already Free” and “Down in the Flood” from the DTB’s most recent studio album crackle with energy and sweet licks on that slide guitar. Another major highlight is the sensational pairing of “Get Out My Life Woman/Who Knows,” which opens with a fabulously dirty funk groove and deeply soulful vocals from Mike Mattison before segueing into a sick jam on the Band of Gypsys classic. This track has it all – deep electric piano/organ from Burbridge in a Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters style, strong harmony vocals, a monster groove from bassist Todd Smallie and drummer Y’Onrico Scott, and Trucks tearing it up as he blends Duane Allman with Jimi Hendrix.

“Down Don’t Bother Me No More” and “Get What You Deserve” also feature hot bluesy jams, as do most of the tracks. Eric Clapton/Derek & the Dominoes covers of “Anyday” and “Key to the Highway” display the band’s love for and skill with the early ’70s classic rock for which Trucks was named, but they also highlight the DTB’s ceiling. Once you’ve witnessed the uplifting “Anyday” performed with Tedeschi and Mattison sharing the vocals, hearing it without Tedeschi just isn’t the same. It still rocks for sure, but you want more. And that sums up this album – the DTB is dishing out some of the best blues rock available these days, but adding Tedeschi just takes the whole sound to a higher dimension. Still, this is high quality stuff. (Sony Legacy 2010)

Derek Trucks MySpace page