Category: Blues (Page 3 of 16)

Megan McCormick: Honest Words

August 27, 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

Blues, CD Reviews, Rock

Los Lobos: Tin Can Trust

August 16, 2010 /


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

Americana, Blues, CD Reviews, Jam Band, Punk, R&B, Rock

Stevie Ray Vaughan: Couldn’t Stand the Weather (Legacy Edition)

August 4, 2010 /


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)

Blues, CD Reviews, Psychedelic, R&B, Rock

Dax Riggs: Say Goodnight to the World

August 3, 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

Blues, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

The Robert Cray Band: Cookin’ in Mobile

August 3, 2010 /


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



Blues, CD Reviews, Concert CDs

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