The Blues - CD of the Month

 

 

August 2010
John Nemeth
Name The Day!
(Blind Pig)

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John Németh has crafted another timeless slice of American music. Drawing on the classic blues, soul, and R&B influences that inform his stunning vocal style, John lays down a set of tunes that wouldn't sound a bit out of place in the golden years of Memphis or Muscle Shoals. His spine-tingling vocals, with echoes of the toughness of James Brown and the tenderness of Solomon Burke, infuse the album with a funky, soulful feeling.

And the hard-hitting, edgy R&B sound from his earlier award-winning releases is still there, but with an expanded tonal palate and a heightened craftsmanship. Tracks like the merciless "Breaking Free" and the punchy "Tuff Girl" showcase soul-revue arrangements replete with a full horn section, Hammond organ, and piano accompaniment. The loping, laid-back Southern-fried rhythm section sits in the pocket, the sinewy Cropper-esque guitars weave in and out, all supporting the tremulous, gospel-tinged tenor voice that has burned up stages across the land.

On Name The Day!, John continues to reinvigorate vintage American rhythm and blues with his uncanny ability to skillfully blend retro and modern blues and soul into compelling music that is simultaneously old and new.

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July 2010
The Lenny Federal Band
Another Night On The Town
(Music Mania)

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Lenny Federal, formerly of the ... wait for it ... Federal Bureau of Rock 'n' Roll (yes!) was, along with his musical (com)patriots, a staple in the burgeoning Charlotte rock scene of the '70s and early '80s. Known for its brand of relatively straightforward bluesy originals and for its good taste in classic cover tunes, the Federal Bureau always resisted making the move to the Allman Brothers-like sound so many of their Caucasian compatriots did, in favor of keeping it simple. Federal, a cornerstone cog in the Charlotte music scene, hasn't changed that recipe a whole lot of the years. Forgive the food metaphor, but it's musical meat and potatoes you're getting here - meat and potatoes slow-cooked with plenty of care, and with but a soupcon of spice.

- Timothy C. Davis.....

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June 2010
Seasick Steve
Man From Another Time
(Atlantic)

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Leave it to the British to embrace the eccentric.

In the tradition of such English oddities as Jilted John and Wreckless Eric, 65 year old Seasick Steve is the latest in a long line of slightly off-kilter musical sensations to first hit it big across the pond, and who is now set to hit North American record shops on March 30.

The comparisons however end there.

Escaping from an abusive stepfather by running away from home at age 13, "Seasick" Steve Wold has lived the life of a vagabond hobo for most of his 65 years. His travels have taken him around the North American continent, across the pond, and back many times over. He has hitched all the trains, worked all the odd-jobs, and generally experienced the sort of life that would probably make for one hell of a movie directed by somebody like the Coen Brothers.

Seasick Steve - who got his name from once riding a ferry from Norway to Denmark and, in his own words "puking all night" - is in a word: authentic.

With his balding hair and long grey beard, Seasick Steve looks like the grizzled sort of salty dog you might encounter on a bar stool around closing time at the local biker bar, rather than someone who has sold out London's Royal Albert Hall and played festivals from Glastonbury to Coachella. Did I also mention that his albums Dog House Music and I Started Out With Nothin' And I Still Have Most Of It Left were platinum-sellers in England?

On Man From Another Time, his American debut album for Rykodisc, Seasick Steve combines this gritty sort of lyrical authenticity with an organic sound where things are left as simple as humanly possible. Steve is basically a one-man show here, captured on one gloriously analog recording...[read more here].

- Glen Boyd, Blogcritics.com......

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The Blues - Archives

June 2009	Various Artists	Crucial Guitar Blues	(Alligator Records)
July 2009	Eric Lindell	Gulf Coast Highway	(Alligator Records)
August 2009	Homemade Jamz Blues Band	I Got Blues For You	(Northern Blues Music)
September 2009	Tommy Castro	Hard Believer	(Alligator Records)
October 2009	Joe Bonamassa	The Ballad of John Henry	(Premier Artists)
November 2009	Mike Zito	Pearl River	(Electo Groove)
December 2009	Tinsley Ellis	Speak No Evil	(Alligator)
January 2010	Delbert McClinton	Acquired Taste	(New West)
February 2010	Coco Montoya	The Essential Coco Montoya	(Blind Pig)
March 2010	Ike & Val	Live @ Tobacco Road	(One Ocean Inc. Records)
April 2010	The Mannish Boys	Shake For Me	(Delta Groove)
May 2010	Jake Haldenwang	Tell The Truth	(JWJ)
June 2010	Seasick Steve	Man From Another Time	(Atlantic)
July 2010	The Lenny Federal Band	Another Night On The Town	(Music Mania)
August 2010	John Nemeth	Name The Day!	(Blind Pig)

 

 

 

About the CD-of-the-Month Club

Members of the WSGE CD-of-the-Month Club receive a new CD each month hand-picked by our musical experts. This club is available in two musical genres - The Blend or Blues. Available at the $375 pledge level. Donate Now!

 

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