PINETOP PERKINS
PINETOP PERKINS AND FRIENDS (Telarc)
Six decades into a stellar career, blues piano man, Pinetop Perkins is joined by a veteran backup crew and stars like Eric Clapton, Jimmy Vaughan, and B.B. King on this beauty. Besides banging out blues and boogie piano, Pinetop is a vital, warm vocalist, and he teams-up with B.B. King on a searing Down In Mississippi and with Chicago vocalist Nora Jean Brusco on a soulful How Long Blues/Come Back Baby medley that also features Clapton's Zen-like lead guitar. Vaughan's equally concise guitar work lights up Pinetop's readings of Hootchie Coochie Man, Anna Lee, Look On Yonders Wall and an incendiary Take It Easy Baby. Slide guitar star Eric Sardinas tears it up on a Muddy Waters-inspired version of Got My Mojo Working and a swampy reading of Barefootin'. This is deep blues from a 94-year old master of the form.
J.J. GREY & MOFRO
ORANGE BLOSSOMS (Alligator)
The followup to Florida soulman J.J. Grey's 2007 breakthrough CD, Country Ghetto, features eleven originals and a stirring reading of Everything Good Is Bad. Backed by his road-tested band, Mofro and featuring a studio production that includes a sanctified trio of backing vocalists, a Stax-inspired horn section, and a string section sweetening several cuts, Grey reinvents soul music. He has a smoky, phlegmatic rasp that infuses every lyrical narrative with added drama. It's an evocative instrument, and backed by his rock-solid band, Grey is a moving vocalist. He's crafted an eclectic collection of songs including the striking, dream-like title track. It's an intoxicating neo-soul brew.
LIL' ED AND THE BLUES IMPERIALS
FULL TILT (Alligator)
Lil' Ed Williams is a throwback to the raw, Chicago blues of the urban form's earliest days. Joined by his half-brother Pookie Young in the Blues Imperials, (Both were mentored by their uncle, Chicago legend, J.B. Hutto), Lil' Ed unleashes a hellacious, electrified maelstrom on a repertoire of originals and skin-peeling versions of First I Look at the Purse and Hound Dog Taylor's Take Five. It's a bruising, powerful collection of guitar-driven performances by a veteran band featuring Lil' Ed's slide guitar and gritty vocals. Nothing fancy here, just raucous, raving blues power that can heat your house.
PAUL REDDICK
SUGAR BIRD (Northern Blues)
Award-winning, Canadian bluesman, Paul Reddick taps into the music's deepest roots while bringing the blues a fresh, poetic perspective. He's a wonderfully nuanced writer and an understated, but effective vocalist. Produced by fellow blues veteran Colin Linden and featuring The Band's Garth Hudson playing accordion on several tracks, Sugar Bird is a dreamy, seductive song cycle. Reddick's ghostly harmonica playing adds another spooky dimension. Fans of Daniel Lanois's similarly haunted and haunting approach should seek this out.
It's Later Than You Think conjures up the ghost of The Band's late, great Richard Manuel, and John Lennon In New Orleans brings a generation of shadows to life. Reddick is a modern blues genius using the archaic form to birth something new and transcendent and wonderful.
SLIM & THE DEUCES
LIVE AT THE BLUES UNDERGROUND
(250-384-0236)
Dave Harris a.k.a. Slim is a local treasure, a one-man band whose long-standing Inner Harbour busking career is a special gift for Victorians and visitors alike. His veteran band with bassist Greg Kennedy and drummer John Hunter has backed the likes of John Lee Hooker, Pinetop Perkins, and James Cotton in concert and packed local dance floors for years. This live recording from the band's recent performance at the Nanaimo Blues Festival captures Slim & the Deuces in full flight on several of Dave's originals and the band's version of blues and boogie classics by Johnny Fuller, King Biscuit Boy and Guitar Slim. This is certified, house-rockin' blues.
