With a great roadhouse blues voice tinged with the spirit of Johnny Winter and a guitar style reminiscent of both Gary Moore and Alvin Lee, Sean Chambers is my first nominee for rockin’ blues artist of 2017. His new album, Trouble & Whiskey, is an intense display of virtuoso guitar work and inspired vocals. He does a great job of covering B.B. King’s “Be Careful with a Fool” and absolutely tears up Canned Heat’s “Bullfrog Blues“. And “Cut off my Right Arm” features some bad ass guitar licks. “Gonna Groove” is funked up blues perfect for dancin’ to on a Saturday night at your favorite juke joint. “I Need Your Lovin‘” is just incredible blues rock and “Sweeter Than a Honey Bee” is some fine swamp blues..appropriate for this Florida based artist.
Sean truly shines on the grindin blues title cut, “Trouble and Whiskey” and the sultry blues rocker “Handyman” (with Jimmy Bennett). And I absolutely loved the instrumental “Travelin’ North” featuring New Jersey’s bad ass John Ginty on keyboards. The slidin blues cut “Bottle Keeps Staring at Me” conjured visions of Johnny Winter and is sure to be a hit.
I seldom recommend every song on a CD but this is a pleasant exception. (My second in a row!) His talent should come as no surprise since he honed his skills playing with the great Hubert Sumlin starting back in 1998 and he has been payin his dues ever since…hopefully it will now pay off in a big way! This is my first exposure to Sean and I intend to go back and listen to some of his other albums including “The Rock House Sessions” which was produced by Reese Wynans.
Sean will be touring the rest of June in Florida and then wander up to Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts in July! I can only hope he will add a date in Connecticut so that I can get a shot of his bad ass rockin’ blues live!
Sean Chambers = Trouble and Whiskey (2017 American Showplace Music label)
Ben Vee Blues 