Bob Dylan

A Blues Hound Howlin’ At the Moon – Todd Sharpville’s MEDICATION TIME

The new Todd Sharpville album Medication Time, that is due out July 8th on Dixiefrog Records, is a powerhouse blues recording that is sure to garner nominations for album of the year. Exhilarating on some tracks and pensive and thoughtful on others, the new album bubbles with energy from a life lived in the blues.

Some people encounter deep sadness and tragedy in their lives and never recover. Others, like Todd, rise from the ashes of a personal meltdown with a renewed sense of purpose. Almost two decades ago, Todd suffered a nervous breakdown after losing custody of his children during a divorce. Severe depression and suicidal thoughts led to a stay in a mental institution. The ability to continue playing and writing music during his stay as well as the support of family and friends (including fellow bluesman Larry McCray from Detroit) got him through the worst of times and honed his blues talents in the fiery cauldron of depression and recovery.

The new album features 12 songs of which 9 are originals. Two of the recordings have been released as promotional videos and both are well worth the time to watch. (Both are also available on my Youtube Channel playlist for cool roadhouse blues.) Todd and Larry McCray do a really creative animated video for the song Brothers From Another Mother. And Todd does an intensely personal video performance of the Dylan tune, Walk Out In the Rain.

There is also an interesting and powerful blues’d up rendition of the Dire Strait’s tune, Money for Nothing, included on the recording. Guest artist Sugar Ray Norcia heightens the intensity, resentment, and jealousy of the lyrics on vocals; it is well worth a listen. My favorite on the album is the blues rockin’ tune, God Loves A Loser and I also love Get Outta My Way, the slow pretty I Don’t Need to Know Your Name (with a fabulous sax solo) and his rousing version of the Bruce Springsteen song, Red Headed Woman.

Undergirding this powerful recording is Todd’s guitar virtuosity and the production values that Duke Robillard, a two time Grammy Nominee and multiple Blues Music Award winner, brings to any recording that he produces. Todd got his start back in 1992 with the album Touch of Your Love. It won Best Album and Best Guitarist awards at that year’s British Blues Awards. I have a strong feeling that Medication Time will do the same this time around!

#blues #roadhouseblues #bluesrock #britishblues

Ben Vee started out spinning songs on terrestrial radio and at nightclubs back in the 1970’s in his home state of Louisiana. After a career in the construction business, he returned to DJing in 2011. He now hosts two shows each week on http://www.bluesmusicfan.com, does weekly sets on the SecondLife grid, and writes about the blues at http://www.benveeblues.com from his home in Connecticut. He also has a personal 24 hour stream devoted to the Roadhouse Blues… WRHB as well as a Youtube channel.

Roadhouse Blues Singers & Songwriters – BluesMusic Fan Radio 3-5 pm EST

Have a mix of roadhouse blues singers and songwriters today on http://www.bluesmusicfan.com from 3-5 pm EST. Tune in if ya get a chance!

ARTISTTITLEALBUM
Andres RootsLink To ElmoreRoots Music
Rodney CrowellSomething Has To ChangeTriage
Nathaniel RateliffAnd It’s Still AlrightAnd It’s Still Alright
Tami NeilsonYou Were MineCHICKABOOM! (Deluxe Edition)
Ben ReelAll in Good TimeThe Nashville Calling
The Band Of HeathensI Ain’t RunningTop Hat Crown & The Clapmaster’s Son
Marc BroussardEasy to LoveEasy to Love
John HiattOver The HillThe Eclipse Sessions
Dave AlvinBlack Haired GirlAshgrove
Blackie & The Rodeo KingsStonedBark
Calvin RussellCrossroadsSounds from the Fourth World
Anders OsborneLean On Me/Believe In YouAlligator Records Presents Blues & Roots
Bonnie RaittLover’s WillFundamental
Delbert McClintonLet’s Get Down Like We Used ToTall, Dark, and Handsome
Avi KaplanChange On The RiseI’ll Get By
Chris SmitherCrocodile ManTrain Home
Janiva MagnessYou Were Never MineDo I Move You
J.J. CaleCrazy MamaThe Very Best Of J.J. Cale
Levon HelmTake Me To The RiverThe Midnight Ramble Sessions Vol.3
Chris StapeltonBroken HalosFrom a Room:: Volume 1
Bob DylanLay Lady LayBest of Bob Dylan, the
Gov’t MuleAin’t No Love In The Heart Of The CityHeavy Load Blues
Oliver WoodThe Battle Is Over (But The War Goes On)Always Smilin’
Paul ThornYou Mess Around & Get A BuzzNever Too Late To Call
Blue ShaddyWalk A MileBAR – Vol.3
Guthrie TrappNew Walkin Blues (Feat. Jimmy Hall)Life After Dark
Hubert DorigattiBound to New OrleansStop

An enticing Open Road to the Blues with some new Colin James

Every life is an open road. It’s a lyric from the title cut for Colin James‘ 20th album which was released this week. In Colin’ case, the certainty and direction of his musical journey was cemented when fate intervened back in the 1980’s in his hometown of Regina, Saskatchewan. A late no show and a desperate last minute search for an opening act for Stevie Ray Vaughan led to Colin. After the show, Stevie told him , “I’m opening doors for you….walk through them!”.And that he did!!

In 1988, Colin released his first self-titled album which contained two self-penned hits, Voodoo Thing and Five Long Years that garnered him the first of his 7 JUNO awards and a spot touring with Keith Richards. Over the ensuing years, Colin has rocked it, been credited with reviving swing music in Canada, and, with the last three albums, solidified his standings as one badass roadhouse bluesman.

The OPEN ROAD album is an impressive collection of original songs as well as covers of tunes he recalls first firing his imagination at the age of 12. It has rockin’ blues songs, traditional blues numbers, and beautiful roots tunes. Overcoming the challenges of the pandemic, Colin drew together the talents of Chris Caddell (rhythm guitar), Steve Pelletier and Norm Fisher (bassists), Simon Kendall and Jesse O’Brien (Hammond B3 organ), and Geoff Hicks (drums) to make the recording. It was mixed at the famed Abbey Roads Studios in London by producer Dave Meszaros. And the product, which includes guest appearances by Steve Marriner (harmonica) and Jerry Cook and Steve Hilliam (saxophone) is in my opinion his best overall release to date and worthy of consideration as one of the best blues recordings of 2021 world wide, not just in Canada. To give you a feel for just how good it is, I use a 5 star rating system for songs and there are 13 on the Open Road recording. My overall rating is an incredible 57 out of a possible 65. As context, my normal rating for an album I considered great would be 40 to 45! This recording is special!!

The album opens with some tasty guitar pickin’ on the Tony Joe White song As The Crow Flies. Colin then takes on challenge of covering an Albert King tune, Can’t You See What You’re Doing to Me. He follows that up with some badass lowdown blues on That’s Why I Am Crying. The fourth song Open Road was written by Colin and Craig Northey. It is insightful observation on life and the travails of a traveling musician. On the fifth tune, Change It, Colin pays tribute to his fateful meeting with Stevie Ray with a song written by Doyle Bramhall. The album also contains two songs written by Colin and Colin Linden, another of my favorite Canadian artists, Raging River and There’s a Fire. Colin cranks out a signature rockin blues tune, Leave This House, that he wrote with Tom Wilson as the seventh cut. Colin’s version of the Bob Dylan song, It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry is a showcase for his voice and some more tasty guitar licks. And he absolutely aces another Dylan tune, Down On the Bottom, that served as one of the “promo singles” released back in September. Colin also delivers a fabulous cover of the John Lee Hooker song, Bad Boy. One of my all time favorite bluesmen is Otis Rush and the recording of It Takes Time featuring some exquisite harmonica by Steve Marriner is just simply badass roadhouse blues! And to top it all off, the last song on the album is a soulful rendition of Otis Redding‘s I Love You More Than I Can Say.

I have been told that the average music lover buys a dozen or so albums a year. In what is fast becoming the new age of the single, I highly recommend that you purchase the entire recording to truly appreciate what an incredible recording this is! And in the coming months, I will be more than willing to hit the open road to see Colin James work his musical magic on stage….how about you?

Colin James – Open Road (2021 Stony Plain Records)

Ben Vee started out spinning songs on terrestrial radio and at nightclubs back in the 1970’s in his home state of Louisiana. After a career in the construction business, he returned to DJing in 2011. He now hosts two shows each week on http://www.bluesmusicfan.com and writes about the blues at http://www.benveeblues.com from his home in Connecticut. He also has a 24 hour stream devoted to the Roadhouse Blues… WRHB

The Ben Vee Roadhouse Nooner on BMFR (Tues June 16th)

Gonna be spinnin’ alot of blues rock and several tunes from the new DION album during today’s Ben Vee Roadhouse Blues Nooner at http://www.bluesmusicfan.com from 12 to 2 pm ET. Also have songs from the Quarryteen Men, Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Ana Popovic, Sue Foley. Beth Hart, and many more.

Below is the intended playlist:

ARTISTTITLE
Savoy BrownGetting To The Point
Robin TrowerCrossroads
DionWay Down (I Won’t Cry No More) (Feat. Stevie Van Zandt)
Layla ZoeDesert Song
Kenny Wayne ShepherdAnywhere The Wind Blows
Ash GrunwaldEveryday
The Quarryteen MenCorona Condom
John Cook, Rich Newman, Rory Gallagher, SpoonLeaving Town Blues
Joe BonamassaWoke Up Dreaming
Albert CummingsCall Me Crazy
DionBlues Comin’ On (Feat. Joe Bonamassa)
Sue Foley81
The Rolling StonesLiving In A Ghost Town
Ana PopovicGet Back Home To You
Beth HartBetter Man
Widespread PanicPleas
Bryce JaneyFunky Guitar Blues
Savoy BrownI Can’t Stop The Blues
DionI Got Nothin’ (Feat. Van Morrison & Joe Louis Walker)
Eric ClaptonIf I Had Possession Of Judgement Day
Bob DylanRollin’ And Tumblin’
Dudley TaftDrifting
Alastair GreeneAnother Lie (feat Walter Trout)
DionI Got The Cure (Feat. Sonny Landreth)

Jan 14th Roadhouse Blues Nooner on BMFR

It’s a fabulous Tuesday for the Roadhouse Blues! Join us at High Noon EST for my Roadhouse blues Nooner featuring a mix of contempory and roots blues tunes by John Hiatt, Bob Dylan, Omar & the Howlers, Miss Bix and the Blues Fix, Popa Chubby, Eric Johanson, Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, and many more. Plug in at http://www.bluesmusicfan.com.

Oh….and a big GEAUX TIGERS for all the football fans that watched LSU win the national championship last night! I know there was alot of roadhouse bluzin’ goin’ on in the French Quarter afterwards!!!

Here is the intended playlist:

ARTISTTITLE
Peter ParcekPat Hare
J.J. CaleThirteen Days
Dave AlvinDon’t Let Your Deal Go Down
John HiattJohnny ’99
Bob DylanThe Levee’s Gonna Break
Omar & The HowlersWhen Sugar Cane Was King
Bonnie RaittThe Kokomo Medley
Susan TedeschiMama He Treats Your Daughter Mean
Rita ChiarelliLast Train
The Marcus King BandSide Door
Anders OsborneTracking My Roots
Monti AmundsonLooking Back
The Cold StaresThorns
Eric JohansonBurn It Down
OSLUOne Good Man (ft. Jade Thunder)
Arlen RothWhite Lightning
Markey BlueCash Is Always King
The Jeff Healey BandWho’s Been Talking
Paradise KingsSlow Down
Popa ChubbyI Was Looking Back
Miss Bix and The Blues FixIf You’re Doing What I’m Thinking
Parking WestShow Me The Way
Mississippi ShakedownTalking to My Baby
The Cash Box KingsAin’t No Fun (When The Rabbit Got The Gun)
Tom HambridgeThis End Of The Road
The Kentucky Headhunters with Johnnie JohnsonWalking With The Wolf

December 3rd Roadhouse Blues Nooner on BMFR

The holiday season is upon us and my hope is that one of the tunes during today’s Roadhouse Blues Nooner will inspire you to download the album and gift it to a friend! Join us at High Noon EST on http://www.bluesmusicfan.com for a mix of the best in contemporary blues including a new promo single from Albert Cummings plus some vintage Bob Dylan and an “almost the blues” Creedence Clearwater Revival tune that I love.

You can find the intended playlist below:

ARTISTTITLE
Noah WotherspoonBaptism by Fire
Keb’ Mo’Merry Merry Christmas
Noah WotherspoonDon’t Let the Darkness
Polly O’Keary and The Rhythm MethodIt’s My Soul
Diane BlueSame Old Blues
Rebekah MeldrumWhiskey And Wine
Ronnie Wood & His Wild FiveWee Wee Hours (Feat. Imelda May) (Live)
Doug Duffey And BaddDrink It On Down
Albert CummingsHold On
Black Cat BonesLaying in Wait
Peter KarpCool Cool Thing
Creedence Clearwater RevivalPagan Baby
Crazy HambonesBullfrog Blues
Lloyd SpiegelAny Second Now
Brother Snakeoil & The Medicine MenDo A Little Hoodoo
Bob DylanCall Letter Blues
KaleoAutomobile
Bad Temper Joe & Fernant ZesteBeen a While Since We’ve Talked
Meena Cryle & Chris Fillmore BandSweet Loving Mama
Hector AnchondoCandy Shop
Laura CoxJust Another Game
Brad James SwallowWorking Man
Nico Duportal & The SparksNo Hate, Just Pain
Pierce Dipner & The Shades Of BlueGet Out Of Your Life
Joanna ConnorBlues Tonight

Adam Holt’s Kind of Blues

Where southern rock and country meet the blues is the musical space where Adam Holt plies his craft. An Alabama boy , his music is the kind you would hear on a peanut shell strewn roadhouse floor amidst the clack of pool table balls and hearty laughter on a hot humid southern summer night. Roadhousers aren’t music purists so a mix of Muddy Waters, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers, Delbert McClinton, and Bonnie Raitt blares out from the jukebox as people relax and have a good time on a Saturday night. Adam Holt’s new album Kind of Blues fits this style of music like a tight pair of jeans on a southern lady out for a juke joint weekend.

Adam Holt Kind of Blues

All the songs are originals except for a deep velvety voiced rendition of Bob Dylan’s Lay Lady Lay.  He captures the heart of Americana music with Mr. Morning Drive, a song he co-wrote with his wife, Jillian, about her grandfather who was a DJ for many years.  Some tasty guitar picking makes The End a tune worth savoring. And The Story Must Go On is a thoughtful southern rock song about the progress of civil rights in the American south.  Bobby is a great cut that shows off his voice and guitar playing and the talent of keyboardist and organ player Donnie Sundal.

Adam Holt

The song that really caught my ear was the upbeat Before I Trusted You. It should get a lot of airplay on country and southern rock formatted stations and streams. And the lyrics alone make it worthy for inclusion in the roadhouse blues category.

As the album title states, it is Kind of Blues and well worth a listen.

Adam Holt  Kind of Blues (Zenith Records 2019)

April 23rd Roadhouse Blues Nooner with Ben Vee – 12 pm EST

Join us for some tried and true blues classics along with a bunch of brand new contemporary blues tunes by Julian Sas, Rick Vito, Kenny Parker, Big Daddy Wilson, Susan Santos, and many more. Catch today’s Nooner at http://www.bluesmusicfan.com!!

Here is the intended playlist!  Download a couple from your favorite music website and support dah BLUES!

ARTIST TITLE
Johnny A. I Had To Laugh
Elmore James, Jimmy Reed & Eddie Taylor Coming Home
Popa Chubby Black Hearted Woman
Slim Harpo Mailbox Blues
Tim Gartland You Best Think Twice
Bad Influence Got What You Need
Guitar Shorty Blues In My Blood
The Bones of J.R. Jones The Heat
The Dynamics Whole Lotta Love
The Fabulous Thunderbirds Got Love If You Want it
Kenny Parker Baby Come Back To Me
Sonny Boy Williamson (II) Ninety Nine
Big Daddy Wilson Cross Creek Road (Live)
Cream Outside Woman Blues
Chris Thomas King The Wind Cries Mary
Benny Turner & Cash McCall Poison Ivy
Tommy Castro and The Painkillers That’s All I Got
Bob Dylan Rollin’ And Tumblin’
Shady Frank Five Weeks
Matt Andersen Better Than You Want
Reese Wynans & Friends So Much Trouble (ft Joe Bonamassa)
Dave Keyes Not So Nice Anymore
Jeff Fetterman Bad Feeling
Layla Zoe When You Gonnah Learn
Rick Vito I Do Believe
Susan Santos Slow Down
Meg Williams Played by the Blues
Julian Sas Don’t Let Me Down

Telecastin’ the night away on Arlen Roth’s Tele Masters

Released in the early 1950’s, the Fender Telecaster was the first commercially successful solid body guitar and has been used by blues, rock, and country bands ever since because of its distinctive tone (and relatively cheap price!). Famous artists like Buck Owens, Albert Collins, and Muddy Waters played the Telecaster in the fifties and Keith Richards and Jimmy Page have used it in an exquisite manner since the 1960’s.  On his new album, Tele Masters, Arlen Roth displays his own love and mastery of the Telecaster with a stellar set of 16 tunes.

Arlen Roth_buick and telecaster

Over the years, Arlen has performed with Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Levon Helm, Ry Cooder, Johnny Winter, Rick Vito, and Sonny Landreth (click here for a great live performance by them of Blues Attack ) to name just a few.  He has been voted one of the 100 Most Influential Guitarists of All Time by Vintage Guitars magazine….and my bet is that many of you have never heard his music!  Well, I hope we can change that after a listen to this inspiring new album.

The list of artists that contributed to this effort is impressive.  The most notable to regular readers of my blog is Joe Bonamassa.  Joe’s Blues is Bonamassa’s tribute to the legendary Albert Collins and is a must have for collectors of Joe’s tunes. Also contributing on the recording are Steve Cropper (yeah THAT Steve Cropper), Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, Jack Pearson, Albert Lee, Jerry Donahue, Johnny Hiland, Bill Kirchen, Brent Mason, Will Ray, Red Volkaert, Cindy Cashdollar, Billy Panda, Bryan Sutton, Tommy MacDonald, and Steve Wariner.  The drummer on the album and its producer is one of my favorite people, Grammy Award winner Tom Hambridge who plays with Buddy Guy.  Tom’s production of the songs brings out the best in Arlen and showcases the distinctive attributes of the Telecaster in a way that is engaging and entertaining.  The album is primarily instrumental but features several songs with vocals that I really loved.

Arlen Roth_TeleMaster album

Jack Pearson, a notable musician and singer who played with the Allman Brothers Band and also toured with Gregg Allman, is featured on vocals and guitar on two awesome blues cuts: I Can Fix It (where he and Arlen do a great job of trading guitar licks) and on an inspiring version of Key to the Highway.  The fabulous Steve Cropper contributes vocals and guitar licks on the bluesy White Lightning.  All three cuts will get significant airplay during my upcoming sets on http://www.bluesmusicfan.com.

But what truly underpins this album is the guitar artistry of Arlen Roth. He recorded his first album in 1978 and now, fifteen albums later, we hear his guitar playing at its very best.  Besides the blues tunes, he romps through a haunting rendition of Ghost Riders in the Sky, a lovely cover of Tennessee Waltz with his daughter, Lexie Roth, on vocals, cranks it up on Rumble, and then lays down the case for why the Telecaster is such a great guitar on the badass instrumental, Tuff Tele.

This album is worth spending an evening with as I have done.  Get yourself a drink, a smoke, or whatever relaxes you and telecast the night away with Arlen Roth and friends.

2019 Aquinnah Records

Ray Bonneville – Roots Blues at its Best on “At King Electric”

Ray Bonneville

Around the smokey campfire of the roots blues you find drifters and story tellers huddled close together on a cold night drinkin’ whiskey from the bottle or at best with a paper cup and regaling each other with songs and tales of mistaken choices and loves lost; Ray Wylie Hubbard and Bob Dylan come to mind.  Ray Bonneville belongs there too.  Born in Canada, he grew up in Boston, served in the United States Marine Corps in Vietnam, worked as cab driver back in Boston, and then set out on the road in the seventies playin’ small clubs all across North America.  He was good enough as a musician and singer to appear on stage as the opening act for Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and Dr. John. Like Dylan, he can be a one man band with his guitar, harmonica, and a rhythmic tappin’ foot.

Over the years, Ray has released eight albums and several have won him awards and critical acclaim.  His latest, At King Electric,  was recorded in Austin, the natural home of the roots blues.  It is blues at its dark loneliest Americana roots with songs of addiction, Codeine, and eternal drifting, Forever Gone.  The tune, Make a Hole In You, will indeed cut you to the core and South of the Blues takes you to a place where the downtrodden and forlorn can lose themselves.

ray bonneville portrait

Ray is a fantastic songwriter and the imagery he invokes will probe deep into your soul. And the music is just……well …I encourage you download the album for yourself and find out.  Few albums I have heard over the last several years have grabbed me like this one.  From the deepest darkest places the blues can go, Ray has lifted up haunting portraits of misfortune, desolation, and emptiness that accompany all of us at one time or another on our lifetime journey….they are beautiful works of art and worthy of your time and attention.

Ray Bonneville – At King Electric (2018 Stonefly Records)