My lovely wife Annette and I got to see one of the world’s greatest blues and rock guitarists on Friday night……Ana Popovic! Nestled in the intimate 225 seat confines of the Fairfield Stage One Theatre, we enjoyed a two hour performance of songs from her last several albums as well as tunes by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix!
Tommy’s latest album Method to My Madness deserves serious consideration for blues album of the year. A Californian with the soul of a deep southern R&B bluesman, he has paid his dues over the course of 14 albums and thousands of live performances. Along with his band, the Painkillers, he has produced 12 songs that span the expanse of the blues from soul to great blues rockers.
The title cut is a soul infused slice of Tommy’s upbeat style. With the tune On Common Ground, Tommy observes that “we have to band together or all fall down”; a healthy bit of advice for our fractious society. Shine A Light and All about the Cash feature some bad ass guitar licks and Bad Luck is an awesome blues shuffle. On Ride, Tommy channels a bit of Jack Kerouac and Jim Morrison to create a distinctive song. And Tommy shines in my favorite blues genre, the grinding blues, with Lose Lose.; his voice suits the deep sensual blues.
Twelve songs….twelve great tunes. Check out his tour schedule. If he gets close, make sure to go share in the madness.
If you have an mp3 player….check out “Ride“…..
Tinsley’s latest album Tough Love has been nominated by the prestigious Blues Foundation for 2016 Rock Blues album of the Year and has already won the same award from Blues Blast Magazine. It is a deserving honor for the Atlanta based blues rocker. Over the course of eleven albums and almost 20 years, Tinsley has wowed listeners and audiences with an intense brand of blues rock. For his latest album, he turns down the dial just a tad and has produced a classic.
When I first bought and listened to the album in February of 2015, I was blown away by one song in particular, In From the Cold. It is the last of the ten songs on the recording and he definitely saved the best for last. It is a perfect blending of his voice and guitar playing style featuring heart felt lyrics and soaring guitar licks. It is far and away my pick for Blues Song of the year and will become a blues rock classic.
I have had a couple of people ask me for album recommendations for B.B. King. From a discography of over 40 studio albums and a dozen or so live recordings, I think these 5 are quality representatives of a lifetime of recording:
And now for some of the best B.B. King single tunes:
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. And if you have a set of five favorites, just a leave a comment!
What is the blues? I get asked that question a lot and it is not as easy to answer as it might sound. The blues covers a lot of territory from its roots in the African culture and rhythms of the American Deep South to the latest music from Buddy Guy and Joe Bonamassa. There is the delta blues of the 1920’s, 30’s, and 40’s personified in the music of Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Skip James, Son House, and Sonny Boy Williamson to name just a few. There is the electric blues (and soul blues) of Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Elmore James, Albert King, Freddie King, John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon, and Howlin’ Wolf that emigrated from the American south to the cities of the northern United States during the 40’s and 50’s , primarily to Chicago. Both the delta and Chicago blues were reinterpreted by a bunch of young urban kids in bands like the Rolling Stones, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the Doors, Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, Jimi Hendrix, and many others to create the blues rock genre. There are country blues, jazz blues, soul blues, jump blues, Kansas City Blues, St. Louis blues, New Orleans blues, gospel blues, swamp blues, and the West Coast blues. There are female blues (and jazz) from the likes of Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Etta James, Janis Joplin, Janiva Magness, Koko Taylor, and Beth Hart. The blues is a broad diversified music genre that has expanded from the Mississippi Delta and is now enjoyed all over the world.
So for me, the blues is about the music. It has no color, though we all pay our deep respects to the early black blues men and women artists who worked the fields, the juke joints, and battled the menace of segregation. The blues is definitely not politically correct, and it is not confined to one type of lyric composition or music style. It is the music of the soul battling the everyday demons that haunt us all. The stories it tells in the music often don’t have happy ending and deal with jealousy, lust, drinking, anger, remorse, and sadness. But they also address joy, faith, and profound love. The blues instrument of choice for me is the electric guitar but the acoustic guitar, the bass, drums, the Hammond organ, the harmonica, the piano and electric keyboards, and a variety of horns populate the music of the blues.
So if you’d like to learn more about the blues, listen to the music! Download some to support the artists, checkout out Spotify on the internet, visit my stream at http://s1.nexuscast.com:8043 , and most importantly, go see them LIVE! Blues artists almost to a person are accessible at their shows. They are you and me…real down to earth people. And they love their blues. They have to….. since most can’t make a living solely from the blues unless they stay on the road paying their dues. Below is a list of artists that I enjoy from the electric blues and blues rock genres; many have passed on but there are plenty that are out there touring regularly. It is not an all inclusive list but it will get you started! Enjoy the artists and the tunes!
Electric and Soul Blues Artists
B.B. King, Albert King, Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Etta James, Eric Clapton, Luther Allison, Janiva Magness, Koko Taylor, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Little Walter, Hubert Sumlin, Albert Collins, AC Reed, Chris Thomas King, Curtis Salgado, Deborah Coleman, Dion, Boz Scaggs, Hound Dog Taylor, Elmore James, Willie Dixon, Ian Siegal, Irma Thomas, Jimmy Reed, Ray Charles, Joe Lewis Walker, Johnny Copeland, Shemika Copeland, Junior Wells, Keb Mo, Tab Benoit, Kim Wilson, Lonnie Brooks, Lonnie Mack, Magic Sam, Magic Slim, Marcia Ball, Maria Muldaur, Mary Bridget Davies, Mavis Staples, Melody Gardot, Mississippi Fred McDowell, RL Burnside, Nina Simone, Otis Rush, Robert Cray, Robert Johnson, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Ruthie Foster, Seasick Steve, Taj Mahal, and T-Bone Walker.
Blues Rock Artists
Joe Bonamassa, Beth Hart, Albert Cummings, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmy Vaughan, 24 Pesos, The Black Keys, the Rolling Stones, Cream, Alvin Lee, Robin Trower, Albert Castiglia, Damon Fowler, Ana Popovic, Meena, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, Bonnie Raitt, Bryce Janey, Jack White, Julian Sass, Coco Montoya, Colin James, Dave Hole, David Gogo, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Eric Gales, Dr. John, Van Morrison, Steve Miller Band, Johnny Winter, Elvin Bishop, Eric Sardinas, the Allman Brothers, Gary Clark Jr, Gary Moore, Jeff Healey, George Thorogood, Gov’t Mule, Greg Allman, Devon Allman, The Royal Southern Brotherhood, Trampled Under Foot, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Thackery, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Jonny Lang, Joss Stone, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Leslie West, Mike Zito, Nick Moss, Ollie Brown, Omar and the Howlers, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Pat Travers, Chuck Berry, Fleetwood Mac, Rory Gallagher, Samantha Fish, Sena Ehrhardt, Sonny Landreth, Stacy Mitchart, JJ Grey & Mofro, The Blues Brothers, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Peter Green, Tinsley Ellis, Tommy Castro, Grand Funk Railroad, Joe Cocker, Tony Jo White, Ty Curtis Band, ZZ Ward, Walter Trout, and Warren Haynes.
I have some favorite blues and blues rock tunes. How about you? I have seeded the list but I am interested in what my friends and fellow bloggers favorite songs are. Post them and I will add to the master list.
In no particular order:
I was fortunate to catch Nick Moss & his band recently doing a gig outside of Houston. Obviously tired from twenty six hours on the road direct from Chicago, he got on stage and just let it rip with tunes from his new album “Time Ain’t Free”. He shed the highway weariness in a hurry and his face lit up as the band launched into a Chicago funk instrumental, “(Big Mike’s) Sweet Potato Pie” to start the show. Nick is a big man and he bear hugged his guitar and just torched the frets as his tight band laid down an energetic groove. It was an impressive start to an entertaining evening.
“Time Ain’t Free” is the tenth album for Nick on his own label, Blue Bella Records, and seems destined to land him even more blues artist and music nominations (he already has 16!) It also marks a return to his Chicago roots via Macon Georgia! Nick’s last two albums were blues rock oriented and a marked departure from the Chicago blues style and sound that brought him notice on his first two albums in 1999 (First Offense) and 2001 (Got a New Plan). On the new album, we get a delicious mix of Chicago blues, urban funk, and that Southern sound that emanated from Macon in the seventies. It is a magical stew of the modern blues cooked Nick Moss style.
“Was I Ever Heard” is a southern blues rockin’ tune about life on the road and the night after night grind that all bands endure trying to make an impression and light a spark of enduring remembrance in sometimes fickle audiences. All I can say is that the guitar solos on this cut are for the ages and in league with the best of Dickey Betts, Duane Allman, and Warren Haynes. The cover of the Son House song, “Death Letter Blues”, is in the same vein as is the title cut, “Time Ain’t Free” and “No Reason”….sweet southern rockin’ blues.
The album also has a number of cuts featuring the remarkable voice of band member and Chicago native Mike Ledbetter. He has a soul inspired sound combined with a magnetic personality and a pair of movin’ hips that had the ladies in attendance smiling and swaying. (In fact, that is my only nitpick of the album after seeing the live performance, the CD just doesn’t do justice to the power of Mike’s vocals.) I particularly enjoyed the tune, “Fare the Well”, that showcased the clarity of his voice set to a Chicago urban funky blues beat.
The Nick Moss Band is doing a slew of concert dates in the United States through late June. In August 2014, he will head to Germany for shows in Bremen, Forst, and Hamburg. Check your local concert listings and make a date with the Nick Moss band. The time you spend listening to them live won’t be free but well worth the price of admission.
It all starts for me in the 1950’s with the emergence of the electric guitar and two gifted artists: Muddy Waters and B.B. King. They were at the head of an entourage of talented players and singers who electrified and expanded the delta blues and exposed a generation of teenagers growing up in the late fifties and sixties to a sound that they embraced, massaged, and have passed onto an exciting new generation of blues artists.
Most, but not all, of the electric blues artists from the 1950’s that I love were based in Chicago, a rough house city where there were opportunities not available In the segregated southern United States. Many arrived by train and settled on the south side of the city, Muddy Waters among them. Sleeping on the couch of relatives, working during the day, and playing the blues at night and on weekends, he electrified audiences with his voice and his sensual style. By the end of the decade of the fifties, he, along with Howlin’ Wolf and Little Walter, reigned over Chicago and he was traveling to Europe to wow audiences on the continent. The gigs in Europe featuring songs written by his one time bass guitarist, Willie Dixon, would eventually fire the imagination of Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Mick Jagger, among others, and the British Blues would be born.
While Muddy headed north, a young man from Mississippi stayed closer to home and made a name for himself and his guitar in Memphis, Tennessee. As a singer and DJ in Memphis in the late 1940’s, he picked up the nickname, the Beale Street Blues Boy, which was later shortened to B.B. Within years, he was to be acknowledged as the King of Blues, the one and only B.B. King. With his guitar, Lucille, he has become the living embodiment of the blues. His distinctive voice and guitar playing style brought droves of new fans to the blues and he has continually strived to share his stage with promising talent. Among them was an 11 year old boy who is my favorite modern blues guitarist and singer, Joe Bonamassa.
On this blog, I hope to expose readers to my favorite blues artists and to review blues music. I also have a 24 hour blues stream where you can listen to selections from my collection of 40,000 or so blues tunes. ( http://www.s1.nexuscast.com:8043 ). I am partial to what I term, the rockin’ blues, a style of blues that I was exposed to as a young man by Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, the Doors, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix. But I love all electric blues….the rhythm….the lyrics….the passion. It is a life long love affair.
Ben Vee Blues 