One never gets enough zydeco and country blues. If you’re looking for a fix, I recommend New Orleans-based Sean Riley and his band, The Water.
Though Riley is a familiar face in the New Orleans blues scene, Stone Cold Hands is the first full-length release from his promising outfit. Riley shows off his chops as an excellent singer-songwriter on nine original songs that range from swampy zydeco to down home country blues. The whole album has an acoustic, front porch feel. The lone cover, Jimmy Reed’s classic “High and Lonesome,” fits right into this excellent collection of new blues. Among Riley’s own compositions, “Dance Me One More Time,” “Stone Cold Hands,” “Out All Night,” “A Losing Hand,” and “Shine A Little Stronger” stood out for me a little more than the others, but I’m attracted to different songs every time I listen to this album. If this is what Riley has done on his first ever full-length album, he can look forward to a long, successful (at least artistically) career. It is an excellent first effort – and would be an excellent even as a tenth or twentieth outing for most artists.
A platoon of New Orleans musical standouts joined Riley, bassist Dean Zucchero and drummer Mike Barras, including Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes on accordion and harmonica, Waylon Thibodeaux on fiddle, Phil Breen on keys and Tiffany Pollack, Megan Brunious and Whitney Alouisious on vocals.
About the author: Bill Wilcox is a roots music enthusiast recently relocated from the Washington, DC area to Philadelphia, PA and back again.