Caution: On first listen, Cee Cee James’ Blood Red Blues may blow unexpectant listeners away. James has a great voice and, at times, can channel Janis Joplin. And her accompanying band, including James’ songwriting partner and husband, Rob “Slideboy” Andrews on slide guitar, can provide the perfect vehicle for her vocals. Now based in St. Louis, James spent her […]
The Nighthawks – Damn Good Time!
In their appropriately titled Damn Good Time!, veteran DC-based blues rockers the Nighthawks prove that after decades on the road, they can still serve up a toe-tapping set to satisfy their blues-roots following and make a few new friends in the process. Damn Good Time! follows up their Blues Music Award-winning Last Train to Bluesville (Acoustic Album […]
Albert Castiglia – Living the Dream
Albert Castiglia plays a hot guitar in a traditional blues format, taking cues from generations of Chicago electric bluesmen. Echoes of Freddie and Albert King, Otis Rush and Magic Sam can be heard in Castiglia’s playing, although Castiglia takes a decidedly more aggressive tack than those greats. Castiglia’s connection to those great Chicago artists that […]
Peter Karp & Sue Foley – Beyond the Crossroads
Peter Karp and Sue Foley have developed a unique sound that seems to be a cross between country and blues – bluntry – but with a healthy dose of R&B thrown in. Both veteran blues-roots musicians, Karp and Foley joined forces for a second combined effort, Beyond the Crossroads, reprising the teamwork that made 2010’s […]
Royal Southern Brotherhood
Ever since Little Village’s one disappointing album in 1992, I am prepared to be underwhelmed by any new group promotors tout as a “supergroup.” There have been, of course, huge successes when music superstars were mixed and matched into new units (e.g., Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – comprised of members from Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds and […]
Delta Moon – Black Cat Oil
Delta Moon features unique dueling slide guitar leads that give the band’s music the swampy, gritty sound that has made it one of Atlanta’s best kept secrets. Black Cat Oil, the seventh album to feature the lap-steel guitar-work of singer-songwriter Tom Gray and bottleneck slide guitar of Mark Johnson, is a solid offering.   Delta Moon, which until 2007’s Clear […]
Luther Dickinson – Hambone’s Meditations
Someone should sit Luther Dickinson down and tell him he needs to figure out what he’s going to do with his life. Still in his 30s, Dickinson laid down his first recorded guitar licks at the age of 14 on the Replacements’ Pleased to Meet Me (produced by Luther’s father Jim) in 1987. He established […]
Dr. John – Locked Down
Dr. John is an institution. With his characteristic mystical groovy-gumbo-voodoo schtick and funky keyboard playing, he has been a force in American music since his groundbreaking Gris-Gris in 1968. His early 1970s work, including Dr. John’s Gumbo and In the Right Place were instant classics.   A gifted piano (and occasional guitar) player, Mac Rebennack, or Dr. John, […]
The Honeydogs – What Comes After
The Twin Cities based Honeydogs, who were tantalizingly close to stardom in the late 1990s, have kept their day jobs, survived and now have released a new album that should please their enthusiastic followers. What Comes After follows the recipe of the band’s superb 1997 and 2001 releases, Seen a Ghost and Here’s Luck, with simple, straight forward lyrics and exceptional musicianship. The […]
Carolina Chocolate Drops – Leaving Eden
The Carolina Chocolate Drops, whose informal folksy jug band approach belies a talent pool that is seemingly bottomless, have added another gem to their already stellar catalogue with Leaving Eden.  The Drops, who in their live shows recreate the look and feel of a turn-of-the 20th century string band but with the anachronistic addition of human “beatbox” vocal percussionist […]