New Blues Review 7-16-24
Albert Castiglia – Righteous Souls (Gulf Coast)
Bio – “Miami-raised Albert Castiglia served an apprenticeship while backing legendary blues musician Junior Wells. He later went on to work with singer Sandra Hall. Never content to allow himself to be confined to any particular category, he embarked on a solo career that’s yielded many critically-acclaimed albums and consist kudos for his exceptional instrumental prowess, his searing vocals, and live performances that have dazzled audiences from coast to coast. It’s little wonder that Miami’s New Times lauded him as South Florida’s “Best Blues Guitarist” or that USA Today was inspired to remark “It’s a revelation to discover the thrilling retro-electric blues from this astonishing young guitarist.” M Music & Musicians once noted, “His back-to-basics approach follows in the footsteps of those who fostered the blues in the Mississippi Delta and the smoky late-night haunts of Chicago.” After the highly successful and critically acclaimed release of Masterpiece on Gulf Coast Records, Castiglia was nominated for two Blues Music Awards in the categories of Blues Rock Album of the Year and Blues Rock Artist of the Year and won Blues Rock Album of the Year.”
Review – Alright, this is how we start off the Blues review this week, what an album. Take Albert Castiglia’s brilliance on guitar and vocals and then add 12 of the best musicians in the Blues Genre and you get such a fabulous Rock/Blues album. So many great songs, it is so hard to pull out the best.
Such great guitarists through out this album like Popa Chubby, Joe Bonamassa, Josh Smith, Kingfish, Monster Mike Welch and Gary Hoey. Then take Harmonica added by Rick Estrin (Come On In This House), Vocals by Alabama Mike (Get Down To The Nitty Gritty), Danielle Nicole (All Our Past Times), and Kevin Burt (Mama, I love You) and incredible sax work by Jimmy Carpenter (You Were Wrong). Such an all-star cast creating one of the best blues albums of the year for me. I think my favorite on this CD is “Come On In This House” with Rick Estrin killing it on guitar!!, listen here. I will give this a 10++ on Blues Content and a 10++ on Music Content.
Mark Hummel – True Believer (Rockinitus)
Bio – “Grammy Nominee, Blues Award Winner, Author, Harp Man Mark Hummel had a banner year in 2014. Grammy Nominated for his Remembering Little Walter CD he produced and performed on, Mark also won Best Blues CD and Best Traditional Blues CD at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis, TN. Mark’s The Hustle Is Really On climbed to #2 and stayed in the top five for four months on the Living Blues Radio Charts. Hummel’s book “BIG ROAD BLUES:12 Bars on I-80″ garnered rave reviews and was nominated for best Independent Book release. Mark Hummel started playing harmonica in 1970 and is considered one of the premier blues harmonica players of his generation. Thanks to over thirty recordings since 1985, including the Grammy nominated 2013 release Blind Pig recording Remembering Little Walter (part of the Blues Harmonica Blowout CD series). Mark Hummel’s Blues Harmonica Blowout™ started in 1991 and have featured every major legend (Mayall, Musselwhite, Cotton, etc.) on blues harp as well as almost every player of note on the instrument – a who’s who of players. Hummel is a road warrior – a true Blues Survivor. Along the way, he has crafted his own trademark harmonica sound – a subtle combination of tone, phrasing and attack combined with a strong sense of swing. Mark has been with Electro Fi Records since 2000, releasing five CDs. Thanks to Mark’s earlier albums, constant touring and appearances at the major blues festivals, he’s firmly established his solid reputation around the US and Europe.”
Review – Such a good Blues Album, Mark has been performing for almost 40 years and bringing some of the best Blues musicians together and this album is no exception. With great musicians like Junior Watson on Guitar, Kedar Roy on Upright bass, Bob Welsh on Piano, Joe Beard on Guitar, Oscar Wilson on Vocals, and Kid and Lisa Andersen on Organ and Vocals respectively. Some of my standouts is the cover of the Otis Rush tune “Double Trouble”, Peter Green’s “Stop Messin Round” and BB King’s “Broken Heart” with Junior Watson on Guitar but I think my favorite on this CD is “High Time For The Devil” , listen here. I will give this a 10+ on Blues Content and a 10 on Music Content.
Doug Duffy and BADD – Ain’t Goin’ Back (Self Produced)
Bio – “Louisiana native Doug Duffey says, “There has never been a time in my life when I wasn’t making music”. He started playing in clubs in local clubs over 50 years ago and released the first of several albums under his own name in 1994. He has written songs form any other artists including Marcia Ball, George Clinton, Funkadelic and Rare earth to name a few. More recently, he joined with his band, Badd and released their first album in 2019. The liner notes call the music “100% Original Louisiana Blues, Delta Soul, Bayou Funk, Gumbo Jazz, producing a sound best described as Swampedelic”. Rather his music is a cross breed of music from the deep south ranging from Memphis to New Orleans and the Delta region.”
Review – I always approach Self-Produced albums with a little skepticism, but this one surprised me. All the songs were written by Doug Duffey and Dan Sumner and a really great diversity of tunes from Rock/Blues, a little Country and even some nice fingerpicking acoustic guitar. Band is composed of Doug Duffey on Vocals and Keys, Dan Sumner on guitar, vocals and trumpet, Adam Ryland on Drums and Ben Ford on Bass. They also had a couple of guest musicians of Dave Moore on Harmonica, Jonathan Patterson on Trombone and Bert Windham on Trumpet. Doug’s voice is great and fits in well with the Blues Genre and the rest of the band. I think my favorite on this CD is “Front Porch Blues” but couldn’t find an audio for it so here is a live performance of “Talk Of The Town” , listen here. I will give this a 10 on Blues Content and a 9 on Music Content.
Sonny Gullage – Go Be Free (Blind Pig)
Bio – “Gullage comes from a very musical family, in both the gospel and blues traditions. His grandmother Alberta Gullage released several gospel albums in the 1960’s. His father Tony Gullage (who played with Dr. John and Henry Butler among others) has been a major influence on his life and career, serving as his bass player, booking agent, and sounding board. There’s even family history that details a relation to the folk blues legend Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter. Blues isn’t just feeling down. Blues is all the feelings that say that you’re still alive, that you’re here, you’re still going every day,” Gullage said. It’s hard not to be hopeful about the survival of the genre when you hear the authentic singing and playing of an up-and-coming artist like Sonny Gullage.”
Review – Alright, here is a voice!! Sonny has the perfect Blues/Soul voice and kills it on keys (reminds of Stevie Wonder playing. Some incredible musicians incorporated in his mighty band including Tom Hambridge on Drums (Hambridge has received two Grammy Awards, an ASCAP award, seven Grammy nominations, seven Boston Music Awards, and has been inducted into the Buffalo Hall of Fame), Kenny Greenberg on guitar, Kevin Mckendree on Piano, Rob Cureton and Tommy Macdonald on Bass. Some of my stand outs and the more Blues featured tunes were “Blues All Over You”, “File It Under Blues”, and “Stop That Stuff” butI think my favorite on this CD is “Worried About The Young” with Kingfish on guitar but couldn’t find that online so here is the title tune “Go Be Free”, listen here. I will give this a 9 on Blues Content and a 10 on Music Content.
Christopher Wyze & The Tellers – Stuck In The Mud (Big Radio Records)
Bio – “Twenty years a blues band frontman, singing the songs of others, Christopher Wyze has emerged as a powerful lyricist and stylist of his own music. None other than the Nashville Songwriters Association International named Wyze “One to Watch” in December 2023. His original outlook blends sounds and experiences that have shaped him: blues, rock-n-roll, Americana, and country, all melded together with Wyze’s distinctive voice and storytelling style. Born and raised in the hills of southern Indiana, Wyze has been deeply influenced by his time spent in the Mississippi Delta honing his narrative voice and musical sound.”
Review – I was really excited to have this one come this week but got disappointed fairly quickly. Part of the album was recorded in Muscle Shoals and another 3 tracks in Clarksdale Mississippi. The Mississippi tunes included Cary Hudson from Blue Mountain Band fame and the Alabama sessions had one of my favorite guitarist, Eric Deaton. Wyze’s voice just didn’t work for me, and the song writing was pretty good. Many of the tunes had a lot of potential but wyze’s voice just seemed out of place, almost spoken word. I think my only favorite on this CD is the tune co-written by Eric Deaton and you can tell right away that Eric was a big part of the song “Good Friend Gone” , listen here. I will give this a 7 on Blues Content and an 8 on Music Content.
