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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
When in 2014 the album Warning Shot by the Chigaco-based collective Mississippi Heat reached the top of the Blues Charts of half of the world, that moment can be remembered as a very significant one not just for the band but for the whole Blues community.
The success of that album was the clear sign that the Blues genre was definitely migrating and transforming itself to something bigger and bolder, still maintaining its roots deep down in those sounds and vibes that have made this genre the most pivotal one in music history ever.
Mississippi Heat's new album, Cab Driving Man, has not just carried the robust vibes and tones of its 2014's predecessor but has even improved the overall sound of the band by bringing it to a new level, thanks to the phenomenal talent of each individual member and the inspired songwriting and musical vision of Mississippi Heat's harpist and band leader Pierre Lacocque.
Throughout the sixteen songs included in Cab Driving Man, the band showcases an artistic maturity of rare beauty. A beauty that transpires every step of the way in an irresistible tracklist that combines the Blues roots of the band with elements of boogie, R&B, funk and latin rhythms in a truly, explosive musical package.
Pierre Lacocque, together with being one of the best harpist worldwide, is also a great connoisseur of talents, when he spots one. He must have certainly spotted so many of them, during his 25 years of career in the music industry and the current line-up of the band is no exception. Inetta Visor is an incredible and versatile singer, capable to show a phenomenal vocal artillery with elegance and class many times throughout the album, like in the jazzy Life Is Too Short, in the wonderfully executed Sarah Vaughan's cover of Smooth Operator or in the unstoppable vocal performance in the funky-spiced Icy Blue.
The talent flies high everywhere in this magnificent Big Band. Brian Quinn on bass and Kenny Smith on drums are an electrifying rhythm section, Chris Cameron on piano and keys is an outstanding musician and Michael Dotson, guitarist and singer/songwriter, is a true genius.
Pierre Lacocque has certainly assembled not just one of the finest group of musicians worldwide, within the band but has also chiseled some of the best songs he has ever written in his career. Music Is My Life has got such a passion that doesn't just transpire through his lyrics but also through a superb performance on vocals by Inetta Visor and Chris Cameron on piano. Lacocque tinges every song of the album with the intense vibes emerging by his Harmonica, providing an ideal music blanket to the already vibrant sound of Mississippi Heat. The work on Harmonica of the Belgian/American artist is truly superb in the ballad Mama Kaila, one of the many highlights of a very refined and well crafted album.
The closing track of the album, the instrumental Hey Pipo!, incorporates the whole spirit of the Mississippi Heat's artistic message. Three minutes of pure entertainment, beautifully executed, with a superb interplay of all the musicians showcasing, once again, the calibre of their immense craftmanship in this free-form tune.
Cab Driving Man is an album that travels to the pace and the grace of a feather swirling gently in the music skies, thanks to the phenomenal twists and turns that Lacocque and his band have designed on this superb album. In the album's sleeve notes, Lacocque says that "An aIbum is a passport, it gives you opportunity to keep growing and travelling". Cab Driving Man is certainly Mississippi Heat's passport for music heaven.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Cab Driving Man is out now and it is available via Delmark Records
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Scotland's Painting Rockets are an impressive post-punk pop duo fronted by guitarist/keyboardist Stephen Christie along with vocalist Keli Thomson. They initially came together back in 2014 and have recently released their latest EP titled, From The Debris. It's musically loaded and packed with exciting punk and post/punk sounds.
The band’s sonic approach mainly gravitates towards seminal post-punk, specifically bands like PIL. They don't pull any punches, their sound heavily coated with jagged rhythm guitars played against programmable drums and elegant synths.
Often, inexperienced minimalistic duos can often end up sounding very raw and sparse. Not the case here.The two sole members of this duo more than make up for any potential and casual lapse in musical conversation by their adept use of sonic time and space. In the end we are left with a full and lavish production that is as impressive sonically as it is musically.
The opener, I’ll Be Fine,kicks off with a way cool lo-fi efx patch; then,with guitars quickly leading into PIL territory. Propelling drum patch drives the song throughout. As we approach the climax we are treated to a very affective vocal crescendo. Christie and Thompson truly knows how to start off an album.
Christie and Thompson as musicians, competently communicate a distinct and eloquent musical language; their songs at times incorporating an ethereal dynamic. One example of this is the third song, Empathy. Christie’s sequenced synth’ line at the intro is at once followed by sharp, rugged guitar.Then, without warning we are treated to a totally unexpected drop-of-a-dime halt; immediately followed by a soothing atmospheric keyboard break. A challenging and very well executed track.
Throughout the album the Scottish band displays their versatility in a myriad of ways. On the song,Paranoid, we are immediately confronted with an ominous keyboard patch which swiftly takes us into parts unknown. Minimalistic, even avant-garde to some degree. This is a pleasant change-up on this all instrumental piece and displays the band’s boldness with regards to taking chances and the willingness to step out. Yes, the feeling of Paranoia ensues, thanks to clever instrumentation and a tune which would certainly fit well onto the soundtrack of nearly any film.
The closer, The Chaos Is All So Beautiful, shows the softer side of the duo. In this instance the sound and vibe is overtly melancholic; bringing to mind bands like The Velvet Underground who were memorable for 2-chord compositions such as this.
Painting Rockets, like the best punk/post-punk/new wave bands produce short-mini- sweet pop ditties that are well composed and performed. The vocals are muscular yet sensitive and emotive. Although there are times when the lyrics are indecipherable this only adds an element of mystique and charm to their material.
From The Debris is a mature and very solid second outing for a band that seems very confident in the musical direction they are headed towards.
Marc C. Cancassi
From The Debris is out now and available via Bandcamp
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
It's very refreshing to hear, in a stage of blues history like this, where the genre is evolving in many different ways, the fact that artists like Mat Westlake and Paolo Fuschi decide instead to stick to the traditions, by releasing an album that is a touching tribute the the sound of the Chicago Blues of the late 40's and the 50's.
Their new, entirely acoustic new album called Kicking Up The Dust, purposely recorded in a lo-fi style in order to adhere to the meaning of their musical message, simply by using Westlake's harmonica and Fuschi's guitar, is a well-crafted portray of blue's deepest roots. It's a record that brings back the song's format back in a time and a place where the intensity of a tune was simply defined by an artist, his instrument and his voice.
Kicking Up The Dust sees Walklate & Fuschi re-interpreting in their own ways some well-known classics of the genre, by adding unexpected touches of brilliancy and variation to the songs present on the album, like the foot-stomping opener Ain't No Big Deal On You or Bobo Jenkin's phenomenal version of Nothin' But Love.
Both musicians showcase an excellent artistic background and tons of musical skills. Walklate's harmonica style has got class and finesse written through and through and his work on Derrick Morgan's classic Fat Man is a true testimony of Walklate's talent. His vocals are deep, delivered with such a style and charisma that bring back echoes of a young Elvis Presley.
Paolo Fuschi is a highly skilled guitarist and his eclectic style allows himself to shine numerous times in the album. Take, for example, Fuschi's guitar solo on Goin' Down Slow, where the Italian artist, thanks to his instinct and his craftmanship, pens the most perfect intermezzo possible for this tune.
Walklate and Fuschi's interplay is pitch perfect and awe inspiring and runs deep through the whole album. The best example of such perfection can be heard in the only original tune of the record written by both the artists called Don't You Know Me, a song that sums very well the level of artistry of this formidable duo.
Kicking Up The Dust is a record that keeps on giving right to the end. Lightnin' Hopkins version of Black Cat Bone is one of the true peaks of this record for intensity and brilliancy from the two artists and the medley of The Technique's Oh Babe (Sick And Tired) and Don Drummond's Man In The Street magically combine elements of ska and blues of the highest level, thanks to Fuschi and Walklate's ability and versatility.
This record is a beautiful, full immersion in the purity of the blues, performed by two artists with a great level of knowledge, understanding, appreciation and great respect for an ageless genre like this. A truly inspired album and, without a doubt, a career defining moment for these two talented musicians.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Kicking Up The Dust is out now and it is available via the artist's Official Website
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There are not many blues and gospel music fans left in the world that do not know the story of the Italian Harmonica Blues Maestro and music writer Fabrizio Poggi. This incredible artist discovered his great passion and love for the instrument since a very young age, making him, through the years, one of the most revered and respected musicians both by music fans and fellow artists.
Poggi has always been and still is, throughout his career, one of the most prolific recording artists ever. Between solo albums and side projects (the latest being Fabrizio Poggi & Chicken Mambo), the Italian artist has released 19 albums until now. It comes without saying that Album No. 20, Texas Blues Voices, had to be really something special and it most certainly is.
The Italian artist's brand new album is a fabulous tribute to those unique blues vibes coming from the great state of Texas, a place that so much has given and still does to this genre in the last half a century. It's a homage at 360 degrees to some of Texas' most fabulous singers, guitarists and musicians in general.
Recorded in about 10 days in Austin, Texas, the record assembles a stellar cast of singers and multi-instrumentalist artists, which often play a part in each other's songs, either by providing backing vocals or playing an instrument in general, in short, a total and great Team effort. Poggi's Harmonica, as always, provides a genuinely fabulous sonic blanket to all songs, either originals o traditionals, performed by each artist, through Poggi's great class and ability as a musician.
To find one or two highlights on such a well-balanced album, so beautifully sang and played is a mammouth task. The level of quality of every Special Guest's performance on each song reaches peak of truly, sheer perfection. Carolyn Wonderland's vocals on the album's opener on Blind Willie Johnson's classic Nobody's Fault But Mine are first class and her work on guitar is equally remarkable. The same can be said about that fabulous artist that is Mike Zito and his rendition of Muddy Waters and Bernard Roth's Forty Days And Forty Nights, where the Texan blues/rocker's deliver is absolutely pitch perfect.
Poggi has chosen an array of fantastic musicians to provide the right sounds and rhythms to each of the Guest Artists present on Texas Blues Voices. Bobby Mack and Joe Forlini on guitars, Cole El-Saleh on piano and organs, Dony Wynn on drums and Donnie Price on bass guitar are a sublime Music Machine to listen to and their artistry and individual skills are second to none.
Every song constitutes a different vibe, a different journey in the history of blues. To hear perhaps the youngest sounding 86-years-old artist in the world, Lavelle White, who has sang in her career with giants of the blues like Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin amongst others, singing a song she wrote about her roots with such intensity and pathos is truly emotional.
Each Special Guest leaves a strong, emotional impact on Texas Blues Voices; Ruthie Foster's version of Ruth and Brownie McGhee's Walk On is one of the most soulful versions ever heard of this great classic and on the same tune, the work of Mack and Forlini on guitars is an unmissable treat for the ears of any music fans.
With all the emotions and the intensity pouring out from those songs present on Texas Blues Voices, Fabrizio Poggi's harmonica keeps working incessantly and beautifully in the background, helping to create that necessary balance that makes every song a bit more special, through his unmistakable style.
The Italian artist couldn't close a stellar album like this in a more perfect way than having Guy Forsyth performing with him a fabulous rendition of the traditional Run On. Poggi's Harmonica and Forsyth's superb job on vocals and National Reso-phonic combined together are an irresistible force of nature and the outcome is simply outstanding.
Texas Blues Voices is an album that screams talent, passion, and most of all, unconditional love for the blues. At the same time, it is a splendid record that deservely rewards Fabrizio Poggi for his talent, his belief and his perseverance in carrying the torch of tradition and history that only a music genre like the blues has in its DNA.
"I guess I gotta keep on walkin', no matter what, till I find my way", say the lyrics on one of the album's songs, Walk On. Fabrizio Poggi will keep on walking with the blues for the rest of his life and we cannot be more thankful for that.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Texas Blues Voices is out now and available via Appaloosa Records
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It has been some time now, for Glenn Hughes, to make a new record as a solo artist. After five years spent recording with Black Country Communion and California Breed, Hughes has finally decided to break this long hiatus by releasing his twelfth album, called Resonate.
Few recent health issues have not certainly stopped the beating rock'n'roll heart of a tried-and-true artist like Hughes and Resonate is the definite proof of it. Hughes let it loose completely on his brand new record, by unleashing a free-form album in which the American bassist and singer/songwriter shows all the different sides of his artistry.
Hughes catwalks in many different musical territories, sometimes with unexpected and interesting results and in very few occasions, with slightly less memorable ones. Resonate sees Hughes accompained by first class musicians like Soren Andersen, guitarist and co-producer of the album, Lachy Doley on keys and Pontus Engborg on drums. The musician's skills shine throughout the whole record but particularly on prog-rock musical excursions on the album, such as on tunes like Steady and Flow.
One of the great virtues of Resonate is that it clearly sounds like an album where Hughes had a lot of fun to record. Landmines is the best expression of love and passion for funky music that the Bass Maestro could showcase, on such an eclectic album like this.
Things, though, become more serious when the American artist digs deep into his most congenial musical ground, which is hard rock and metal. My Town, God Of Money and, most of all, the splendid How Long show an artist totally in control of his music and his talent, both as a singer and as a musician. His vocals are still as sharp as razor blades, just as his incredible artistry on bass.
Even little episodes like Stumble & Go, where Hughes doesn't feel like he is playing exactly on his favourite playground, can be easily forgiven. The album closing, Long Time Gone, is among the best moments of the record and, at the same time, the ultimate apotheosis of what Glenn Hughes truly is; a versatile singer, an extraordinary musician and a sublime raconteur.
Resonate is the return to form of an artist that has given so much to rock and roll in the last four decades and still going on full throttle. Like the finest bottle of Brunello Di Montalcino red wine, Hughes demonstrates through this record that his music tastes better and better as the years go by. Good to have you back, Mr. Hughes!
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Resonate is out now and available via Frontiers Music
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One of the many beauties of a country like the great United Kingdom is that, wherever you go in the country, no matter whether it is England, Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales, you will be always guaranteed to find everywhere great musicians and people loving music in general.
Daz Edwards and Luke Bradshaw from Wales are both great musicians and music lovers. The duo, formerly known as Coolhand, has been already guests of our website, when BBR reviewed their self-titled debut album, a remarkable record showcasing an eclectic sound tinted with folk, rock and few sprinkles of pop here and there. The whole package supported by an all around excellent songwriting and production.
Coolhand are though, most of all, a live band and their new album, Live At The Globe, displays perfectly where the root of their sound comes from. In addition, what a live album does best, most times, is to give justice even more to the artistry of each band member and this live recording certainly hit the spot.
Daz Edwards has got one of those rich and intense voices able to warm up arenas filled with thousands people. His vocal delivery is always passionate and sincere and songs like the opener Virtual Life or Give Love A Chance are the perfect demonstration of his many qualities as a lead singer.
Edward's fellow bandmate and guitarist extraordinaire Luke Bradshaw is a musician that every band would dream to have. His guitar playing is slick, solid and his timing in keeping the whole band on stage all together is absolutely pitch perfect.
If you have not had yet the chance of getting Coolhand's studio album, Live At The Globe will give you the opportunity to get the full setlist of their wonderful debut album. Together with being excellent musicians, Edwards and Bradshaw are great storytellers too, through their songs. The live versions of Hardly The Time, a song about past disillusions and hopes in the future and Looking Back, the story of a man paying for a night of romance (and more) are simply superb, certainly Bluebird Review's favourites among an overall, very solid live album.
Live At The Globe also gives the opportunity and the right platform to the band to "test" new songs with their fans, like Just A Man, a very spiritual and powerful tune that could be, potentially, included in one of Coolhand's next albums in years to come.
Live At The Globe is an album that shows in full the artistic depth of two skilled musicians, whose passion, respect and love for music allow them to be able to deliver constantly songs of great qualities. Something that it is not easy to find, in nowaday's music business.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Live At The Globe is out now and is available via ITunes
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Rock music has changed a lot in the last 3 decades of music history, assuming different shapes and shades through the incorporation of music elements belonging to different genres. The meaning of what many identify as "Modern Rock", today, can be best described as a combustion of 70's prog-rock with fragments of funk and blues and in this moment in time, not many bands in the United Kingdom are able to play Modern Rock with such perfection as well as the Scottish band King King does.
With three previous albums in the bag and a triumphant history of six years On The Road spent together as a collective, in which King King have received many awards and repeatedly recognised by the press as one of the best rock bands in the country, the Scottish quartet has now decided that this is the right time to release a live album that would capture perfectly the intensity of their live performances.
Recorded in two of the band's most favourite venues, Live is a 2CDs plus a Bonus DVD album that displays a band in excellent form. King King is a collective that assembles 4 highly skilled musicians, which all contribute, through their individual skills, to build a marvellous wall of sound on stage or in studio. Bob Fridzema on keyboards is a real master in carrying, with his artistry, the Progressive Rock part of the King King unmistakable sound, something that can be easily spotted on the Live album in the opening Lose Control or in another outstanding track like All Your Life. Wayne Proctor on drums and Lindsay Coulson on bass guitar are such a perfect rhythm section, maybe among the best in Europe. Their alchemy, on stage, is so highly in tune to make them sound like their instruments are joined together as one, with flawless results.
Their band leader, Alan Nimmo, is certainly one of the most respected and talented guitarists and singer/songwriter in the country. When it comes to write songs, the Glaswegian artist possesses such a natural ability in writing lyrics and modelling the sound of the band in a unique way that provides the best possible sonic outfit to the songs he writes. Nimmo's singing style can be emotionally intense or thunderous and travel side by side with his ability to play guitar, depending by the tempo and the theme of the song King King play. Waking Up and You Stopped The Rain are the perfect demonstration of Nimmo's artistry at 360 degrees and among the most beautiful songs ever written by the Scottish artist.
King King is, undoubtedly, one of the best bands in the United Kingdom nowadays. Every time these four musicians work together on stage, the harmony, brilliancy and quality of their sound explode in full, like in tunes like Crazy and the closing Let Love In, where the talent of this formidable quartet get fully unfolded with remarkable results.
Live is an album not just for long-time fans of the band but also for those that never had the chance either to listen to any of their previous albums or saw them performing on stage yet. The record is not just the celebration of an important moment of their careers but also a statement of sheer class and craftmanship from one of the best UK bands of this last decade. The Ministries of Modern Rock.
Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Live is out now and can be purchased via Manhaton Records
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