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- Written by: Bluebird
Paolo Nutini captured our attention on the world stage, when he was introduced as one of the youngest to sign with Atlantic Records before Ahmet Ertegun died. It was this honor that lead him to be part of the most historic music event of the decade, the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute in London, with the surviving members of Led Zeppelin reunited for the one-off show. One of the early performers, he kept his place as a smart historian and did not sing his own music, but dove into the archives of blues performing, "Mess Around " by Ray Charles.
This event happened the year after his UK release of the blue-eyed soul to pop record, These Streets, (Atlantic, 2006, UK, 2007, US). With the hook-catchy "New Shoes" and the sultry-pining, "Last Request," doing well on radio charts and plays, the Paisley, Glasgow native was pegged by Atlantic to be a Scottish soul singer, causing a buzz, with his stunning Italian name.
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
There are things that sometimes, despite an artist's attempt to be as open and honest as possible, emerge only through their music. Better Than Home is an album that belongs to a different Beth, emotionally speaking, from her previous album Bang Bang Boom Boom. Yet it preserves her charisma, by telling her fears, hopes and passions through powerful lyrics.
Better Than Home fully analyzes Beth's living moments, and from a musical and lyrical prospective, the record never fails to thrill the listener. The album is perhaps the most personal Beth Hart has ever made. Despite the fact that the demons of her past life occasionally surface here and there, the record is infused with a great positivity and love for life.
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Blues and Delta Blues in particular, have always been the perfect archetype of music authenticity. America is often cited as The Root of the genre, the heart and soul of blues, but this record proves that also Italy is not so far fetched. And so happened that two hugely talented guitarists, such as American, Reed Turchi, and Italian, Adriano Viterbini, decided to join forces and give life to a delicate music portrait of Delta Blues with dark twists that cannot define any better the journey of the blues music of the last half century.
Although maybe a bit short on duration (sadly just about 28 minutes), Scrapyard undoubtedly homages any listener with 8 blues sketches of true intensity and beauty that it makes one wish the record would last forever. Echoes of John Fahey and Ry Cooder can be easily spotted in the fabulous catharsis the two guitarists are able to produce on each track, even without any rhythm section whatsoever. The track Gira is the joyous finale of a music experiment that, hopefully, will reserve us more and more beautiful records like this in the years to come.
A marvelous example of talent and simplicity and perhaps one of the best guides to blues newcomers that wish to learn and appreciate the purity of that wonderful genre that is blues.
Gio Pilato
Devil Down Records - http://www.devildownrecords.com/music/scrapyard-adriano-viterbini-and-reed-turchi
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- Written by: Bluebird
The only thing that's tough about listening to George Grant and The Mighty Templars is choosing a genre for categorization. Thankfully, our site lives on the boundaries and hates anything that is cookie cutter music, although we do love our sweets. George Grant and The Mighty Templars is high end quality soul. You hear every relevant instrument in just one song. Harp, funk guitar, blues riffs, smashing real time percussion and Grant's genuine soul groove vocals, complete with howlin' improvs. Where have you been? Get out from under your rock, because this is a soul gem.
The title track, "Got To Get My Mind Right" has enough brass to send us back to juxe joints in Chicago, but the guitar picks up and it sounds like a retro pre-Beatles tune. Backup singers and stepwise basslines bring us a Motown tone, without the tin garage sound, but that's refreshing, because Grant has his own sound going on, so dig it.
"I Really Loved You" is a slow ballad of emotional honesty with the pain of complicated love, "I cried for you, I cried for me, now I have to tell you, I just can't let it be ..." while, "Like A Fool" is a straightforward blues to soul clip with standard forms that stabilizes the set back to its basics of coming at ya, soul. Love the way the guitar solo and drums take this time during the bridge. "Let me tell ya bout the girl I lost ..." "Examine My Soul" has a marching beat in its initial drums, a welcoming blues intro, and folds into a gospel chant, complete with organ backups, which show Grant's wide range and grasp of the roots of rock, blues and soul. "New York Groove" is a fun cover of this rock classic with Grant's bold voice and tambourine harmonies, it has his signature sound.
Here's the uptempo "Move On" and whoosh, do we love that harp!!
More Info about George Grant and The Mighty Templars:
Hailing From New York City via Pittsburgh PA, George Grant has infused the soul, rock and pop music of his youth into a bombastic sonic array. Growing up in a household where one could hear Steve Wonder or Jackie Wilson as readily as Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, he honed his musical skills supplied by the best of three musical worlds - rock, soul and a solid foundation of pop AM radio. A veteran of the New York rock scene (as both a bassist and vocalist), George has now channeled these earliest roots into a rousing and sometimes heartbreaking new collection of original songs. Rooted in the sounds of Memphis, Motown and even Cincinnati, his music brings to mind an A to Z of old school soul music, from The Temptations to Otis Redding to Curtis Mayfield without skipping a beat - literally. Fans of newer soul acts such as Charles Bradley and Eli "Paperboy Reid" will also find this a very pleasing collection of finely crafted rocking soul meets classic 70's pop material.
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- Written by: Deb Hebert
Stuck in an audio rut rotating through the same 24 CD's/DVD's day to day? Bluebirdreviews is there to the rescue! Their excellent taste in music continually steer music fans down new pathways to self-discovery and artists like singer/songwriter Mikey Sweet.
Artist: Mikey Sweet
Album: The North King
Label: Independent
Release date: October 10, 2014
Artist website: mikeysweet.com
Growing up in a less than ideal family life pushed Massachusetts native, Mikey Sweet away from the comforts of home and to living in the streets and a box car rolling slow. The personal journey led him across America in search of answers, into the arms of the law and singing for supper. Eventually, Sweet realized the only road to salvation, and to The North King, was through learning to accept the things he could not change in loving fast, falling hard.
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
Ol' Glory is released on February 23rd 2015 in Europe and February 24th 2015 in North America by PROVOGUE/MASCOT LABEL GROUP
In a time of over-refined and over-produced record making in the last twenty-odd years, this album arrives like a breeze of fresh air in the music business. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, JJ Grey has been nurturing the ambition to entwine the work of two of his most beloved music heroes, Jerry Reed and Otis Redding.
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- Written by: Giovanni "Gio" Pilato
When a new record by Fabrizio Poggi is released, the heartbeat of every blues fan of the genre begins to pulsate faster, as the sound of Fabrizio's harmonica.
Spaghetti Juke Joint is a tribute to those Italians who emigrated to America in search of work at the end of 1800, in the plantations of Mississippi and and that maybe, who knows, as some urban legend recalls, may have really opened a Juke Joint somewhere in-between the cotton fields. The disc itself pays homage to the genre in full 360 degrees. The sounds and rhytms that run through the record are suspended between the Delta Blues sound of Sonny Boy Williamson, the best period of the English blues masters such as Rory Gallagher and the blues rock of titans like Canned Heat and the late great Johnny Winter.
Read more: Fabrizio Poggi & Chicken Mambo - Spaghetti Juke Joint
