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Blues Underground Network |
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Brad Vickers & His Vestapolitans
"Traveling
Fool"
Brad Vickers learned his style of
Roots and Blues music from many of the great masters, such as, Hubert
Sumlin, Jimmy Rodgers, Pinetop Perkins, Odetta, and Sleepy Labeef, to name
a few, whom he not only played with, but also toured and recorded with,
and as such, has become, along with his band "His Vestapolitans",
absolutely great in their own right. Brad Vickers & His Vestapolitans
"Traveling Fool" marks their 3rd release in just 3 years and is destined
to receive as many, if not more, of great the great accolades and critical
acclaimed reviews, that followed their 2 previous releases.
"Traveling Fool" consists of 15 great
Tracks, of which, Brad Vickers was responsible for the solo writing of 8.
Brad co-wrote 2 songs with Margey Peters whom also wrote 1 song, as well,
for this album. For the covers, Brad Vickers chose some great ones, which
included, songs written by Sonny Terry ("Diggin' My Potatoes") which was a
"Traditional recording of 19 from Wizard Of The Harmonica (Storyville
8018)", Hudson Whittaker ("No Baby, No") aka Tampa Red whose was
"born Hudson Woodbridge but known from childhood as Hudson
Whittaker", J.B. Lenoir & Alex Adkins ("Low Down Dirty Shame"),
("J. B. Lenoir was known in the 50s for his particular zebra-patterned
costumes and his brilliant female-like voice but he was a very influential
musician and composer playing electric guitar"), and Leroy Carr ("How
Long Blues"). "How Long, How Long Blues" is a traditional eight bar
blues song made famous by Leroy Carr on his 1928 Vocalion Records
recording with guitarist Scrapper Blackwell. The song is commonly referred
to as "How Long Blues" and is a blues standard that has been recorded by
many artists, not only in blues, but also country and western, pop, and
jazz."
Joining Brad Vickers & His
Vestapolitans on "Traveling Fool", was Special Guest, Bobby Radcliff,
whom has been hailed as "one of the greatest guitar players
alive", by Jamie Dell Apa of The Baltimore Blues Society. Bobby
Radcliff brings his immense talent to the forefront, on this
album, with his amazing guitar wizardry.
"Traveling Fool" was recorded,
engineered, and mixed, by Dave Gross and V.D. King, whom also played on
this album with Gross playing Upright Bass and King playing Guitars
and also doing Vocals. "Dave Gross is a multi-instrumentalists and
true creative and innovative force within the music world, whose
deep-seeded passion and respect for the original blues and jazz masters
bring new life to the music scene and prove him to be an absolute standout
among his peers." With this amount of talent on "Traveling Fool", it
is not hard to see why I enjoyed it so much.
"Traveling Fool" continues with
another great offering of Blues, Ragtime, Skiffle, and American Roots 'N'
Blues, the music that has made them so popular. With a great voice, which
is more complimentary then over powering, Brad lays an enterprising
mix of tunes that really position themselves in a way that keep you
excited not only for the song you are hearing, but also excited with
anticipation for the next track to come. From the opening title Track
"Traveling Fool", which laces together the great horn section of Mike
Cowan & Jim Davis, along with the wonderful piano work of Arne
Englund, to the Ragtime feel of "Glad Rags" which is brought forward
beautifully with Jim Davis on Clarinet and the duet singing of Brad
Vickers and Margey Peters, "Traveling Fool" is simply a tour de force of
not only wonderful styles of music, but also music that does not seem out
of place at all along beside the other styles.
With "Traveling Fool", Brad Vickers
& His Vestapolitans, along with Special Guest Bobby Radcliff and other
added artists, have really created a fun and entertaining mix of music,
almost like if you had made up a mix of music for your own enjoyment, and
has shown us all that he has learned well from the previous masters he has
mentored from.
Brad Vickers & His Vestapolitans
truly have a great mix of styles, all their own, which in these times
of sometimes so-so repetition, and overly re-hashed music, is very
refreshing and unique to come across.
"Traveling Fool" was my first
introduction to Brad Vickers & His Vestapolitans and was one that I
truly enjoyed. High Recommended for the shear Fun and Enjoyment of
it.
Review by John Vermilyea (Blues
Underground Network)
Additional Info
Special guest guitarist Bobby
Radcliff has this to say about Brad Vickers & His Vestapolitans and
"Traveling
Fool":
Sometimes I forget how much I loved
those old albums from the ’60s: J. B. Lenoir and Lowell Fulson’s Chess
recordings with the horns slightly out of key (which I adore)—not to
mention all my old Blind Lemon Jefferson, Texas Henry Thomas, etc. albums
on those funky 78-rpm-to-disc re-issue labels back
then.
I can’t think of many artists today
that can get the kind of raw, direct punch that was so evident in the “old
masters”. For some reason, Brad Vickers does capture it. And the best part
is that his music never sounds “manufactured to sound authentic”. Brad’s
music doesn’t have the glossy high-tech veneer that too many artists
utilize to “sound like the great artists of old”. This recording, his 3rd
release on CD, is the obvious choice if you want to experience first-rate
American blues/R&B music, and its related
tributaries.
Brad’s vocal delivery always stays
firm in a laconic, easy-going manner. I’m reminded at times of Fats Domino
via Bill Monroe, but that’s an oversimplification. Brad is his own man
both vocally and in his instrumental technique. Much of his guitar work is
the direct result of his use of open E tuning rather than standard
Spanish. This actually gives him a bit of an edge over some of his musical
peers. I am always blown away by the unusual tone variations and colors he
achieves. Believe me, as a practicing picker myself, you will not get
certain odd inflections and subtle pitch/interval variations with standard
guitar tuning. All of this adds up to some extremely nasty guitar
sounds!
Of particular note, I should add, is
the equal importance of his Vesapolitans line-up: Bill Rankin on
percussion; Margey Peters, who adds her rich and sonorous playing on bass
and fiddle; the great Jim Davis on clarinet and tenor saxophone; Matt
Cowan on baritone saxophone; and one of my favorite guitar (and piano!)
pickers, Arne Englund. The estimable V.D. King also makes an appearance
with this fine
ensemble.
I can’t say enough about Dave Gross’s
production on this CD. As a guest myself on this session, I had the
opportunity to observe him in the production/engineer capacities. All I
can say is this: I had one of the best times in years being involved with
the making of this recording. A great captain at the helm always gets the
best out of musicians. I’d put him up with my favorites, Hammond Scott
(Black Top), Peter K. Siegal, and Chris Matheos. All of this said, if
you’re in the mood to spend some time listening and dancing—don’t forget,
Mister Vickers is a rocker to the core!—to some downright incredibly hip
music, then slap this in your favorite player and tear it
up!
Bobby Radcliff, January,
2011
Tracklist
1. Traveling Fool 5:43
2. Because I Love You That Way 3:34 3. Diggin' My Potatoes 4:37 4. Don't Take My Cadillac 4:07 5. Uh Oh! 2:43 6. No Baby, No 2:54 7. Leave Me Be 5:39 8. Low Down Dirty Shame 3:57 9. Glad Rags 2:42 10. In My Dream 3:42 11. Fourteen Women 4:05 12. Skeeter Song 3:25 13. Without Moolah 3:35 14. How Long Blues 5:58 15. Rockabilly Rumble 3:33
Listen To Samples Here...
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