May 2008 Issue #79

Featured Non-Canadian Blues CD's

The Sean Carney Band: Life Of Ease   http://web.mac.com/seanhcarney/iWeb/Site/Home.html

Sean Carney dips his axe in whiskey and then smokes it without the filter all over "Life Of Ease," a bad-ass blues romp with monstrous class and signature brush-strokes throughout every tune. An all-around sizzling band leader, Carney sings with a throaty croon, part honey and part cigarette smoke, that lends instant cred to tunes like the south side shuffles of "Why Do You Lie?" and "Bad Side Baby." Dashes of R&B and jazz are sprinkled liberally into the playfully shape-shifting arrangements delighting in time-twisting change-ups such as the Carney-penned "All These Worries" featuring Chuck Moore on saxophone and John Popovich on B3 organ.

The voodoo noir swing of "I've Got A Gypsy Woman" plays out like a slow-motion summer in a hot southern city while "I Know Your Wig Is Gone" is a west-coast showcase for the band's musical muscle and sly humor with a rhythm section breakdown showcasing the talents of drummer (and co-producer) Eric Blume and bassist Steve Perakis. There's plenty of low-down, basic blues; witness a gin-soaked cover of Pee Wee Crayton's "When It Rains It Pours" and the sudden and comical love triangle that is "That Man." Carney and the band share the stage with a handful of musical guest stars including Joe Weaver, Willie Pooch and Teeny Tucker, who burns down the place with her vampish "I Live Alone."

Carney's as comfortable behind the frets as he is behind a microphone, equally laying out colorful, tasteful grooves and then breaking into expressive and inspired riffs. There's a lived-in vibe to the music that belies Carney's 34 years. Maybe he's an old soul but it's the old school touch that truly makes "Life Of Ease" easy on the ears indeed.

Review by Bing Futch (Orange Blossom Blues Society)  

Mac Arnold: Backbone & Gristle   http://www.macarnold.com/

Backbone & Gristle is the 15 track follow up to Mac Arnold & Plate Full O' Blues' 2005 debut Nothing to Prove. It offers 13 studio tracks written and arranged by the band plus two songs performed live, one with a children's choir. The title is a synonym for fortitude and character which Mac's sharecropper father used to motivate the kids. Apparently it worked well as Mac's first band included a young James Brown. When Mac brought the funk to Chicago, Muddy Waters hired him on the spot. He recorded with Otis Spann and John Lee Hooker. Later he and friend Don Cornelius launched Soul Train and Mac even played bass on the Sanford And Son theme song. Snowballing the recognition and acclaim from his debut, and no longer a sideman, Mac is enjoying his time out front. And it shows.

Info Courtesy Amazon.Com  

Albert Castiglia: These Are The Days http://www.albertcastiglia.com/

Make plans now to buy it. It's that good! 

Albert Castiglia (pronounced "Cas-steeel-lia") and band bring forth a well-done electric blues set on this, their third cd. Everything here is terrific. On every song Castiglia wrings every ounce out of great lyrics and brings his guitar passion front and center. 

The band consists of Albert Castiglia on guitar and lead vocals, Susan Lusher on keyboards, Steve Gaskell on bass and Bob Amsel on drums. Kenny "Stringbean" Sorenson adds smoking great harmonica on tracks 4, 5 and 11. Rio Clemente adds a churchy organ to track 9, and Sweet Suzi Smith & Nicole Hart add great soulful backing vocals on "Night Time Is The Right Time." Things kick off with the humorous original "Bad Year Blues" and then comes Robert Guidrey's "He's Got All The Whiskey," a lament of loss on several levels, and then a fiery "Loan Me A Dime," the Fenton Robinson song you may remember from the Boz Scaggs version with the Muscle Shoals House Band and Duane Allman from Boz Scaggs' self-titled debut album. Castiglia doesn't quite reach those esteemed heights here, but he doesn't get embarrassed by the comparison either. 

There is a loving original tribute to his late mentor, Junior Wells, on "Godfather of the Blues," and then the centerpiece of the cd--three great tunes done absolutely great--"Celebration" by Graham Wood Drout, "Night Time Is The Right Time" and Bob Dylan's "Catfish." The guitar solo on "Catfish" is, all by itself, a sign of Albert's promise of a bright future. And things don't drop off after that--there are a couple more Castiglia originals, ("Another Bloody Day" and "Twister") the wonderful "Need Your Love So Bad" and the cd wraps up with "Blues For Evan," an impressive instrumental that features Stringbean and Albert trading licks like they've played together forever. I've been listening to Albert play and grow and develop for years now, and this is the cd I've been waiting for. It should catapult Albert Castiglia to the top rank of blues artists. 

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