Superpickers "Blues On The Ceiling"

 

With over 100 years of musical experience between, Glen Collins, Sandy Morris, and Peter Narvaez, have more then earned the right to call themselves the Superpickers, and now with the bands Debut Release, "Blues On The Ceiling", we all get the opportunity to hear three of the finest guitar pickers, the Eastern Coast of Canada, has to offer.

 

Each one of these three musicians are a tour de force in their own right. From Glen Collins, "one of the most sought after guitarists in Newfoundland", to Peter Narvaez, a 35 year veteran of the Newfoundland/Labrador music scene, to Sandy Morris, a musician for over 55+ years, with credits that include "serving as musical director or producer for CBC’s Land and Sea, Violet, Tommy, the East Coast Music Awards, and Codco", to name a few, these three icons really know their music and really know how to entertain, something you will find abundantly clear after only listening to "Blues On The Ceiling" for a few moments.

 

"Blues On The Ceiling" consists of 16 Tracks, making up over 55+ minutes of music. I personally consider anything past the 12 Track mark as bonus territory and to me it shows just a little more extra appreciation for the fans. Of the 16 Tracks, 7 are originals written by Peter Narvaez, whom in addition to playing fingerstyle guitar, he is also the Vocalist and Harmonica player on this album. Beyond the 7 Tracks Peter Narvaez wrote, he is also credited for one of the tracks as Arranger (Track 16 "The Great Train Robbery"). The 9 Tracks which are not Originals, run the gamut of great songs and include a wonderful mixture of Blues, Folk, Bluegrass, and even Country, as one finds with Track 3 "Folsom Prison Blues".

 

For "Blues On The Ceiling", I found that regardless of what Originals or Covers were chosen for this album, they were secondary to the performances via the collective of Glen Collins, Sandy Morris, Peter Narvaez, and Guests. Any group of songs probably would have done for this album, as the highlight truly was the Guitar work and musicianship of all concerned, which was simply amazing.

 

In addition to Glen Collins (Flatpicked Acoustic Guitar/Bass), Sandy Morris (Slide Resonator Guitar/Flatpicked Acoustic Guitar/Ukulele), and Peter Narvaez (Flatpicked Acoustic Guitar/Blues Harp/Vocals), "Blues On The Ceiling" also had a great lineup of Guests, which included Patrick Boyle (Trumpet, Track 2), John Clarke (Finger Picked Slide Resonator Guitar, Track 12), Holly Everett (Vocal, Track 2), Steve Hussey (Flatpicked Acoustic Archtop Guitar, Track 7), Brad Power (Flatpicked Acoustic Guitar, Track 9), and Neil Rosenberg (Bluegrass Style Fingerpicked Five-String Banjo, Track 9). One can only imagine that with such a great lineup, you could not help but feel you had died and gone to Fingerpicking Heaven.

 

With Albums, a little something that I really enjoy, is when a band or artist takes the time to go that extra mile to include brief descriptions about each Track in their Liner Notes. That attention to detail truly enhances ones enjoyment of the album and in the case of "Blues On The Ceiling", which has some very interesting names to some of their Tracks, it is a very welcome feature.

 

For those of you whom really love great Acoustic Style music and really love listening to fun foot stomping tunes, "Blues On The Ceiling" is absolutely the prescription for you. From Blues to Bluegrass and Beyond, "Blues On The Ceiling" is East Coast Canadian Music at it's very very best.

 

"Blues On The Ceiling" is an exceptional Album and more then worthy of for my Highest Rating of 5*****. I really enjoyed "Blues On The Ceiling", a lot.

 

Favorite Tracks on "Blues On The Ceiling", a lot of them which included "Miss Molly", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Vitamin C", and "The Great Train Robbery".

 

Review by John Vermilyea (Blues Underground Network)

 

 

Additional Info

 

Tracklist

 

1. Jump Little Rabbit
2. Miss Molly
3. Folsom Prison Blues
4. Please Fingers Dial If You Can
5. Diggin' My Potatoes
6. Jump 'N' Play Blues
7. Personal Manager
8. Blues On The Ceiling
9. Vitamin C
10. Since You've Come Home
11. The Radiation Blues And The Chemo Drag
12. Boat's Up The Tickle
13. Romance Without Finance
14. I'll See You Again
15. Grasshoppers
16. The Great Train Robbery

 

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