Reviews

A BluesWax Reprint (excerpt)

This review originally ran in BluesWax on April 5, 2007

Terry Gillespie & the Granary Band
Brother of the Blues

BluesWax Rating: 9 out of 10

Raise Some Hairs

Today their music is a sweet tiramisu consisting of liquor-soaked layers of Blues, Reggae, Country, and Jazz. This follow up album consists of eleven songs, ten written by Gillespie. Each of the well-crafted tunes contains a hook, sometimes lyrical, while other times a riff, arrangement, or sentimentality. The band includes Terry Gillespie (guitar, vocals, trumpet), Stephen Barry (bass), Gordon Adamson (drums, percussion), Peter Measroch (piano, organ), Jody Golick (saxophones), and Martin Boodman (harmonicas). 

Opening with "Brother of The Blues," Gillespie writes and sounds like Greg Brown. The surprise here is a funky little beat that powers the song. The careful choice of words and phrasing makes it stick in your head. On "Yellow Moon" the surprise is the Ska sounding horns that join in on the second verse. Jody Golick's saxophone is infectious. "Big Boy" is a Rockabilly treat, "when I grow up I want to have a big band," once again it's the big band-styled horns that pick it up in the middle. 

Terry Gillespie's soft trumpet on "Carl Nicholson" begins a Jimmy Cliff-influenced Reggae tribute to Gillespie's musical influences, including Carl Nicholson, Steve Valentine, and Van Morrison. Terry Gillespie sounds like Van Morrison when he sings on "Love Again" and Peter Measroch's piano is perfect. "Cold Ground" is a Hoyt Axton-sounding Country Blues with nice harp playing by Martin Boodman. 

"Those Days Are Gone" rollicks and Terry sounds like Bob Dylan. "Change My Style" is the only song on the album not written by Gillespie and he credits it as being "traditional." "Rue Guy Boogie" is the best Blues on the album and once again Jody Golick on saxophone solos nicely. "Bathtub" probably started as a kid's song, but it is so much fun as it Reggaes out, horns and all. "Krushev" at first seems dated, but after several listens one imagines it is also a children's song that has somehow grown up. 

Sue Foley plays lead guitar and credits Terry Gillespie as a major influence in her career. Terry Gillespie & The Granary Band possess a magic that seems to occur right in the middle of each song. It's what causes the hairs to rise on the back of your neck. 

Richard Ludmerer is a contributing editor at BluesWax

Copyright Visionation, Ltd 2007. All Rights Reserved with limited rights offered to artist and their agents for publicity purposes only with proper citation to BluesWax, BluesWax.com, or http://www.blueswax.com.

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I love it - Holger Peterson - Saturday Night Blues

“Terry Gillespie is one of the most sincerely talented musicians in Canada. He’s a bluesman to the core, but not in the traditional sense for he has range and influences that take blues to a whole new level. His blues is the truth and it comes through with every word and melody he wraps his soulful voice around. This is real!” - Sue Foley Terry Gillespie may well be Canada’s king of roots music. So where has he been? Or more appropriately, where have we been that we haven’t come across him before? Gillespie was born in Edmonton, grew up in England, and following his father’s career, moved to the United States. While in Detroit, Michigan, Gillespie played with Howlin Wolf, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Junior Wells, and John Lee Hooker. In the late ’60s, he temporarily relocated to Toronto, Ontario before settling in the nation’s capital city of Ottawa. There, he was part of the cultural dissemination of American music into Canada. He was one of the forefathers of that movement because he had previously been a part of the American music culture. After a two decade gap, Gillespie – a guitarist, vocalist, trumpeter, and songwriter – is back with his semi-autobiographical Brother Of The Blues. He is backed by the impressive Granary Band, who are all reputable musicians in their own right.

The rootsy title track is inconspicuously complex yet it is relaxed and calming. Here, Gillespie’s real blues guitar contains elements of many other genres. The lyrics introduce you to the family of the blues; (“Terror is the father of the blues / heartache is the mother”). The basic rhythm of Yellow Moon sounds extracted from the walls of Sun Studios, but horns give it an urban sensibility. More ’50s Memphis rock ‘n’ roll can be found on Change My Style. Among 11 brisk songs, it is the only cover. Love Again has a ’70s feel courtesy of polished production. Sounding like an AM radio hit, it reminds me of the great balladeers of that decade. Fear provided the inspiration for Kruschev. A discussion about the current state of affairs and how it was any different to the cold war era reminded Gillespie of what it was like to be a kid and afraid. When he was a youngster, he recalls the school kids being brought into the gym and being shown pictures of the A-bomb. He had nightmares for years. Carl Nicholson was the first person Gillespie met upon moving to Ottawa. Here, sounding like Van Morrison, Gillespie sings, (“Van Morrison taught me what to do”).

Too many artists bill themselves as blues artists when they are nothing more than rock ‘n’ rollers in disguise. Terry Gillespie is not that type of bluesman. Yes, he is Canadian so his blues aren’t like that of the Delta or Chicago, yet this powerful roots musician has gained the pride of his homeland. This comeback recording is sure to bring 60-year-old Terry Gillespie more respect and admiration than even his past warrants. Yet if he wants to take the music world by storm, he will require more to make him stand out in the crowd. His vocals are articulate, but sound too similar to Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, and Mark Knopfler. His blues-based folky rock songs are more memorable. They don’t focus on a blazing guitar or rampant rock energy. Brother Of The Blues is about the songs as a whole. These days that is a joy to encounter.

Tim Holek
Freelance Journalist
www.timholekblues.ca  

Originally published in Blues Art Studio, Austria

Holek is a member of the Blues Foundation and Canada South Blues Society. He has been a member of the nominating panel for the Maple Blues Awards (Canada's Blues Music Awards) since 1999. Tim Holek - Blues Art Studio (Jun 4, 2007)

This CD (Brother of the Blues) is truly one of the best that I have ever reviewed! 
All 11 tracks are what I would dub as 'feature tracks' It is very difficult to pick a favourite. 
Mike Graham - OBScene, Ottawa Blues Society (Jul 16, 2007)

October 21, 2007 Westport, Ontario Ottawa Canada is Terry Gillespie's chosen home, where he is recognized as their Father of the Blues. Since playing Blues in Detroit with the likes of Howlin Wolf, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Junior Wells and John Lee Hooker, Gillespie took nearly twenty years off of the pro circuit. He certainly honed his skills during that time. This semi-autobiographical work shows his singing and playing skills have become sharper and mellower. The easy, laid back sound of this band is captured by great mastering and production. The band here is Terry Gillespie on guitar, vocals and trumpet, Peter Measroch on acoustic & electric piano, Stephen Barry on bass, Gordon Adamson on drums, Jody Golick on sax and Martin Boodman on Harmonica. Canadian song stress Sue Foley appears on guitar.

Although a dyed-in-the-wool bluesman at heart, Gillespie is also thoroughly steeped in the world of Reggae, having played with reggae greats Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff and Dennis Brown. Those influences on this work are beautiful and delicate. The whole CD is rather quiet on the overall, but is finely done and is not just another raucous issue. In a sense, this is a new, inventive and refreshing avenue for the Blues. Check it out & pick up a copy at CDBaby.com. 

(©) 2007, Gary W. Miller
BluesSource.com

Brother of the Blues, a semi-autobiographical work, is a powerful CD. It highlights Gillespie's blues roots and reggae influences, creating an intoxicating fusion that adds a fresh perspective to the contemporary blues scene. 

The performers on Brother of the Blues are:

Terry Gillespie - vocals, guitar, trumpet
Peter “Bushman Piano Finger” Measroch - Keys
Stephen Barry - Bass 
Gord Adamson - Drums
Jody Golick - Sax
Martin Boodman - Harmonicas
Guests: Sue Foley - Guitar, 
Suzanne Lamontagne. Background Vocals. 
Dave Dragone, Hand Drums

http://www.granaryblues.com/home.html 
http://www.myspace.com/TerryGillespie