The Curbfeelers "Grit 'N' Groove"

 

 

For those of you whom are into listening to some great Rockin' Chicago Style Blues, with a little Soul mixed in for good measure, you need not look any farther than The Curbfeelers, especially with their exciting new release, "Grit 'N' Groove".

 

The Curbfeelers hail out of Arlington, Virginia. The band was formed in 1997 and consists of the following lineup for "Grit 'N' Groove",  Sally Swan (Bass/Vocals) Jeff Miles (Drums), Pete Connell (Guitar/Vocals), Peter Runk (Keyboards/Vocals), David Harris (Blues Harp/Vocals), Neil Reedy (Trumpet), Charles Dharapak (Baritone Sax), Tom Anderson (Tenor Sax), and Howard Levine (Alto Sax).

 

"Grit 'N' Groove" consists of 14 Tracks, described in the liner notes as, "A little funk. A touch of soul. Up-tempo blues," and that description fits this Album to a tee. Nearly all of the Tracks are originals written by several of the bands members, with the lion's share of the Tracks being written by Pete Connell whom solely wrote 8 Tracks and co-wrote 1 with Sally Swan. David Harris, Peter Runk wrote 2 Tracks each. Track 13 (I Never Loved A Man), the Cover Track was written by Ronnie Shannon, and was considered a breakout song for Aretha Franklin.

 

The Curbfeelers are an exceptionally tight musical unit, something that you become totally aware of soon after you start listening to the opening track. That of course is helped along by the fact that this band has well over 100 years of combined musical experience under its belt, in fact three of the members alone, Pete Connell, Jeff Miles, and David Harris have a combined total of over 100 years of musical experience, and that is not even half the band. All this musical experience shines through via strong vocals, combined with an immensely talented Rhythm and Horn section and topped off perfectly with Blues Harp and Lead Guitar.

 

The one thing I really enjoyed with "Grit 'N' Groove", was the way the vocalists traded off on singing duties. It really made for an extremely well rounded musical experience and lets not forget the Lyrics which were written and performed to perfection, again showing us all that this band is indeed the real deal when it comes to great Blues and Soul music.

"Grit 'N' Groove" shines as an Album simply because each and every member of The Curbfeelers, shine as Artists and in doing so make for a great way to spend 45+ minutes.

 

"Grit 'N' Groove" is the third release from The Curbfeelers and in summing up I really can't say it better than Rob Gabriel, Blues Cruise Radio DelRay whom I quote, "Blues and soul played like it should be played...Stax/Volt revisited..."

Tracklist

 

1.Try to Satisfy
2.Red Wine
3.Love To Love You
4.Got Love
5.[Back To The] Cul de Sac
6.I Didn't Know It Could Be So Good
7.She Might be Right
8.[I Believe] Down To My Soul
9.Kicked to the Curb
10.If I Knew Now
11.Why You Won't Come Back
12.I Got The Blues For You
13.I Never Loved A Man
14.Coal for Xmas