GREAT EXPECTATIONS The Imagine If (independent) ****+
A bold title for a debut album, this. The Imagine If is Toronto-based roots n blues band making quite an impression with Great Expectations. This is a disc with soul and heart that captivates and elevates with its gritty blues riffs and rhythms.
Drawing inspiration from Western Americana and the enchanting deserts, the music on Great Expectations is as visual as it is infectious. Meaty guitar riffs combine with some great travelin’ electric piano work to make you feel like you’re moving even if you’re just sitting in a chair and listening, like I am right now. It showcases a range of diverse influences and emotions, right up your alley if you’re into groups like The Black Pumas, Alabama Shakes and Lake Street Dive, what the press info describes as “a sound that is both nostalgic and contemporary”.
Great Expectations bristles with the confidence of a band that knows they’re on the right path. Alia is a soulful, expressive singer, and the rest of the band are consummate groove masters; Keith on guitar, Eric on keys, Brian on bass and Tom on drums. The push and pull between instruments is electrifying and the combination- particularly on a first record- is explosive. If you’re feeling down and you need music that makes you feel alive, that’s Great Expectations.
HOT TRACKS: My Mission, Great Expectations, Old Shack By The Highway
EMPTY SEATS Richard Wilkins (independent) *****
Some hard charging blues here from this Portland, Oregon singer/ songwriter/ bassist/ sax player. Empty Seats has a feral Crazy Horse- style energy to it that’s really filling me up. 9 excellent originals here plus covers of Hollywood Fats, Rod Piazza and some traditional Irish and Scottish tunes make this thing damn near irresistible.
Produced by Wilkins along with Jimi Bott (Fabulous Thunderbirds, Mannish Boys), Empty Seats makes good use of some of Portland’s best players, and I’d go as far as to say Paul Brainard’s guitar and lap steel playing is a key ingredient as to why this album works so wonderfully well. Wilkins grew up in LA and since the late 60’s has shared stages with Muddy Waters, Clapton, Johnny Winter and more. He counts Jimmy Reed and The Stones as influences- you can really feel that raw energy in these songs, and that’s what good blues is really all about.
Empty Seats is the kind of album with some grease and swing and the production as each instrument shines when given the spotlight, and the drums are recorded extremely well. It’s not overly cluttered or compressed, each song is bold and clean as it stands on its own within the overall narrative of the album. This is a very welcome addition to my blues collection.
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HOT TRACKS: Daylight Train, Coming In For A Landing, Memphis Diamonds
50TH ANNIVERSARY LIVE- SECOND NIGHT Blue Oyster Cult (Frontiers) *** ½
These Long Island rockers celebrate a five decade long career in style. 50th Anniversary is 2 discs, recorded during a 3 night stand at NYC’s Sony Hall and includes a performance of their 2nd album Tyranny & Mutation. It has a ways to go to match the manic energy of 1975’s On Your Feet Or On Your Knees, but longtime and hardcore fans will dig it severely.
Each night at Sony Music Hall in September of 2022 were nearly 3 hours long as they played fan favorites, deep cuts and classic hits. 50th Anniversary celebrates BOC’s longevity with a surprisingly plump cache of great songs that will have you going “Oh yea… THAT one!” Still led by Donald “Buck Dharma” Rosier and Eric Bloom, the band here also includes Richie Castellano, Danny Miranda and Jules Radino. Founding member/ original drummer Albert Bouchard made a special appearance each night, adding an historical poignancy to the gigs.
Cited by bands like Metallica as an influence Blue Oyster Cult is well past their hit making days, (though 2020’s The Symbol Remains is excellent) yet they continue to tear it up onstage with epic performances such as the one documented here. Dig in and enjoy.
HOT TRACKS: Teen Archer, 7 Screaming Diz-Busters, Burnin’ For You
ALL KINDS OF BLUES Mick Kolassa (Endless Blues Records) *****
This is Mick’s 15th blues album and it’s just all kinds of excellent. Previous records have included a few sub-genres but for the appropriately titled All Kinds Of Blues his intention was to include as many varieties as he could, resulting in one of his most satisfying discs ever.
All Kinds Of Blues swings as it wanders from genre to genre under the blues umbrella. Kolassa is a good singer and fine player, but his sense of humor as a lyricist is to be noted too. This album includes his first song about AI love in Amy Iodine complete with spacy keyboard noises and the sound of an old dial up modem to get the point across. Too Old To Die Young is about coming to terms with aging, and You Bumped Me Again is a funky number about repeated rejection.
All Kinds Of Blues was smartly produced by Jeff Jensen, displaying Kolassa’s love of the blues in all of its styles. It’s got that swing and some jazzy arrangements here too, with funk and soul thrown in for good measure. I have 12 of his albums, and to my ears this is the best one yet.
HOT TRACKS: Amy Iodine, Too Old To Die Young, That Don’t Mean
MEMPHIS ROYAL BROTHERS Memphis Royal Brothers (Royal Records) ***** +
Some swingin’, horn-driven righteousness here on this self-titled debut. With the joyful vibe of a Long John Baldry record, Memphis Royal Brothers makes you sit up and take notice.
The Memphis Royal Brothers Band includes players that were featured in the 2014 documentary Take Me To The River, honoring the soul and blues contributions made by Memphis and Delta artists on a younger generation. Memphis Royal Brothers includes contributions from Charlie Musselwhite, Bobby Rush and Jim Lauderdale, with Tower Of Power singer Marcus Scott throughout, plus contributions from Vince Gill protégé Wendy Moten that are worthy of note . What they ended up with is a record that is at least as much soul as it is blues.
Overseeing the process was producer/ engineer Boo Mitchell, son of renowned producer Willie Mitchell, and the album was recorded at the Mitchells’ legendary Royal Recording Studio in Memphis with the end product being nothing short of monumental. MRB kicks off with Good God I Got The Blues with Bobby Rush that gives way to the lower key Goin’ South, with Charlie Musselwhite taking you wayyy back home. Memphis Royal Brothers isn’t just the good stuff; it’s the great stuff.
HOT TRACKS: Goin’ South, Good God I Got The Blues, Hot Night In June
EVERYTHING IS INCOMPLETE Ian North (independent) *****++
A stunning return here for Canadian singer/songwriter Ian North. He makes what is called “fallen angel folk/ rock”, and that’s what Everything Is Incomplete is. It’s Simon & Garfunkel meet James Taylor; introspective, delicate and irresistible songs of hope and resilience.
North’s warm, inviting voice is a cross between Bruce Cockburn and Jackson Browne, his melodies sophisticated and his lyrics poetic. He came back from the dead for this; he suffered a double-lung pulmonary embolism which caused his heart to stop 3 times in a two hour period. He’s lucky to be alive and he knows it… that is felt in every song. Also it was Ian’s wife’s wish that he make another album, accomplished here with her undying love and support.
The songs on Everything Is Incomplete are so deep I’ll be spending months wandering around in and absorbing them more fully. China Moon, the first single, is a reverie about a heavenly otherworld where clocks stand still and diamonds grow on trees. History Of Swings uses riding a swing set as a metaphor for the ups and downs of a romantic relationship. I like the way this guy thinks, and I love the way he tells his stories… this is touching me in profound ways.
HOT TRACKS: China Moon, History Of Swings, Tumbledown
