LIVE AT WOODYSTOCK BLUES FESTIVAL Jay Gordon & Blues Venom (Shuttle Music) ****
Sometimes blues can be heartfelt, other times it’s a barroom brawl- the latter is Jay Gordon & Blues Venom. Recorded live at the Woodystock Blues Festival in 2022 in Laughlin, Nevada, under the scorching sun, you can almost smell the sweat as this barnburner of a disc plays.
This band takes some blues classics to the stage and beats them into submission. Backed by a solid rhythm section Gordon’s vocals are as wild and unhinged as his guitar playing. His take on Robert Johnson’s Crossroads has a different backbone yet is at least as powerful as the celebrated Cream version if not moreso. Other blues standards they tackle with metal-like ferociousness include Hoochie Coochie Man, Good Morning Little School Girl and I Drink Alone plus a medley of CCR’s Green River and Suzie Q.
Live At Woodystock is energetic and reckless, the sound of three talented musicians letting it all hang out. Jay Gordon’s guitar work is clearly the star here…as I noted on his 2019 disc Slide Rules! Jay’s guitar “becomes a weapon- sometimes firing like an automatic rifle, other times burning like a flamethrower in the night”, and it’s more intense onstage. This is exciting stuff!
HOT TRACKS: Crossroads, Slow Burn biker Mama, Hoochie Coochie Man
Photo by Laura Carbone
GOOD INTENTIONS GONE BAD Chris Cain (Alligator Records) *****
This is Chris Cain’s 16th album and with his soulful voice and insightful lyrics Cain, once known as “one of the best guitarists you’ve never heard”, is at the top of his game. Inspired as much by Grant Green and Wes Montgomery as BB and Albert King, his playing is unforgettable.
Chris says that “I’ve stopped overthinking and now I just play and sing what I feel.” With over three decades of touring under his belt, he’s clearly refined his craft. Much like BB King and Buddy Guy, I find Chris Caine’s singing as engaging as his guitar playing which gives his songs emotional impact. Good Intentions is 13 lyrically fresh, original songs, 7 of which feature a swingin’ horn section.
The album was produced by Kid Andersen at his Greaseland Studio in San Jose. Cain calls Good Intentions Gone Bad “the best album I’ve ever made, thanks to Kid.” Other players like Joe Bonamassa sing his praises (“he’s an absolute blinder as a guitarist”), and Robben Ford notes that “he knows how to write songs you haven’t heard before”, a good talent for a bluesman. Some blues albums are records you really need to hear, and this is DEFINITELY one of them.
HOT TRACKS: Still Drinking Straight Tequila, Waiting For The Sun To Rise, Good Intentions
RESCUE 3 Mean Old Fireman (independent) *** ¾
This is a blend of New Orleans grooves, southern rock and rootsy blues.. Rescue 3will no doubt please fans with the feel, noting MOF’s growth as an artist since 2021’s Dumpster Fire as he expands his sound in multiple directions.
Mean Old Fireman is singer/ slide player Ned Bolle, a former fireman, and he was quite purposeful when putting Rescue 3 together. “I wanted to have a smooth flow from track to track” he explains. “It was important that the groove of the first track (I’m not Crying) set the tone for the album, because there are a bunch of genres on it.” That NOLA-inflected bounce his is even felt in his remake of Warren Zevon’s Werewolves Of London, done as both acoustic and electric versions. No matter the genre, you can feel that New Orleans vibe.
Lots of cool grooves here, from the languid blues of Dirty Water or the opening track to a stomper like Lynn, Lynn that keep things interesting and yet everything feels really connected… a neat trick if you can pull it off, and Mean Old Fireman does. If you like your blues with some New Orleans spice to it Mean Old Fireman does it up right, and Rescue 3 will fill your belly.
HOT TRACKS: Lynn, Lynn, 12 Bars, Dirty Water
THE SAUCE Sauce Boss (Swampside Records) ****+
It’s my first encounter with this guy. The Sauce is acoustic blues with lots of juicy slide. The first 3 tracks (including a remake of The Beatles’ The Word) set the theme of healing with music, each song a prescription for a better life. Sauce Boss really has it going on.
Sauce Boss (Bill Wharton) seems like a good-natured, affable chap and there’s a disarming charm to The Sauce. The album starts with 5 solo one-man band cuts before a “high energy trio” thing kicks in. That includes, along will Bill on vocals and guitar Neal Goree on guitar and Brett Crook on drums along with special guest Damon Fowler on guitar and lap steel. Songs include 8 originals along with songs by The Beatles, Jimmy Buffet, Robert Johnson and Van Morrison.
Bill calls his album genre bending, explaining that “It’s what I do. I cook a pot of gumbo and I feed the audience, while splooging my hot sauce into the pot. I blur definitions. I ignore boundaries. I make The Sauce.” He’s not the world’s greatest singer but his voice is warm, comfy and disarming. The Sauce is a ride from the heights of blues to the most intimate of acoustic whisperings that I recommend highly.
HOT TRACKS: Delta 9 Blues, Stop Breaking Down, I Will Play For Gumbo
ABOUT TIME Dennis Jones (Blue Rock Records) *****
Want some SRV-style muscular blues guitar? Dennis Jones is your guy and About Time is your album. The songs are tight and well built, and Mike O’Cull of Rock & Blues Muse calls Jones “an absolute beast of a musician and songwriter.” He’s right.
About Time, Jones’s 7th cd, is red-hot guitar and soulful vocals. The rhythm section is energetic and second to none, and there’s some tasty sax work. I like the production too; powerful and tight, courtesy of Dennis Jones and Brian O’Neal of The BusBoys… the compression is noticeable but not intrusive, giving the album a righteous heft. Paulie Cerra guests on sax, Hammond B3 and Wurlitzer piano- he’s worked with Joe Bonamassa and Keb’ Mo’.
There are times, like on Mother Earth (covered by Heart on their Magazoine record), where Jones reminds me of Hendrix- he freaks out all over the song, but somehow it works. About Time is blues that rocks, full of firey fret work that will no doubt inspire many air guitarists and wanna-be players to march down to the music store and pick up their own axe and start learning.
This album not only rocks, it’s inspiring on every level- can’t ask for more than that.
HOT TRACKS: Mother Earth, Condition Blue, Six Feet Off The Ground
MADISON GALLOWAY Madison Galloway (independent) ******
This is Madison’s self-titled sophomore album and it’s smokin’ hot. 10 original songs and an excellent cover of Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit makes Madison Galloway a contender for my ‘best of’ list. I haven’t been this knocked out by a chick blues rocker since Ally Venable.
Madison Galloway has the impact of a hard rock album. She’s described as “pure energy and rootsy-blues sass” and that’s just what this is. Her voice is loaded with soul- not unlike Sass Jordan but without the rasp- and her guitar playing has a Jimmy Page-like swagger that I really dig. This disc refuses to stand still, covering a range of styles from driven southern rock to ballads reminiscent of Zep’s Rain Song, plus some psychedelic stuff that takes you on a journey.
Madison is backed by a seriously talented band here that takes her leagues beyond 2019’s Moon & Mercury, her full length debut. This one is packed with instantly memorable riffs and boatloads of serious playing from Ms. Galloway as well as the people grooving madly behind her. Bassist Stacey Shopsowitz co-produced most of the album with Madison and kudos to both for a tough, meaty, rockin’ record. Madison Galloway is a contender for album of the year.
HOT TRACKS: White Rabbit, Freedom, Shade In The Shadows
