BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME Mark Muleman Massey (Muletone Records) *****+
Well this came out of left field. I looked at the cover and figured a high and light voice, and as he’s holding a battered Strat I figured straight blues. Massey has the gritty voice of experience, at Been A Long, Long Time is as much soul as it is blues, and it’s a killer.
At 19, Mark found himself in Parchman Farm, living an unimaginable prison life as so many bluesmen had before him. David Kimbrough, son of the legendary Junior Kimbrough, took the young man under his wing and taught him some guitar basics. MMM took to it like a duck to water, earning a spot in the legendary Parchman Prison Band. That set him for a life playing the blues, playing every dive and juke joint as well as opening for folks like Bobby Rush, Eric Gales and BB King. A hard, early life gained him the experience that informs these blues n soul, and as you know the Mississippi River runs mighty deep.
Recorded at the legendary Wishbone Studios in Muscle Shoals, Been A Long, Long Time includes some surprisingly tasty covers along with a slew of originals, all played with a laid back economy. The lead breaks are stinging and heartfelt but never too busy, and while the whole band is excellent, Mark included, the blues spice here is the Wurlitzer and B3 work of Clayton Ivey and Jim Whitehead. Those tasty covers include Hank Williams’ Hey Good Looking, Tom T. Hall’s That’s How I Got To Memphis and I’m Sorry About That from Bobby Womack, but as a singer and guitar player the Muleman makes them his own.
As a vocalist he’s a cross between Joe Cocker and Dr. John, and these songs combine blues and soul in a way I’ve not heard in a long time. I can’t imagine Been A Long, Long Time NOT being on my best of the year list come December- this is great stuff.
HOT TRACKS; That’s How I Got To Memphis, Baby’s Gone, Hey Good Looking
SONG FOR THE SINNERS Dean Zucchero (Pugnacious Records) ****
New Orleans bassist, songwriter and producer Dean Zucchero is back at it, making magic once again with his friends. Song For The Sinners, the follow up to 2023’s Electric Church for The Spiritually Misguided, features an array of special guests helping Zucchero deliver a timeless jewel of an album ,so roll out the shag carpet, turn on the lava lamps and let the good times roll.
Though I initially approached this as a blues record, it’s obvious fairly quickly that Sinners so much more. These melodies and sweet grooves come from many genres of the 60’s and 70’s, and the lyrics cover quite a bit of ground; patricidal nightmares, Saturday night hook ups and virtually everything in between. Some of the guests involved here include Bobby Rush, Mike Zito, Victor Wainwright, Jimmy Vivino… the list goes on.
Song For The Sinners was produced, of course, by Zucchero, who wrote and arranged all the songs. Serving apprenticeships with New York artists like Popa Chubby, Michael Powers and Sweet Georgia Brown, Dean was obviously paying close attention and absorbing everything. Moving to New Orleans in 2013 he connected to a whole different style of urban diversity and even toured with Cyril Neville. As a result, the R&B Zucchero serves up here have that Big Easy joie de vivre, with the blues as the touchstone, even on the country/ reggae tinged Never Fade Away. His musical curiosity serves him well here.
For some The musical mix on Song For The Sinners could be problematic if they like to label things or fit them into some preconceived genre, but the freedom Dean exhibits and feels here is catching, even infectious. Despite dealing with heavy subjects like bereavement and suicide, this is an uplifting album that will leave you with good feelings… and don’t we need that right now?
HOT TRACKS; Never Fade Away, She’s Saturday Night, Suicide For Jesus
EASY TIGER Ian Siegal Meets Johnny Mastro (independent) ****
Nasty, sleazy blues, thy name is Easy Tiger. It’s the new album from Ian Siegal Meets Johnny Mastro, dripping with soul, reminding me of some of my favorite David Gogo stuff. It’s like walking into a shitty bar just before last call where you can smell the beer desperation.
Easy Tiger’s decided lack of sophistication is deliberate. Recorded live off the floor with almost no overdubs it has the raw, feral intensity of a mid-50’s record. “Ian wanted to do it live in the studio” Johnny says of his creative partner. “The idea was to make a raw, old school bluesy record. He left it up to me and it worked out really good.” Siegal & Mastro used a retro studio in New Orleans, all old equipment from the 40’s and 50’s, so they went full analog straight to tape. “There were a few overdubs, not a lot, at least 95% of it is straight live, how it went down” Mastro says. They were after authenticity- by God they got it with room to spare.
The press info calls Easy Tiger a “modern day time warp blues sound”, a perfect description of what I’m listening to right now. I will confess that it took some effort to get into this album it’s that rawboned and raucous, but once you’re onboard with what Ian and Johnny are trying to pull off here, it makes perfect sense. The closest analogy that comes to mind is putting on an old Howlin’ Wolf album and throwing down a couple of shots of Jack. Another thing the presser got right about Easy Tiger is calling it “the right kind of blues for these twisted times.” You could name a hundred blues records that are sonically superior to this one, but you won’t find any much more potent… this is dangerous blues.
HOT TRACKS: Quick To Gun, Dog Won’t Hunt, Balling The Jack
63 DELUXE 63 Deluxe (independent/ bandcamp) **** ½
This is the self-titled debut for this trio from Adelaide. 63 Deluxe is a timeless mix of blues/rock on a funk chassis that melds grooviosity and extended workouts with a jazzy and jammy feel with tasty songwriting. It’s quite intoxicating.
Forming in 2020, 63 Deluxe is Anthony Scott on guitar and lead vocals, Bret Hann on bass and Jack Thompson on drums and vocals. Of the 12 songs on 63 Deluxe no fewer than 6 have been released as singles in the last couple of years. The disc has bounce and swing along with a precise attention to detail. Produced by Scott, I just love the way this sounds and feels- particularly the drums- a deep and rich modern funk n blues exploration that displays some top shelf playing. Their Bandcamp page describes them as “an original blues infused funk/ rock trio” which is no doubt true, but I’m also hearing and feeling a jazz-like precision and playfulness in their musicianship, especially on a track like The Waiting Room where Hann and Thompson set up a hot groove for Scott to solo over.
As a singer Anthony Scott reminds me of Steve Miller and his guitar playing is very tasty, helping the band to sound a little like Steely Dan’s Aussie cousin who might have been friends with Stevie Ray. This album has been described as “(sitting) as comfortably with cutting edge post-modern blues rock as it does with what you might have heard on the radio 40 or 50 years ago”, and as someone who’s been playing records on the air since 1975, I gotta say that description fits like a glove. This disc is really, really well done.
HOT TRACKS: My Favorite Hurricane, Lost And Found, The Waiting Room
BORN INTO A BLIZZARD Jefferson Berry & The UAC (independent) *****+
This album is the reason my writing retirement was so short-lived… when I gave it a spin I knew I had to tell people about it. Born Into A Blizzard is Berry’s 4th album in 5 years and it’s captivating. As Jefferson Berry & The UAC lean into their Grateful Dead and Steely Dan infused folk influences, all there is left for us to do is bask in its awesomeness.
Just like past discs, Born Into A Blizzard touches on themes of city living and the strange times we find ourselves. The gentle musicality is what you’ll feel first, kind of a samba-infused folk/ jazz thing, then you’ll become aware of the songs lyrically and the topics they address. Sleeping In Public is about the once successful finding themselves homeless, the need to start over in Leaving Santa Maria and the way we treat our heroes in Philly Eats Its Own. I highly recommend visiting their website (www.jeffersonberry.com) , where Jefferson offers thumbnail sketches on what inspired each of the songs on the record. No doubt his train of thought when he sits down to write is informed by his time spent in corporate media and his experiences as an inner city high school teacher in Philadelphia.
“UAC” stands for “Urban Acoustic Coalition” which includes the virtuosity of Bud Burroughs and the harmonies of Theresa Radliff as they play over the bass and drums pulse of Uncle Mike and Adam Stranburg amongst others. The playing has a refreshing and effortless feel as Born Into A Blizzard moves with a light, buoyant swing informed by literate and poignant lyrical observations. Jefferson Berry is a man with several stories to tell, serious and not so serious, and it’s been observed that this album “has jazz-rock arrangements that would make Donald Fagen & Walter Becker proud”… not a bad path to follow if you ask me. It’s an engaging mix of styles that gives us a refreshing take on folk music.
Some albums come along that just make you feel good, about yourself and life in general; Born Into A Blizzard is one of those records… this is great.
HOT TRACKS: Leaving Santa Maria, Sleeping In Public, Born On Payday
BLUES IS STILL ALIVE Will Wilde (VizzTone) *****
Incredible energy- Will Wilde’s new album is a full throttle blues experience the likes of which we haven’t seen in a long while. Blues Is Still Alive bristles with energy, attitude and raw power. Set your stereo on stun, this baby will knock down the walls.
Will is a world class blues shouter and his brazen harmonica playing, like Bob Corritore on 11 with a smidge of John Popper, has drawn comparisons to the guitar playing of Gary Moore and Jeff Healey- it really is that shit hot. Nothing subtle about Blues Is Still Alive boys and girls, from his smokin’ band, soulful backing vocals that include his sister Dani (a talented artist in her own right) to guitarist Walter Trout’s appearance on the opening (and title) track, this disc wastes no time in getting down to business and showing us how it’s done. There are loads of fine harp players but Wilde’s aggressive and distorted harmonica style blows most of ‘em out of the water.
Blues Is Still Alive sets out to live up to that title and it surely does, admirably so. In many conventions of the genre, from subject matter to instrumentation, this can be seen as a typical blues record… but it’s Wilde’s fire-breathing passion that really makes it stand out. From a hot rockin’ blowout like the first track mentioned above to a slow blues like Stole My Love you never get the impression that he’s taking it easy or laying back; even when he slows it down this stuff is still balls-to-the-wall blues and it’s thrilling. It’s like the title of the album implies; Blues Is Still Alive and very, very well.
HOT TRACKS: Blues Is Still Alive, Stole My Love, Gypsy Woman
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