Delta Time - Hans Theessink and Terry Evans featuring Ry Cooder - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Delta Time, by Hans Theessink & Terry Evans and it's terrific! This very earthy and warm recording begins with Delta Time, a bouncy blues track written by Theessink with deep thick vocals, acoustic and slide guitar. Blues Stay Away From Me has a real roots (country) feel and beautiful vocal harmonies with Ry Cooder bringing in some distinctive riffs. A great duet on It Hurts Me Too brings freshness to a well traveled track. The instrumentation has been applied like paint on a canvas just a light dab here and there as required. How Come People Act Like That, another cover track, is handled in a fresh light and again the duo with their rich vocals and Ry Cooder adding his flair on guitar makes for a very cool track. The Birds and The Bees, a classic pop track, has been included memorializing Evans contribution to the original track some 50 years ago. Build Myself A Home, a Thessink original, has a distinct gospel feel and is beautifully executed with Piedmont style playing and great vocal harmonies. JB Lenoir's Down In Mississippi is included on this cd and I never really get enough of this track. It was originally well written and is here well executed and embellished. Shelter From The Storm, another Theessink original, is another track that has solid roots and rich vocals. The song is very well written and Cooder again contributes beautifully melodic guitar riffs to compliment the track. I Need Money, another Theessink original has the spring of a Jimmy reed track and the gang does a great job on execution. Evans and Theessink sing and play in tandem for a great bluesy sound. Traditional track Heaven's Airplane has a lot of the characteristics of country, blues and gospel. Pouring Water On A Drowning Man is a terrific track with strong R&B sound. This track is handled with great care and warmth. The vocals are smooth and the guitar is perfect. Jimmy Reed's Honest I Do is up next and again handled with reverence. The vocal harmonies are very cool and refreshing. Theessink original Mississippi wraps the recording. This is a really great track and gives the entire band a chance to stretch out a little. You may be able to tell it's hard for me to articulate how good this recording is. It's really good! I also don't want to pass without mentioning vocal contributions by Arnold McCuller and Willie Greene Jr.
If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

City Hall Records artist: Big Walker - Root Walking - New release review

I've been listening to a new release,Root Walking, by Big Walker. Big Walker has assembled 12 original compositions including 17th and 18th century poems. It's Hard, the opener is a standard Chicago blues track and grooves quite nicely. Raise A Rukus has the flavor of a back country compound with hoot and hollarin along with a stripped down blues singing, guitar and harp. Wild Black Bill uses the blues format to tell an interesting little story not unlike the early southern blues... very cool. Run Nigri Run really has that southern voodoo sound and is a great track. The Hypocrite Blues has the characteristics of a early American country song ... possibly from the Appalachians. Can't Take No Train head back to Chicago for a high steppin' early electric Mud type track. Midnight Special is the traditional track whose authorship is unknown. It was first recorded in around 1900 and has since been recorded by everyone from Ledbelly to CCR. There is a cool acoustic slide part on this track. You Got A Home In That Rock, a traditional spiritual, is done uptempo with a bit of a rock beat and nice harp work. Papa Guede gets that Little Feet/ New Orleans feel going and along with again nice slide and harp work is a really cool track. Devil's Cloth has that deep south voodoo sound and is very interesting. It's not just the rhythm with these tracks but how certain instruments and sounds are used strategically to create the ambiance... again very cool. Thirteenth Full Moon is a much more conventional rock format track and has a real nice groove including guitar and sax riffs that help to create the mood. Slave is another dark track in that voodoo sound. Big Walker seems to have the formula down to express these tracks in a very effective way. Instuments are used for effects and voices are used as instruments in an orchestra. Overall a very interesting composition.
If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”
This is Big Walker playing blues in a more traditional fashion:

City Hall Records Artist: Barbara Carr - Keep The Fire Burning - New Release Review

City Hall Records artist Barbara Carr will be releasing her newest recording, Keep The Fire Burning on August 21, 2012. A seasoned soul singer with previous records at Chess records as well an one solo album, Good Woman Go Bad, Barbara has teamed up with Catfood house band, The Rays featuring Richy Puga on drums and percussion, Dan Ferguson on keys, Johny McGhee on guitar, Bob Trenchard on bass, Andy Roman on sax, Mike Middleton on trumpet and Robert Clairborne on trombone. I've had a chance to review this new cd and it's a solid soul collection. Hanging On By A Thread has a driving rhythm with a slick guitar solo and just the right touch of horns. We Have The Key could be a classic ballad with perfect balance and strong vocals by Carr. Keep The Fire Burning, the title track, is a nicely written and executed soul ballad. Johnny Rawls join Carr for a vocal duet on Hold On To What You Got, a track that should see great airplay. You Give Me The Blues is another great addition to a very comfortable soul recording. If you like soul music in it's purity, this could be a great recording to pick up. Not a bad song on the recording and quite enjoyable.
If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”
This track is not from the CD but gives you a feel of the fire that Carr delivers.

City Hasll Records Artist: Barbara Carr - Keep The Fire Burning - New Release Review

City Hall Records artist barbara Carr will be releasing her newest recording, Keep The Fire Burning on August 21, 2012. A seasoned soul singer with previous records at Chess records as well an one solo album, Good Woman Go Bad, Barbara has teamed up with Catfood house band, The Rays featuring Richy Puga on drums and percussion, Dan Ferguson on keys, Johny McGhee on guitar, Bob Trenchard on bass, Andy Roman on sax, Mike Middleton on trumpet and Robert Clairborne on trombone. I've had a chance to review this new cd and it's a solid soul collection. Hanging On By A Thread has a driving rhythm with a slick guitar solo and just the right touch of horns. We Have The Key could be a classic ballad with perfect balance and strong vocals by Carr. Keep The Fire Burning, the title track is another nicely written and executed soul ballad.Johnny Rawls join Carr for a vocal duet on Hold On To What You Got, another track that should see great airplay. You Give Me The Blues is another great addition to a very comfortable soul recording. If you like sould music in it's purity, this could be a great recording to pick up. Not a bad song on the recording and quite enjoyable.