Blues Wire started their career in 1983 as Blues Gang and quickly established themselves as one of the best European blues bands. Bluesmen visiting Greece in the 80's-90's would often enlist them as their backing band because of their deep knowledge of the blues. They've backed Louisiana Red, Katie Webster, John Hammond, Carey and Lurrie Bell, Angela Brown and many others. Having seen many famous blues artists live, I can honestly say The Blues Wire were up there with the best of them.
This album was their first under the "Blues Wire" moniker. The production is way ahead of all other albums of the Greek Alternative scene of the time and thankfully free of 80's trappings that now make you wince when you listen to old "electric blues" albums of that era. The sound is definitively electric but not overtly rock. The playing is excellent throughout and sound is reminiscent of 50's-60's Chicago blues. Orchestration features two guitars (lead and rhythm or slide), bass, drums and the occasional keyboard and harmonica. Highlights include classics "Who's Been Talking" and "Diving Duck" and Zaikos originals "Fat Meets Bones" (instrumental) and "Blues Junkie" (with female lead vocals). (kostas_ef)
Solo and band recordings from 1989 to 2000 covering a wide musical range. Mostly blues based stuff, acoustic and electric with some ballads and live songs. (http://www.blueswire.gr)
Tracklist:
01 - In Between 01:09
02 - Death Don't Have No Mercy (Rev. Gary Davies) 03:23
03 - Just Another Fool 03:24
04 - Everywhere I Go 03:39
05 - Buy A Dog 03:20
06 - Cherry, Pretty Darling 03:28
07 - Johnny's Girl 04:59
08 - In My Time Of Dying (Traditional, Arranged By E. Zaikos) 07:52
09 - Mean 'n' Dangerous 04:02
10 - Bayou Stomp 02:14
11 - Big City Lady 03:15
12 - Spirit Calling 05:28
13 - Don't Go 03:52
14 - Low Down Dog Blues (Blind Boy Fuller) 03:12
15 - For Muddy Waters 14:25
16 - Two Trains Running (McKinley Morganfield) 03:31
It would not be an understatement to say that this CD is the first of its kind in Greece. While there has been a small but active blues scene in Greece for many years, the focus was on classic blues. Blues Bug, however, did not confine themselves to one particular style. Instead, they incorporated elements from rhythm & blues, funk, and soul, and along with a 3-piece horn section, created a sound unique to Greece. From the time they hit the live scene in Athens in 1990, they gave the Impetus for new bands to follow.
The Small Blues Trap manage to successfully blend their blues passion which constitutes their “raw material” that has been inspiring them with other elements and music genres. The end result is extremely personal as well as unique! (cdbaby)
Welcome to the show…where the soul, love, obsession, memories and passions are mixed together creating an intuitive scenario in a theatrical way. (cdbaby)
Μέσα στον αχταρμά της ελληνικής μουσικής είναι πάντα άξιο αναφοράς ότι υπάρχουν ακόμα υγιή μυαλά που εμπνέονται από τα blues (από τι άλλο;) για να προσφέρουν τη δική τους εκδοχή του βρώμικου, αλήτικου και διαποτισμένου με αλκοόλ (από το artwork μέχρι τους στίχους) rock 'n' roll. Το κουαρτέτο των Bluescon Inc δρα στη Θεσσαλονίκη και στο demo αυτό προσφέρει το πρώτο δείγμα της δουλειάς του υπό τη μορφή τεσσάρων ενδεικτικών τραγουδιών.
Το πρώτο εξ' αυτών, υπό την επωνυμία "Rocking", θα μπορούσε με αυτό το όνομα αλλά και τον αντίστοιχο ήχο με ευκολία να υιοθετηθεί ως ο ύμνος του site. Σε στυλ southern boogie και με έντονη την παρουσία της slide κιθάρας αφήνει πολύ θετικά δείγματα. Η απόδοση όλου του γκρουπ είναι πολύ καλή, με την κιθάρα όμως να έχει εμφανώς τον πρωταγωνιστικό ρόλο. Τα φωνητικά πάντως, που θα μας απασχολήσουν και στη συνέχεια, δείχνουν εξ' αρχής να μην είναι το πιο δυνατό ατού του συγκροτήματος.
Η συνέχεια με το α λα Free ρυθμικό "The Lie" θα περνούσε ως η πιο αδύναμη σύνθεση από τις τέσσερις, αν δεν υπήρχε το εντυπωσιακό σόλο της κιθάρας στη μέση του τραγουδιού που το απογειώνει. Κλασική περίπτωση σύνθεσης που καταπιέζεται στη στουντιακή της εκδοχή, αλλά σίγουρα αποκτά άλλη δυναμική στις συναυλίες. Έχει πάντως πολλά περιθώρια βελτίωσης.
Το τρίτο τραγούδι, "Troubles", ξεχωρίζει κατευθείαν από τα άλλα τρία. Μεγαλειώδες αργό blues, με μελωδική μπασογραμμή και εξαιρετική κιθαριστική δουλειά που ώρες ώρες αγγίζει την jazz. Αλλά... Εδώ τα φωνητικά δείχνουν πραγματικά εκτός κλίματος και αδικούν την ατμόσφαιρά του.
Το φινάλε θα έρθει με το "No Balls" και την επιστροφή στο boogie στυλ που θα έκανε περήφανους τους Canned Heat και τον John Lee Hooker. Και σε αυτό, όπως και στα προηγούμενα τραγούδια, δεν υπάρχει ρεφρέν, παρά μόνο μία σειρά από κουπλέ που περιλαμβάνουν και τη φράση-κλειδί που συνήθως αναφέρεται στον τίτλο (στη συγκεκριμένη περίπτωση τη σαφή προειδοποίηση "if you ain't got balls you can't play rock 'n' roll"!). (http://www.rocking.gr)
"Crackin' Under Pressure" is a debut release of top Greek blues band "Nick & The Backbone" that definitely deserve wider exposure among blues fans anywhere. It's a vibrant, exciting collection of original material by the band's leader Nick Dounoussis who is regarded as a master of the "Stratocaster" in the best tradition of Texas blues. There's a rock edge to his material, but these are the blues taken to extreme: tough, dimamond-hard, occasionally vulnerable and sometimes surprisingly joyful. Band's debut CD shows what a crackin' tight unit they are as a result of countless gigs from small clubs to stadiums, backing some big name US bluesmen on Greek tours. Nick Dounoussis is one of the best guitarists I've heard and by that I don't mean Europe only! His playing is uncanny as he effortlessly tosses in accents and twisting phrases every which way but loose, unleashing stinging volleys of notes one minute and executing soulful bends the next. His playing evokes the likes of Texas blues masters Freddie King and Stevie Ray Vaughan and unlike the others, he doesn't try to copy them note for note, his approach is an original one.
Of special interest to blues fans is a rare appearance of the legendary Nick Gravenites who lends his vocal expertise on three tracks! "Just A Little Time" is a CD opener, an uptempo rocker with plenty of blistering guitar work which sets the tone for the whole CD, while "Blades" is a stop-time funky instrumental that will keep the fans of early Stevie Ray Vaughan happy. "Ridin' With The Blues" is an easy going shuffle with cool vocal delivery courtesy of Nick Gravenites! CD's title track is a rocking cut with evocative lyrics which reflect Nick Dounoussis' feelings on the recent Balkan wars, showing how flexible we, the humans, are. Track includes again some exceptional guitar work and cohesive band sound. Mr. Gravenites sings "You Don't Want To Mess With Me," which actually is a re-working of Jimmy Reed's "You Don't Have To Go" and is a fine shuffle too, while "Slow Down" could easily put a smile on every Texas roadhouse visitor with its rocking rhythm and good-time feeling. CD closes with Nick's poignant blues ballad "Heaven's Gate" as a fitting tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan with beautiful lyrics: "Heaven's gate please open wide, and accept this man tonight, keep him safe until we follow, to thank him for the love he shared." Add some fine guitar and you'll have one of the best SRV tributes you'll ever hear.
On request of the artist all download-links removed
Hallo and greetings from Greece.
My name in Nick Dounoussis, founder of the Greek rock - blues band "Nick and the Backbone", who's CD "Cracking under pressure", has just recently fallen in my attention, you have uploaded on your site for digital download.
First of all I'd like to express my thanks for the presentation and exposure of our band, something we really need. I would also like to express a wish though, but first let me describe some historic elements about this album.
The CD was a self-production back in 1998, with the help of a small local indie label called: "ano kato records". It was released by that label and sold about 700 copies in the local market (blues audiences in Greece are not that big), in a period of 3 years. I kept the legal rights of the songs since there was never a contract between us, but let the label keep the money earned for production expenses, studios etc. which leads us to the fact that we never made 1 Cent from that release.
Very recently I decided to upload the CD on digital retail sail sites like reverbnation for digital download under mp3 or wav format in a program that will try to have the album exposed worldwide, in an effort to make something right for this work, which, I have to tell you, was the beginning of a life's time hope and effort. Thanks to the net, it is the first time that we have a chance of wider exposure and maybe, if we are lucky enough, a small income just to justify the effort. You can find this page here:
Therefore we come to the fact that I will have to kindly ask you to prevent this download from being exposed, or if you wish, I could send you 2-3 minute previous of the songs that I have up on reverbnation as well, so you can still keep the presentation but in a way that will make us happier. This would be really helpful.
Also, we have made some changes on the cover art, since we do not have an agreement with any label any more. I can send the new cover as well.
We are still a band that lives strictly from its live shows, trying to spread the
word every day and maybe, if we could do something better through recording and managing our music on the net, we believe that there is no better time than this. All we need is a little help.
