After more than 5 years it is time to say good bye and this blog shuts its doors.

Thank you very much for all your support through out this time.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Karin Rudefelt & Doctor Blues 2006 Breakin' The Chain


Genre: Blues
Rate: 192 kbps CBR / 44100
Time: 00:45:59
Size: 63,21 MB

Sweden

“Having listened to 'Breaking The Chain' a few times now I have to say it’s at least as good as the last album. Simply a five star edition.” ”I am playing tracks from your CD in my radio show 'Mojo Blues'! Excellent stuff that deserve exposure to a wider range of blues lovers!” (Vasja Ivanovski – Macedonian Radio – Skopje Blues & Soul Festival)



Tracklist:

01 - Down To The Bottom 05:22

02 - It's A Curse 03:54

03 - Case Is Closed 02:51

04 - Breakin' The Chain 04:24

05 - I'm Gonna Close The Door 03:41

06 - My Man Won't Set Me Free 05:00

07 - Why Do People Cry 04:15

08 - Cold Wind Blowin' 04:44

09 - Mississippi Queen 03:14

10 - My Baby & The Booze 04:11

11 - The Blues Is Coming Down Hard 04:23





Karin Rudefelt & Doctor Blues here:

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Wentus Blues Band 1997 Boogie Man


Genre: Blues
Rate: 320 kbps CBR / 44100
Time: 00:13:54
Size: 31,83 MB

Finland

A Sold Out 4-track CD-EP that contains songs by Bo Diddley, Bobby "Blue" Bland and Freddie King. Antti Sjöberg sings with great power and the band sounds great. "Boogie Man" got some great reviews and it increased on the amount of gigs that the band started to play. SOLD OUT !!



Tracklist:

01 - Boogie Man 04:10

02 - Pretty Thing 03:06

03 - Loan Me A Helping Hand 02:17



04 - Help Me Through The Day 04:21





Wentus Blues Band here:

Thank you Kempen for sharing this album!

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Monday, February 20, 2012

The Steve Schuffert Band 2003 Unplugged (& Live in Duisburg)


Genre: Blues-Rock
Rate: 320 kbps CBR / 44100
Time: 01:48:24
Size: 248,00 MB

United States

An manche Dinge muss man nur ganz fest glauben und sie werden irgendwann Wirklichkeit. Ich zum Beispiel habe fest geglaubt, dass mir irgend wann eine unplugged CD über den Weg läuft, bei der ich auch den Schluss noch erlebe. Normalerweise nicke ich immer spätestens nach 15 Minuten auf meinem Sofa ein.

Am 28. September 2002, also meinem Geburtstag (meinem 21., nur so nebenbei), ist unser Lieblingsgitarrengott Steve Schuffert mit seinen beiden Bandmates Matt Carmichael und Pete Tomarakos ins Rolling Hills Studio in Nashville gegangen und hat mal eben so, an diesem einen Tag, das akustische Album eingespielt, auf das ich so lange gewartet habe.

Steve Schuffert mag es nicht klein und gewöhnlich. Er besteht auf den Exzess. 3 Studioplatten in 4 Jahren, Tourneen mit 60 und mehr Konzerten und irgendwas um die 100 gespielten Liedern, Marathonauftritte mit 3 Stunden Vollbedienung. Natürlich geht dieser Mann dann nicht her und stellt eine gewöhnliche CD in die Läden, sondern er liefert zur ausgestöpselten Aufnahme gleich noch den amtlichen Mitschnitt seiner letztjährigen Tour mit. Ergo: Wir haben also ein Doppelalbum auf dem Tisch.

Bezeichnend: Nicht das knallige Liveteil ist die Haupt-CD, nein, das akustische Scheibchen wird als CD 1 tituliert. Eigentlich ist das auch völlig richtig, denn so erhält sie die Aufmerksamkeit, die sie verdient.

Liebe Freunde der Musik, was jetzt kommt, ist eine Lobesarie auf einen Musiker und seine Band, die alles verdient haben, nur eines nicht, nämlich nicht in Eure CD-Player zu kommen!

12 Songs respektive knapp 45 Minuten lang nimmt uns Mr. Schuffert auf eine Reise durch das Universum der gelochten Holzgitarre. Glücklicherweise kann man diese Gitarre nicht nur auf Lagerfeuerniveau bedienen, man kann ihr auch Töne von höchster Schönheit und Virtuosität entlocken. Und man kann mit ihr ganze Lieder spielen, nicht nur fragmentarische Anrisse allseits bekannter House of the rising sun-Klischees. Wird der ausführende Meistergitarrist auch noch von einer einfühlsamen Band begleitet und stimmt das Songmaterial, dann kann es passieren, dass eine ohne Strom aufgenommene CD mehr Spannung verbreitet, als es 99% aller Starkstromtechniker auch nur ansatzweise je schaffen.

Steve Schuffert kann Songs schreiben. Das weiß man von seinen Studioplatten. Er kann auch Evergreens unnachahmlich covern. Und er hat ein scheinbar unerschöpfliches Repertoire von neuen Song- und Ausführungsideen. Auf "Unplugged" befinden sich 2 Coversongs, The Wind Cries Mary von Hendrix und Crossroads, der uralte Standardblues von Robert Johnson. Beides hat man unendlich oft gehört und trotzdem stellt sich hier eine kaum begreifbare Faszination ein. Stimme, Gitarre, Band, zusammen mit diesen Klassikern eine unschlagbare Kombination. Die restlichen 10 Nummern kommen von den Studioplatten bzw. sind ganz neu (I Can't Close The Door und Let's Just Keep It Shallow). Bei Suitcase Full Of Blues kommt noch ein allerfeinstes Saxophone hinzu.

Beim besten Willen kann ich keine einzelne Nummer herausheben, zu viele Gänsehautschauer überkommen mich bei allen Songs. Diese CD ist ein Overkill an Schönheit, Musikalität und Eingängigkeit.

Kommen wir also zur "Bonus-CD". Kein übliches Giveaway mit 3 Songs, einem unnötigen Interview und einem Videoschnipsel. Über eine Stunde rockt sich die Steve Schuffert Band durch einen Set, den sie so am 03. Mai 2002 in Duisburg im Parkhaus abgeliefert hat. Vorband waren übrigens damals unsere Freunde von HARD TO HANDLE (siehe Review im HoR).

Nach der Naturkur auf CD 1 kommt uns die Band hier (darf man in diesem Fall "endlich" sagen? Nein!) verschärft rockend entgegen. Crossroads gibt es noch mal, ebenfalls ein weiteres Hendrix-Cover, Red House. Dazwischen ein kurzes Solo von Schlagzeug-Oktopus Matt Carmichael und ansonsten 12x Schuffert-Kompositionen.

Down To The Bone prügelt die Richtung vor und ab geht das mit den wilden Pferden. Die 3 machen Crossover Musik im besten Sinne. Blues, Boogie, Boogie, Americana, Roots, Singer/Songwriter und alles mit dem Nachnamen ROCK. Kreuz und quer durch die Musik, die wir so lieben und die wir in dieser Perfektion so selten erleben.

Egal ob hart bzw. texanisch rockend (Hot Love, Backup Man), wild im Blues shuffelnd (The Devil's Door), den so genannten Superstars zeigend, wo der Gitarrist seine Hits wirklich hängen hat (All Torn Up), Neil Young in die Wüste schickend (Walk On Down The Road) oder hemmungslos die Rock & Roll-Boogiesau fliegen lassend (All I Need Tonight - neu und mit mitgeliefertem Monster-Chorus), die CD ist ein Meilenstein heutiger Live-Rockmusik.

Setzt man sich einen Kopfhörer auf und versucht, den einzelnen Musikern zu folgen, wird man sehr schnell entnervt aufgeben und sich fragen, wie denn ein Trio so was hinkriegen kann. Es sitzt jeder Ton, jeder Schlag, jedes Background-Tönchen. Und so ganz nebenbei bauen die Jungs ein paar Vertracktheiten ein, die ihresgleichen suchen (Matt trommelt in Backup Man etwas eigentlich unmögliches - Pete setzt auf dem Hiway 51 neue Bassfundamente, die kriegt kein Panzer klein - Steve ist sowieso ein Genie).

Mit dem neuen Song Love Me Too hat Schuffert einen Hit geschrieben. Wenige, nur ganz wenige, können solche rockenden Ohrwürmer komponieren. Das ist eine Liga mit Namen wie Tognoni, Keltner, Gibbons und Hill (früher), Bruce Brookshire (bald wieder?!?) oder Joe Grushecky (immer mal wieder). Gleiches gilt für Freight Train Love vom "Terminal Blue" Album.

Nochmal ein Killer mit One More Second Chance, wer das nicht aushält, hat keine zweite verdient, mehr Boogie'n'Roll geht nicht und dann geht es mit Crossroads in die vermeintlich geruhsame Zugabe. Naja, auch hier wird gerockt bis die Boxen rauchen.

CD aus, du sitzt geplättet da und schnaufst tief durch und legst dann wieder "Unplugged" ein. Das Zeug macht süchtig! (http://www.home-of-rock.de/CD-Reviews/The_Steve_Schuffert_Band/Unplugged_Live_In_Duisburg.html)



Tracklist:


CD1 (Live In Duisburg)

01 - Down To The Bone 03:39

02 - Hot Love 04:06

03 - The Devil's Door 04:02

04 - All Torn Up 04:09

05 - Walk On Down The Road 03:17

06 - Backup Man 04:46

07 - All I Need Tonight 03:52

08 - Hiway 51 04:46

09 - Red House 08:47

10 - Love Me Too 02:43

11 - Nothing Wrong With You 04:07

12 - Freight Train Love 04:12

13 - Drum Solo 01:54

14 - One More Second Chance 03:37

15 - Crossroads 06:32


CD2 (Unplugged)

01 - One More Time 03:52

02 - The Wind Cries Mary 03:35

03 - Suitcase Full Of Blues 03:49

04 - I Ain't No Saint 03:15

05 - Crossroads 03:12

06 - I Don't Need This Love 03:33

07 - One Way Home 03:22

08 - Walk On Down The Road 03:20

09 - I Can't Close The Door 04:26

10 - Somewhere Down The Line 03:51

11 - A Step Away 02:43

12 - Let's Just Keep It Shallow 04:57





The Steve Schuffert Band here:

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Sunday, February 19, 2012

James Nixon 2001 No End To The Blues



Genre: Blues
Rate: 320 kbps CBR / 44100
Time: 00:53:47
Size: 123,16 MB

United States

This guy's got a great voice, the real deal. A hard-workin' vet with excellent chops seasoned by life. The CD is filled with solid songwriting (12 single writes by Nixon & 2 co-writes, songs #10 & 12, with Richard Fleming), good production & dandy players. But it's Nixon's really fine vocals that shine, shine, shine.

He has a lot of facets in his voice that he controls & utilizes to perfection. There's a soft, gentle touch he employs sparingly and effectively, a passionate soulful growling edge and even an excellent high falsetto'ish voicing he uses that's provides a nifty contrast & impact scattered throughout his emotional, dead-on-the-money performances. It's just really good to listen to a pro's pro doin' what he does with gusto! And just so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle, I've got to mention Nixon's strong, strong guitar work. Obviously capable of holding down the axe sideman slot with any band in the biz, his playing is inventive, rock-solid & never overdone (thus leaving just the good stuff)!

Highlight tunes beyond the title cut, for me, include TRYING TO HOLD ON with it's nice background vocal (Mary-Ann Brandon) & song tension, SUNDOWN BLUES with that cool high vocal deal, & the great delivery on ONE MORE CHANCE WITH YOU. The #12 cut, I'M YOUR HANDY MAN is a really nice song with a spare, kind of haunting vibe provided in large part by the wonderful, moody harp-playing of Shannon Williford. Matched with Nixon's smooth guitar & perfect vocal the song really shines. Williford also does the harmonica work on a few other tunes to great advantage & effect. He really adds to the production w/o getting in the way. This leads to a few comments on Fred James production & guitar work.

The guy really seems to know what he's doing, letting the productions serve the songs & the singer! Also, his own rhythm & slide work adds nicely to the project. One more kudo to Fred James: my understanding is that he's a nice white guy who digs R&B and the blues and puts his money where his mouth is to get it to happen. Good deal. The other players are all equally as good. Brian Owings (drums) & Jeff Davis (bass) lock it down, Billy Earhart does nice work on keys & Dennis Taylor offers some real nice sax work.

Overall this is a mighty good CD by a mighty good artist! (Rob (N'ville.))



Tracklist:

01 - No End To The Blues 04:31

02 - Trying To Hold On 05:00

03 - Sundown Blues 03:55

04 - Baby Right Now 03:26

05 - Sweet Thing 04:10

06 - The Best In Town 03:23

07 - Please Come Back To Me 03:55

08 - One More Chance With You 03:13

09 - Oh Baby 04:43

10 - You're The One 03:39

11 - Tongue Tied Blues 04:18

12 - Handy Man 03:57

13 - Love At First Sight 03:21

14 - Howling At The Moon 02:16





James Nixon here:

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Big Daddy & Red Hot Java 1998 The 24th Hour


Genre: Blues
Rate: 198 kbps VBR / 44100
Time: 00:46:57
Size: 67,81 MB

United States

The 24th Hour is top notch Blues! Simple, straight forward Blues, magnificently presented. Hard to believe they recorded, mixed and mastered it in 23 hours, but if they're as road tested as they sound, they probably pulled it off. Big Daddy's songwriting ain't run-of-the-mill Blues. His influences spice things up a bit. Long Way Home is my favourite cut. (Clyde Bowles)



Tracklist:

01 - New Cadillac 03:27

02 - Married To Mizery 03:14

03 - Dimples 02:56

04 - Stranger Blues 04:33

05 - Red Hot Java 04:34

06 - Slither And Burn 05:21

07 - Long Way Home 08:28

08 - Southern Belle From Hell 04:48

09 - No Glove No Love 02:59

10 - Dirty Old Town 03:42

11 - Wes' Whiplash 02:55





Big Daddy & Red Hot Java here:

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Saturday, February 18, 2012

Rod Piazza 1985 Harpburn



Genre: Blues
Rate: 256 kbps CBR / 44100
Time: 00:49:03
Size: 89,74 MB

United States

Rod Piazza, considered one of the preeminent harmonica players around, has become a commanding presence at the forefront of today's blues scene. Billboard has also called him "a star contemporary blues songwriter, as well as the star musician verging on a broader breakthrough." Though he isn't quite comfortable with the term "virtuoso," his skills certainly merit placing him in that company. Piazza's harmonica technique borders on astonishing - a delicate combination of power and grace that maintains the fattest of tones while alternately evoking classic Chicago styles, interpreting R&B horn lines, or playing his own signature licks.

Although it's true that, as the New York Times said, "Rod Piazza has perfected the rough drive and edgy tone that characterized the classic Chicago blues sound of Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson and others in the 50's," he's also a master of West Coast jump blues, incorporating elements of Los Angeles' postwar jazz, swing, and R&B combos.

His band for the last quarter century, Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers, has won the prestigious "Blues Band Of The Year" W.C. Handy Award three times, regarded as the equivalent of the Grammy in the blues field. Piazza has also won the Handy Award for "Blues Instrumentalist-Harmonica," and the band's ability to keep the blues vibrant, fresh and alive has led to countless accolades, awards and nominations over the years.

California native Piazza began his musical career in Los Angeles in 1965, when he formed the Dirty Blues Band at the age of 18. They released their first record in 1967, which was quickly followed up by a second album in 1968 on ABC/Bluesway Records. At the same time, he was cutting his musical teeth on local club dates with blues pioneers such as Big Mama Thorton, Big Joe Turner, and T-Bone Walker.

Rod then joined his long-time mentor, George "Harmonica" Smith, Muddy Waters' former harmonica player, to form the double harmonica outfit called Bacon Fat. It was through George that Rod learned the power of a dynamic stage performance and developed his prodigious harmonica talents. "He taught me to always have a plan, to always know what you were going to play before you hit the stage," says Piazza of his mentor. "He would listen closely to whatever you played, then he'd say, if you're not going to say anything different, you shouldn't be up here. He didn't want me trying to mimic him, or anyone else. Be yourself, he'd always say."

Rod released two Bacon Fat albums in 1969 and 1970. In 1973 Rod hired a talented young piano player and Otis Spann disciple named Honey Alexander, who was later to become his wife. In 1976 Rod and Honey began to perform regularly together as the Rod Piazza Blues Band and the Chicago Flying Saucer Band.

In the 1980's, Rod assumed the role of producer, often using the Mighty Flyers as the backing band, for a number of LPs for the local Murray Brothers label. These recordings of important but somewhat overlooked blues artists such as Jimmy Rogers, Johnny Dyer, Pee Wee Crayton, Smokey Wilson, and George "Harmonica" Smith have been reissued in recent years by Blind Pig.

In 1980 Rod and Honey formed Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers with long-time bassist Bill Stuve. The group has earned a reputation as one of the hardest working bands who consistently push the boundaries of the blues while still staying vital and true to the spirit and soul of the music. As Blues Revue put it, "Rod and Honey front one of the most popular blues bands in the world. Whether they play at an intimate club, a packed rock room or a huge festival, the Mighty Flyers share with the audience their passionate love of the blues in every show.'

For well over two decades, Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers have solidified their position in the top ranks of blues acts by maintaining a busy touring schedule, playing to every manner of club, concert hall, and festival. They've also been prolific recording artists, releasing nearly a dozen albums. They mix earthy originals, rousing jump tunes, earnest boogie and slow blues ballads, even an occasional animated instrumental, and remain among the most consistently appealing, enjoyable contemporary units.



Tracklist:

01 - Little Bitty Pretty One - Rockin' Robin 02:29

02 - Bad, Bad Boy 03:45

03 - One Mint Julep 03:40

04 - California Boogie 03:16

05 - The Upsetter 03:44

06 - Tribute To George Smith 07:44

07 - Harpburn 03:42

08 - Feeling Good 03:33

09 - Honey Bee 04:53

10 - Cold Chill 02:56

11 - Worried Life Blues 04:11

12 - I'm Dangerous 05:10





Rod Piazza here:

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