Twenty Review

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(More customer reviews)Robert Cray hails from the BB King school of guitar playing.. and I have every single release from RC .. and they are restrained glory in every sense of the word. Then, suddenly in a song, he busts out with some very good guitar playing that catches you off guard.
This particular recording is very complete, and very gospel sounding, in a lot of places.. but yet RC's voice is very gospel sounding in itself.. so I really think that is where a lot of the gospel comparisons come into the mix... and lets face it... a lot of guitar players play guitar and will sing as well.. but in RC's case.. his singing is as every bit of (dare I say even better) than his fantastic guitar ability. This can make for a very pleasureable experience.
This cd does cut fray into the political arena, but robert sings like someone who means what he has to say and is not really trying to paint an overtly political statements... very heartfelt song.
The guitar playing on this CD... there is as much guitar playing on this CD as one would like to hear. RC uses the guitar so much in phrases, and catches so much melody.. and when he does break out in solos, they mean something.
I must admit, this RC cd is a lot better than his past couple... and they were good too, but this one is better.
Enjoy, Have fun.

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Robert Cray and band raise their profile recently with standout appearances in Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival film and DVD as well as Robert’s stunning performances in two in Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival film and DVD as well as Robert’s stunning performances in two segments of Martin Scorsese’s film and just released DVD, Lightning In A Bottle. The band started the year with their 1,000th performance as a unit and now the five-time Grammy winner (11 nominations) delivers Twenty, a set whose title track is a poignant commentary about the US war in Iraq.The Robert Cray Band’s album Twenty was released on a week bookended by the May 24 birthday of one of this generation’s most eloquent protest songwriters, Bob Dylan, and by Memorial Day, May 30. The dates are significant when one considers the subject matter which defines the album’s title track, "Twenty."While Cray has generally focused his writing on personal relationships, his song "Survivor" as well as co-producer and bandmate Jim Pugh's "Distant Shore," both on Cray's 2003 CD Time Will Tell, were also inspired by concerns about what was, at the time of their writing, an impending war in Iraq.Robert Cray is a five time Grammy winner who grew up on military bases in the U.S. and abroad. His father served in Vietnam so Robert has personal knowledge of the effect on a family when one of it’s members is serving abroad. On May 24 – the album’s street date -- TrueMajority.org, a non partisan, non-profit, grassroots education and advocacy project founded by Ben Cohen (Ben & Jerry's), offered the song a streaming audio to its entire online community of 575,000 Americans who are committed to getting government to reflect our values of justice, compassion and sustainability. The release of Twenty, Cray’s fourteenth album, will be backed by an extensive worldwide tour by The Robert Cray Band (beginning on the week of release with a May 26 San Francisco benefit for Music In Schools Today.) The tour will continue across the U.S. and Europe throughout the summer.

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Shine Eyed Mister Zen Review

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(More customer reviews)Compliments of my parents, I grew up listening to delta and country blues-- Robert Johnson, Son House, Charley Patton, Bukka White, well, you get the point. As the years went by, I found myself less and less interested in pure blues. Look at the greats-- half of Blind Willie Johnson's songs have exactly the same melody, and he wasn't even the worst offender. Formulaic lyrics and repetitive song structures just didn't do it for me anymore. I turned to jazz, blues-influenced folk such as John Fahey, and the occasional blues-based rock of modern geniuses like Chris Whitley and Ben Harper, and jam bands like Widespread Panic and the Allman Brothers. Until a few days ago, the only pure blues that held my attention came from the odd-balls like Mississippi John Hurt and Skip James. Then I heard Kelly Joe Phelps-- this album in particular. OK, so he's only one man, but he writes and plays with such soul and technical skill, and more importantly, originality that I no longer believe the form to be a lost cause. Unlike Corey Harris or Ben Harper (mentioned by another reviewer), Phelps does not attempt to simply infuse his blues with cajun and occasionally carribean sounds (like Harris), or infuse rock with folk, blues and reggae (like Harper, one of my personal favorites) in order to revamp the blues. Phelps just plays the blues. However, the difference between Phelps and someone like Dave Van Ronk (part of the 60's blues revival) is that Phelps writes songs with complex structure, melodies and rhythms rather than just rehashing Robert Johnson. Like Chris Whitley on 'Dirt Floor,' Phelps shows that the form is not a lost cause. There is still room for creativity in the blues.

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Live From Across the Pond Review

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(More customer reviews)This isn't a review of the album, it's a review of Ted Drozdowski's (?) editorial review. I just heard Cray open for Clapton in Dallas a few nights ago. I didn't hear Cray downplaying his "incendiary" guitar abilities on stage, either in this album or the recent concert, as Drozdowski contends. B.B.King says he plays in "sentences." Cray is similar--but with longer, more complex sentences. Still, though, sentences. The contrast was startling when Clapton came out and played his melodic paragraphs. Neither is better. They're the unique voice of the respective artist. Cray is so smooth that the transition from vocal to guitar solo is seamless. He's always "incendiary," but it's often a slow burn.
Oh, and BTW, Cray doesn't have a "whammy bar." He plays a Strat with a hard-tail bridge (i.e., no tremelo).

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Rainbow Concert Review

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(More customer reviews)Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert was a concert organized by his good friend Pete Townshend back in 1973 as Mr. Clapton's first public appearance after a lengthy struggle with a heroin addiction. The band was full of English rock luminaries including his old Blind Faith pals, Steve Winwood & Rick Grech, Winwood's Traffic mate Jim Capaldi, Ron Wood and Mr. Townshend himself. The cd reissue is one of the better around as the original album was a truncated version of the show containing only six songs. The reissue adds eight songs from the show including the first live version of "Layla" ever released in its original form. The band is a little ragged in spots, probably due to lack of rehearsal time, but they are all pros and the overall sound is superb. Mr. Clapton plays an invigorated guitar and his voice is suitably course and bluesy. Versions of "Blues Power", "Bell Bottom Blues", "Let it Rain" and "Badge" stand out as well as an inspired "Presence Of The Lord". This cd is notable for the assemblage of musicians, but the music stands up after all these years.

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The Ry Cooder Anthology: The UFO Has Landed Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a wonderful anthology by one of most important unsung heroes of the last 50 years. I can't think of many anthologies that can present an artist to new fans as thoroughly and joyfully as this one.
I just have one complaint, and it's not a minor one. Where the heck is "Across the Borderline"?. Not only is it his most covered song, not many songs can capture a mindset that of hundreds of thousands of immigrants from the south like that. I'm not making a political statement here - this song is just like capturing lightning in a bottle and its omission leaves a big hole in this otherwise perfect collection.

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Visionary, Grammy-winning guitar legend, composer, and producer Ry Cooder's epic musical journey has explored the realms of rock, blues, country, folk, Hawaiian, Latin, Tuvan throat singing, jazz, and Tex-Mex-to name a few. On 'The UFO Has Landed', Rhino celebrates four decades of his eclectic output with a 2-CD 34 track collection of his work as a solo artist, collaborator, and soundtrack composer. Spanning 38 years- from Cooder's self titled 1970 debut to his 2008 album 'I, Flathead'- the anthology includes his most memorable selections as well as one previously unreleased track.

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Reform School Girl Review

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(More customer reviews)I would have to agree with the Little Richard,Ramones,and Phil Spector references,but I would also sprinkle a little Screamin Jay Hawkins over it.A beautiful mess.

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Nick Curran describes his music as a cocktail consisting of the sounds of no less than seventeen widely differing musicians blended together with a cup of broken glass. That only begins to characterize the wallop packed by the 98-proof elixir of this singer, songwriter and monster guitarist who effortlessly carries the past with him as he blazes across the musical landscape in perpetual forward motion. Curran began his professional career at age nineteen, leaving Maine to tour with Ronnie Dawson. Although Dawson was primarily a rockabilly musician, many blues and punk fans appreciated his performances. He taught Curran not to get pigeonholed. Curran toured next with Texas rockabilly doyenne Kim Lenz, moving to Dallas to join her backup band the Jaguars for two years, and performing on Lenz's recording, The One And Only. Nick would stay with the Jaguars for two years. He is also featured on Lenz's latest CD, It's All True, and recently toured with her in the summer of 2009.
In 1999 the Texas Jamboree label issued Curran's debut solo recording, Fixin' Your Head. As he would do on all future CDs, Curran used vintage recording equipment to achieve the feel and sound of old 45s and 78s, and the LPs of the 1950s. To support the recording he formed the band, Nick Curran and the Nitelifes, whose performances whipped audiences to frenzied devotion with their wild ride of retro, yet fresh and edgy rock 'n' roll, boogie, r & b, jump blues and a variety of other tasty stylistic devils in the details. A second Texas Jamboree CD, Nitelife Boogie, followed in 2001. When Curran moved to Austin, Jimmie Vaughan, who had heard his CDs, invited him to sit in on a set at Antone's. Vaughan would make a guest appearance on two tracks on Nick's next recording, Dr. Velvet, which garnered the 2004 W.C. Handy Award (now the Blues Music Award) for Best New Artist Debut.
From 2004 to 2007 Curran displayed his talents with The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Kim Wilson's legendary band, appearing on their 2005 recording, Painted On. Also during that time, Curran and bassist Ronnie James started the punk band Deguello, saying that it ''sounded as if Little Richard sang with The Ramones.'' After performing a solo show in November, 2008, Nick was inspired to form the rock 'n' roll roots band, The Lowlifes. Reform School Girl is a culmination of Curran's multitude of talents: a throwback to his roots, only amped up to the limit. ''I've written more songs on Reform School Girl than on any other records. I wanted it to have no filler - only good stuff. All my influences are there, from old blues like Lazy Lester and T-Bone Walker to girl groups like the Ronettes and the Shangri-Las, to Guns N Roses.'' The album also features a couple of appearances by some of Nick's close personal friends including a duet on the song Flyin' Blind, co-written with Blasters' frontman Phil Alvin, as well as harmonica ace Jason Ricci on Reel Rock Party. Catch Nick Curran as he shakes, rattles and rolls a head-spinning combination of genres and tunes into a cool, irresistible cocktail that is rough and ready for action.

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Already Free Review

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(More customer reviews)After releasing the tour de force album SONGLINES in 2006, I have eagerly awaited the follow up from the very talented Derek Trucks Band. While the newly released ALREADY FREE does not match the majesty of SONGLINES, it's still is a very good album by one of the best working bands out there.
To me, this album represents a tightening of their eclectic approach to music, no doubt trying to consolidate their fame as a great live group. ALREADY FREE focuses on the blues/soul side of the band at the expense jazz/world fusion side. While I miss the expansive jams that have highlighted their previous releases, the focus on songcraft and tight ensemble playing does not diminish the joy factor too much. Derek and the band provide a solid set of tunes in a swamp-funk blues style while expanding their songwriting chops and serving up some choice covers. My favorites include the opening semi-obscure Dylan tune DOWN IN THE FLOOD, BACK WHERE I STARTED which features a great vocal turn by Mrs. Trucks, Susan Tedeshi, GET WHAT YOU DESERVE and the slide guitar showcase I KNOW.Actually, all the songs are pretty good, to my ears, there's no real weak link here. The copy that I received also has 3 bonus tracks including a back porch blues called THE CHICKEN ROBBER SONG and a slow simmering instrumental SWAMP, another highlight. Throughout the album the band provides solid backing and provides good space for Trucks to solo. With all his chops, Trucks does not showboat as a soloist. He articulates his message short and sweet and always perfectly within the context of the song.
I hope that by taking a more conservative direction on this release that the DTB can gain some more well deserved recognition. I also hope that with that recognition that the band does on occasion revisit the wide ranging influences that have made their previous albums such a treat for music lovers. In the meantime, I'm sure I'll be getting plenty of listening pleasure from this one.


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Nearly a year in the making and brimming with a newfound focus on original material, Already Free is The Derek Trucks Band's natural evolution as they move forward integrating influences that span a variety of musical genres. Known for their blues roots, the group takes this album well beyond blues to incorporate the larger sounds of rock & soul. Already Free, features a stirring cover of Bob Dylan's Down In The Flood as well as the new songs, Down Don't Bother Me and Get What You Deserve. Guest appearances on the album include vocals from Susan Tedeschi and Doyle Bramhall II.

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