|   CD Reviews | Chip_B
Nov 27, 2002 10:13 AM | | A couple of you might care...[:o)
I've been on a CD spending spree over the last several weeks and I've laid out far too much cash for tunes. Worse, some of the stuff I decided to take a chance on turned out to be a matter of faith and money poorly invested.
To explain, I sought out a CD by obscure singer/guitarist Bobby Manriquez after hearing his outstanding "Jump Start/How We Start" Blues-rocker on the most recent Blues Revue music sampler, and in the process of buying it, I impulsively decided to purchase a couple of 'site recommendations' along with it. Big mistake. One of the albums, Jane Crow and Blues Inc.'s "Electric Blue Echoes", is billed as 'progressive Blues rock' in a Cream/Savoy Brown vein, and Crow is portrayed as a cross between Janis Joplin and Grace Slick. It's half right. The album does indeed rock like an updated version of its early '70s forebears and features some surprisingly tasty Hendrix-inspired guitar wanking. Unfortunately, Crow is an utterly insufferable lead vocalist who, despite completely lacking the pipes, does her damnedest to lay claim to Joplin's (and occasionally Slick's) blues-belter phrasing. This extremely tenuous connection begins and ends there, and the effect of hearing Crow's ill-suited, reedy, and punchless voice laid over Blues Inc.'s muscular, Big-Brother-on-steroids rhythm section is jarring. Even a half-decent vocalist would've lit a decent fire, but sadly Crow ruins nearly every song as soon as she opens her mouth.
The other 'recommendation' purchase is even worse. Luther 'Badman' Keith's "Badman" is just bad, man. Whoever told this guy he could sing should be summarily executed for having foisted this 'artist' upon the unsuspecting Blues-buying public. The songs are an assortment of plodding, cookie-cutter, uptempo 'jump' tunes and slow, 12-bar Blues dirges that borrow heavily from Luther Allison and feature the Badman's pedestrian guitar efforts and pain-inducing vocals. His horribly off-key caterwauling over lyrics nearly as tortured as his 'singing' qualifies as unfit for human consumption. How anyone could've encouraged the guy to actually record an album is beyond my ability to comprehend.
The saving grace of this unholy purchase is the album I originally set out to buy: Bobby Manriquez' "Another Shade of Blue(s)." The music is astonishingly good from beginning to end; Manriquez is clearly the real deal. His R&B-flavored singing and genre-crossing writing are superb, and he's adept at several instruments including keys, bass, and percussion. However, it is his guitar work that really takes flight. His nimble phrasing is characterized by a rare emotional power and inventiveness that infuses nearly every song from the edgy opener "The Boogie Man's Comin'" to the fuzzy, alt-Blues instrumental closer "B2K". The songs are an inspired collection of jump and funk, gospel-tinged slow burners, and fiery Blues-rockers woven together with brief snippets of growling guitar that fade in and out to form the bridge between some of the cuts. Though I found that I was initially frustrated when a couple of these brief, but smoldering interludes faded instead of continuing to develop, these 'bridges' began to make sense with additional listens. In some respects they personalize the album and give it texture. Considering the number of snippets that dot the landscape in "Another Shade of Blue(s)," it's ironic to realize that this record is among the very few 'complete' albums I've bought over the last 15 years. It isn't often you find a collection of songs that so seamlessly blends styles to such coherent effect. Highly recommended.
-Chip |
| I always enjoy . . . | Troy
Nov 27, 2002 10:21 AM | | . . . reading a review with the words "horribly off-key caterwauling" in it. Thanks. |
| Hmmmmmmmmmm | ibelafn
Nov 27, 2002 11:12 AM | | You have piqued my curiosity, Chip. Thanks for the review - even though it is gonna cost me ;^).
John |
| Now you see... | Finch Platte
Nov 27, 2002 1:44 PM | | ...why I haven't reviewed anything you've sent me. Your command of the language and knowledge would put anything I would write to shame.
FP: "Uh, the drums sound really bitchin' on this track."
Boy, I enjoyed that writup. Can't wait to hear Crow & the Badman on upcoming blues samplers #63 and #87.
fp (did you use the word 'turgid' or am I just imagining things?) |
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