New Blues Review 2-4-25
By Jack Roy
Big Al and The Heavyweights – Blues Power (Vizztone)
Bio – “Big Al and the Heavyweights originally formed in 1996 as the Unknown Blues Band, with founding members Al Lauro, Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers Band and Gov’t Mule), and pianist Rick Gergen (Sweethearts of the Rodeo). Of course, Warren is no longer in the band but Big Al has formed a solid array of musicians that features guitarist vocalist extraordinaire Marcel Anton, Dennis “the menace” Cedeno from Brooklyn NY, and harp player, vocalist from Detroit Dangerous Dale Robinson. The latest recording “Love One Another” (Vizztone Label Group) includes special musical guests Luther Dickinson of the North MS Allstars and former Heavyweight and harmonica virtuoso, Jason Ricci. “Love One Another” was recorded at famed Suite Mix Studios in Slidell, LA with George Curreau Jr engineering and producing who is noted for Funky Meters guitarist Brian Stoltz’s numerous recording projects. The album charted at # 19 on the Living Blues Charts and #15 on The North American College & Community Radio Chart and # 8 on the Roots Music Blues Chart . Big Al and the Heavyweights’ live performances are family oriented, energetic and most of all fun. This is a show you don’t want to miss!”
Review – This a wonderful multi genre Blues Album, showing straight up Blues to some West Coast Blues and some New Orleans Blues feel on many of the songs. Marcel Anton’s voice is perfect and his guitar playing is soulful and not too flashy. He is supported by Dale Robertson on Harmonica and Background Vocals, Dennis Cedeno on Bass Guitar and of course Big Al on Drums and Spiritual leader (love this!!). Many favorites on this CD, the open tune “Big Freight Train”, “If”, “Wasted So Much Time With You” and “I Want To Know”. I think my favorite is “Red Line″, this is a live version of the tune, listen here. I will give this a 10 on Blues Content and a 10 on Music Content.
Dean Zucchero – Song For The Sinners (Pugnacious Records)
Bio – “Hailing originally from the streets of East Village, New York City, Zucchero cut his teeth in the bustling, industry-driven Manhattan music scene where songwriting and studio recording chops have long since been revered and rewarded. Cultivating these traits in the city’s local dive-bar and cabaret music incubators such as CBGBs, The Bitter End, Dan Lynch Blues Bar, The Bottom Line and Manny’s Carwash, with rock act Major Domo as well as local blues heroes Michael Powers, Popa Chubby, Sweet Georgia Brown and Frankie Paris, to name a few, Zucchero’s consequent appreciation for melody, lyrical craftsmanship, arrangement, improv and an overall connection with urban multiculturalism finds deep prominence in his record. After a nine-year residency in Europe touring with NY blues gunners The HEALERS!, feat: Thomas Buck-Nasty and Italy’s premier pop- jazz group Sugarpie & The Candymen, Zucchero returned to the States in 2013 and set up shop in New Orleans where he has reconnected with urban diversity, but this time of a different flavor. He passionately embraced the rich resources of the Crescent City through an ever-abundance of local gig-work and soon-to-be international tour-work with the legendary Cyril Neville (The Meters and Neville Brothers), as well as with other local giants such as Little Freddie King, Johnny Sansone, Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes, Mason Ruffner, Mama’s Boys and currently Ghalia Volt, with whom he enjoyed production, bass and co-write credits on her first two albums for Ruf Records—the critically acclaimed “Let the Demons Out” and chart-topper “Mississippi Blend” hit #3 on the Billboard Blues Charts on three different occasions. Zucchero also added two bass tracks and one co-write on Volt’s latest top 10 Billboard Blues charting record “One Woman Band.” Amassing such experience and exposure, Zucchero adopted the “New Orleans” slant to rhythm & blues, rock & roll and trad-jazz while also synthesizing the more indigenous genres of Louisiana music such as Indian funk, zydeco, cajun and most of all, Louisiana blues, with its stylistic tentacles extending east to neighboring Mississippi and as far north as Memphis and Chicago. A newfound “gumbo” layered atop a historic base of exertive urban art and culture permeates Zucchero’s album with all contours of the musical melting pot set aflame; yet still there remains a calm simmer of the most basic ingredient we’ve all come to appreciate in music—“The Blues.” Whether it be New Orleans, Mississippi, Chicago or British derivation, all sub-genres are inherent and proper in this wholesome record. Indulge without reservation. Eight weeks into the Covid pandemic, Zucchero “broke the silence” by organizing and hosting what came to be called “Acoustic Blues Series” at his go-to establishment, Bratz Y’all, a German bistro with a spacious beer garden in the Bywater of New Orleans. Acting as program director, promoter and house bassist, Zucchero was reunited stage-side with many of his “inactive” colleagues, ultimately providing weekly employment, a creative outlet and entertainment to a city that was ailing from seclusion and the dormancy of its once-thriving live music culture. The musical events (reaching four nights per week) were conducted in strict accordance with New Orleans’ Covid guidelines. The local patrons and jam-friendly musicians were eager to come out to enjoy and support the cause. The popularity of the “Blues Series” soon enabled a wider reach to New Orleans’ talent usually on tour that time of the year. They too came to enjoy the social outlet, the European- style hospitality, and the extra few bucks from the performances.
Review – Great Blues Album that showcases Dean’s song writing skills as he brings in an incredible cast of musicians that is different for each song! International recognized Blues Musicians such as Jimmy Vivino, Johnny Burgin, Glen David Andrews, Bobby Rush, Victor Wainwright, John Boutte’, John Papa Gros, Albert Castiglia, Mike Zita, Sean Riley, Washboard Chaz, John Nemeth, Tiffany Pollack and Little Freddie King just to name a few, Wow!! Usually albums put together like this don’t have an cohesiveness but this album actually flows very well with some great spotlights from all of the above. Some of the tunes that really stuck with me were “Biting Through” showcasing Jimmy Vivino, “South Side” with the incredible voice of Glen David Andrews, and “Crawfish No More” but I think my favorite is “Shine″, Tiffany Pollack’s voice is magical and Albert Castigilia singing and guitar playing is simplistic but perfect, listen here. I will give this a 10 on Blues Content and a 10+ on Music Content.
Tommy Castro and the Painkillers – Closer To The Bone (Alligator)
Bio – “Born in San Jose, California in 1955, Tommy Castro first picked up a guitar at age 10. He fell under the spell of Elvin Bishop, Taj Mahal, Mike Bloomfield and other blues artists of the day. Almost every major rock and soul act, from Ike and Tina Turner to Janis Joplin to the J. Geils Band to Tower Of Power, toured through the area, and Castro was at every show. He saw John Lee Hooker, Albert King, and Buddy Guy and Junior Wells at the same local blues bar, JJ’s, where he often jammed, dreaming of one day busting out. Mixing the blues and rock and roll he loved and the soul music he heard blasting from lowriders in his neighborhood Tommy started to create his own personal sound and style. He honed his guitar skills and intense, gritty vocals, learning how to capture an audience as he performed on San Francisco’s highly competitive club scene. As his reputation spread, Tommy played in a variety of Bay Area bands, soon making a name for himself as a hotter-than-hot live artist bursting at the seams with talent. In 1985, he was recruited to become lead singer and guitarist for the regionally popular blues band NiteCry, gigging regularly throughout Northern California. Castro joined Warner Brothers’ artists The Dynatones in the late 1980s, performing all over the country. He formed the first Tommy Castro Band in 1992 and has not stopped touring since. In 1995, soon after releasing his first album on Blind Pig Records, The Tommy Castro Band was selected as the house band for three seasons on NBC Television’s Comedy Showcase (airing right after Saturday Night Live). The show brought him in front of millions of viewers every week and cemented his reputation as a not-to-be-missed, nationally touring live performer. After a series of successful releases on the Blind Pig, Telarc and 33rd Street labels, Tommy Castro joined Alligator Records in 2009. His label debut, Hard Believer, was released to massive popular and critical acclaim. With the album, Castro won four of his six career Blues Music Awards, including the coveted B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year Award (the very highest award a blues performer can receive). In 2012, Castro stripped his music down to its raw essence, creating a high-energy, larger-than-life sound with the formation of The Painkillers. Tommy Castro & The Painkillers’ initial release, The Devil You Know, was embraced by his legion of fans and discovered by hordes of new ones. With the current version of The Painkillers (bassist Randy McDonald, drummer Bowen Brown and keyboardist Michael Emerson), Castro released Method To My Madness in 2015, Stompin’ Ground in 2017, and the irresistible Killin’ It–Live in 2019, with critics shouting praise and admirers cheering the group’s every move. The band has coalesced into one of the telepathically tightest units Castro has ever assembled, making them one of the most in-demand live roots music acts performing today, delivering soul-shaking, muscular music.”
Review – Tommy Castro is a monster guitar player and singer, he has definitely cemented his place as one of the greats in the Blues Genre. His voice has never been better and his silky Lead Guitar is really as good as it gets. Tommy is backed by Mike Emerson on Keys, Randy McDonald on Bass and Bowen Brown on Drums, he also brings in some heavy hitters to guest on many of the songs such as Kid Anderson, Deanna Bogart, Billy Branch, Chris Cain, Rick Estrin, Jim Pugh and James and Dwayne Morgan. Some of my favorites are “Ain’t Worth The Heartache with Billy Branch on Harmonica, “Freight Train” cover of a Ron Thompson tune, and “One More Night” a great shuffle Blues tune. I think my favorite is “Woke Up and Smelled The Coffee″, written by Chris Cain, listen here. I will give this a 10+ on Blues Content and a 10+ on Music Content.
Frank Bey – Peace (Nola Blues)
Bio – “He left home when he was 17 and moved to Philadelphia, where he worked for two and a half years as a driver for Gene Lawson, Otis Redding’s advance publicity man. Redding sometimes rode in the back seat on trips between engagements. On three of those occasions, when the opening act was late showing up, Bey says he was given the opportunity to open the shows. By the early 1970s he joined the Moorish Vanguard who began touring in the Southeast. In 1976, Bey produced The Sunset of Your Love on the Country Eastern Music label. James Brown then published the song on Polydor Records without the Vanguard’s permission. The group initially accused Bey of giving the song to Brown but Brown later settled and admitted to taking the song. After this, Bey left the music business for 17 years, and had his own businesses in the construction and restaurant industries. By 1996, Bey returned to singing in the Philadelphia area. In 1998, Bey’s debut album, Steppin’ Out, was released on MAG Records. Health problems interfered with his ability to perform in support of the release, and he subsequently released Blues in the Pocket in 2007 on Jeffhouse Records. By then, Bey was brought by blues DJ Noel Hayes to the Bay Area in California to perform with guitarist Anthony Paule and other area musicians. The two went on to release three albums, You Don’t Know Nothing (Live), Soul for Your Blues, and Not Goin’ Away between 2013 and 2015. In July 2018, Bey signed with Nola Blue Records. In September, he released his first CD on the Nola Blue label, Back In Business. This was followed by the release of All My Dues Are Paid in January 2020, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for “Best Traditional Blues Album”
Review – Oh man, what a Blues Voice. Frank Bey is the real deal! Frank has that voice that would be entertaining singing anything, this album is proof of that. This is a remaster of many of Frank’s best known songs, mostly traditional Blues through this album, but Frank can Blues anything up as he covers Sam Cooke’s “Change Is Gonna Come” and even covers John Lennon’s “imagine” and really comes off as Blues. Wide variety of players on this album but main guitarist is Jeff Monjack, but includes Kid Anderson on Guitar and Organ throughout. Some of my favorites are “midnight and Day”, “That’s What Love Will Make You Do” and “Blues In The Pocket”. Frank is truly missed by the Blues World, but this album gives a great Peace. I think my favorite is “City Boy″, just a guitar, harmonica and Frank’s incredible voice, listen here. I will give this a 10+ on Blues Content and a 10+ on Music Content.
Jennifer Porter – Sun Come and Shine (Overton Music)
Bio – “Jennifer Porter is an award-winning musician, actor and screenwriter. A musician’s musician blessed with a beautiful voice, Jennifer has performed a repertoire that spans from Jazz and Blues to Country and Opera. She has sung with Classical and Jazz Orchestras, including the world-famous Glenn Miller Orchestra. At heart though, Jennifer considers herself a roots musician, and is still most at home singing at the piano while banging out an old Blues tune in a red-hot 88 style. Jennifer has recorded nine albums to date, and releases her newest – an entirely remixed and re-mastered imagining of her critically acclaimed album, Sun Come And Shine on February 14th, 2025. The new version is called Sun Come And Shine Redux and will be released by Overton Music, as Jennifer has recently joined the roster of artists at this exciting new Memphis label. Jennifer’s 2024 album, Yes, I Do! featured Jennifer’s outstanding songwriting as well as her fantastic voice and rollicking piano playing. Joining her on this project were friend and Grammy nominee, C.J. Chenier, and Grammy winner Cindy Cashdollar. Yes, I Do! held the #1 spot on Roots Music Report’s Jazzy Blues Album Charts for 23 weeks, and songs from the album hit #1 on their Jazzy Blues Song Charts for 23 weeks as well. The album clinched the top spot on Roots Music Report’s Top Jazzy Blues Albums for the year 2024. Yes, I Do! also appeared on RMR’s Top 50 Blues Album Charts and Top 50 United States Album Charts, The Big Blues Charts, The NACC Radio Charts, The Australian Blues And Roots Airplay Charts, and Itunes Top 100 Blues Song Chart In The Netherlands. Yes, I Do! went on to win a 2024 Josie Music Award for Jazz Album Of The Year in a ceremony held at The Grand Ol’ Opry in Nashville, and was nominated for three others. The title track from the album won a W.A.M. Music Award for Best Love Song, with four other songs from the album receiving nominations.”
Review – Jennifer is a great Hammond B3 player and a great Voice, almost too soft and perfect pitched. This album is not my favorite, but all the music arrangement and recording is top notched. To my ears it sounds a little mechanical, and the liner notes show that many of the artist were recorded in different locations than where Jennifer recorded. I am sure many will like this album, but it fell short as compared to other albums that I have listened to by Jennifer. I think my favorite is “Stop Your Talkin’″, listen here. I will give this an 8 on Blues Content and an 8 on Music Content.
Watermelon Slim & Heavydrunk – Bluesland Theme Park (Self Produced)
Bio – “Bill “Watermelon Slim” Homans has built a remarkable reputation with his raw, impassioned intensity. HARP Magazine wrote “From sizzling slide guitar…to nitty-gritty harp blowing…to a gruff, resonating Okie twang, Slim delivers acutely personal workingman blues with both hands on the wheel of life, a bottle of hooch in his pocket, and the Bible on the passenger seat.” Paste Magazine writes “He’s one hell of a bottleneck guitarist, and he’s got that cry in his voice that only the greatest singers in the genre have had before him.” The industry agrees on all fronts. Watermelon Slim & The Workers have garnered 17 Blues Music Award nominations in four years including a record-tying six in both 2007 & 2008. Only the likes of B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Robert Cray have landed six in a year and Slim is the only blues artist in history with twelve in two consecutive years. In Spring 2009 he was the cover story of Blues Revue magazine. . Two of Slim’s records were ranked #1 in MOJO Magazine’s annual Top Blues CD rankings. Industry awards include The Independent Music Award for Blues Album of the Year, The Blues Critic Award and Canada’s Maple Blues Award for International Artist of the Year among others. Slim has hit #1 on the Living Blues Charts, top five on the Roots Music Report and debuted in the top ten in Billboard. One of Slim’s most impressive industry accolades may be the liner notes of The Wheel Man eagerly written by the late legendary Jerry Wexler who called him a “one-of-a-kind pickin’ n singing Okie dynamo.” Slim has been embraced for his music, performances, backstory and persona. He has appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered, The BBC’s World Service and has been featured in publications like Harp, Relix, Paste, MOJO, Oklahoma Magazine and Truckers News as well as newspapers like The London Times, Toronto Star, Chicago Sun-Times, The Village Voice, Kansas City Star, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Michelle Shocked’s JAMS Magazine.
Heavydrunk – With a band name that’s evocative of the thick, dizzying vibes coursing through their latest album, Holywater, Nashville-based blues-soul outfit HeavyDrunk continues to solidify their reputation both on record and in their live shows, which bristle with kinetic, freewheeling energy. The nine-piece group’s unusual name originated with a quip from no less than blues icon Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, relayed later to HeavyDrunk front man, Rob Robinson by a friend and musician who played in Brown’s band at one time. “Man, he’s a no-playin’ so-and-so… and a heavy drunk!” the music legend sneered, when urged to invite the unnamed subject of those derisive words – another well-known blues artist – on stage to play with him. While Robinson remains protective of the identity of the musician whose reputation inspired the band name, there’s no denying that the ace players who contribute to the HeavyDrunk sound create their own intoxicating blend of musical flavors including Mississippi Delta blues, rousing gospel, sultry soul and muscular rock ‘n’ roll. At the helm of this nine-piece band is Robinson, a Louisiana-born, Mississippi-raised singer-songwriter and restaurateur with feet firmly planted in the dual worlds of classic – and decidedly Southern – music and food. The owner, since 2008, of multi-award- winning and historic Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant in Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee, 45 minutes south of Nashville, Robinson leads a band that smokes onstage, while offstage he spends much of his time feeding the smoker at Puckett’s in order to serve up some of the restaurant distinctive, slow-cooked barbecue and other famed dishes.”
Review – This is a cool album from two that might not be thought to fit together, but it works. Heavydrunk’s big band, gravely voice combined with Slim’s Harmonica, Voice and incredible Slide playing really makes this album special. The music is all over the place, no flow at all, but really like “You Make Me Want To”, “Road Food & Cheap Motels” (Watermelon Slim) and “Fresh” but I think my favorite is “Bluesland Theme Park″, showcasing Heavydrunk’s fast chaotic band at it’s best, listen here. I will give this a 9 on Blues Content and a 9 on Music Content.
Steve Howell & The Mighty Men – Yeah Man (Out of the Past Music)
Bio – “Steve Howell was thirteen when he first heard Mississippi John Hurt fingerpicking country blues. The year was 1965, and the experience became a revelation that opened the door to a new musical universe. Steve knew immediately that tame, folky strumming of the guitar was a thing of the past for him. As Steve’s journey progressed, Mississippi John Hurt begat Blind Willie McTell and Leadbelly. They in turn begat Robert Johnson, Son House, Rev. Gary Davis, Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Blake, and a host of other black acoustic guitar players and vocalists. His interest in rural, folk-blues styles and the history of the music led him to learn more about how this music came to town and melded with the horn-oriented bands prevalent in the cities, creating a strong affinity for him with traditional jazz and the music of New Orleans from the first half of the twentieth century. His musical Odyssey naturally included the pop, country, rock, and blues music of the last half of the century, but always in the background stood the music of Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Lester Young, Jack Teagarden, Art Tatum, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Chet Atkins, Johnny Smith, Wes Montgomery, Bucky Pizzarelli, Joe Pass, George Van Eps, Lenny Breau, and many other great jazz artists. Although very interested in many other music styles (bebop, rock ‘n’ roll, rhythm and blues, and others), the heart of Steve’s playing and singing is rooted in the rural acoustic blues and traditional jazz genres born in the American South. Born in Marshall, Texas, Steve lived in Kilgore, Texas, until the age of seventeen, when his family moved to Shreveport, Louisiana. Upon Steve’s graduation from Captain Shreve High School in Shreveport, he lived in Dallas, Arlington, Austin, and spent some time in Pennsylvania during 1972-1973. Late 1973 brought the beginning of a hitch in the U.S. Navy which took him to Key West, Florida, and then to Haverfordwest, South Wales, for 3 1/2 years. During this time, he soaked up the British acoustic scene, playing folk clubs in South Wales as well as in the South of England with his partner, fingerstyle and slide guitarist and mandolinist, Arnie Cottrell. They also played several folk music gatherings including the Pembroke Castle Folk Festival in the spring of 1976. Upon his return to the United States and Shreveport in 1977, he attended Louisiana State University in Shreveport and graduated in 1980 with a degree in Communications. During this time he played on the Shreveport club scene through the late seventies and the eighties, with numerous gigs around East Texas, initially as a duo with guitarist David Dodson in 1977 and then with his partner, Shreveport restaurateur Jim Caskey, beginning in 1978. Steve and Jim were regular performers at Shreveport’s Red River Revel Arts Festival, having played the festival every year, except three, since its inception. Their duo, Howell & Caskey, has opened for Country Joe and the Fish, Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets, Bugs Henderson, Ponty Bone and the Squeezetones, and shared the stage with blues legend Brownie McGee. They have also played together in rock ‘n’ roll and blues bands over the years, most notably The Deadbeats and The Movers, with musicians from Shreveport and the Ark-La-Tex area such as Dave Hoffpauir, Mark Roberts, Chris Michaels, Steve Ramey, and Randy Guynes. They also played traditional jazz and blues as a trio with Kathryn Hobgood lending her vocals for about two years. Steve has taken the music to many locations across the United States, including the annual Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Oregon, where Steve taught a master’s class in acoustic fingerstyle guitar in addition to performing on the main stage.”
Review – A cool album with Steve covering some old favorites of the Blues Genre. What I like about this album is that is nothing like the rest of the CDs from this week. While Steve’s voice is not the best, it really fits his way of playing guitar and the songs that he selects. Playing with Steve is Chris Michaels on Electric Guitar and Vocals, Dave Hoffpauir on Drums and Vocals and Jason Weinheimer on Bass, Keys and Vocals. This album maybe too cohesive as much of the tempo and music feel is about the same through out with a few exceptions like “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy. I do like “Long Lonesome Blues” by Blind Lemon Jefferson, “Wade In The Water” and “Chimes of Freedom” but I think my favorite is “20% Alcohol″, a JB Hutto song. I couldn’t find any of this album online. I will give this an 8 on Blues Content and an 8 on Music Content.
