New Blues Review 3-4-25
By Jack Roy
The Bob Lanza Blues Band – Breadman’s Blues (Momojo Records)
Bio – “Bob Lanza embarked on his blues journey in 1979, navigating the vibrant tri-state area scene through the 80s, 90s, and into the 2000s. He gained national recognition with a signing to Connor Ray Music in Houston, Texas. Collaborations with artists like Trudy Lynn and Steve Krase, along with five self-produced CDs, propelled his career. Two singles, “Hero to Zero” and “Time to Let Go,” peaked at number 5 on The National Billboard Blues Charts. Their latest album, “Kids Dogs and Krazy Women,” debuted at number 5 on the Billboard Blues Charts and reached #15 on BB King’s Rack of Blues radio program on Sirius Satellite Radio.Recognized in the New Jersey Blues Hall of Fame, the Bob Lanza Blues Band delivers hard-driving blues and up-tempo swing, captivating audiences with each performance.”
Review – A decent Blues album from Bob, his band has a nice big band swing feel. Bob has a pretty good voice and can play guitar with the best of them. Band consists of Bob on Vocals and Guitar, Nick fishman on Drums, Steve Kirsty on Bass, Vin Mott on Harmonica, Nick Conti on Horns and Eric Heilner on Keys. The band is tight and the horns really add to the big band sound. Pretty consistent album as far as quality, but “Johnny Jihngo”, “Nicky’s Blues” and “Honey Hush” are some that stood out but I think my favorite is “Cut Off My Right Arm″, listen here. I will give this a 10 on Blues Content and a 9 on Music Content.
Little Freddie King – I Use To Be down (Made Wright Records)
Bio – “Born in McComb, Mississippi in 1940, Fread E. Martin grew up playing alongside his blues guitar-picking father (Jessie James Martin), then rode the rails to New Orleans during the early fifties where he crossed paths with itinerant South Louisiana blues man such as “Poka- Dot” Slim and “Boogie” Bill Webb whose unique country-cum-urban styles would influence his own. Honing his guitar chops at notorious joints like the Bucket of Blood (which he later immoralized in song), he jammed and gigged with Bo Diddley and John Lee Hooker, and also played bass for Freddy King during one of the guitarist’s stints in New Orleans. People began comparing the two musicians’ styles, hence Martin’s nome-de-plume. While well-vested in a variety of styles, nowadays Little Freddie sounds a lot more like his cousin Lightin’ Hopkins – albeit after a three day corn liquor bender! Nevertheless, the King sobriquet if fitting, as Freddie is undeniably the monarch of the Crescent City blues scene. Freddie’s mid-sixties recording debut – an unreleased session for Booker/Invicta Records – is one that will seemingly live forever in blues infamy. The very same notorious basement set-up that released so many killer discs by gospel guitar-slinger the Reverend Charlie Jackson – as well as below-the-radar classics by the Zion Harmonizers, the Rocks of Harmony and Sister Alberta – the pairing of label and artist could hardly have been more perfect. If the lost tape is ever discovered, it’ll be a watershed day in musicial history, so start digging!! Slightly easier to find, but occasionally almost as elusive, is Freddie’s actual debut, a 1971 LP on New Orleans’ Ahura Mazda Records on which he shared billing with his band mate John S. “Harmonica” Williams, Unofficially titled Rock and Roll Blues, the nine original songs that make up the LP are raw, gut-wrenching and filled with passion. “Born Dead” is an unbelievable survey of racism in Mississippi courtesy of vocalist Newton Greer, while Williams and King are featured strongly throughout. Freddie contributes two rocking instrumentals, “Sideways” and “The Kings’ Special.” While it was a milestone in New Orleans blues, the album’s potent nastiness went under appreciated at the time. Leave it to Little Freddie to resurface 36 years later with Swamp Boogie – Orleans Records, an album of purely original material (notable titles are “The Great Chinese” and “Cat Squall Blues”) that features the likes of Earl “Pass the Hatchet” Stanley on bass! He followed it in 2000 with Sing Sang Sung, a greasy live set that documented more New Orleans street poetry like “Bad Chicken” and the aforementioned “Bucket of Blood”.”
Review – Well we are in company of royalty folks, Little Freddie King is one of the last of his generation of Blues greats. His voice is so authentic that you can hear the heartache this man has suffered over his lifetime in each song. A landmark in New Orleans, Freddie recorded this album in his home town with a backing band consisting of Wade Wright on Drums, Stephen Daly on Guitar, Paul Defiglia on Bass, Robert DiTullio on Harmonica and Elan Mehier on Keys. Freddie’s guitar work is smooth as every, with that old time feel of alternating between bass and melody strings. All the songs are gold to these ears even though all of them really have the same feel except for a few small differences. This doesn’t seem to matter, as soon as the band fires up and Freddie sings the first word, it feels like a warm Blues Blanket. I think my favorite is “Mean Little Woman″, listen here. I will give this a 10+ on Blues Content and a 10+ on Music Content.
Travellin’ Blue – Take The Edge Off (Donor Productions)
Bio – “A modified line-up, a renewed repertoire, written for the forthcoming 3rd album, which will do even more justice to the previous album title “Bending the Rules”, prompted the band members to make this (minor) name change. Started late 2020 as ‘full Belgian’ band, Travellin’ Blue Kings had a major update in autumn 2023, displaying solid letters of nobility and an impressive pedigree: Blues Lee, Last Call, The Electric Kings, The Scabs, Hideaway, Howlin’ Bill, … just to name a few. The ‘Bending The Rules’ album, released in 2022, has been very well received and generated considerable airplay in Europe and the States (61 weeks (!) in Roots Music Report’s Top 50 Blues Rock Album airplay chart in the US), resulting in the band being booked in France, the Netherlands, Germany and Norway. A critical view of the goings-on in the world anno 2024 is reflected in ‘Lay Down Knuckle Under‘, the 1st single featuring Luke Alexander on guitar and Steve Wouters on drums. It’s also the 1st forerunner to the 3rd album, scheduled for 2025 …”
Review – This is my first time hearing this band and I am becoming a fan. A very different Blues album than most out there. It has the backbone of the Blues but also explores Jazz, Pop and Funk. I really like the guitar work by Luke Alexander. The rest of the band is JB Biesmans on Vocals, Sax and Harmonica, Winne Penninckx on Bass, Patrick Cuyvers on Keys and Steve Wouters on Drums. Every song has it’s own direction and feel but some best for me were “Better Left Unsaid”, “Come Hell Or High Water” and “Hellhole Shuffle”. I think my favorite is “The Closer is King″, mainly for the guitar work, listen here. I will give this an 8 on Blues Content and a 9 on Music Content.
