New Blues Review 7-29-25

By Jack Roy


Maria Muldaur – One Hour Mama, The Blues of Victoria Spivey (Nola Blue Records) 

Bio – “Maria Muldaur is best known world-wide for her 1973 mega-hit “Midnight at the Oasis,” which received several Grammy nominations, and enshrined her forever in the hearts of Baby Boomers everywhere; but despite her considerable pop music success, her 60 year career could best be described as a long and adventurous odyssey through the various forms of American Roots Music. During the Folk Revival of the early ’60s, she began exploring and singing early Blues, Bluegrass and Appalachian “Old Timey” Music, beginning her recording career in 1963 with the Even Dozen Jug Band, and shortly thereafter joining the very popular Jim Kweskin Jug Band, touring and recording with them throughout the ’60s.  In the 50 years since “Midnight at the Oasis” Maria has toured extensively worldwide and has recorded 43 solo albums covering all kinds of American Roots Music, including Blues, Gospel, R&B, Jug Band, Jazz and Big Band (not to mention several award-winning children’s albums). She has now settled comfortably into her favorite idiom, the Blues. Often joining forces with some of the top names in the business, Maria has recorded and produced on-average an album per year, several of which have been nominated for Grammys and other awards.  Her critically acclaimed 2001 Stony Plain Records release, Richland Woman Blues, was nominated for a Grammy, and for a Blues Foundation Award for Best Traditional Blues Album of the Year, as was the follow up to that album, Sweet Lovin’ Ol’ Soul. Her timely 2008 album, Yes We Can!, featured her “Women’s Voices for Peace Choir,” which includes: Bonnie Raitt, Joan, Baez, Jane Fonda, Odetta, Phoebe Snow, Holly Near and others. In 2009 Maria teamed up with John Sebastian, David Grisman, and Dan Hicks for Maria Muldaur & Her Garden of Joy, which garnered Maria her 5th Grammy Nomination, and was also nominated for Best Traditional Blues Album of the Year by The Blues Foundation.  In 2011 Maria released Steady Love, a contemporary electric Blues album that reflects the kind of music she loves to perform live – what she calls “Bluesiana Music” – her own brand of New Orleans-flavored Blues, R&B and “Swamp Funk”. Steady Love reached #1 on the Living Blues Chart, and garnered her another nomination for Best Traditional Female Blues Artist from the Blues Foundation. In 2012, for her 40th album, Maria produced the critically acclaimed…. “First Came Memphis Minnie”, a loving tribute to the pioneering Blues woman who inspired and influenced so many female Blues artists who followed in her footsteps, many of whom joined Maria on this special project: Bonnie Raitt, Phoebe Snow, Ruthie Foster, Koko Taylor and Rory Block accompanied by the amazing guitar work of Del Rey, David Bromberg, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Roy Rogers, and others.  In 2013, taking a brief hiatus from her yearly recording schedule, Maria focused on 3 special collaborations, performing worldwide with the 50th Anniversary Kweskin Jug Band Reunion concerts, teaming up with the Campbell Brothers, world-renowned Sacred Steel Gospel artists, for a very special presentation entitled, “Spirit & The Blues”, and touring as Special Guest Artist with Bill Wyman and The Rhythm Kings.  2014 marked 40 years since Maria’s big hit “Midnight at the Oasis” was riding at the top of the charts. To celebrate this landmark, Maria created a multi-media retrospective “Way Past Midnight”, which chronicles her long journey to “The Oasis and Beyond”. This special presentation features all her hits and fan faves from every stage of her career, as well as fascinating, entertaining, (often humorous!) stories of her personal encounters, friendships, and collaborations with many of the greatest names in music.  In 2018, Maria released her 41st album “DON’T YOU FEEL MY LEG ~ The Naughty Bawdy Blues of Blue Lu Barker”, which was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Traditional Blues category. Recorded in New Orleans with an amazing cast of A-List NOLA musicians, this album finds Maria at her finest, and is true to the spirit and soul of New Orleans and Barker’s funny, coy, and risqué material. This marked her 6th Grammy Nomination! Maria says “it’s an honor to be nominated. I’m so grateful that this music is being recognized & enjoyed again after all these years!’  In Sept. 2019, The Americana Music Association awarded Maria “The Lifetime Achievement Americana Trailblazer Award” for her lifelong work of covering the depth and breadth of American Roots music and for being one of the pioneers who laid the groundwork for what we’ve come to call ‘Americana Music’.  In 2020, Maria collaborated with world acclaimed New Orleans band Tuba Skinny & recorded her 43rd album, “Let’s Get Happy Together”, a collection of 20s & 30s vintage Jazz & Blues. Released in May 2021, the album received nothing but rave reviews. It received The Blue’s Foundation’s Nomination for Best Acoustic Album, and was voted Best Traditional Jazz Album in OffBeat Magazine’s Best Of The Beat Awards.  In 2021, Maria and her guitarist, Craig Caffall, wrote and co-produced her latest single “I’m Vaccinated and I’m Ready For Love” to help inspire others to get vaccinated and to celebrate her feeling of liberation and renewal after her second shot. 2023 finds Maria with a busy live performance schedule.  This year marks the 50th Anniversary of “Midnight At The Oasis”, and Maria and her band will be presenting her Way Past Midnight multimedia retrospective in special performances  throughout the country.”

Review – Wow, this might be my favorite album of 2025 so far. What an incredible tribute to the amazing Victoria Spivey by probably the only current singer that could do her justice and Maria Muldaur does just that. Maria tackles all of Victoria’s hits with an allstar band including Johnny Bones on Sax, Danny Caron on guitar, Steve Height on Bass, Neil Fontano on Keys, David Matthews on keys and Beaumont Beaullieu on Drums. All the songs are incredible and captures Victoria but adds a little Maria in each song. Standouts for me were “One Hour Mama”, “No, Papa, No” and “What Makes You Act Like That” (a duet with Elvin Bishop). I think my favorite is “Gotta Have What It Takes″, the only thing that would make Maria’s singing any better is to a Taj Mahal in a call and response!, so good,  listen here. I will give this a 10++ on Blues Content and a 10++ on Music Content.


The Boneshakers – Live To Be This (Gulf Coast Records) 

Bio – “Flashback to 1980 — During his maiden session for Don and David Was, Randy Jacobs meets Sweetpea Atkinson on a cold night in the Motor City at Sound Suite Studio (the recording home of the fledgling band Was (Not Was). The connection was immediate and a bond was forged between the two artists. Their combined talents would help Was (Not Was) become a successful act during the 80’s and into the early 90’s cumulating with the worldwide hit “Walk The Dinosaur” co-written by Jacobs. After their European tour with Dire Straits in 1992, the Was Band went on hiatus and Randy started playing and recording with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, BB King, Seal, Paula Abdul, Kris Kristofferson, Ofra Haza, Tears For Fears, Warren Hill and others. Sweetpea was in Los Angeles adding background vocals to artists like Neil DiamondBonnie Raitt, Keb Mo, and Bob Segar. Randy had been working with various singers looking for the right voice for his new band when Atkinson called to say that he wanted to be part of Randy’s brand new thing– and so the journey began. It was Bonnie Raitt who inadvertently gave them their name “Boneshakers” while they were working on her “Longing In Our Hearts” CD.  In 1996, the two were signed to Pointblank/Virgin Records and produced two CDs for the label:  “Book Of Spells” (1997) which included Randy’s rockin’ swing arrangement of James Brown’s “Cold Sweat” and the powerful “Shake The Planet” (1998). When Sweetpea stepped away to tour with Lyle Lovett, The Boneshakers released “Pouring Gasoline” (2001) on Bad Monkey Recordings label featuring Austin, Texas singer Malford Milligan (Storyville, Double Trouble) and the live in concert “Put Some Booty On It, Vol 1” (2002). While working together on a session for former band mate producer Don Was, fate stepped in to reunite and bring Sweetpea back to the Boneshakers.  They released “Put Some Booty On It , Vol 2″(2006) featuring their first live performance in San Francisco from 1997. In 2017, Sweetpea released his solo CD produced by Keb Mo. Additionally, the band joined forces with sax queen Mindi Abair and released Live in Seattle on Concord Records. In 2018, Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers won 8 Independent Blues Awards including Artist of the Year, and an Independent Music Award for Best Blues Song Fan Award for “Pretty Good For A Girl” featuring Joe Bonamassa. They won the 2019 LA Critics Award for Best Holiday Album for All I Got For Christmas Is The Blues. ”

Review – Funky Blues!! Love this album, Jenny Langer’s vocals are perfect and Randy Jacobs’ multi instrumental contributions are amazing to say the least. The group brings in a hand full of guest musicians to make this a special CD. Guest like Bobby Rush, Charlie Musselwhite, Coco Montoya, Jimmy Carpenter, Ron Holloway and Don Was on Upright Bass. Lots of things to like here folks, including “I Will Kick A Brick”, “Don’t Deny Me” and “Dobro Jones” but I think my favorite is “I Need Somebody″, the use of a different microphone on Jenny’s voice makes this very special to the ears,  listen here. I will give this a 10+ on Blues Content and a 10+ on Music Content.


Chambers DesLauriers – Our Time To Ride (Forty Below Records) 

Bio – “Since 2018, Chambers DesLauriers has made music that embodies love, resilience, and the stirring power of blues, soul, and rock ‘n roll. Fronted by the magnetic duo Annika Chambers and Paul DesLauriers, this band unites two celebrated artists whose music and story inspire audiences worldwide. Texas native Annika Chambers began singing in the Southern Baptist church as a child. She was awarded the Blues Music Award Winner for Soul-Blues Female in 2019, 2022, 2024. Her previous release, Kiss My Sass, debuted at #4 on the Billboard Blues Chart and won the 2020 Living Blues Award for Best Southern Soul album. From Canada, Paul DesLauriers, an esteemed guitarist, singer, and songwriter, was the winner of the Maple Blues Awards (Canada’s national Blues Award program) for Entertainer of the Year (2016, 2017), Electric Act of the Year (2016), Guitarist of the Year (2013, 2019) and Acoustic Act of the Year (2013). In 2016, he took 2nd Place at the 32nd International Blues Challenge held by the Blues Foundation in Memphis, Tennessee.”

Review – I wasn’t hoping for much from this album as it was advertised as a “love” CD, expecting to hear a lot of sappy love songs. I was wrong, the lyrics tend to be about Love, being together and caring, the music is really great. I have always loved Annika’s voice and she lets it shine on this newest album. The guitar riffs that Paul comes up with, nice dirty distortion leads and huge power chords. Playing with the couple are Gary Davenport on Bass, Sly Coulombe on Drums, Sasha Smith on Keys and horn section of Mark Pender and David Ralicke. Super full band sound and the background vocals of Nicoya Polar and Eric Corne really bring it home. Standouts for me were “Love You Just The Same”, “Temperature of One-O-Nine” and “Our Time to Ride” with a killer slide guitar!! I think my favorite is “Sing″, Feels like you are in Church and Annika’s voice really shines, listen here. I will give this a 10 on Blues Content and a 10+ on Music Content.


Big A Sherrod – Torchbearer Of The Clarksdale Sound (Music Maker Records) 

Bio – “On Sunflower Avenue in Clarksdale, Miss., halfway between Red’s legendary juke joint and the town’s veterinary hospital, there’s a monument to Anthony “Big A” Sherrod. His portrait hangs from a utility pole as he stares out at the street, caught in a half-smile while his hands flicker toward his guitar’s high notes. Clarksdale is a city of living ghosts, where the players who shaped the entire continuum of American music still linger in the air. But if you’re in the right Clarksdale haunt, whether it’s Red’s or Ground Zero or maybe after-hours at Clarksdale Reels, on the right night, you can see Big A in the flesh, perpetuating the plainspoken blues of his hometown. “Clarksdale is the birthplace of the Blues. Most people who travel here are looking for something—maybe the presence of the fellas who started it all,” he once explained. “You can play it, and you can write it. But you have to feel it to be successful.” The son of gospel singer E. J. Johnson and the godson of Big Jack Johnson, Big A has felt the blues in Clarksdale since he was five. His cousin played drums with a crew at the Delta Blues Museum. When Mississippi guitar mainstay Johnnie Billington heard that a then-little Big A might be willing to play bass, he taught him with the help of a few B.B. King cassettes, telling him he might be able to squirrel away some childhood cash. But Big A stuck with it, playing in Billington’s J.B. and the Midnighters until his mentor’s death in 2013. Under the aegis of Billington, he even gigged with King at one of his famous Indianola homecomings. A multi-instrumentalist, Big A now teaches the blues himself, keeping up the tradition that made him. “I have carried on the teachings of my mentors to my students,” he said, “so that they will never forget where it started.” For the past decade, Big A has also been advocating for the Clarksdale blues on record. His 2016 debut with his The Cornlickers earned honors from Living Blues before being reissued by Nola Blue in 2022. And he’s now stepped into the Music Maker roster with the help of producer Jimbo Mathus. In February 2025, Mathus set up two microphones inside Clarksdale Reels, an old storefront where the bricks are covered in plaster, just like Mathus likes. In a single two-hour session, buoyed by bassist Heather Crosse and drummer Lee Wiliams, they cut the five songs of the aptly named Torchbearer of the Clarksdale Sound. “I wanted to get Big A in his natural environment, this live setting,” says Mathus. “He had it together.””

Review – Only bad thing about this album is that it is only five songs! Big A is the real deal, voice is incredible and his simplistic guitar riffs are magic. He really reminds me of Big Jack Johnson from the same area of Mississippi. Big A is a must to see live, but this album gets pretty close to his magic. Backed by some great musicians such as Heather Crosse on Bass, Lee Williams on Drums, and Jimbo Mathus on Keys. You might recognize Jimbo name from the Squirrel Nut Zippers, he also produced this album for Big A. All of the songs on this album are gold, but I think my favorite is “Good Woman″,  listen here. I will give this a 10++ on Blues Content and a 10++ on Music Content.


Debbie Bond – Live At The Song Theater (Blues Roots Production) 

Bio – “American Singer, guitar player and songwriter Debbie Bond has been performing for decades in the Alabama backwoods and is now a regular on the Southern US and European club and festival circuit. Influenced by raw juke joint blues and the famed sounds of Muscle Shoals, Debbie’s impressive story includes years of performing with traditional Alabama blues musicians, like Johnny Shines, Eddie Kirkland, Willie King, Shar Baby, Little Jimmy Reed and more. Immersion in Alabama roots music has deeply flavored her guitar playing, soulful voice and original song writing, giving her a contemporary and original sound, with soul, blues, and jazz influences. Debbie’s collaboration with British born keyboard and harmonica player “Radiator” Rick has added a swampy New Orleans edge to her sound. Debbie is a blues activist and founder of the award-winning Alabama Blues Project, a non-profit dedicated to promoting and preserving the state’s blues heritage. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a “Keeping the Blues Alive Award” from the Blues Foundation, and a prestigious “Coming Up Taller Award” for her blues education work with the Alabama Blues Project. She has been recognized by the Alabama Music Hall of Fame as a “Blues Achiever” and the national Blues Hall of Fame as a “Great Blues Artist”. ”

Review – I was expecting great things from this CD as they were referred by a friend. I have to say that I am not a huge fan of Debbie’s voice. There are moments that she shines, but others that seem off key. Maybe just my bad ears. The music itself is pretty solid and the band is great. Playing with Debbie on this CD is “Radiator” Rick on Vocals, Harmonica, and keys, Sam Williams on Sax and Marcus “Jukeman” Lee on Drums. This is a live album, taking the best of two performances of the band. I really didn’t have a favorite on this album but here is a tune that I did like “High Rider Blues″,  listen here. I will give this a 9 on Blues Content and an 8 on Music Content.


Namedroppers – Cool Blue Shoes (Horizon Records) 

Bio – “Original Members of Johnny Winter and Charlie Karp.   The band has recorded and released 4 studio albums. Bobby “T” Torello- Bobby has an extensive career, most notably as the former drummer for Johnny Winter.  Bobby toured with Michael Bolton, Grace Slick, and Black Oak Arkansas.  He was inducted into the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame, and into the New England Music Hall of Fame. He also serves as an ambassador for WFIII drums. Rafe Klein- Rafe is a songwriter, and no stranger to the music scene, as he played alongside blues legend Charlie Karp for many years and co-wrote many songs that appeared on Charlie Karp’s last album “Back to You” (Courtesy of Red Parlor Records) and “Love” (Carole Sylvan’s) and all 4 Name Droppers albums. Scott Spray- was Johnny Winter’s longest running bass player and also played with Edgar Winter. He was inducted into the New England Music Hall Of Fame. Scott has an extensive career having played with some of the biggest names in rock and roll. His credits span decades, and his bass work on Johnny Winter’s final album “Step Back” earned him a Grammy for Best Blues Album in 2015.  Ron Rifkin- Ron is a keyboard powerhouse who has played on numerous sessions, and played along side Charlie Karp live and in the studio for many years. His unique style of playing, and diverse singing voice puts him in high demand as a CT. session player, and he has numerous credits under his belt.”

Review – This actually is a pretty solid Blues CD by some amazing musicians. I don’t think it as “killer” as I was hoping for, sort of a good cover Blues Band. A band of some excellent musicians, Rafe Klein’s guitar work is wonderful and backed by Ron Rifkin on Keys, Scott Spray on Bass and Bobby T. Torello on Drums. Tunes are a nice blend between originals and covers. Some of the standouts for me were “Killing Floor”, “Think Yiddish” and “Keep Pushin'”. I think my favorite is “Cool Shoes″, listen here. I will give this a 9 on Blues Content and a 9 on Music Content.


Kyle Culkin – Shades of Trouble (Tonebucker Records) 

Bio – “Kyle Culkin is an American musician and roots music recording artist. He has worked over the past two decades as a multi-instrumentalist and the guitarist for nationally touring acts such as The Jeff Jensen Band. Culkin opened for the great B.B. King on his 80th birthday tour when The King of the Blues proclaimed, “This kid can play”! Today, with decades of experience under his belt, Culkin is recording music that projects a truthful authenticity from hard learned lessons of life on the road. He combines a fun and witty sense of humor with the struggles of life in every song. Culkin’s critically acclaimed albums include a mix of rootsy rock, blues, country, R&B, folk and soul that puts a new twist on an instantly familiar sound. He never overplays his hand and uses taste, tone, and timing to season his lyrics with the right amount of flavor. Culkin has been called “The Americana Shotgun” because of his musical style and he does not disappoint!”

Review – A new artist to me, and I am a big fan. Pretty straight ahead Blues, a little main street poppy in the production and Kyle’s song writing is superb! I really like Kyle’s voice also, wish there were more guitar solos but overall a descent album. Kyle has a great band backing him with musicians Buford Shagnasty on Bass, Jamieson Trotter on Keys, Karle Hunter on Sax, Jade MacRae and Bek Jensen on Backing Vocals and Adam Gust on Drums. I think Karle on Sax is probably the show winner here, such great leads. I really like the first song on the album, “Shades Of Trouble” and “Ophelia” and “Alora Rose” were also standouts but I think my favorite is “She’s Evil″, there aren’t any of these songs on YouTube from this album so here is another tune by Kyle, “Why Me”, listen here. I will give this a 9 on Blues Content and a 9 on Music Content.


Tags:

sponsor

Become a Sponsor

Underwriting WTJU is a way to broadly share information about your business. It’s also a way for your business or organization to gain community-wide recognition for your support of WTJU’s community mission.

Underwrite a Program

Donations

Your gift nourishes our community and helps bring people together through music.

Donate
Underwrite a Program