Duke Robillard

Duke Robillard - Living With The Blues - 2002 - Dixiefrog

Best known as the founder of Roomful of Blues and for his short stint with the Fabulous Thunderbirds (replacing Jimmie Vaughan), Duke Robillard had only released two blues albums between 1996 and 2002. Although he was awarded the W.C. Handy Best Blues Guitarist award for 2000 and 2001 and his tireless road work always included plenty of stinging solos, Robillard left the jazz and worldbeat tangents behind for this welcome return to his first love. Those who have followed Robillard's career know that he's never been tied to one style, and Living With the Blues highlights his eclectic talents. Robillard crackles on everything here, from the straight-ahead Chicago approach of Willie Dixon by way of Muddy Waters' "I Live the Life I Love" to the Roomful-styled hard swing of the obscure Willie Egans' "I'm Mad About You Baby" to the acoustic treatment of Tampa Red's "Hard Road" and the jump blues of his own "Sleepin' on It" (reprised from the Roomful years). He turns the Brownie McGhee title track into a tough Chicago shuffle, featuring the rollicking tenor sax of old Roomful alumnus Doug James, and closes with a bluesy rhumba-styled version of B.B. King's "Long Gone Baby." He also adds tough spunk to Little Milton's "If Walls Could Talk," throwing in one of the disc's greasiest solos along the way. Through it all, Robillard is obviously having a blast, whipping out tight guitar solos with white-hot precision and snazzy arrangements that never overwhelm the band or the song. The horns that dominate the album return Robillard to the Roomful sound that he clearly loves and, even though his gruff vocals are still an acquired taste, his singing is filled with such enthusiasm that you can forgive its technical shortcomings. There's a real sense of joy that infuses every track here, making it perfect for established Duke Robillard fans or newcomers who want to get a taste of the man's substantial talents. © Hal Horowitz © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/living-with-the-blues-mr0001113715

The great guitarist Duke Robillard has played and recorded almost every genre including jazz, blues and roots music. "Living With The Blues" was Duke's first all blues record since "Duke's Blues" in 1994 and is one of his stronger blues offerings. Some of the classic blues tunes are associated with legendary blues artists. Freddy King’s “Use What You Got”, the Willie Dixon-penned tune for Muddy Waters “I Live the Life I Love", and Little Milton’s “If Walls Could Talk" are just three of the great covers. There are other covers of songs by B.B King, and Brownie McGhee. Duke also plays some very strong originals like his “Buy Me a Dog". This is a powerhouse blues album with powerful vocals and scorching guitar from Duke. The album is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Buy Duke's great "Stretchin' Out Live" album and search this blog for other DR releases [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 119 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Buy Me A Dog
2 If Walls Could Talk
3 Use What You Got
4 Goodtime Charlie
5 Painful Memory
6 Stratified
7 Hard Road
8 I Live The Life I Love
9 I'm Mad About It
10 Sleepin' On It
11 Living With The Blues
12 Long Gone Baby

MUSICIANS

Duke Robillard - Guitar, Vocals
John Packer - Bass
Jesse Williams - Acoustic Bass
Bruce Katz - Piano and Hammond B3
Mark Teixeira - Drums, Percussion
Doug James - Baritone & Tenor Saxophone
Gordon Beadle -Tenor Saxophone
Carl Querfurth -Trombone

BIO

Duke Robillard is one of the founding members of Roomful of Blues, as well as one of the guitarists who replaced Jimmie Vaughan in the Fabulous Thunderbirds in 1990. Between that time, Robillard pursued a solo career that found him exploring more musically adventurous territory than either Roomful of Blues or the T-Birds. On his solo recordings, the guitarist dips into blues, rockabilly, jazz, and rock & roll, creating a unique fusion of American roots musics. In 1967, Duke Robillard formed Roomful of Blues in Westerly, RI. For the next decade, he led the band through numerous lineup changes before he decided that he had grown tired of the group. Robillard left the band in 1979, initially signing on as rockabilly singer Robert Gordon's lead guitarist. After his stint with Gordon, Robillard joined the Legendary Blues Band. In 1981, the guitarist formed a new group, the Duke Robillard Band, which soon evolved into Duke Robillard & the Pleasure Kings. After a few years of touring, Duke Robillard & the Pleasure Kings landed a contract with Rounder Records, releasing their eponymous debut album in 1984. For the rest of the decade, the band toured America and released a series of albums on Rounder Records. Occasionally, the guitarist would release a jazz-oriented solo album. In 1990, Robillard joined the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Even though he had become a member of the Austin group, the guitarist continued to record and tour as a solo artist, signing with the major label Point Blank/Virgin in 1994 for Temptation. Duke's Blues followed two years later, and after one more album for Virgin, 1997's Dangerous Place, Robillard signed to Shanachie for 1999's New Blues for Modern Man. Conversations in Swing Guitar followed later that year, and the prolific guitarist returned in mid-2000 with Explorer. Robillard switched to the Stony Plain label with 2002's Living with the Blues, and began a steady run of releases for the imprint, including a second pairing with jazz guitarist Herb Ellis for More Conversations in Swing Guitar (2003). Exalted Lover followed later that same year. Blue Mood, a tribute to T-Bone Walker, and New Guitar Summit (which teamed Robillard with guitarists J. Geils and Gerry Beaudoin) both appeared in 2004. Guitar Groove-A-Rama was released in 2006. Robillard continued to explore the jazz and jump blues path with 2008's A Swingin Session with Duke Robillard. He returned to his early R&B influences for 2009's Stomp! The Blues Tonight. His next album for Stony Plain, Passport to the Blues, saw him returning to the blues in all its gritty glory © Stephen Thomas Erlewine © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/duke-robillard-mn0000150955