Coco Montoya

Coco Montoya ‎- Gotta Mind To Travel - 1995 - Blind Pig

Years of apprenticeship with Albert Collins and John Mayall paid off handsomely for Montoya on this debut effort. Even with help from some famous friends (Debbie Davies, Al Kooper, Richie Hayward [Little Feat], and both former employers), Montoya asserts himself as the focal point. Sadly, this was one of Collins' last studio appearances before his death, playing on the Lowell Fulson-penned "Talking Woman Blues" (commonly known as "Honey Hush"). Although Montoya showcases his massive guitar muscle, it is merely a fraction of the power of his live performances. © Char Ham © 2013 AllMusic, a division of All Media Network, LLC. | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/gotta-mind-to-travel-mw0000173327

With the release of Gotta Mind to Travel, Coco Montoya's debut album, it's tempting to call this talented guitarist/vocalist a "new name." However, those who follow the blues scene know better. Montoya's long working relationships with John Mayall and the late Albert Collins have given him vast experience in the blues, and plenty of time to develop his own personal voice. And that voice comes through loud and clear on Gotta Mind to Travel. Montoya has assembled a terrific party band to compliment his bouncy delta-blues style and tasty guitar leads, including Debbie Davies on rhythm guitar, Albert Molinaro on bass, Joe Yuele on drums, and Mike Finnegan on Hammond B-3 organ. Though Montoya grew up playing in rock 'n roll bands, his blues career started in 1972 when Albert Collins discovered him playing drums at a little bar in Culver City. A few months later, Collins asked Montoya to join his touring band. After several years of touring with Collins, Montoya hooked up with John Mayall's Blues Breakers. Montoya soon advanced to lead guitarist in the Blues Breakers (following in the footsteps of such greats as Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor), and spent ten years touring the world with Mayall. Montoya's solid musical education is evident on Gotta Mind to Travel, which features a classic blues sound and B.B. King-style vocals. From party cuts like "Too Much Water" and "Talkin' Woman Blues" to slow-down numbers like "Someday After Awhile," Montoya delivers the goods. Gotta Mind to Travel is also benefitted by guest appearances from Richie Hayward of Little Feat, Al Kooper, and his mentors - Albert Collins and John Mayall. Says Montoya, "I'm dedicating the album to Albert Collins because he gave me freely, as a father would give a son." Fans of the blues take note. Coco Montoya is ready to grab your ear. © Randy Krbechek - from Randy Krbechek's Metronews, Music Reviews http://www.cdshakedown.com/080295.htm

A great debut album from a great guitarist, a modern day blues, soul/R&B master, and easily one of the best blues rock albums of the 1990’s. In 1995, The Hard Report (a radio trade publication) called “Gotta Mind To Travel”, "one of the best blues albums this year and sets the stakes incredibly high for any other releases the rest of the year. Montoya's passionate vocals and expressive guitar are the foundation for what will surely be an album that stands well in the test of time." The album also contributed towards Coco’s award for Best New Blues Artist at the W.C. Handy Awards in 1996. The album is HR by A.O.O.F.C and features musicians that include the late Albert Collins, Al Kooper, John Mayall, Debbie Davies, and the late, great Little Feat drummer Richie Hayward. Buy Coco’s great “Can't Look Back” album and support real music. Coco’s “Dirty Deal” was produced by another Little Feat member, Paul Barrere and is worth checking out [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 94 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Too Much Water - Coco Montoya, Doug MacLeod 4:00
2 Gotta Mind To Travel - Albert Collins 3:50
3 Talkin' Woman Blues - Ferdinand Washington, Lowell Fulson, Fats Washington 3:58
4 Someday After Awhile - Freddie King, Sonny Thompson 5:03
5 Top Of The Hill - John Mayall 4:30
6 Same Dog - Coco Montoya, Doug MacLeod 4:46
7 Love Jail - Coco Montoya 3:43
8 You Don't Love Me - Coco Montoya 5:09
9 Nothin' In The Streets - S.Taylor 5:00
10 Am I Losing You - Coco Montoya 6:41

MUSICIANS

Coco Montoya - Lead Guitar, Vocals on Tracks 1-8, 10: Guitar, Vocals on Track 9
Debbie Davies - Lead Guitar, Vocals on Track 9: Rhythm Guitar on Tracks 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10: Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals on Tracks 1, 3
Albert Collins - Lead Guitar on Track 3
Albert Molinaro - Bass on Tracks 1-10
Mike Finnegan - Organ on Tracks 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9
Benny Yee - Organ, Piano on Track 10
Al Kooper - Organ on Track 4
Rob Rio - Piano on Track 8
John Mayall - Piano, Harmonica, Vocals on Track 5
Joe Yuele - Drums on Tracks 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9
Mark T. Williams - Drums on Track 4: Drums, Percussion on Track 10
Richie Hayward - Drums on Track 5
Darryl Leonard, Joe Sublett - Horns on Tracks 2, 9
Kellie Rucker - Backing Vocals on Track 1

BIO

Though he grew up as a drummer and was raised on rock & roll, Coco Montoya became an outstanding blues guitarist after stints in the bands of Albert Collins and John Mayall. Montoya debuted as a leader in 1995 with the Blind Pig album Gotta Mind to Travel and garnered an award for Best New Blues Artist at the following year's W.C. Handy Awards ceremonies. Born in Santa Monica, Montoya played drums for a local rock band that toured the region during the mid-'70s, playing in area clubs. Although he had recently been turned on to blues at an Albert King show, he was somewhat unprepared to sit in with another blues legend -- "the Iceman" Albert Collins -- when a bar-owner friend of Montoya invited the bluesman to play at his nightclub. Though his inexperience showed, the young drummer impressed Collins enough to hire him for a Pacific Northwest tour three months later. The tour soon ended, but the pair's affiliation remained for more than five years, while Montoya learned much about the handling of blues guitar from "the Master of the Telecaster." By the early '80s, Coco Montoya was back in the small-time nightclub business, playing guitar with several regional bands. At one night's show, he realized that John Mayall was in the audience, so he dedicated a cover of "All Your Love" to the British blues maestro. The song prompted Mayall to hire Montoya as lead guitarist for a new version of the Bluesbreakers he had formed. Despite the enormous pressure of filling a spot once held by Eric Clapton and Peter Green, Montoya jumped at the opportunity. His first album with the Bluesbreakers came in 1985. Mayall had not released an album in five years at that point and the Bluesbreakers had been dead for more than 15, but the live album Behind the Iron Curtain proved Mayall's viability thanks mostly to the fiery work of Montoya. The guitarist appeared on three studio albums with Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, but then struck out on his own by the mid-'90s. Signed to Blind Pig, Montoya released Gotta Mind to Travel in 1995 with help from Mayall and another former Bluesbreaker compatriot, rhythm guitarist Debbie Davies. After years of toil under Collins and Mayall, Montoya was finally in the spotlight and his award as Best New Blues Artist of 1996 proved quite ironic, given his years of experience. His second album, Ya Think I'd Know Better, was followed by 1997's Just Let Go. At that point, Montoya and Blind Pig parted company and he signed with Alligator Records. Suspicion was released in 2000, followed two years later by Can't Look Back and by Dirty Deal in 2007. All three discs incorporated a definitive soul/R&B approach. I Want It All Back, produced by Keb' Mo' and Jeff Paris, appeared in 2010. © Richard Skelly © 2013 AllMusic, a division of All Media Network, LLC. | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/coco-montoya-mn0000164970/biography