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Showing posts with label 2000's Blues/Rhythm And Blues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2000's Blues/Rhythm And Blues. Show all posts

28.6.13

Toni Price


Toni Price - Midnight Pumpkin - 2001 - Antone’s Records

As a blues and R&B singer, Toni Price has no peers. Only Bonnie Raitt and Sue Foley -- both guitar players of considerable merit -- can approach the emotion Price can dig from a song, and of the two only Raitt has the same confidence with the material. Here, she is surrounded by her stalwart band and a host of friends who make up the elite studio crew of Austin, TX, including fiddler Champ Hood; guitarists Derek O'Brien, Scrappy Jud Newcomb, and Casper Rawls; bassist Frosty Smith; drummer Michael Duffy; David Grissom; and string king James Burton; as well as Tommy Shannon from Double Trouble and Jon Dee Graham. There are percussionists and a horn section and the whole damn thing shimmers with grace. Price delivers her songs without the reaching wail of her earlier records because she doesn't need to; she's a more nuanced vocalist, allowing the song to dictate to her what it needs. And what a collection of songs! There's the stomping bluegrass of Shelley King's "Call of My Heart," the smoky, tender artistry of Gwil Owen's "Something in the Water," the bluesy soul of "Work on It" and "Start of Something Good," and the Okie blues of J.J. Cale's "Like You Used To." Price also digs into her considerable early swing chops on the standard "Right Kind of Man," and duets with Malford Milligan on what should now be the watermark for Joe Tex's "I Want to Do Everything for You"; its original raw soul and barely restrained heat smolders between the singers. As if that weren't enough, there's a gospel quartet version of the late Blaze Foley's "Darlin'" and Gwil Owen and David Olney's swampy R&B torch stomp "Measure for Measure." From a lesser singer, this record would be a mess, a hodgepodge of rootless styles and wasted ambition. But in the heart and voice of Price -- via the production aesthetic of O'Brien and herself -- these songs all segue into one another, dovetailing seamlessly into a portrait of original raw soul. Lyrics and harmonies drip from Price's honeyed mouth like fine whiskey and cut a silhouette of her profile in the heart of the blues. One listen to Midnight Pumpkin and you'll never be the same. © Thom Jurek © 2013 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/midnight-pumpkin-mr0000934411

Classy R&B and soul blues with a touch of bluegrass and Gospel from the great Toni Price. This album hasn’t a dud song. Songs include Joe Tex’s “I Want To Do (Everything For You)” and J.J. Cale’s “Like You Used To”. The vocals and musicianship on this album are first class and the album is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Buy Toni’s great “Low Down and Up” album and support real music [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 127 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Start of Somethin' Good - Jerry Williams 6:01
2 Thank You for the Love - Michael Keck 4:29
3 Work on It - Jerry Williams 4:03
4 Something in the Water - Gwil Owen 4:22
5 The Right Kind Of Man - Abel Baer & L.Wolfe Gilbert 3:25
6 Call of My Heart - Shelley King 3:42
7 Darlin' - Blaze Foley 3:55
8 Measure for Measure - Gwil Owen & David Olney 4:12
9 I Want To Do (Everything For You) - Joe Tex 4:17
10 Who Needs Tears - Shelley King 2:42
11 Like You Used To - J.J. Cale 4:03
12 Keep This Love Alive - Jerry Williams & Walter Richmond 4:37
13 We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye - Harry M.Woods 3:13

MUSICIANS

Toni Price - Lead Vocals
Scrappy Jud Newcomb - Electric & Acoustic Guitar
Derek O'Brien - Electric Guitar
Casper Rawls - Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, National Steel Guitar
Jon Dee Graham - Lap Steel Guitar
Olivier Giraud, Champ Hood - Acoustic Guitar
Roscoe Beck, Larry Fulcher, Luis A. Guerra, Tommy Shannon - Bass
Kevin Smith - Upright Bass
Erik Hokkanen - Mandolin
James Burton - Wood Dobro
Ian McLagan - Piano
Brannen Temple, George Raines - Drums
Barry "Frosty" Smith - Drums, Tambourine
Michael Duffy - Udu Drum, Tambourine, Shaker, Conga
Mambo John Treanor - Snare Drums, Snake Rattle
Jose Galeano - Congas, Timbales, Cowbell
Lisa Pankratz - Snare
John Mills - Tenor Saxophone
Gary Schletcka, Milan Moorman - Trumpet
Stanley Smith - Clarinet
Lustre Family Reunion: Uncle Shaspo - Lead Vocals, Cousin Chester - High Harmony, Cousin Esther - Low Harmony
Malford Milligan – Vocals (Duet) on Track 9

BIO

Vocalist and song stylist Toni Price's first exposure to blues was through second-generation blueswoman Bonnie Raitt. After studying her recordings, Price began to study the recordings Raitt learned from, women blues singers like Sippie Wallace, Victoria Spivey, and others who made names for themselves in the 1960s blues and folk revival. Price began singing in high school, but after graduating she sat in with country bands around Nashville, where she was for the most part born and raised, after moving from southern New Jersey. When Price lived in Nashville in the late '80s, she would religiously listen to local blues radio programs on college stations there. Price moved to Austin in 1989, and learned from the locals, who included Clifford Antone, owner of Antone's blues nightclub, and Austin-area guitarists like Derek O'Brien, who produced her second album. Shortly after she began singing in country bars in Nashville, she hooked up with songwriter Gwil Owen, who wrote many of the songs on her debut, Swim Away. In her blues singing career, Price cites vocalists Aretha Franklin, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Patsy Cline, and Ray Charles as influences. Although critics have heaped praise on her gifted phrasing and delivery at her live shows and on both of her albums, the title of singer/songwriter is an inappropriate one for Price; the latter part of the title doesn't apply to her. In an interview in Austin, Price said she's never had the inspiration or desire to write songs, and figures she wasn't given that talent. Price's albums out on the Antone's/Discovery label include Swim Away (1993), Hey (1995), and Lowdown & Up (1999). Midnight Pumpkin appeared in the summer of 2001, followed by Born to Be Blue in 2003 and Talk Memphis in 2007. © Richard Skelly © 2013 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/toni-price-mn0000618191

24.1.13

Pete Haycock

LINK
Pete Haycock - Pete Haycock's True Blues feat. Glen Turner Live - 2008 - Rmi Sound

A great example of just how good blues and R&B can sound when played by musicians of the calibre of Pete Haycock, the former Climax Blues Band and ELO Part II founder and the great jazz and blues guitarist, Glen Turner. Pete has never had the solo success he had with the CBB, but he is a superb guitarist and slide guitarist. There are some great solos and duets on this album with and great improvisation from both Pete and Glen demonstrating just how versatile and expressive the R&B genre can be [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 146 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Roadhouse Blues - Densmore, John Paul, Jim Morrison, Krieger, Robert A., Manzarek, Raymond D. 6:45
2 Love Sneaking Up On You - Scott, Jimmy J., Tom Snow 5:08
3 Lucienne - Pete Haycock 5:36
4 Call Me The Breeze - Cale, John W. 4:55
5 Midnight Hours - Larry Dale 7:12
6 Feelin' Alright - David Mason 6:21
7 Sleepwalk - Ann Farina, Farina, John S., Farina, Santo A. 4:29
8 When It's Love Time - Ruth McGhee 4:06
9 Dust My Broom/Statesboro Blues - Elmore James 5:32
10 So Many Roads - Paul Marshall 10:12
11 Rocky Mountain Way - Joe Vitale, Kenny Passarelli, Rocky Grace, Walsh, Joseph F. 6:18

BAND

Pete Haycock - Guitar, Vocals
Glen Turner - Guitar
Paul Harriman - Bass
Josef Kirschgen - Drums

BIO (WIKI)

Pete Haycock (born Peter John Haycock, 4 March 1951, Stafford, Staffordshire, England) is a musician and composer of film scores, who started his career as lead guitarist, vocalist, and founding member of the Climax Chicago Blues Band. Formed in Stafford in 1968, the band changed their name from the Climax Chicago Blues Band to the Climax Blues Band in 1970. The original band line-up consisted of Haycock (lead guitar, vocals), Derek Holt (guitar, vocals), Richard Jones (bass), Arthur Wood (keyboards), George Newsome (drums), and Colin Cooper (harmonica/vocals). The Climax Blues Band went through a few personnel changes during the early 1970s before arriving at their most stable, creative, and successful, line-up, which consisted of Haycock, Holt (switched to bass guitar), Cooper, and drummer John Cuffley. The band, featuring these players, toured heavily in the 1970s and 1980s. During much of this period, Haycock played concerts with his rare trademark instrument, a gold-plated Veleno guitar, which also graced the cover (and was the namesake) of Climax's Gold Plated album.In May, 2012, the Major League Productions Ltd record label released an until-then unknown vault recording of a 1976 live performance, featuring the Climax Blues Band at the top of their game: Climax Blues Band / World Tour 1976. Haycock provided some insightful liner notes for the CD's insert, and the recording further demonstrates the tight musicianship that was found in the band's lineup at that time. The band produced more than 15 successful albums in their heyday. Though another group of musicians, which at one time was led by late former bandmate, Colin Cooper, is currently calling themselves "Climax Blues Band", their lineup does not consist of any founding members, and has not found the commercial success or following that the original, "true" Climax Blues Band enjoyed during Haycock's years with the band. After he and the original Climax bandmates went their separate ways in 1988, Haycock went on to record an instrumental album for I.R.S. No Speak entitled Guitar and Son, as well as the Night of the Guitars live album (from the tour of the same name). After that tour, Haycock teamed up with fellow guitarist Steve Hunter and former Climax Blues bandmate, Derek Holt, to record an album under the name, H Factor. In 1990, Haycock was approached by Bev Bevan, formerly of Electric Light Orchestra, to join the newly-formed Electric Light Orchestra Part II. The group toured and recorded with Haycock in the early 1990s, releasing both a live CD and video of their performance with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. In the early 1990s Haycock began scoring music for films. He was asked by Hans Zimmer to collaborate on several projects, including K2 and Drop Zone, among others, and it was on the soundtrack for Thelma & Louise that Haycock performed the Thunderbird theme music on slide guitar. Haycock was asked by Zimmer to recreate his performance, with a live symphony orchestra, for the recording of Wings of a Film, which was a compilation album of Zimmer's successful film scores. Other work with Zimmer led to Haycock to begin composing music of his own for film and television. One False Move, (1992) found Haycock collaborating with Derek Holt. More scores would follow, and Haycock helped produce recordings for other artists. Haycock collaborated with Zimmer again in 2011, and played guitar on Ron Howard's soundtrack for The Dilemma, (starring Vince Vaughn and Kevin James). In 2005, Haycock supplied all the music for the Hollister Independence Motorcycle Rally DVD charity project, for producer Jeff Byler, with proceeds benefiting Emmaus House, a shelter for battered women and children. When the DVD's producer suggested a follow-up soundtrack to the project, Haycock went back into the studio to complete the album that became Bikers' Dozen, which featured a vocal performance by John Fiddler (Medicine Head). No stranger to charity work, Pete Haycock signed on as a major contributor to the forthcoming Damage Limitation charity CD project in 2009, which was spearheaded by fellow musician Robin George, and was built around Robin's hit song, "LovePower and Peace". Pete contributed many trademark slide guitar tracks and donated studio time to the project, a charity effort to benefit children with cancer and other terminal diseases. This collaboration, which includes the donated talents of scores of veteran musicians , not only resulted in a dynamic album of music, with proceeds benefiting charity, but has resulted in the forming a "super group" called The LovePower Band, which has landed a major record deal and completed its first album, which was released in 2011. There is also talk of a potential LovePower Band tour in the future. After an absence from the stage and live performances, Haycock formed a new band, Pete Haycock's True Blues (featuring Glen Turner). In 2008, they toured Europe and released their first recording together: Pete Haycock's True Blues Live (featuring Glen Turner). In April 2009, Pete Haycock, in an interview, talked about the early days with the Climax Blues Band, the transition to studio work (with and without Hans Zimmer), and his return to the stage with his new band, after an absence from live performances of fourteen years. Pete Haycock continues to record, and perform live, and has been a featured guest performer with the Siggi Schwarz' band, and was on the same bill with ZZ Top and Johnny Winter in 2012.

MORE

Peter John Haycock was born 4th March 1951 at 63, Tixall Road, Stafford, England. He went to St.John's Primary School then King Edward VI School in Stafford.When he tried to join the recorder class the music teacher said he would never become a musician. Eat your heart out Mrs.Barrett! Pete taught himself to play harmonica at the age of 9 and then started to play guitar at the age of 11 with the help of the Bert Weedon instruction book. The big acoustic guitar was bought by Pete's Uncle Bill. He was told it would be ideal for a beginner because it had "plenty of daylight between the strings and the neck"! Pete was very impressed ( as were so many other young English kids at the time ) by Cliff Richard's backing group "The Shadows", who were the first successful British group to feature electric guitars. Hank Marvin's solos were an inspiration and Pete would play them on the stairs of the family home to get extra 'reverb' from the bare walls. He played his first electric guitar (A "Broadway")at a gig aged 12 in a miners' club in Rugeley, Staffordshire.Pete's guitar playing on the stairs had been heard by a couple of local lads with an interest in Blues and they formed "The Mason - Dixon Line", playing not only covers of the current blues - flavoured hits but performing their own versions of lesser - known U.S. Blues recordings. The line - up of the band also included local Stafford musicians Maldwyn Hawkesworth ( vocals, percussion ) Roger Peet ( Rhythm Guitar ) Paul " Flick" Taylor ( Bass) ......and one George Newsome ( Drums ) who would later be invited by Pete to join a certain other local band.....and since the subject has been broached ....it is also worth mentioning that during his time at King Edward VI School he was guest guitarist with a school band called the Velvet Chords gigging at school and college dances ........with Richard Jones on bass............. and Geoff and Tony Nicholls on drums and rhythm guitars respectively. A similar lineup made up the imaginatively named band -'The General Erection' ! Pete remembers.... " The lad who played bass in my first band Mason Dixon Line, Paul "Flick" Taylor, played lefty but with "normal" strings I seem ro recall, or maybe the other way around, it was hard to tell because he seemed determined to "out-Wyman" Bill himself by playing as "vertically" as possible. I recall him resting the guitar neck on his nose for most of the set. His bass was actually a masterpiece of confusion too. It was basically a Burns copy (made by his father who was a qualified "French Polisher" by trade... so he certainly didn't rub the French up the wrong way..sorry...anyway, you can imagine how immaculate the woodworking and finishing was) but the "tracing" of the Burns shape must have been done only on the back of the original and then transferred directly to the "face" of the new timber, so it looked like a mirror image when finished. To complicate matters further the only chunk of plastic "scratchplate" they could get was non-laminated and of an awfully bright orangey red hue.....a weird beast that was. It sounded OK though, despite the two cheap Vox pick-ups, through the old Linear amp! "Flick's Dad" built all of the cabs for our first guitar amps too by the way...again bright red for some reason. What a tolerant chap he must have been Mr.Taylor, bless him, despite perhaps being somewhat colour blind. Albert King played with "upside down" stings too apparently, which helps to explain the major third (4....yes, 4 semitone) bends he could make on that Flying V with heavy strings....whilst Clapton (and myself) could only attempt them using ultra light or banjo strings at first. If you think about it, or better still try it on a lefty guitar, you drag the strings downwards with as many fingers as you like to support the effort as opposed to pushing upwards with only the third finger, it says 'ere. I remember playing gigs in the States and jamming with Hendrix's ex-drummer from the "The Band Of Gypsies"...Buddy.......erm......huge black chap, ex-convict type attitude.."don't mess wiv me you Muvvas".....he actually sat on Luke O'Reilly's head (our short-lived tour manager) when he moaned at him about summat.......that certainly shut him up in a hurry too......sorry, second name escapes me for the moment...NO.....hang on... GOT IT! Buddy Miles! Anyway Buddy obviously learned guitar by playing on Jimi's spare axes whilst posing in the mirror or something equally strange, 'cos he jammed quite effortlessly with me on guitar, and was a useful player indeed (for a drummer) on my spare axe, simply turned over the wrong way - left handed....weird. It reminds me of that Red Dwarf episode where they end up, or rather begin, in Nodnol in the backwards Universe....know that one? A classic. " In 1967 he met up with Colin Cooper who asked him to join the newly - formed soul band "The Gospel Truth" along with some musicians from the Stoke - on Trent area. Despite some local successes the band never progressed beyond playing the odd college gig ( albeit as far afield as Durham and Scotland ) so after this line - up fizzled out the following year Pete initiated the formation of The Climax Chicago Blues Band whose original line-up was Pete Haycock ( lead guitar) Derek Holt ( piano ) Colin Cooper ( vocals, harmonica ) and at Pete's suggestion, Richard Jones ( Bass) and George Newsome ( Drums ). The band was soon augmented by pianist Arthur Wood, leaving Derek Holt free to switch to rhythm guitar.After a few gigs Colin also started to play saxophone with the band. Their first album " The Climax Chicago Blues Band" was on Parlophone and in all honesty it only came about because of the upsurge in the popularity of the Blues in the U.K. during the late 60's . Their friend and "manager" Peter Riley fortunately approached Beatles' Producer George Martin's people at A.I.R. London, then a brand new Production company, at exactly the right time. As fate would have it they were looking for a Blues - based band to record, especially since their strong connections happened to be with E.M.I. - who just happened to be lagging behind a little in the field. The Producer of the first couple of albums at E.M.I.'s Abbey Road Studios was a young lad ( who, oddly enough, had some Stafford family connections ) called Chris Thomas. Chris was officially little more than a " Tea Boy " .....or " Gofer "..for our American readers....when he was given the chance to record this obscure little band from Stafford. He has gone on to become one of the greatest Record Producers of the last quarter of the 20thcentury and continues into the 21st. It is also noteworthy that the Recording Engineer at Abbey Road was none other than Geoff Emerick. Any true Beatles fan will be pleased to tell you about his pedigree..... The debut album was mostly just a studio recording of the Band's favourite songs from the "live" set, completed in 2 days with very few overdubs. But even at this early stage Chris Thomas's slightly zany influence could already be heard. "And Lonely" or the deliberately ancient - sounding version of Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" were not exactly your typical "British Blues Band" output - although the barely 17 year old guitarist was also encouraged to... "just jam a 12-bar blues and see what happens..." the result being the Freddie King / Clapton influenced instrumental "Twenty Past One". A willingness to experiment was undoubtedly one of the trade marks of the whole A.I.R. London set -up, a trait no doubt fostered by their association with the Beatles, and this had a positive effect on the band's progress for several years in that they were no longer content to simply churn out cover versions of their Chicago Blues heroes' records. By the time the second album " Plays On" came along this slightly oddball approach to making a "Blues" album had progressed to the point where it was now quite acceptable to mix the styles of the likes of Wilburt Harrison and Otis Rush with Jazz, Cuban and even Classical influences ( indeed the beginning of " Mum's The Word" bears more than a passing resemblance to " Also Sprach Zarathustra" although the bands motivations may have been slightly more focussed on Kubrick rather than Strauss...) and then you chuck in a bit of guitar jamming ( "Twenty Past Two"......yes you guessed it ...another guitar instrumental...) and a pinch of Ragtime for good measure ( "Temptation Rag" ) courtesy of Arthur Wood's nimble fingers . Unlike the first album none of these tracks were truly rehearsed before the band entered the hallowed gates of Abbey Road, which may sound extremely risky especially now that we live in in the age of computer music, deliberately crafted images and truly manufactured Pop. If you bear in mind the fact that the second album, complete with its experimental elements, was recorded in less than a week, it's no wonder that Pete's memories of the session are best summed up as " a blur of activity and creative madness, more or less instigated by Chris Thomas .Although we only had a few days to record an album nobody had made any real plans, unless Chris managed to fool us all, which I don't believe for one second." " But it was a wonderful experience and it's sad that nobody makes records like that any more. It's not a question of youth and fervour either, because even if they have the artistic freedom to try their ideas many "modern" musicians seem content to judge the results of their labours by the standards of their peers, instead of just going for it and trusting in their individuality. Of course you have to be sure of your abilities, whether it be as a player or a singer or whatever - that's your own responsibility - but I've since made those same mistakes myself from time to time and the inevitable conclusion that I reach after 30 odd years of recording is that I can only enjoy listening to those older recordings if they were made with genuine creativity or emotion, even naivety, or better still, all of these elements accompanied by a good dose of chaos. Unfortunately, from the band's point of view, Richard Jones had left before this recording to study for his M.A. in Cambridge, and considering the success Richard had with the musically and theatrically impressive band "Principal Edwards Magic Theatre" a few years later, Pete is of the opinion that it would have been interesting to hear what would have happened to "Plays On" had Richard still been around to enjoy the ride." This is only the first part of Pete's Biography, there is more to follow as the site develops. © http://www.petehaycock.com/biography.htm

26.11.12

Doyle Bramhall

LINK
Doyle Bramhall - Is It News - 2007 - Yep Roc Records

Considering that it took Texas drummer and singer/songwriter Doyle Bramhall's 12 years to issue his debut album, 1994's Bird Nest on the Ground and that nine years passed before his sophomore effort, Fitchburg Street, dropped, his third set, arriving only four years after its predecessor, is quick work. Bramhall is a bit of a living legend in Texas music circles. He's worked with everyone from Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan, to Marcia Ball and Mason Ruffner to Jennifer Warnes -- and a whole lot of others. Is It News was co produced by songwriting guitar slinger C.C. Adcock and Bramhall and recorded in five locations from Minnesota to Los Angeles to Austin to New Orleans. Bramhall wrote or co-wrote everything on the set, including "Chateu Strut" with Stevie Ray. The cast of players here is also impressive. It includes everyone from his co-producer and Jimmie Vaughan to his son Doyle II to Denny Freeman, Jason Burns, Billy Etheridge, Jimmy Mac, and Matt Perrine, just to name a few. That doesn't make it a cluttered effort, however, and Is It News feels all of a piece. The music, rooted in blues and Texas-style R&B, comes roaring out of the gate, but it's not simply some boogie bar-band effort. By the standards of his other records, this is downright slick and better for it. There is real variety in the tunes here. "Lost in the Congo" is Bo Diddley by way of New Orleans funk and swamp rock with a smokin' little guitar solo by Mato Nanji and slide work by Mike Keller. But Freeman and Adcock also play guitar here, and it's one dense, spooky rock number. The title track has a little more Texas swagger in its backside, a bluesy broken love song with great production and backing vocals. The mix is really warm and inviting and Bramhall's singing is at its very best. The swamp sound returns but the vibe is different, Texas soul. Speaking of soul, "I'll Taker You Away," with its big reverb, warm wall of guitars, and Bramhall's B-3 work, is a smoking plea for forgiveness. "Big" features the huge nasty blues-rock that made his other records so popular with I-IV-V beatheads, but Bramhall and Adcock are talking enormous here. They listened to a lot of Diddley records to get these guitar sounds and the drums. Their sound can be likened as popping up through the floor of the apartment downstairs and knock dishes off your table. It's enormous, noisy, and nasty. "Ooh Wee Baby" is a slowish love song, but made for the dancefloor. It's got all this country-styled production in it, but the sound is something from the '50s, all innocent and soulful like the best in rhythm and blues. The humorous "Top Rank Boxing" has the swamp shuffle happening, but the canned handclap sound on it would have been better left out of the mix. Also, "That Day," an acoustic number that sounds like an elegy to S.R.V., just doesn't fit here, especially so near the end of the set. The roiling-snake toughness of big-bumpin' blues is in full force on "Little Star (The Moon Is Shining)." Bramhall's voice with all that reverb on it sounds like it's coming out of a canyon in the middle of a foggy night. But it works. "Is It News" is loud and proud, full of twists and turns in its eclectic production. (Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, and Jim Dickinson will likely really dig this -- even as the squares scratch their heads and wonder, What the...?) But it's also very warm. It's so warm, baby, it'll snuggle up to ya nice and slow like, then grab ya and wrassle ya to the ground and demand your full attention. Then it'll leave you panting for more. Thankfully, all you have to do to reproduce this feeling is play it again. It's retro, sure, but in all the righteous ways -- in others it sounds as space-age freaky-friendly as the Jetsons. Either way it rocks. Is It News is nearly hip beyond belief. Who would have though this kinda cool still existed? This CD was nominated for a Grammy award in 2007 for Best Contemporary Blues Album. © Thom Jurek © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/is-it-news-mw0000725815

Great roots blues from the late Doyle Bramhall influenced by artists like John Lee Hooker , OV Wright, Buddy Miles, Otis Redding , Howlin 'Wolf, Erma Franklin and many more. In 2007 "Is It News" was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Listen to Doyle's "Bird Nest on the Ground" album [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 110 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Lost In the Congo - CC Adcock, D. Bramhall 4:31
2 Is It News - D. Bramhall 4:07
3 Chateau Strut - B. Etheridge, D. Bramhall, Stevie Ray Vaughan 3:55
4 Tortured Soul - D. Bramhall 4:30
5 Cryin' - CC Adcock, D. Bramhall 3:10
6 I'll Take You Away - CC Adcock, D. Bramhall 4:31
7 Big - CC Adcock, D. Bramhall 4:35
8 Ooh Wee Baby - D. Bramhall 4:12
9 You Left Me This Mornin' - CC Adcock, D. Bramhall 1:12
10 Top Rank Boxing - B. Logan, CC Adcock, D. Bramhall 4:15
11 That Day - D. Bramhall 2:43
12 Little Star (The Moon Is Shining) - D. Bramhall 4:06

MUSICIANS

Doyle Bramhall - Acoustic Guitar, Drums, Percussion, Hammond Organ, Vocals, Human Whistle
Denny Freeman - Guitar, Leslie Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Slide Guitar, Hammond Organ, Piano
Mike Keller - Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Leslie Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Soloist
Doyle Bramhall II - Slide Guitar, Background Vocals
Mato Nanji - Guitar, Leslie Guitar, Soloist
Jimmie Vaughan - Guitar, Maracas
Tarka Cordell - Acoustic Guitar
Scott Nelson - Bass
Billy Etheridge - Keyboards, Organ
Justin Stanley - Percussion
Derek Huston - Baritone & Tenor Sax
Jimmy Mac - Accordion
Matt Perrine - Sousaphone
Georgia Bramhall, Strutts - Vocals

BIO

Born in Dallas in 1949, this singer/songwriter/drummer grew up listening to Dallas radio (with heavy doses of Jimmy Reed, Ray Charles, and Bobby Blue Bland on rock & roll stations) and locals the Nightcaps, one of the country's first white electric blues bands. In high school he joined the Chessmen, which soon included a young Jimmie Vaughan on guitar; they opened in Dallas on Jimi Hendrix's first U.S. tour. Moving to Austin in 1970, he and Vaughan formed Texas Storm, which later shortened its name to Storm and occasionally included Jimmie's younger brother Stevie on bass. Doyle next formed the Nightcrawlers with Stevie (now on lead guitar), who later credited Bramhall as a primary vocal influence. During this time the two also co-wrote "Dirty Pool," which Vaughan included on his debut, Texas Flood. Doyle wrote or co-wrote seven more songs on subsequent Stevie Ray albums, and collaborated on three for Family Style by the Vaughan Brothers (which also featured Bramhall on drums). While drumming with Marcia Ball and Mason Ruffner in the early '80s, Bramhall began stockpiling solo recordings, which eventually comprised his long-awaited debut on CD, featuring both Vaughans and Doyle's son, guitarist Doyle Bramhall II, formerly of the Arc Angels. He also began a collaboration that proved interesting -- with pop singer Jennifer Warnes. The striking Bird Nest on the Ground appeared in 1994 from Discovery, followed by Fitchburg Street in 2003 and Is It News in 2007, both from Yep Roc. Purportedly suffering from pneumonia, Bramhall died of heart failure in his sleep on November 12, 2011 in Alpine, Texas. He was 62. © Dan Forte © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/doyle-bramhall-mn0000167549