Midnight Breakfast – Close to the Wall | Album Review

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This CD review was originally published in the November 12, 2015 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at www.bluesblastmagazine.com

Midnight Breakfast – Close to the Wall

Glitterhouse Records

www.midnightbreakfastbluesband.com

http://label.glitterhouse.com

10 tracks / 48:13

There are times that it is not possible to put a label on a band or their music, and Midnight Breakfast from Bergamo, Italy is a perfect example of this. Over the past 30 years this blues band has developed their own tone and sound, one that bridges the roots of the genre with modern songwriting. Their latest album, Close to the Wall, is a heady piece of work that fans of any type of blues music should enjoy.

Midnight Breakfast is fronted by Marco Valietti on vocals and guitar, and for this latest project he was joined in London’s Master Chord Studio by Stefano Albertini on guitar, Luigi Cortinovis on bass, and Fabio Carenini on the skins. There are no keyboards or horns to be found on this release! Breaking with the homegrown tradition of their earlier albums, the band brought in a producer, Paolo Legramandi, to help them record all ten of their original songs over just four days. As a bonus, somehow they arranged to have the mastering completed at the venerable Abbey Road Studios. If only those walls could talk…

All of that work paid off, as Close to the Wall is a slick piece of work that has the feel of a live performance. The set kicks off with “There is a Bird” which has a Creedence Clearwater Revival swamp rock vibe, but the similarity stops once Valietti starts to sing. The words “raspy” and “throaty” are overused in album reviews, but Marco redefines these tired words with his beautifully croaking baritone. This effect plays well with the sound of the rest of the band, which uses a sparse arrangement to provide additional drama for the vocals. “You’re Talking About Your Feet” brings back the swamp rock sound (“Suzie Q”, this time), with some very tasty call and response between Marco and the lead guitar. As with the other tracks on the album, he adds a lot of extra sounds to his vocals that are not exactly words, and the overall effect is stunning.

From there they drop into a more conventional Chicago style blues on “Trying to Satisfy Myself,” with crystal clear guitar leads and a walking feel to the backline. A jangly guitar solo is the icing on the cake for this song. “Close to the Wall” is also a fine piece of fairly normal guitar-centered blues, this time with some crazy falsetto vocal work from Valietti.

The band mixes things up throughout Close to the Wall, and “One of These Mornings” is a neat song that could have been programmed on a mid-1970s progressive AOR radio station. This song has high quality guitar leads that could have come from Robin Trower, and the ostinato of bass and rhythm guitar moves things along at a markedly retrained pace. Marco shows even more vocal diversity and delivers the words in a breathless whisper.

With “I Missed the Man” and “Take Me,” Midnight Breakfast flirts a little with country blues-rock, and they do a respectable job. In fact, these tunes raise the question of whether this band could actually pull off a credible version ZZ Top’s “La Grange!”

The disc closes out with “Let Me Smoke My Last Cigarette” (how appropriate!), a slow burning blues track with subtle guitar interplay between Valietti and Albertini. A plodding and dramatic song like this would have been perfect with a little Hammond thrown into the mix, but these guys made it work anyway, and this was a perfect way to finish things up.

Midnight Breakfast’s Close to the Wall is one of the best modern blues albums of 2015, and it would definitely be worth your while to give it a listen. All ten songs are awesome by themselves, but as a whole this set is amazing and this record is the best work the band has done to date. There are no planned gig dates in the United States on their website, but hopefully they will make their way over here soon!

Blues Blast Magazine Album Review: Zoë Schwarz Blue Commotion – I’ll Be Yours Tonight (Live)

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This CD review was originally published in the October 1, 2015 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at www.bluesblastmagazine.com

Zoë Schwarz Blue Commotion – I’ll Be Yours Tonight (Live) | Album Review

33 Records

www.bluecommotion.com

www.33jazz.com

12 tracks / 60:52

Sometimes bands release live albums when they have not recorded anything new in a while and they need to get something new on the market quickly. This is not the case with Zoë Schwarz Blues Commotion’s new live disc, I’ll Be Yours Tonight, which is has been released hot on the heels of their Exposed disc. They had no plans to make a live album at the time, but the opportunity arose and it turned out wonderfully!

I’ll Be Your Tonight is Blue Commotion’s fourth album in three years, and their first live release. It was recorded last November during a show at Richard Dunning’s “Tuesday Night Music Club” in south London and there are twelve songs in this set, all of them Koral and Schwarz originals, with the exception of a single cover from Billie Holiday.

This United Kingdom-based band is led by Zoë Schwarz on vocals and Rob Koral on guitar; their fellow members are Pete Whittaker on the Hammond and Paul Robinson on drums. On this evening they were joined by Si Genero on the harp and backing vocals, Ian Ellis on sax, and Andy Urquhart on trumpet. This line-up results in a very rich sound as they throw down an hour of the blues with a healthy injection of jazz, soul, and rock.

Blue Commotion’s set kicks off with “Your Sun Shines Rain,” a blues rocker with crunchy guitar, pointed harp accents, and a touch of cowbell in the intro. From this song forward you will hear why they decided to burn this show to a disc: the mix is well balanced and the band is obviously having a good evening – they are tight as a drum. Zoë also has a stellar evening as her vocals are strong, and her voice is one of a kind. It is tempting to compare her sound to other famous lead singers, but on further reflection her unique tone, diction, and inflection truly make her voice unique (in a good way).

For the second track on I’ll Be yours Tonight the crew dispenses the sole cover, Billie Holiday’s “Fine and Mellow,” and they gave this jazz standard a thorough rearrangement. They cut the tempo way back, added some blues, and gave Schwarz room to breathe her uncommon interpretation of the tune. The extra time and space adds a new dimension of drama to what is already a really heavy tune. The band can change moods in a heartbeat, as shown by their quick segue into “Let me Sing the Blues,” a countrified blues rocker. Pete Whittaker shines on his Hammond (with an awesome solo!) and Si Genero turns in a tasteful performance on the harp and joins in on the vocals for the chorus.

This group has a lot of depth and can carry off most any genre, and they include a lot of them in this show. One example of this is the plaintive jazzy blues of “We’ll Find a Way.” This slow song of loss and love is howled with true emotion, with an unexpected crescendo into a dramatic power ballad midway through. Then on the next track, “Say it Isn’t So,” they band unleashes a full force soul review with horns galore. These kinds of drastic changes from song-to-song could kill the momentum of an album, but this playlist was carefully sequenced, and the final result fits together very well.

After the heartfelt and soulful (though unconventionally rocking) gospel tune, “Beatitudes,” the band closes out this set with “Take Me Back.” Blue Commotion burns the club down on this one with Robinson’s jackhammer drums, Koral’s killer guitar work, and a little call and response from Si Genero. This was a cool way to finish things up, and it certainly leaves the listener wanting more.

If you want to see Zoë Schwarz Blues Commotion play live, you had better make your way to England, as all of the gigs on their schedule are at clubs there, but hopefully someday they can be lured to the States with some sort of festival or blues competition. In the meantime, you might want to think about picking up a copy of I’ll Be Yours Tonight, as it is the next best thing to being there.

Blues Blast Magazine Album Review: Henry Carpaneto – Voodoo Boogie

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This CD review was originally published in the March 5, 2015 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at www.bluesblastmagazine.com

Henry Carpaneto – Voodoo Boogie | Album Review

OrangeHomeRecords

www.orangehomerecords.com

12 tracks / 66:23

A long path was traveled to produce Italian pianist’s Henry Carpaneto’s debut album, Voodoo Boogie. The journey started in New Orleans after a tour with famed blues guitarist Bryan Lee when the two of them headed into the studio to lay down the keyboards and Lee’s guitars and vocals. After two years, Lee sent the tracks along to Henry in Italy where the bass, drum, and saxophone tracks were recorded. The final three tracks were finished up in London with guest artists Otis Grand on guitar and Tony Coleman on the drums. The final results are very good, with a strong set of piano-driven blues that should please most blues fans.

Henry Carpaneto is the top blues pianist in Italy and is constantly working, but his reach extends beyond the European continent to the home of the blues in the United States. He appears at major festivals and shows across America, including recent gigs at the New Orleans Jazz Festival and the Blues Memphis Awards. He has worked with a fine group of solid musicians over the years including Guitar Ray & the Gamblers, Jerry Portnoy, Lea Gilmore, Sonny Rhodes, Paul Reddick, and Big Pete Pearson.

Voodoo Boogie comes in at well over and hour and is made up of eight songs written by Lee and four neat cover tunes. The first track is the original tune “Drinking and Thinking” with a heavy beat and a sweet guitar and piano intro. Lee has a very effective tenor voice to go along with his perfect guitar phrasing, and Carpaneto bangs out a complicated honkytonk piano part throughout. All of this is set over the rock-solid beat of the house band of Andrea Tassara on drums and Pietro Martinelli on the double bass.

Henry switches to the Wurlitzer for “My Brain is Gone” which is a well-written 12-bars blues track with jazz influences. Lee knows how to build a song as well as he plays the guitar, which is no small feat, and he and Carpaneto trade solos in this mid-tempo piece that will put a smile on your face. “Angel Child” brings Paolo Maffi’s saxophone into play on the album. This slow 12-bar blues song uses the age-old theme of lost love to good effect, and hearkens back to the transition of blues to rock in the mid 1950s.

The three London tracks feature classic big band blues leader and guitarist Otis Grand and B.B.King’s drummer, Tony Coleman. There is Louis Jordan’s jump blues classic “Caldonia,” so of course Maffi’s saxes are prominently featured as well as Grand’s red-hot leads. Another fine selection is B.B King’s “Rock Me Baby” and Lee does a respectable rendition of the Beale Street bluesman’s classic vocal sound as Coleman keeps time on his hi-hat.

Just to show you that Henry has a bit more in his bag than the blues, the band tears off a quick ditty, the Latin-themed “Mambo Mamma” which might not be the most politically correct tune in the world “She’s not fat, she’s just tall…” but it certainly is a fun song! They also throw a little boogie-woogie into the mix with “Turn Down the Noise,” which provides a nice break in the heavier blues action.

The album draws to a close with one last original, “Blind Man Love,” which is five minutes of slow-tempo juke joint glory. An old-time feel is attained through Lee’s dirty guitar (which features a fabulous solo) and Carpaneto’s saloon piano sound that benefits from a strong right hand. When the song is over do not pop the disc out right away, as there is a bonus track hidden at the end that provides one last taste of Henry’s piano magic.

Henry Carpaneto’s Voodoo Boogie is a testament to the value of hard work, perseverance, and good communication. It stands together as a singular body and does not sound like a mishmash of different pieces that were stuck together, which is a real danger with projects that were spread out like this one. Henry and Bryan can be proud of the work they did here, as the result is a solid set of piano-driven blues that is worthy of your valuable listening time and a bit of your hard-earned money.