Blues Blast Magazine Album Review: D.L. Duncan – D.L. Duncan

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This CD review was originally published in the November 19, 2015 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at www.bluesblastmagazine.com

D. L. Duncan – D. L. Duncan | Album Review

15 South Records

www.dlduncan.com

10 tracks / 40:28

You may know D.L. Duncan as Dave Duncan, but no matter what you call him he is truly a fine bluesman, with a beautifully soulful voice and an amazing touch on the guitar. Dave has been on the music scene for more than 35 years, and he has made his mark as a gold-record songwriter for other artists (Curtis Salgado, Lorrie Morgan, and Buddy Jewell), but he also writes songs for his own projects. On his albums he has also been pulling in some first class talent to help him in the studio and the results have been solid, to say the least.

His new album, D.L. Duncan, is no exception. On bass there is David Hood, a famed producer (Willie Nelson and Cher) who has played with Traffic, Boz Scaggs, and The Waterboys. The other half of the rhythm section is Vince Santoro on the drums (Rosanne Cash, Charlie Louvin, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band). It would be a dream to have Grammy-winner Delbert McClinton on the harp and Sonny Landreth on the slide guitar for your album, and D.L. made this dream come true. And the icing on the cake is the inclusion of Kevin McKendree on the keys and the amazing McCrary sisters on backing vocals. Duncan was the producer and wrote eight of the ten songs on this disc, plus he took care of the vocals and guitars. There is no question that all the right pieces were in place to make this a wonderful record, and blues fans will not be disappointed.

The band kicks off the set with “I Ain’t the Sharpest Marble,” an easy-going blues song with a touch of boogie and heaps of humorous lyrics. D.L. mostly hangs back on the guitar with just a few pointed leads, but he lays down a nice solo midway through. McKendree delivers a fine performance on the piano, bringing the whole thing together into a neat package. The production values are first-rate here, with good mixing and nothing out of place (courtesy of multiple Grammy-winner Tony Daigle), and this work ethic blessedly carries over to the other nine tracks on the disc.

There is not a bad song to be found on the album, but there are a few standouts. One of these is Jerry Lynn Williams’ “Sending Me Angels,” which has been covered by luminaries such as Coco Montoya and Peter Frampton. This countrified soul song is done Duncan’s way, with some tasteful acoustic and resonator guitar playing, a killer beat, and a chorus that is just a bit sweeter because the McCrary sisters pitch in.

Another favorite from D.L. Duncan is an uptempo rhythm and blues tune, “Orange Beach Blues.” This song is orchestrated perfectly, with a wonderful synergy between the McCrary’s harmonies and McKendree’s Hammond. The backline of Hood and Santoro once again lay down a righteous rhythm and Duncan’s guitar work is smooth and soulful (including an Allman-esque close), which plays perfectly with his growly vocals.

All good things have to come to an end, and this time it is with “All I Have to Offer You is Love,” a sweet country blues ballad written by Craig Wiseman that was previously done very well by both Tanya Tucker and Dusty Springfield. The listener will find this song is built with a nice helping of Hammond B3, plenty of Landreth’s slide guitar and some cool pedal steel from David Pinkston. Duncan’s heartfelt lyrics are poignant, and this was a savvy choice to close the album out with.

D.L. Duncan’s new self-titled CD is a well-written, well-played, and well-produced, making it his best record to date and a must-buy for fans of blues and Americana music. He gets around the country quite a bit, so check out his website for the latest tour dates so you can see and hear his act in person. It will definitely be worth your time!

Blues Blast Magazine Review: All My Friends: Celebrating The Songs and Voice of Gregg Allman

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This CD review was originally published in the November 27, 2014 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at www.bluesblastmagazine.com

Various Artists -- All My Friends: Celebrating The Songs and Voice of Gregg Allman

Rounder Records

www.greggallman.com

www.rounder.com

2 CDs / 26 tracks / 2:31:54

1 DVD / 2:40:55

The Allman Brothers Band has survived its share of adversity since their first paying gig in 1969, and after 45 years they have finally called it quits and had their finals shows at New York City’s Beacon Theatre. One of the founding members, Gregg Allman, will continue on with his solo career, which is to be expected as he has quite a following of fans, including countless professional musicians.

On Friday, January 10, 2014, some of these legendary artists joined at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia to honor Gregg and join him in song. All two-and-a-half hours of this show were captured on two CDs and a DVD, so you can experience this magical evening for yourself! All My Friends: Celebrating The Songs and Voice of Gregg Allman includes 26 songs with performances from a lengthy list of industry hard-hitters and hall-of-famers, including Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Dr. John, Eric Church, Pat Monahan, Jackson Browne, John Hiatt, Vince Gill, Martina McBride, and more! Gregg Allman joined in the celebration too, along with the rest of the Allman Brothers Band for a.

The set list is chock full of Allman goodness, with early Allman Brothers Band albums represented as well as tunes combed from Gregg’s solo catalogue. It is noteworthy that the Allman Brothers Band actually performed a few of the tunes, but they also assembled a house band to die for that played for the rest of the evening. This included Don Was on bass, Kenny Aronoff on the skins, Jack Pearson and Audley Freed on guitar, Chuck Leavell on piano, Rami Jaffee behind the Hammond, and Jimmy Hall tearing it up the harmonica. This would have been good enough, but they also brought in the McCrary Sisters on backing vocals and a killer horn section of Jim Hoke, Vinnie Ciesielski, and John Hinchey. These are all pros with centuries of combined stage experience and they made the evening enjoyable and complete.

This is a high-quality release with excellent production values, and the producer for this Rounder Records project is the one-and-only 3-time Grammy award winner Don Was. He was definitely qualified for this task, with credits that include The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison and Neil Diamond. The sound and mix is as good as you will get with a live album, and the cinematography and editing of the DVD is crystal clear and it was put together so that fans get to see everything worth seeing.

Listening to the CDs is more challenging than the DVD as the first few times through it is difficult to envision what is happening on stage and who is actually singing – and most of the time it is not Gregg Allman. In fact, he does not even appear on stage until almost an hour in, when he joins Grammy-winning blues musician Taj Mahal on “Statesboro Blues.” But, without the visuals there is also a better of idea of who is getting the mail delivered, and there are definitely standout vocal performances. The highlight of the evening was “Midnight Rider” with Zac Brown and Gregg on lead vocals and Vince Gill backing them up on the harmonies: it induced goose bumps! Not far behind was McBride and Monahan’s duet of “Can You Fool” and the Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave) take of “Please Call Home.”

But the best part of the set is the DVD, and if you are not terribly busy you can take most of an evening to sit back and watch it. There are no special features or commentaries, but it is probably one of the better-produced concert videos that you will ever see. On the screen you get to see the mountains of amplifiers and the huge cast of musicians that made this tribute possible. This video gives a better idea of what a bang-out job that the house band does, including the powerful drumming of the indefatigable Aronoff, and the kicking yet subtle contributions of Pearson and Freed on guitar. The pedal steel work of Robert Randolph on “You Can’t Lose What You Ain’t Never Had” was a complete jaw-dropper and he did a righteous job alongside Gregg’s son, Devon Allman, on guitar. Also, the finale of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” is very touching as all of the musicians returned to the stage one last time with Gregg kicking things off.

If you are a fan of Gregg Allman or the Allman Brothers Band, then purchasing All My Friends: Celebrating The Songs and Voice of Gregg Allman will be an easy decision. If you like Southern rock, you will certainly want to pick up a copy too. But the universal appeal of this well-produced set is that it includes work from some of the most influential artists of today, which makes adding this well-rounded music collection to your library almost irresistible, even if you are only the least bit interested in the man or the band. Check it out for yourself, and do not be surprised if you end up buying a copy too!

Mahalo!

Andy Poxon – Must be Crazy | Album Review

Andy Poxon – Must be Crazy

EllerSoul Records

www.andypoxon.com

www.ellersoulrecords.com

13 tracks / 58:00

Folks like Andy Poxon are the future of the American music scene, and that is a good thing. Just barely into his 20s, he has three albums to his credit, each one has showed marked improvement over the previous, and they are all entertaining. Must Be Crazy, from EllerSoul Records, is his latest release and it is a must-buy in my book.

Andy comes from a musical family, and has seriously devoted himself to the guitar and mastering the art of writing and performing American music: blues, rockabilly, soul, rhythm and blues, and even a little jazz. He cut his first disc when he was 16, using this as a springboard to play even more shows around Washington DC and up and down the east coast.

Must Be Crazy features Andy on vocals and guitars, and he got a killer band together to back him up at the Rock House Studio in Franklin, Tennessee. The crew included Kevin McKendree on keys, Kenneth Blevins on drums, Steve Mackey on the bass and Jim Hoke on sax. Oh yes, and the fabulous McCrary Sisters and Chloe Kohanski on backing vocals! This disc was produced by Poxon and McKendree, and Kevin’s son, Yates, sits in on one track behind the organ.

A lot of hard work was put into this album, and it comes with 13 tracks, all of them written by Andy, with co-writing credit going to a McKendree on five of them. The title track is first up, and Poxon channels a little Elmore James with his big guitar and his swinging vocals. McKendree’s piano and Hoke’s sax make “Must Be Crazy” complete and give it that big city sound. This is followed up by the soulful “Living Alone,” which looks at the brighter aspects of being newly single, as he found out “how little he had to lose.” He does a nice job of punctuating his lines with smoky little riffs as necessary. There is not enough space here for a rundown on every song, but here are a few other highlights:

- This album is not all guitars and glory, and on a soul song like “Give Me the Chance” it is wise to let the piano and organ lead the way, at least to start things off. Poxon’s voice is smooth and the McCrary Sisters deliver the goods in a big way here. This is one of the standout tunes on the album, and shows how far Andy has come with his songwriting skills.

- “Harder Everyday” is a lovely R&B ballad that also features the McCrary Sisters, and very tasteful organ work from the elder McKendree. This song has a lot of neat textures, in particular a few layers of Hoke’s sax really help to make the mood and add a little drama where needed.

- Songs of love and loss are pretty common here, and “Already Gone” really dials things back and lets Andy lead with his vocals. Chloe Kohanski does a good job of matching her voice to Poxon’s, and the end result is another lovely bit of rhythm and blues.

”Rebound” closes out the set, and this instrumental features 14-year-old Yates McKendree on the organ. Andy flirts a bit with jazz on this lighthearted and funky piece, and it turns out to be a mellow way to end the set.

I hope that we see more albums from Andy Poxon, as Must Be Crazy shows a maturity in writing and musicianship that goes far beyond his years. My biggest worry is that some big name act will suck him up as a hired gun for his guitar, and that he will fade from the spotlight. I think he has a lot to say and it would a shame if we do not get to hear it!