Blues Blast Magazine Album Review: Jimmy Burns – It Aint Right

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This CD review was originally published in the February 25, 2016 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at www.bluesblastmagazine.com

Jimmy Burns – It Ain’t Right

Delmark Records

www.jimmyburnsband.com

www.delmark.com

15 tracks / 57:58

Like all great blues players, Jimmy Burns has a pretty cool life story, and one that makes his musical approach unique. This Chicago-based musician was born in Mississippi during World War II and was raised on a cotton plantation where he learned how to play guitar. He grew up around Delta blues until his family moved to the Windy City in the mid-1950s. By 1960 he was recording and playing out, and he toured the country until he slowed down his music career in the early 1970s to raise a family and run his barbeque business.

Jimmy got back into the swing of things in the 90s, and began a long-running gig at the Smokedaddy Club in Chicago. Delmark’s Bob Koester found him there and set him up to record his 1996 debut on the label, Leaving Here Walking. This led to an international tour and a new record every three or four years, all of which are very good.

It Ain’t Right is Burns’ latest Delmark Records release, and it was recorded over a few days last February at the Riverside Studio in Chicago. Jimmy took on the vocals, guitar, and harp, and he was joined by his usual crew of Anthony Palmer on guitar, Greg McDaniel on bass, and Bryant “T” Parker on drums and backing vocals. Also along for the ride were Sumito “Ariyo” Ariyoshi on piano (from Billy Branch’s band), the super talented Roosevelt “Mad Hatter” Purifoy on organ, and a killer horn section of Marques Carroll, Chris Neal, and Aaron Getsug. Bringing all of this together was producer Dick Shurman, who you may know from his work with Albert Collins, Magic Slim, and Johnny Winter.

The first two tracks on the disc are originals that were written by Billy Flynn, a superb guitarist and esteemed member of the Chicago blues community. As you would expect, these tunes make the most of Burns’ guitar skills, but they also work great with Jimmy’s rich voice and his more than capable band. “Big Money Problem” has a cool bounce with melodic and bluesy guitar lines and great opportunities for Ariyoshi to work his piano magic. The other song is a nice rhythm and blues ballad, and “Will I Ever Find Somebody?” features Jimmy’s soulful voice along with a very tasteful horn arrangement and Purifoy setting the mood on the organ. After this, the remainder of the album is an assortment of blues, rhythm and blues, and soul covers, and Burns worked his personality into all of them so that they form a very nice collection of classic American music. It should also be noted that this is a very well produced project with great balance and a very warm sound – Shurman has done his magic once again.

There are a couple of Percy Mayfield songs in the mix, and they have been reworked quite a bit. “Long As You’re Mine” may be the most energetic version you have ever heard, as it goes full-bore R&B with the horns leading the way. And “My Heart is Hanging Heavy” goes the funky soul route, with the fantastic backline presence of McDaniel and Parker and some powerful guitar playing from Burns. There is not enough space to write about all of these songs, but you will surely find one of your favorite artists in the mix somewhere, as there are tunes from Jimmy Reed, Little Walter, Junior Wells, and Goree Carter. He even included Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” which has been covered a lot, but Jimmy gave it a super clean uptempo Latin feel which may sound odd on paper, but it works and ends up being a truly unique offering.

A standout track from It Ain’t Right is the straight-up blues song, “Hard Hearted Woman,” which was originally done by Jimmy’s older brother, the late Eddie “Guitar” Burns. The younger Burns’ guitar touch is wonderful and this tune is a touching tribute to a great Detroit bluesman, not to mention a really tasty serving of blues music. A close runner-up is the final track, “Wade in the Water” and this traditional song combines the Mad Hatter’s organ and a collection of lovely vocal harmonies to create a gospel tune that will put a smile on the face of any sinful soul.

Jimmy Burns does not cut a new album very often, but when he does it is perfect and It Ain’t Right is no exception. Jimmy and his band covered a lot of musical ground on this release, and along the way they took a lot of music you are already familiar with and presented it in their own voice. Give the album a listen and see what you think, and if you are in the Chicago area, be sure to check out Burns’ website to see if he has any shows scheduled, it will definitely be worth your time!

P.A.F. Electric Guitar Pickups - From Machines to Magic

Aloha!

Gibson PAF (Patent Applied For) pickups were originally installed on instruments from 1955 to 1961 (or so), and these are considered the holy grail of vintage electronics, selling for thousands of dollars each. If you have ever wondered what the complete story is on these pickups, Jon Gundry has put together a comprehensive website, P.A.F. Electric Guitar Pickups - From Machines to Magic, that will fill in all of the blanks for you.

Jon Gundry has plenty of practical experience repairing vintage PAF pickups, and he has figured out how to make reproductions that are very faithful to the originals owns. His company, ThroBak Electronics, sells very fine reproduction pickups that are made in the USA. So, he is the PAF man, and it is cool that he is sharing this knowledge with us. By the way, he also sells really kick-ass reproduction harnesses and non-PAF reproduction pickups too, so head over to throbak.com to see what he has in his store.

But for the full PAF story you will need to click on pafhumbucker.com. Of course, there is a bit of a sales element to the PAF page, but my god it is all good stuff. There are plenty of detailed photos, some videos, and many text sections that describe every last bit of these pickups. The site is neatly laid out, with sections for:

- PAF History

- PAF Anatomy

- PAF Winders

- PAF Repros

- PAF Legends

- PAF Links

I am not going to go into more detail, because if this sort of stuff is your bag you will click on everything in Gundry’s website no matter what I say. Anyway, I love this website, and if you ever wanted to know anything about the PAF pickups, you will find it here. Check it out for yourself at pafhumbucker.com

Mahalo!

Blues Blast Magazine Album Review: Zac Harmon – Right Man Right Now

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This CD review was originally published in the February 18, 2016 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at www.bluesblastmagazine.com

Zac Harmon – Right Man Right Now

Blind Pig Records

www.zacharmon.com

www.blindpigrecords.com

11 tracks / 53:14

Zac Harmon is a real-deal bluesman with killer guitar chops, solid songwriting skills, and the ultimate rhythm and blues voice, but despite this wealth of talent his solo recording career got started a bit later than one might think. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, he started his guitar work in the South with blues musicians that included luminaries such as Sam Myers and Dorothy Moore. But by the early 1980s he felt the allure of Los Angeles where he hoped that his music career would blossom.

Though he started out as a session player, Harmon found success in the City of Angels as a songwriter and producer with many record, film, television, and advertising credits, and one of the high points was his production work on Black Uhuru’s 1994 Grammy-nominated album. But after writing and performing a few blues songs for a film he was working on, Zac felt the calling to return to his blues roots so he put together his first solo release, Live at Babe & Ricky's Inn. This was a turning point in his life and he went on to earn a Blues Music Award for “Best New Artist Debut” for The Blues According to Zacariah.

Right Man Right Now from Blind Pig Records is Zac Harmon’s seventh solo release, and it is certainly a nice piece of work. Zac handles the majority of the vocals and guitar playing, and he is joined by a core band of Buthel on bass, Cedric Goodman on drums, and Cory Lacy with the keys. A few guest artists made it onto this disc too, as you will hear throughout. As Harmon is an accomplished songwriter, it should be no surprise that nine of the eleven tracks on this album are originals, and there are two pretty awesome covers thrown into the mix for good measure.

The album kicks off with eight originals in a row, the first of which is “Raising Hell” which features Lucky Peterson on organ and Anson Funderbaugh on guitar. This bouncing track has a bit of Texas blues from Funderbaugh, Chicago stylings from Lucky, and silky smooth (yet hearty) rhythm and blues vocals from Harmon. This is a good times party anthem, which is always a killer way to start the set.

The next two tracks continue with traditional themes that you have come to expect from modern blues. “Ball and Chain” is about a lover that is a stone cold bummer, and is set to a slide guitar fueled swampy blues that is punctuated by the funky bass of Buthel and a bit of talk box. And “Hump in Your Back” is a slice of braggadocio about what a smooth lovin’ man the singer is, and it is a righteously funky with a rocking backbone. This song includes blues hero Bobby Rush on vocals and harp, and once you add in Les Kepics on trumpet and Chuck Phillips on sax this ends up being one of the standout tracks on the disc.

Then the party gets put on hold and the tone becomes serious with “Stand Your Ground,” with its simple yet powerful lyrics that are inspired by the significant events surrounding this controversial Florida law. The accompanying music is hard-edged blues with a somber mood provided by Peterson’s Hammond. This sequencing of songs works well, and Harmon starts the cycle over again with three more traditional songs and then another dash of reality with “Back of the Yards,” which is about the loss of so many young men due to inner city violence. This tune is surprisingly funky, thanks to Buthel’s bass and some slick organ playing from Mike Finnigan.

The two covers are placed near the end of the album, and they are not the ones that you hear every blues artist using, and Zac’s takes on Little Milton’s “Ain’t No Big Deal on You” and John Lee Hooker’s “I’m Bad Like Jesse James” are breathtakingly good. The latter is a 7 ½ minute opus that slowly bangs along and builds dramatically with its jangly guitars and warbly harmonica from Chef Deni. Harmon’s voice is perfect for the quasi-spoken word vocals and howls of this one, and it will surely get stuck in your head for a day or two after hearing it.

Right Here Right Now is a solid effort from Zac Harmon, and this modern blues collection stands on its own with a unique sound and voice. Harmon’s songwriting is relevant, his voice is like butter, and his guitar playing is clean and red-hot. Zac is one of the artists that will help carry the blues music into the future, so make sure to check out this album.

Ultimate Support TS-100B PA Speaker Stand Review

Howdy!

A lot of products sound too good to be true, and when I first heard about the Ultimate Support TS-100B speaker stands that is exactly what I thought. These stands are hyped that they will actually lift your PA speakers up to magical heights with little to no effort. After trying them out, I can say that these things actually work!

I have used and owned Ultimate Support stands before and they have always worked well for me, so I should not be surprised. On first glance, these are fairly typical tripod speaker stands, with 1.5-inch aluminum tubing and a durable black anodized finish. This model adjusts from 40-inches to 79-inches, and the base ends up being about 4 feet across, with a load handling rating of 150 pounds.

If you look a little bit closer, you will find that the clamps are unusual as they are not the usual crummy plastic that most stands use. These are made of metal, which is really handy as these are the parts I have broken most on my speaker stands.

But the real magic is the “Air-powered” unit inside which actually lifts the speaker up for you. It is really quite simple: set the stand up as you normally would at its lowest setting, horse your speaker onto the stand, and turn the release knob (also metal, by the way). If your speaker is under 50 pounds, it will rise all the way up to 6 feet 7 inches all by itself. If your speaker weighs more you will have to give it a little help, but it will be nothing like the good old days when it was your muscles doing all the work. Then crank down the knob and you are good to go. Take down is exactly the opposite: just turn the knob and the speaker will come back down, though if it is under 50 pounds you might have to pull a little bit – again, no big deal, and much safer.

These things are awesome, and I am never buying a cheap speaker stand again!

The Ultimate Support TS-100B is sold in a 2-pack from discerning online suppliers for $150, and this includes the Ultimate Support Limited Lifetime Warranty. Should you need to go higher, there is also the TS-110B (which goes up to a bit over 9 feet), and there is also the TS-110BL with the super innovative leveling leg – I will be writing more about that one later. Check these things out if you get the chance!

Mahalo!

February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017

Rest in peace, you had the sweetest touch on the piano and you will be missed.

Blues Blast Magazine DVD Review: The Guitar of Robert Johnson and The Guitar of Skip James

Good day!

This DVD review was originally published in the January 7, 2016 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at www.bluesblastmagazine.com

The Guitar of Robert Johnson and The Guitar of Skip James

Stan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop

www.guitarvideos.com

If you have always wanted to learn to play the blues guitar but do not know where to start, pick up a decent acoustic 6-string and head on over to Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop website and start looking around. For the price of one lesson you can pick up a 3+ hour DVD set that will get you headed in the right direction.

Stefan Grossman is not just a publisher, he is first and foremost a real-deal guitar player with serious credentials. He hails from Brooklyn, and was taught by the esteemed Reverend Gary Davis as well as other legends that include Son House, Skip James, and Mississippi John Hurt. Though he was touring extensively, in the late 1960s he saw the opportunity to reach guitarists with albums that included tablature so they could be played along with, which is how we got his fabulous 1967 LP, How to Play Blues Guitar. As time went on, he added many titles and eventually got into CDs, videocassettes, and DVDs.

Today there are dozens of titles available from Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop, with different artists providing instruction. One of these folks is Tom Feldman, a blues preservationist and talented guitarist who has the uncanny ability to play amazing reproductions of works as originally done by the masters of the blues guitar. He has produced videos on bottleneck slide, Delta blues, and Mississippi hill country blues, as well as a series of videos that can show guitarists how to play like their favorite guitarist, including Son House, Frank Stokes, Charlie Patton, Blind Willie Johnson, Bukka White, and many others. I recently had the opportunity to go through two of these DVD lessons: The Guitar of Robert Johnson and The Guitar of Skip James, and came away very impressed.

The Guitar of Robert Johnson is quite an undertaking, with three discs and almost six hours of material included. Johnson’s discography includes only 29 songs that were recorded in 1936 and 1937, and Feldman’s lessons include nearly all of them. Unlike some other releases from Stefan Grossman the original artist recordings are not included in the lessons (due to licensing issues), so you will need to buy your own. Of course, if you are a Robert Johnson fan that wants to learn how to play like him, you certainly already own his complete catalogue. Tom groups the songs by type (standard and open tunings, then by position) then plays each of the tunes as he sings along. Feldman has a pleasant demeanor, and he is an excellent teacher who goes through the nuances of each the songs in the proper amount of detail, slowing down and explaining the structure as necessary. As an added bonus, there is a .pdf booklet on each of the disks that includes tablature and lyrics for each song. This document does not come up on the DVD menu, but you can find it with Internet Explorer (PC) or Finder (Mac).

The Guitar of Skip James has the same features as the Robert Johnson lessons, including the .pdf documentation and Tom Feldman’s excellent instruction. But it takes a slightly different tack, as its two disks (234 minutes) include bonus material of original audio performances by James, as well as some of his performance at the 1966 Newport Folk Festival. The fifteen songs that are covered are divided into standard, crossnote, and Spanish tuning.

Both of these DVD-based lessons are well produced, with clear cinematography that is lit properly and numerous camera angles (including a very helpful split-screen mode). The sound is clear and the guitar cuts through nicely, even on laptop speakers, though it would be optimal to put the sound through a decent set of speakers. From an instructional perspective, this is a sound learning method that allows the student to work at his or her own pace and to be immediately rewarded by hearing the results, which is a wonderful motivational factor. But it should be kept in mind that these are not beginner lessons, and they are recommended for intermediate or advanced players.

So, these video lessons from Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop are not going to make a novice player sound like either one of these esteemed artists, but an intermediate or advanced player will definitely get their money’s worth in a hurry. If you go to a guitar teacher and tell them you want to learn Robert Johnson or Skip James songs, what they will be able to do for you will not even begin to approach what Mr. Feldman has put together here. These DVDs are worth every penny ($49.95 for Robert Johnson or $39.95 for Skip James), and even if you are not aspiring to be just like one of these artists be sure to see what else the website has to offer. Surely something will strike your fancy as there is a little something for anyone who wants to get started playing, or who is interested in taking his or her guitar skills to the next level.

Blues Blast Magazine Album Review: Blue Rose – Detroit Boogie

Good day!

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

Blue Rose – Detroit Boogie

Coon Creek Records

www.bluerosedetroit.com

www.cooncreekrecords.com

12 tracks / 48:23

How we ended up with Detroit Boogie from Blue Rose is definitely an interesting story. This Motor City-based band was formed by Jon Martin and Corey Storm in 1992 and played shows in and around Detroit and the Midwest until around the year 2000. There were a few personnel changes throughout the years, and the only Blue Rose full-length album that was ever released before was 1997’s Rock Me Low.

A few years ago, Jon went back through previously recorded material, and started working with analog tapes from 1994 to put together Detroit Boogie, which is kind of a prequel to their debut release, if you think about it. This album captures a unique aspect of the band, as there are three lead vocalists: Ahada, Beverly Ratliff, and Kim Lange. Also in the line-up from these 1994 sessions are Jon on bass, Corey on guitar, Barry Kovach behind the drum kit, and David Favro on keyboards and sax.

Blue Rose’s Detroit sound is a decidedly more rock than blues, and on this disc there are a dozen tracks that are evenly split between originals and covers. Ahada and either Storm or Martin wrote all of the originals, make sure youcheck the liner notes for details, as they are a nice resource for this release. Production values are good, and two decades after the fact Martin was able to put together a lively and organic recording that captures the essence of the band.

The party starts off with ”The Storm,” an original blues rocker with funky bass, screaming guitar, and plenty of sax to go around. Ahada’s voice is pure soul, and the backing vocals are incredible. The backline is tight and Corey’s guitar work has uncanny feel and timing. This tune is backed up a guitar-heavy version of Elvin Bishop’s mid-70s classic “Fooled Around & Fell in Love,” which calms things down a bit after the extra hot opening track. Other covers include Don Nix’s blues standard “Goin’ Down,” Ray Charles’ “I Believe in My Soul,” and Aretha Franklin’s “Evil Gal Blues.” Chances are very good that each of these will be the hardest rocking version of these songs that you have ever heard.

As a whole, the originals are also hard blues-rock, and they are consistently well written and entertaining. The standout track of the bunch is “Let it Ride,” which has a lot going for it. This driving song starts out with a bit of a bass solo and then the layers of sax and vocals harmonies kick in. Barry Kovach does a marvelous job of holding this one together and his drums fills are tasty indeed. At a touch over three minutes, this one is done was over far too soon!

The set comes to a close with another pair of covers: the Temptations’ funk standby “Shaky Ground” and a soulful yet rocking rendition of Ray Charles’ “Unchain my Heart. ” Favro kicks out a hammering piano solo on the latter, which is a nice counterpoint to Storm’s hard-edged guitars, Martin’s fat bass, and the ever-present lovely backing vocal harmonies.

Detroit Boogie from Blue Rose is a nice time capsule of what was going on in the Motown rock and blues scene twenty years ago, and it was a labor of love for Martin to put this material together into a tidy package for their fans to enjoy. If you are a fan of the era, the city, or the sound, you will need to check it out for yourself, as it is a kicking set of really fun music!