The Muddy Sons Pushed On Down The Road Album Review

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This CD review was originally published in the December 21, 2012 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at thebluesblast.com

The Muddy Sons – Pushed On Down The Road

What in Sam Hell Productions

www.muddysons.com

10 tracks / 48:09

Sometimes you look at an album cover, band name or title and know exactly what you are in for when you listen to the music. When I got The Muddy Sons’ Pushed On Down The Road CD with a photo of smirking guitarist and drummer on the cover, I instantly had thoughts of raw blues and down and dirty rock and roll. Thank goodness that is exactly what I got!

The Muddy Sons are a duo from the Pacific Northwest, with Portland’s Madman Sam on vocals and guitars and Jeff “Drummerboy” Hayes of Seattle on the skins. Pushed On Down The Road is their debut album together, but that does not mean that these guys are new to the music business. Sam has put out four albums of his own, and Hayes has appeared on dozens of releases for various artists over the years. It turns out that they are a match made in heaven, or hell if you prefer your blues from the old school.

This album only took seven days to create and has ten original tracks that were written by Sam, and not a single Howlin’ Wolf cover in sight. Some of these songs that previously appeared on his solo acoustic albums include “I Can’t Take It Anymore,” “Two Cigarettes and a Half-Pint,” and “Like That’s Gonna Stop Me.” Sam produced the project as well as doing the editing, mastering, art layout and participating in the mixing. He is a busy guy, it seems. Sam and Hayes performed all of the music and there are no keyboard or bass parts; no other musicians are heard on this release.

“I’ll Be Satisfied” is the opening track of Pushed On Down The Road and is quite an eye-opening experience. This song is as raw as blues gets, with nasty and dirty guitar sounds, a howling voice and a slowly boiling drum line. Here you will hear the Muddy Sons’ expression of their love for Delta Blues, with a little of the Chicago sound mixed in. One way to describe their music is to say that it is what the old acoustic delta guys would have played if they had gnarly distorted electric guitars to mess around with.

Despite the lack of other instruments, there is not really anything missing from this recording, as all of the songs sound right just the way they are. After the seven-minute opener, the guys treat us to shorter high-tempo tune, “I Can’t Take it Anymore.” Hayes’ kick drum takes the place of a bass guitar in this one and Madman’s guitar is on fire, filling up every spare sonic moment. This song made the transition from its previous acoustic version with aplomb.

“Two Cigarettes and a Half Pint” also does well in its electrified version, with slide guitar galore and some seriously stomping drums. The lyrics of this energized southern rocker are not terribly deep, but from the title you probably already figured out that they would not be. The dynamic duo drops straight back into hard-core blues with “No Longer Qualified,” where Sam laments that now that he found a good woman he is no longer qualified to sing the blues. Of course this is not true, because he howls this one out with plenty of heart and soul, but it is a great play on words and his tale lets us hear what a great storyteller he is.

After a few more tracks with great titles such as “Stainless Steel Toilet,” and “Sorry As You Gonna Be,” the album finishes up with “She Talks Too Much.” I am kind of embarrassed to admit that I got the giggles when I heard the gloriously politically incorrect lyrics to this song. But there is more to this tune than its misogynistic leanings, as the Madman manages to cram more clever words and phrases into one song than should be allowed. Drummerboy keeps an arrow-straight beat throughout, and if you have ever been in a band you would be jealous that Sam managed to hook up with him.

The Muddy Sons are a hoot to listen to and they did a heck of a job putting together Pushed On Down The Road. Those that like nasty rock or blues will find plenty here to entertain them, and the fainthearted may want to take a test-listen before buying. By the way, I have heard that their live show is something to behold, so be sure to check them out if they are playing near you.

Mahalo!

Jazz Inn Lovely, Nagoya, Japan

Greetings!

I am not the world’s biggest jazz music fan, but I appreciate a good performance, and the Jazz Inn Lovely in Nagoya Japan always had top-notch performers on its stage.

The Jazz Inn Lovely is a small club located near Sakae that has been in town for over 30 years. They have a number of regular local artists, and they support them through the club’s own music label. Often times these performers and bands go on to become quite hege in Japan. But, they also draw in nationally popular artists, such as the equally lovely Keiko Lee.

It is a small club, so it is intimate, but it has a reasonably large stage (for a Japanese club). So there is an intimate vibe, but it does not feel cramped or crowded. Every time I have been there the sound has been perfect, not too loud and everything was as clear as a bell.

They have a full bar, and they serve good food with reasonable prices, and not much of anything over 1000 Yen. It is a foreigner-friendly place, and their service staff speaks good English.

It is open from 6PM to 2 AM, and the live music starts at 8:00 each evening. There is usually a cover charge, from 2000 Yen up to around 6000 Yen, depending on who is playing. If you show up late (close to midnight) there is no cover charge.

The Jazz Inn Lovely is located at 1-10-15 Higashi-sakura, Higashi-ku, Nagoya Aichi Prefecture 461-0005, and the phone number is +81 (0)52 951 6085. It is easy to get to, just a two-minute walk from Exit #5B of the Hisaya-odori Station on the Sakuradori Line.

Mahalo!

Graceland Mansion Tour Review, Memphis, Tennessee

Hello!

I recently had the opportunity to tour Elvis Presley’s Memphis, Tennessee home, Graceland. Even if you are not a fan of The King, this is a must-see item that should be in everybody’s bucket list.

Graceland was built in 1939 by Ruth and Dr. Thomas Moore. Elvis gave his folks a $100,000 budget to find him a house outside of town, and they chose this 14-acre estate. He proceeded to expand and modify it to his tastes, including additions to the main house and the building of other structures on the property. He died there in 1977, and was buried in the back yard, and you will find him there next to his folks and his grandma. Graceland was opened to the public as a museum in 1982, and these days about 600,000 people a year make the pilgrimage to Elvis’ estate.

I have long been a fan of Elvis Presley, and have never been able to work in a trip to see his home during my business travels. So, I decided that I had to make a special trip with Graceland as the primary destination. I am glad I did!

I bought the tickets online to save the hassles of waiting in line when I got there. They charge a $5 premium per ticket for this service, by the way. I went for the Entourage VIP tour, which includes all of the tours (airplanes, cars, etc.) and most importantly meant that we would not have to wait in the hour-long line to catch the mandatory shuttle up to the house. It turned out to be a hot day, and those people looked miserable. Good choice…

They started out by snapping a photo of us in front of a green screen, which I had no intention of buying, but it turned out really nicely, so I just had to buy it. Then it was on to board the shuttle for the short trip across the street to the mansion. They included a self-guided audio tour, which included little audio players that we could punch in codes to have the different displays and rooms described to us.

The tour starts through the front door, and fortunately I read up on the estate before I went so I knew that The Man had dies right above the front door! Then we got to tour half of the first floor, including his living room, dining room and kitchen. Nothing has been re-decorated, so it still has that mid-1970s charm. Then down to the basement to see the TV room and pool room, which were my favorites. The decorations and furniture are truly breathtaking.

Then, back up another staircase (encased in green shag carpet) to the Jungle Room. My god. Elvis had truly incredible taste! After this, you exit the house. No second floor tour – rumor has it that only Lisa Maria and Priscilla can go into his room, which is just as he left it.

You go out into the back yard, pass the car port and Lisa Marie’s old swing set, and take a walk thorough Vernon’s office. Going out through the smokehouse/shooting gallery, there is a path past the horses and stable to his trophy room. You have never seen so many Grammys and gold records in one place. There are also costumes from some of his movies in there.

Across from there is his racquetball building, which has been converted into another trophy room. Lots more gold records and jumpsuits in here, folks. And last on the regular mansion tour agenda is the Meditation Garden, where Elvis and his kinfolk are interred (and there is a memorial stone for his twin brother that dies during birth – who knew?). If you go for the VIP tour, there is another room you get to see with Lisa Marie’s memories of her dad. I thought it was pretty neat.

There are also a half-dozen other displays, and my favorites were his two airplanes and the car museum. The planes are definitely a little time worn, but are worth a looksie, if only to see the gold hardware in the bathrooms and Elvis’ mile-high club member exam area. The cars are fantastic, and include some motor bikes, and golf carts too.

There are a few downsides to the place. Parking is $10, and as you exit all of the sub-tours you have to pass through yet another gift shop. Also, Memphis is kind of a great big ghetto, and I never felt truly safe anywhere I went outside of Graceland. The town is not a great tourist destination, I guess.

Anyway, I thought that Graceland was cool. Others poo-poo it as small, lurid and gaudy, but I look at it as getting to glimpse Elvis Presley’s life, and I think it is a great opportunity for fans to get to know him, and for others who are not as familiar with his work to realize what an incredibly huge deal he still is.

I recommend seeing it soon, as there are plans to tear down the visitor centers and a lot of the area around Graceland to build a huge convention center and theme park. This would allow a few million people per year to visit. I cannot image trying to cram more people through the home unless they open up 24 hours a day.

Check it out for yourself!

Mahalo!

Rick Randlett Change Coming On CD Review

Hello!

This CD review was originally published in the December 13, 2012 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at thebluesblast.com

Rick Randlett – Change Coming On

Self-released through Fox Run Studio Records

www.rickrandlett.com

13 tracks / 46:13

Rick Randlett has been a staple of the North Central Florida music scene since the 1980s, and many weekends each month you can find him playing out around the Gainesville area. He has a distinctively growly voice, and smooth acoustic, slide and electric guitar skills that express the inspiration of his diverse influences which include the Yardbirds, Robert Johnson and Hank Williams. Over his career he has recorded three albums, the latest of which breaks down blues and country music down to their more basic levels.

Change Coming On is a bare bones release that is promoted as an acoustic album, and it is mostly unplugged with just a few electric guitar parts thrown in to mix things up. Rick performed the vocals and all of the guitars parts, which are all that can be heard on the CD, as there are no drums, bass or keyboards. He also wrote all of the tracks, recorded it at his own studio, and coproduced it with Donny Weatherford of Gainesville’s 1st Street Music & Sound Company. So, if you find anything wrong with it, the buck stops on Randlett’s desk.

But there is not much of anything to complain about, and you will get a good idea of what the album will be like from the title track, which comes up first. From the start it is apparent that Rick is not aiming to show that he is a great singer or a fabulous guitar player (but he is very good), but rather wants to tell stories and entertain through his songwriting. “Change Coming On” is a short blues song (only around three minutes), so it only starts to tell the story of a life gone wrong that still has a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Through the magic of studio tracks, Randlett’s acoustic guitar holds down the beat while his slide guitar sets the atmosphere in the background.

The mood lifts and the tempo picks up on “Goodbye to You” as he dreams about living the good life that can be found anywhere but where he is right now. There is some nifty acoustic guitar picking and at least three or four layers of guitars on this one. With a healthy dose of pedal steel, the theme goes more country with “Promise of Freedom” as he examines the feelings of moving on no matter how much life brings you down.

From here, Rick continues to explore the blues and country genres, including some nice 12 bar blues on “All Mixed Up.” He keeps things from growing stale by adding in new elements here and there, including nice vocal harmonies on “Fool for You” and jaunty finger popping on “Big Spender,” which also has some gloriously fat acoustic tones on it. Changes of pace help to keep the album from falling into a rut, as the tempo varies considerably from track to track.

“Seeing Nothing” is the final track on the CD, and it is also the one that breaks the mold that he cast for the rest of the songs. The lyrics of this acoustic rock ballad are gloomy and Bob Seger-esque, and the picked acoustic guitar has a harpsichord feeling and sound. Over these components there is tasty and ethereal electric guitar work that fits in perfectly. I think this was a good choice to end the album, and to remind his listeners that he is not a one-trick pony.

Overall, Change Coming On is a collection of thirteen relatively short tracks that do a good job of conveying the feel and message of classic blues and country music. None of them are flashy or complicated compositions but they work well when considered as a single entity, and it is apparent that Rick Randlett’s hard work has paid off. There was a ten year gap between’s second and third albums, and I hope he does not take as long to come out with his fourth!

Mahalo!

TC Electronic RS212 Bass Speaker Cabinet Review

Aloha!

In the good old days, there was no way a bass player would show up for a gig with only a 2 x 10-inch speaker cabinet. Everybody had 1 x 15’s, 2 x 15’s, and 4 x 10’s, and they all weighed a ton. But these days I plenty of guys doing small gigs with a 1 x 12 or 2 x 10 or 2 x 12 cabinet. And they usually sound really good!

We are looking at just such an animal today, the TC Electronic RS212. I recently had the change to try out a pair of these (singly and together) with the very nice TC Electronic RH750 bass amplifier.

The RS212 are compact cabinets, measuring 14 by 26 by 19 inches and weighing in at a spritely 52 pounds. This might seem a bit heavy for what it is, but these speakers come by it honestly through liberal use of high-density 18mm birch plywood. They are designed so that they can be stacked any which way, a philosophy that TC Electronic believes in. They like the idea of stacking the cabinets on end so they are tall and the performers can hear them better. Seems reasonable to me.

They are covered in a non-skid coating (sprayed on, maybe?), and I am glad to see that fuzzy carpet speaker coverings are no longer in vogue. The carpet looks just terrible after a few years, no matter how well you take care of it. The carry handles and front grill are made of steel and are recessed into the chassis so they should not suffer too much in transit.

Each cabinet is loaded with two 12-inch custom Eminence speakers coupled with a Eminence 33mm titanium co-axial tweeter. The RS212 is rated at 400 watts at 8 ohms. There are two parallel ¼-inch/Speakon connectors on the back panel, along with a tweeter control knob (turning it all the way counterclockwise turns it OFF).

I hooked these cabinets up to the RH750, and went to town with a few different active and passive basses. They performed nicely with all of them. TC Electronic did a great job of matching these cabinets up with their amplifiers.

With my passive Precision Bass with Deep Talkin’ Labella flats these, speakers are really smooth and well-balanced. I found that the low-end was a little thin when using one cabinet, but when I hooked both of them up thy really came to life. When moving to the upper volume extremes these cabinets can really move some air, and they are well-ported in the back to help out with this.

With some active basses, a Sadowsky P and a Marcus Miller Jazz, these cabinets can achieve a very sharp and high-fi sound. They could get a hard punching sound that made me smile like a little kid. I fiddled with the tweeter a bit and ended up backing it off about half way to get the tone that I liked.

When hooked together, the RS 212 cabinets could take everything that the 750 watt class D RH750 head could put out, and the amount of volume would be sufficient for most normal club or party gigs. I liked having the two cabs stacked on end and not only could I hear myself better, it seems like the overall bass tone was more focused. And I think that a single cab would be fine for smaller gigs, and it is certainly nice to practice with.

Overall, I really like the TC Electronic RS212 cabinets, and if I was looking for a new set-up, I would be actively looking to pick up a pair of these and an RH750. This company has a good handle on what gigging bassists need, and they are filling this niche nicely. The RS 212 cabinets have a list price of $909 and a street price of $599. Check them out if you get a chance!

Mahalo!

TC Electronic RH750 Bass Amplifier Review

Howdy!

I have long been a fan of TC Electronic effect pedals, and I think their tuners are pretty top-notch too. But I have never had the chance to play one of their bass amplifiers until recently, and I have to say that I was impressed by their RH750 bass head.

In case you are not familiar with the company, T C Electronic has been around since 1976, and I have had great experience with their amplifiers and effect pedals. Their products are solid and reliable, and are a definitely a good value. The RH750 is no exception.

The RH750 is the beefier 750-watt version of their very good 450-watt RH450. And, when designing this unit they did not go with the currently chic hybrid tube/solid state architecture that many manufacturers are using, instead is class D power amplifier coupled with a solid-state preamplifier.

If you are familiar with the appearance of the RH750 will not surprise you, and its size is comparable with the offerings from other manufacturers. It measures a mere 12 x 11 x 3 inches, and it comes in around 8 ½ pounds (a bit heavier than its competitors). It carries over the visual and structural themes too, with an anodized aluminum front plate and a black steel chassis with a built-in carry handle. They thoughtfully built it with feet on the bottom and on one side so that it can be mounted horizontally or vertically.

For a modern-day amplifier, the RH750 is not terribly complicated to use, so after getting it out of the box it should only take a few minutes of set-up and then you are good to go. On the back is a single Speakon / ¼-inch speaker output (4 ohm minimum), and a socket for the IEC power cord. The power switch is also back there (boo), as well as the 5-pin DIN remote socket, stereo RCA AUX in jacks, a 1/8-inch headphone jack, a balanced XLR out, and effects loop and a pre-post pre-amplifier switch. There is also a digital out for running the signal straight into a recording workstation.

On the front there is a single active/passive instrument input, 3 user preset switches, a four-band EQ, gain and master volume controls, a mute switch, and a shift switch. There are also two knobs for Spectracomp and Tubetone. Oh yes, and a tuner display and a gazillion red LEDs.

This is all really neat stuff. It is handy to have the three different memory settings if you are planning on taking a few different basses to your gig. The memory positions will save all setting except for mute and master volume. The memory settings can be controlled and the built-in chromatic tuner can be viewed with the optional RC4 footswitch.

The Spectracomp is a variable compression feature and the Tubetone provides a synthetic tube emulator of both pre-amp and power tube sections.

I like the way all of this stuff works – I tried it out with two different TC Electronic cabinets: the RS 210 and the RS 212, as well as a 12-inch Genz Benz Shuttle cabin and my 410 Ampeg. I use the different set-ups with my passive P Bass, my Active Stingray and my 60 Jazz Bass re-issue to get as many different sounds as possible.

For starters (and probably most importantly), the RH750 is very loud. It is easily on par with the Genz Benz 900-watt amplifiers, and it seems louder than the Tonehammer. And it sounds really good, too. It has a great clean tone that really cuts through the mix if you need it to. I was able to twiddle with the EQ to get the tones I needed, and have no complaints with its range. This thing has great mids and a powerful bottom end if you use enough speaker.

The tuner is intuitive (heck, it is always ON), and the menu structure is not confusing if you take a minute to look at the manual. The memory presets are fabulous, and I like that they included the LEDs so you can see what the levels of each knob are. By the way, the LEDs are powerful enough that they show up well in more conditions that just dark stages.

The Spectracomp does a nice job of calming things down when popping. The Tubetone does an ok job of replicating the tube sound, but it was not close enough o the real thing for me, so I would probably not use it in the long run. You can get some overdrive with it, though…

This unit works nicely as a headphone practice amp. I hooked up my iPod through the RCA jacks, and it sounded great through a pair of quality headphones. By the way, it was nice that they included a note on the back of the unit that says it is ok to use this head without a speaker load.

This head feels like a solid unit, and the handle works well. TC Electronic backs this made in Thailand unit with a 2-year warranty, should troubles arrive. That is a nice piece of mind.

I did notice a few quirks, though. I think that having only one speaker output is kind of a big drawback, and I don’t know why it is necessary to mute the speaker out when plugging into the RCA jacks.

But, all-in-all, the TC Electronic RH750 is a great amp, and their engineers did a good job of putting together a compact amplifier that will work well for bassists that need something durable and good for their gigs. It does not have enough power to fill huge halls, but in those cases you will probably be going though the PA anyway. The only real reason to stay away would be if you just have to have real tube sound. With a list price of $1604 and a street price of $999, this thing is a real contender.

Mahalo!

2001 Gibson Les Paul Electric Guitar Review

Aloha!

Today we are looking at a real peach of a guitar that most any rock guitarist would love to have in the arsenal: a fine-playing 2001 Gibson Les Paul Standard.

I will be the first one to say that Gibson guitars of the past few years have slipped markedly in quality, and finding one that plays well right out of the box is not an easy task. This is especially galling when you consider how much they cost. I had a hard time finding out I liked, so I ended up getting a used one that played great and sounded just as good as it looks.

This one is finished in a tasteful black with cream binding and plastic bits and chrome hardware. I always liked the simpler looks of the Standard models when compared to the Custom models. It has a solid (not chambered) mahogany with a carved maple top, and it is a heavy beast, coming in at over 11 pounds (the limit of my digital postal scale).

The mahogany neck has the 1950s rounded profile, and it is capped with a rosewood fretboard with mother of pearl inlays. Did you know that Gibson is not using rosewood on these anymore? You get some sort of dyed maple substitute. Bah!

Twelve years later the frets are level and are still in great shape. I know they say that new Les Pauls are all Plek’d, but my god their necks are lumpy and the frets still need to be leveled when the box comes out of the box. The neck is capped off with the classic Gibson Logo and Les Paul script on the headstock.

The hardware is just what you would expect with Grover sealed-back tuners and a Tune-o-matic bridge with a stopbar tailpiece. The electronics include 490R and 498T pickups that are wired through normal potentiometers. No printed circuit boards or goofy push-pull pots on this one.

Over the years the hardware has tarnished and the finish has gotten a little cloudy and received some light dings and scratches, but most of this would buff out easily enough. I would certainly not trade the broken-in neck for anything, and polishing it out would be a huge mistake. This neck is easiest-playing of any Les Paul I have ever owned (I have it set up with 0.010 Slinkies, BTW).

The tone is marvelous, too. Over time the finish has hardened and the original pickups have aged to become ultra thick and juicy. It can be warm and mellow, or gloriously beefy and overdriven. The sustain, harmonics and dynamics of this guitar are second to none.

The only downside is its weight: this thing weighs in at over 12 pounds (the limit of my postal scale). Ouch.

But otherwise, this is the ultimate Les Paul, and I would be hard-pressed to find another as good. I hope your search will be as fruitful!

Mahalo!