Album:
Ooh Yeah!
Size: 105,8 MB
Time: 45:45
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2024
Styles: Blues, piano blues
Art: Front
1. Ooh Yeah! (2:52)
2. Whatcha Gonna Do Now? (4:28)
3. Baby, I'm Your Man (2:23)
4. Sailing With The Sunset (3:14)
5. My Point Of View (3:04)
6. Try It Out (4:36)
7. Wishing Well (5:03)
8. Honey, Honey, Honey (3:38)
9. Blacklist (2:59)
10. I Wish Things Were Different (4:09)
11. It's Pouring Down (4:03)
12. That Crazy Monkey (5:11)
It’s usually easier to stay artistically relevant as blues artist’s age. There’s a gravitas about life musicians acquire which speaks to the general themes of loss and frustrations informing much of the genre’s music. Still, the rigors of performing, recording and traveling are substantial, especially with the lifestyle most under-the-radar non-pop artists need to deal with. But when the music is in your blood, as is the case with so many bluesmen and women who left it all on the stage well into their later years, it’s not something that can be dismissed regardless of how many candles are lighting up, and weighing down, that birthday cake.
At 80, award-winning, singer/songwriter and fiery pianist Kenny ‘Blues Boss’ Wayne is a model of how to navigate the ravages of time in his chosen style of music. Born in the US but living in Canada for decades, Wayne hasn’t let his elder status slow him down, at least as it pertains to releasing new music. The terrific ‘Ooh Yeah!’, his fifth album in the past eight years, is his most diverse. It also earns its exclamation point with a potent, animated performance belying Wayne’s age.
From the stomping double-time boogie-woogie of the frisky title track, a natural opening salvo for this album and likely for shows, to the Latin rhumba rhythm percolating under the bubbly instrumental “Sailing with the Sunset” (a clear reference to New Orleans/Professor Longhair influences) and the 70s soul stirrings of the rain as a reflection of his depression on “It’s Pouring Down” (inspired by the Temptations’ Motown soul), Wayne displays his vocal, songwriting and keyboard expertise on these dozen fresh, often invigorating originals.
The chugging beat and hammering piano of “Baby, I’m Your Man” is energized by a vibrant but never overbearing three-piece horn section employed on about half these tracks. As producer, Wayne understands dynamics, letting the talents of his backing band flow into his leading groove. He brings supple funk on the thumping “Blacklist,” questioning why he’s frustrated that his romantic interest is suddenly not responding (“what did I do wrong to make you feel this way?”). The acoustic piano that dominates shifts to electric, recalling Ray Charles, another obvious touchstone.
But the most fascinating, and unusual, instrumentation features multi-instrumentalist Jimmy Bowskill’s banjo. He brings unlikely yet inspired bluegrass picking to the funk/gospel/country inflected “Try It Out,” displaying the breadth of Wayne’s inspirations and how, even at this late stage of life, he’s open to pushing the boundaries of his sound. That doesn’t work as well on the ballad “I Wish Things Were Different,” a well-meaning but syrupy attempt at turning him into a George Benson crooner. He’s far better sticking to the rollicking basics, pounding out the raucous “Honey, Honey, Honey” like he’s channeling the spirit of Jerry Lee Lewis, or laying into a sultry vibe on the smooth, bluesy R&B of “Wishing Well.”
The most impressive aspect of the spirited ‘Ooh Yeah!’ is Wayne’s voice. There is no trace of his age in the youthful, even feisty vocals which, along with his energetic keyboard playing, appear to be springing from someone at least half his advanced years. Maybe like Willie Nelson, still vibrant at 91, Kenny ‘Blues Boss’ Wayne, has plenty of gas left in his tank. Here’s hoping he maintains this level of artistry for the foreseeable future. /Hal Horowitz, Rock & Blues Muse
Personnel: Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne (vocals, piano); Joey DiMarco, Bucky Burger, Ian McKeown & Adam Warner (drums/percussion); Nick Succi, James Rasmussen (bass); James Anthony (guitar); Jimmy Bowskill (bass/strings/guitar/banjo); Kaven Jalbert (tenor sax); Remi Cormier (trumpet); Mathieu Mousseau (baritone sax); Salena (vocals, background vocals).
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