Size: 136,9 MB
Time: 58:50
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2023
Styles: Blues
Art: Front
1. I Was Wrong (3:49)
2. Save It For The Next Fool (4:19)
3. You Got Me (Where You Want Me) (3:33)
4. (I'd Rather Feel) Bad About Doin' It (4:05)
5. Be Good To Yourself (3:16)
6. Stop (5:43)
7. Writing On The Wall (4:16)
8. Late Last Night (4:52)
9. What Did I Say (5:33)
10. A Chip And A Chair (4:39)
11. Baby, You're A Drag (4:47)
12. The Three Kings And Me (5:27)
13. Natural Born Love Machine (4:25)
To hear Coco Montoya’s aching, spiraling guitar solos, the unaware would never guess that Montoya began his blues career as a drummer for the late Albert Collins. Yet, the self-taught, left-handed Montoya absorbed his tutelage from Collins and later from John Mayall before embarking on his solo career. Writing on the Wall is his eleventh album and sixth for Alligator. For the first time with said label, Montoya brings his road-tested band into the studio rather than relying on session musicians. Central to the sound is noted keyboardist and songwriter Jeff Paris (Keb’ Mo’, Bill Withers) along with bassist Nathan Brown and drummer Rena Beavers. The veteran, versatile bluesman Tony Braunagel produced while Paris co-produced. These 13 tracks include five originals and eight covers. Yes, guests appear as well - Ronnie Baker Brooks, Lee Roy Parnell, Dave Steen, while Braunagel also is the drummer on four tracks.
Strap yourself in and get ready for highly combustible material throughout, with just a few opportunities for one to catch a breath. The program commences with the heartfelt vocal and slashing guitar of the mid-tempo stomper and lead single “I Was Wrong,” written for Montoya by songwriter Dave Steen, who also penned the following “Save It For the Next Fool.” Steen is involved as a writer or collaborator on five tunes as is Paris. Coco sings both with poignant emotion, with Paris’ multiple keyboards imbuing the latter as well as background vocalists on the choruses while Montoya’s guitar soars. “You Got Me (Where You Want Me)” is an older, Don Robey-penned song popularized by Bobby “Blue” Bland, where the guitarists Montoya and Ronnie Baker Brooks trade fire.
Stinging guitar colors the ode to hedonism, Paris’ “(I’d Rather Feel) Bad about Doin’ It.” “Be Good to Yourself” features Paris’ pounding piano and those insistent beats from Braunagel that have marked hundreds of blues album. Montoya sounds unleashed in his hard-edged vocal and equally piercing guitar licks. “Stop”, a tune from the late Lonnie Mack that’s long deserved to be covered more often, is a clear highlight. This slow blues gives Montoya the perfect launching pad for a trademark spiraling guitar excursion. He does Mr. Mack proud. The rollicking title track is a collaborative effort between Paris, Steen, and Montoya featuring tasty keyboards from Paris. “Late Last Night” and “What Did I Say” are both Paris/Montoya co-writes, the former a mid-temp rocker while the latter is a breezy ballad, that shows a completely different side of Montoya and the band, not revealed until this point, eight tracks in. Rather than conveying anger, the tone is apologetic and sincere.
“A Chip and Chair” rings with power chords and guest Lee Roy Parnell’s wild, slicing slide guitar while “Baby, You’re a Drag” sees Ronnie Baker Brooks returning, this time both exchanging guitar and vocal verses with Montoya. It’s blues ‘guy talk’ about woman troubles with these two veteran bluesmen having a good time laying it down. Slow simmering blues appear again with Steen’s “The Three Kings and Me.” Yet, unlike on “Stop,” Montoya stays relatively restrained, offering quick incisive guitar fills rather than a lengthy solo, which he’ll likely do in a live performance. With a bit of symmetry, Montoya and the band close with the Paris/Montoya co-write “Natural Born Love Machine,” following a similar tact as the opener, and if one were to guess, the album’s next single as it has the rocking groove and searing guitar that are hallmarks of this album, one of Montoya’s best. /Jim Hynes, Glide Magazine
Strap yourself in and get ready for highly combustible material throughout, with just a few opportunities for one to catch a breath. The program commences with the heartfelt vocal and slashing guitar of the mid-tempo stomper and lead single “I Was Wrong,” written for Montoya by songwriter Dave Steen, who also penned the following “Save It For the Next Fool.” Steen is involved as a writer or collaborator on five tunes as is Paris. Coco sings both with poignant emotion, with Paris’ multiple keyboards imbuing the latter as well as background vocalists on the choruses while Montoya’s guitar soars. “You Got Me (Where You Want Me)” is an older, Don Robey-penned song popularized by Bobby “Blue” Bland, where the guitarists Montoya and Ronnie Baker Brooks trade fire.
Stinging guitar colors the ode to hedonism, Paris’ “(I’d Rather Feel) Bad about Doin’ It.” “Be Good to Yourself” features Paris’ pounding piano and those insistent beats from Braunagel that have marked hundreds of blues album. Montoya sounds unleashed in his hard-edged vocal and equally piercing guitar licks. “Stop”, a tune from the late Lonnie Mack that’s long deserved to be covered more often, is a clear highlight. This slow blues gives Montoya the perfect launching pad for a trademark spiraling guitar excursion. He does Mr. Mack proud. The rollicking title track is a collaborative effort between Paris, Steen, and Montoya featuring tasty keyboards from Paris. “Late Last Night” and “What Did I Say” are both Paris/Montoya co-writes, the former a mid-temp rocker while the latter is a breezy ballad, that shows a completely different side of Montoya and the band, not revealed until this point, eight tracks in. Rather than conveying anger, the tone is apologetic and sincere.
“A Chip and Chair” rings with power chords and guest Lee Roy Parnell’s wild, slicing slide guitar while “Baby, You’re a Drag” sees Ronnie Baker Brooks returning, this time both exchanging guitar and vocal verses with Montoya. It’s blues ‘guy talk’ about woman troubles with these two veteran bluesmen having a good time laying it down. Slow simmering blues appear again with Steen’s “The Three Kings and Me.” Yet, unlike on “Stop,” Montoya stays relatively restrained, offering quick incisive guitar fills rather than a lengthy solo, which he’ll likely do in a live performance. With a bit of symmetry, Montoya and the band close with the Paris/Montoya co-write “Natural Born Love Machine,” following a similar tact as the opener, and if one were to guess, the album’s next single as it has the rocking groove and searing guitar that are hallmarks of this album, one of Montoya’s best. /Jim Hynes, Glide Magazine
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