Adam Holt - Kind Of Blues

Size: 309 MB
Time: 43:05
File: Flac
Released: 2019
Styles: Blues/Rock/Country
Art: Front

1. Mr. Morning Drive (4:38)
2. Don't Give Up On Me Baby (5:56)
3. Bobby (4:37)
4. I'm Still Holdin' On (4:30)
5. Before I Trusted You (4:23)
6. Give The Dog A Bone (3:23)
7. The Story Must Go On (3:50)
8. The Bourgeoisie (4:09)
9. The End (4:20)
10. Lay Lady Lay (3:18)

Adam Holt has made a living playing in bars since before he was old enough to be in a bar, and he’s carved his own solid niche on the Gulf Coast with his live shows, his original music, and his southern hospitality. Take some Alabama red clay rock and roll, Mississippi blues, New Orleans gumbo funk, and Tennessee country, throw in such varied influences as British blues invasion, psychedelic rock and 80’s hair metal, then stir it up in a Gibson Les Paul and turn it up to eleven! From Robert Johnson to Dr. John to Tom Petty to Van Halen, Peter Frampton to Led Zeppelin, Adam’s varied influences make a mean fuel for the engine of his unique style, and he’s charting his own musical course. Holt’s newly released 4th studio album, The Sunday Troubadour, has ushered in a fresh but familiar sound he calls ‘New Southern Rock’. With its 10-song mix bag of Nashville sing-along’s played through a Marshall half stack, this new genre is appreciated by those too rock-n-roll for country, and vice versa. Holt’s earthy baritone voice and lightning fast guitar hands, make authentic roots music with melodies that are easy to wrap your heart around and hard to let go of. Adam Holt has played with a non-stop rock-a-holic attitude throughout the Southern U.S., from major music festivals to hole-in-the-wall juke joints. Every fan is considered a friend and every venue is equally important. He’s shared the stage with legends and locals. His live shows have been seen by loyal fans across the south, while his recorded music is continually being discovered by new friends internationally. Adam is a young veteran in the studio as well. He is a sought after session player, producer and mix engineer by artists throughout the south. His partnership in Dancing Dog Studio in southern Alabama has provided him a home for his recording, producing, and mixing endeavors. In whatever venue, Adam’s goal is always to make down-to-earth, quality music that brings people together for a good time.

Kind Of Blues FLAC

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Adam Holt & The Blues Congregation - Who I Am

Size: 152.5 MB
Time: 65:40
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2002
Styles: Electric Blues, Southern Rock
Art: Full

01. Who I Am ( 3:32)
02. Killer On The Loose ( 5:22)
03. The End ( 6:21)
04. Drunk On Love ( 3:55)
05. Holding On To Your Love ( 4:46)
06. Honey-Doos ( 4:47)
07. Going Back To Mobile ( 5:06)
08. Queenie Makes Me Feel ( 3:14)
09. How Do I Love Thee ( 4:37)
10. Knocking At Your Door ( 6:28)
11. Hole In My Pocket (17:28)

With a fast and furious blast of fretwork, Adam Holt wastes no time in declaring himself by opening with the title track from his debut, "Who I Am." Yup, he's young (mid-twenties), and yes, he's got chops to burn. And while leading a tough quartet - Henry Jolley on drums, bassist Paul Williams, with Bo Roberts handling keys and John Brock on harp - through an all-original set, Adam shows considerable promise.

The second cut, "Killer On The Loose," serves to reinforce that impression, but one can already see that Mr. Holt has some songwriting chops as well; this one's buoyed by some great organ, and features a few tricky changes that raise the bar a bit. By the third track we know Adam's capable of much more than simply recycling 12-bar riffs. Driven by acoustic guitar, "The End" is a rootsy road song with Adam's gruff vocals achieving an appropriate world-weariness.

"Drunk On Love" is a bit of a rave up that unfortunately doesn't quite work as well as it should. I suspect it has to do with the production, as each of the constituent parts is okay - it's more about the glue that doesn't quite hold it together. "Holding On To Your Love" is a soul ballad, admittedly far removed from blues but one of the disc's high points nonetheless, evidence again that Adam has a sure compositional hand. "Honey-Do's" is a breezy shuffle, with another excellent vocal turn and some interesting harp accents from Mr. Brock; "Going Back To Mobile" is (not surprisingly) a southern funk workout, with Mr. Jolley's drums providing a slippery and irresistibly propulsive foundation. Adam breaks out the acoustic guitar again for a solo "Queenie Makes Me Feel (Like A King)," taking the opportunity as well to show that he himself is no slouch on the Lickin' Stick. Entirely different from Mr. Brock's high, lightning-fast style, his is a thick-toned and raw sound, entirely appropriate for the tune.

"How Do I Love Thee," borrowing the famous opening line from Elizabeth Barret Browning, puts a decidedly bluesy spin on the question, in the form of a grinding shuffle with more of Bo Robert's exemplary organ work. "Knockin' At Your Door" is a mid-tempo tune that's not quite blue, not quite rock, but works anyway; the listed tracks wrap up with "Hole In My Pocket," a nice slow tune that'll ring a bell with anyone who's ever had to explain where all the money went (new guitar?) to a significant other. Nice, restrained picking is contrasted by some extraordinary harmonica work from Mr. Brock; I'd caution him, however, not to become too enamoured of his own virtuosity; a little goes a long way. The by-now-almost-obligatory hidden track is a version of "Mojo Workin" that doesn't add anything new but is fine anyway.

Adam wrote almost everything here, also handling production and design. While there are a few glitches (notably a glaring typographical error, probably caused by a font substitution) that should have been fixed prior to release, all in all this is a satisfying release by a younger player who looks to have a great future ahead of him. No, it's not essential. But Mr. Holt's next outing just might be . . . keep an eye out for it! ~John Taylor

Who I Am MP3
Who I Am FLAC

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