Showing posts with label Bluesman Mike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bluesman Mike. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Bluesman Mike & The Blues Review Band - Knee Deep Into These Blues

Size: 140,2 MB
Time: 60:46
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. I'm Good As Gone (5:11)
02. Knee Deep Into These Blues (3:40)
03. Pain (7:37)
04. The Blues All Around Me (3:47)
05. Back Door Man (4:09)
06. Evil (5:38)
07. I Shiver (4:22)
08. You Did The Crime (6:34)
09. Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home (4:13)
10. I'm A Good Man (4:10)
11. Born Under A Bad Sign (3:40)
12. I'm Broke And Hungry (3:58)
13. My New Cadillac (3:41)

Blues and country music share much in common. One of the hallmark features of both genres is that they tell stories. What would the blues (or country) be without tales of cheating partners, dire finances, the relief found in someone else’s bed or at the bottom of a bottle? Bluesman Mike and the Blues Review Band, longtime performers in the Phoenix area, find themselves in top form and Knee Deep Into These Blues. Their fourth self-produced album features thirteen tracks (four originals and nine covers) with robust instrumentation and storytelling power. Their music has a lot of soulful flavor, like a hearty fall stew or a good book. It’s comfort food that fills you up. Some of the tunes run to the jazzy side of blues, but that’s no flaw if you like Delbert McClinton and similar artists. This CD’s emotion and intensity are nicely mixed with classic style.

Over the years, bands morph into various incarnations. This one features Rob Thompson on keyboards, who also had performed with national act Bobby Womack, along with Bluesman Mike’s new lead guitar player Sugar Bear – another veteran from Philadelphia who had performed with Billy Paul. TJ Henry stars on rhythm and lead guitar, and Tim Robinson on drums, accompanying his son Daniel and the late, great Koko Taylor. Bobby Nealy, who performed with Archie Bell and the Drills, also plays keyboard. Bob Corritore takes the stage on harmonica, Doc. Donald Boles on even more keyboards, Shawn Behanna on horn arrangements, and Bryan Kuban on bass.

Bluesman Mike and company launch into Bobby Rush’s “I’m Good as Gone” to start things off with a bang. The title track is a sizzling blues shuffle with terrific sound all around and a slightly autobiographical vibe: “I’ve seen the good, the bad, the ugly and more, trying to make things right. You’ve got me knee deep into these blues.” Special guest Bob Corritore heats things up on harp during “Pain,” another original composition. The keyboards are lovely as well, like falling rain on an autumn evening, and the bassline thumps ominously. “Back Door Man” is one of those uncanny original songs that you’ll swear you’ve heard before, but you probably haven’t. Its subject is familiar, its style funky, and its atmosphere fun. It features the most killer bassline since “You Can Call Me Al” by Paul Simon in 1986. Several smooth covers follow, including “Evil” by Koko Taylor, “I’m a Good Man” by Quintus McCormick and “Born Under a Bad Sign” by William Bell. “My New Cadillac,” the final original, closes the CD in groovy fashion.

Knee Deep Into These Blues tells timeless tales, perfect for savoring on longer, darker nights! ~Rainey Wetnight

Knee Deep Into These Blues MP3
Knee Deep Into These Blues FLAC

Friday, August 16, 2019

Bluesman Mike & The Blues Review Band - Mo' Blues

Year: 2018
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:05
Size: 122,5 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Front

1. My House (4:05)
2. Fix It Man (4:15)
3. By The End Of The Night (4:43)
4. Rump Shakin' Blues (4:43)
5. I'll Be Doggone (4:24)
6. Thank God I Got The Blues (3:59)
7. My Dog & Me (4:32)
8. Let The Good Times Roll (4:41)
9. Out Of Sight (2:47)
10. Driftin' Blues (5:02)
11. Find Me A Woman (5:16)
12. You Don't Miss Your Water (4:31)

The Blues Review Band was formed out of Bluesman Mike's passion for the blues. In the year 2007 he decided to go back to his roots by spending his birthday gift on a bass guitar and soon started jamming with co-founder Doug Hill and started performing all over the Phoenix area. The band was re-formed, now as Bluesman Mike & The Blues Review Band and released their first CD "Blues for The Road" with hit single "I Love Money" written by Bluesman Mike. Members are Bluesman Mike on bass, vocals & harp; Sugar Bear on lead guitar & vocals; Bobby Nealy on keyboards and Steve Loecher on drums.

Mo' Blues mc
Mo' Blues zippy

Thursday, August 8, 2019

Bluesman Mike & The Blues Review Band - Blues For The Road

Size: 109.3 MB
Time: 46:55
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Electric Blues
Art: Front

01. I Love Money (3:53)
02. Who Is He (4:39)
03. Out On A Limb (5:21)
04. Goin' Down Slow (5:36)
05. Leaving Here Walking (4:25)
06. Do You Know How To Boogie? (4:37)
07. Bad Luck Were Money (4:23)
08. Stop The Train (4:22)
09. I'm A Bluesman (5:15)
10. I Should Have Left You (4:20)

The Blues Review Band was formed out of Bluesman Mike's passion for the blues. In New Year of 2007 he decided to go back to his roots by spending his birthday gift on a bass guitar and soon started jamming with a great friend and co-founder of the band, Doug Hill. It was one of those evenings while they're jamming that they decided to form The Blues Review Band. The 1st original members were Scott Stuk (drums), Avi Edelson (Keyboard), Doug Hill (Lead guitar) and Bluesman Mike on vocals and bass. Soon, they're all over the valley doing their love and passion - playing the blues and becoming one of the hottest blues bands out!!! They all had a blast playing all over town but Scott had to go to college and their full time jobs required both Doug and Avi to leave the band. Now Bluesman Mike is jamming and doing gigs with Bobby Nealy, a seasoned and veteran keyboard player from Phoenix, AZ who has been playing for the last 30+ years including playing with the likes of Archie Bell and the Drells, along with his new lead guitar player who is another veteran by the name of Sugar Bear, from Philadelphia who incidentally has been performing for the last 20+ years as a studio musician as well as on stage, a producer, and song writer. To round out, and keeping the band on the one, is his new but also a veteran drummer, Tim Robinson. Tim was born in Germany and has been playing drums all his life. He played with Koko Taylor, Joey DeFrancisco, & Darlene Love. Tim has performed at the Monterrey Blues Festival in 2003 & 2004.

Blues For The Road

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Bluesman Mike & The Blues Review Band - We Do The Blues.

Size: 135.1 MB
Time: 57:50
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Jazz
Art: Front

01. Stimulus Man (3:28)
02. Don't Know What To Do (2:56)
03. Me & My Woman (5:17)
04. Love Jail (3:21)
05. What You Won't Do For Love (4:04)
06. Everybody Knows About My Good Thing (5:51)
07. I Got A Problem (4:30)
08. Juke Joint Jump (4:08)
09. Let's Straighten It Out (4:34)
10. Dock Of The Bay (5:53)
11. You Treat My Love Like It's Roadkill (3:55)
12. Am I Wrong (5:23)
13. Red House (4:26)

If blues releases contained nutritional information on the backsides of their covers, the lowdown on We Do the Blues, from Bluesman Mike and the Blues Review Band, would read as follows: Serving Size, 1 Album; Servings Per CD, 13; Pure Blues, 5 Songs; Mostly Jazz, 8 Songs. Don’t get me wrong. It’s good jazz of the Delbert McClinton sort, not the Count Basie variety. Mike’s vocals are mellow and fluid, as any crooner’s should be, and his style is just as smooth. It’s a shame there isn’t more original material here, as “You Treat My Love Like it’s Roadkill” (yes, that’s the actual title) and “Am I Wrong” are above-average tunes in their own right. The rest are covers from some of the most popular blues artists of our time, such as Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, Otis Redding and Coco Montoya. Whether or not one counts Jimi Hendrix (“Red House”) as a blues artist is a matter of one’s personal definition of the genre.

According to our leading man and his posse’s profile on Reverbnation, “The Blues Review Band was formed out of Bluesman Mike’s passion for the blues. In the year 2007, he decided to go back to his roots by spending his birthday gift on a bass guitar and soon started jamming with co-founder Doug Hill and performing all over the Phoenix area.” The ensemble has since been re-formed, and their first release, Blues for the Road, featured a hit song called “I Love Money.”

Along with Bluesman Mike (bass, vocals and harmonica) are Sugar Bear on lead guitar and vocals; Bobby Nealy on keyboards, and Steve Loecher on drums. The inside of the CD cover also displays photos of Julissa Ruth, Tony Mockridge, Sandra Bassett, Perry Seen, T.J. Henry, Tim Robinson, Sam Speed, and Jijjy (that’s J-I-J-J-Y) Van.

The following number is a blues treat that’ll move your feet and a title that just can’t be beat.

Track 11: “You Treat My Love Like It’s Roadkill” – Ta-da, the moment you’ve been waiting for! A Chicago-style swinger with a resonating intro that kicks some serious possum tail, track eleven is Bluesman Mike’s ace in the hole. “You treat my love like it’s roadkill, steamroll over me like I never gave you a thrill…” At the tail end of a romance, truer words were never spoken. If you want to play along on your dobro or slide at home, but fear you’re no Sonny Landreth, take heart: Even the freshest of guitar freshmen will be able to keep up with this one.

Bluesman Mike and the Blues Review Band want one and all to know: We Do the Blues, but a whole lot of jazz and soul along with it! ~RAINEY WETNIGHT

We Do The Blues.