Breezy Rodio - Underground Blues

Size: 130.4 MB
Time: 55:55
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2022
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Full

01. Half Way In The Devil's Gate (4:50)
02. C.H.I.C.A.G.O. (3:55)
03. Underground Blues (4:48)
04. Playing My Game Too (3:46)
05. That Damn Cocaine (4:05)
06. The Murder (3:34)
07. Lightning Strike (3:05)
08. The Asymptomatics (2:37)
09. Let Me Go (4:17)
10. Gerry Told Me (4:55)
11. Hello Friendo (3:04)
12. Sugar Daddy (4:20)
13. Why Did You Go (3:26)
14. Bluesoned (5:08)

Guitarist Breezy Rodio is a classic example of someone born in the wrong era and even in the wrong country. As the Italian born blues, soul, and reggae guitarist, who made his way to America and forged a career in The Windy City, truly has the heart of an authentic bluesman whose style and songwriting skills are from the golden era of Chicago Blues of the 1950’s and 60’s when giants like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy and Elmore James walked the streets of the West and South side neighborhoods. Emigrating to the state in the early 2000’s Rodio played behind Chicago bluesman Linsey Alexander for a decade before cutting his own debut album in 2011 and signing with Delmark in 2018. Rodio has followed the formula of Chicago blues based on the sound of electric guitar and harmonica, a solid rhythm section of drums and electric bass guitar paired with piano and B3 organ combined with heartfelt natural songwriting and real-life storytelling.

In March 2022 Breezy partnered with Texas guitar legend Anson Funderburgh to produce and record his latest album, Underground Blues at Wire recording in Austin for WindChill Records. The fourteen original tracks that Funderburgh calls "Chicago West Side Modern Blues," were captured live off the floor as showcased in the official video for the title track. Rodio testifies to his struggle under the yolk of the Covid lockdown, utilizing the familiar Magic Sam motif of alternating from straight to swing grooves to create the dynamic tension that only a seasoned songwriter would know.

Album opener, “Half Way In The Devil’s Gate,” is a down tempo hypnotic blues with a deep pocket soaked in thick B3 organ, heavily effected brooding vocals, and yearning lead guitar featuring Anson. The clever word play on “C.H.I.C.A.G.O,” spells out the virtues of his beloved new hometown over a Chi-town shuffle that features hot harmonica from Josh Fulero and barrelhouse piano from Dan Tabion. Bassman Johnny Bradley and drummer Lorenzo Francocci dig deep into the shifty funk groove of “Playing My Game Too” that could have been found on a Butterfield Blues Band recording, featuring Funderburgh on guitar. Rodio then chastises a friend, pressing them to get straight and stop using “That Damn Cocaine,” emphasizing his plea with sensitive lead guitar. Roadhouse blues riff, “The Murder,” recounts the tale of man escaping the fury of a woman scorned and the slow blues, “Lightning Strike,” speaks more on the subject of tough love with Rodio’s guitar doing most of the talking. Fulero joins the crew again for the jaunty, jazzy instrumental, “The Asymptomatics,” and everyone swings hard on the 12/8 blues of heartache “Let Me Go.” The autobiographical “Gerry Told Me,” speaks to one man’s determination to make it in the tough music business. Tabion’s piano leads the New Orleans rhumba “Hello Friendo,” and Rodio pays tribute to the great Chicago Blues men on the scorching twelve bar “Sugar Daddy,” evoking many a legend of the form. The sweet ramble “Why Did You Go,’ is a spot-on re-creation of a Chess Records’ session from the 1950’s.

Breezy Rodio closes out “Underground Blues,” by mixing up a spoken word meets bump and grind blues number “Bluesoned,” declaring “When I was young, I got poisoned by the blues, I got bit and you know what happened,” declaring his addiction to the sacred music he is dedicated to, becoming the living breathing embodiment of the notion “Keeping The Blues Alive.~Rick J Bowen

Underground Blues MP3
Underground Blues FLAC

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Breezy Rodio - If It Ain't Broke Don't Fix It

Size: 161,0 MB
Time: 68:55
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Front

01. If It Ain't Broke Don't Fix It (4:54)
02. From Downtown Chicago To Biloxi Bay (4:30)
03. A Woman Don't Care (5:05)
04. I'm A Shufflin' Fool (4:05)
05. A Minute Of My Kissing (3:35)
06. Look Me In The Eye (2:23)
07. Desperate Lover (4:28)
08. Los Christianos (4:13)
09. Led To A Better Life (5:15)
10. Green And Unsatisfied (6:28)
11. The Breeze (3:01)
12. I'll Survive (4:50)
13. Pick Up Blues (2:59)
14. Dear Blues (5:14)
15. I Need Your Love (4:25)
16. Another Day (3:23)

Young guitarist, who has worked hard for his merits in the blues clubs of Chicago. On his second album for Delmark he pulls out all of his prowess. He cultivates an individual style and convinces by his playing technique, originality and a dose of unusual notions. His band sounds laid-back and far from the stereotype of a Chicago blues combo.
Guests include guitarists Monster Mike Welch and Kid Andersen and harpists Simone Nobile and Quique Goemz as well as a powerful horn section.

If It Ain't Broke Don't Fix It

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Breezy Rodio - Sometime The Blues Got Me

Size: 154,3 MB
Time: 65:39
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Electric Blues, Chicago Blues
Art: Front

01. Don't Look Now, But I've Got The (3:05)
02. Change Your Ways (4:37)
03. Wrapped Up In Love Again (3:48)
04. I Walked Away (2:57)
05. Make Me Blue (2:48)
06. Let Me Tell You What's Up (4:34)
07. Sometimes The Blues Got Me (3:22)
08. I Love You So (3:35)
09. You Don't Drink Enough (3:09)
10. The Power Of The Blues (5:03)
11. A Cool Breeze In Hell (4:07)
12. Doctor From The Hood (4:30)
13. Blues Stay Away From Me (3:53)
14. Fall In British Columbia (4:54)
15. Not Going To Worry (3:28)
16. One Of A Kind (3:17)
17. Chicago Is Loaded With The Blues (4:25)

By any standard, Breezy Rodio’s blues odyssey has encompassed quite a few more miles than that of most up­and­coming musicians now riding the competitive Chicago circuit. In 2007 Rodio joined the band of guitarist Linsey Alexander, known as “The Hoochie Man” to his many devoted fans.

Breezy soon advanced to a bandleading role with Alexander’s outfit, the guitarist working on his 2010 CD If You Ain’t Got It as well as Linsey’s two acclaimed Delmark albums, 2012’s Been There Done That and his most recent release in 2014, Come Back Baby. But Rodio found time to do his own thing too, cutting his 2011 debut album Playing My Game Too with a stellar supporting cast that included guest guitarists Lurrie Bell, Rockin’ Johnny, and Dave Herrero and bassist Bob Stroger along with Alexander and Guy King. In 2015 Breezy releases his second album, So Close to It. The album obtained very favorable reviews from all corners of the map. It reached the number two spot nationwide in the Chicago Blues category on the Roots Music Report, the number one independent mu­sic chart in the world.

On So Close To It, Breezy reaffirms his crisp, clean mastery of electric blues guitar, displaying a keen sense of tradition and proving himself a convincing vocalist as well. He’s invited another cadre of Chicago’s top blues luminaries to join him, led by harpist extraordinaire Billy Branch, searing guitarist Bell, and two-fisted pianist Ariyo. Hammond B­3 master Chris Foreman is on board too, along with jazz mainstays Art Davis and Bill Overton on trumpet and saxophone respectively. He toured Japan twice, playing clubs and festivals, then embarked on three tours of South America, two tours of Europe, plus jaunts to Canada and Mexico.
His latest CD, “Sometimes the Blues got me” sparkles throughout with clean guitar lines, masterfully played, and with plush, richly layered arrangements in which horns evoke the early orchestrations of T­Bone and B.B. Incorporating lump, swing, jump, early double shuffle, ballads and funk, the hard working, ambitious Breezy Rodio displays his mastery of the guitar while spanning the breadth of his interests, from 1940s jump blues to today’s funk­tinged urban blues. It sure seems that “The Blues” has got Breezy Rodio more than just ‘sometimes.’ It’s got him good.

Sometime The Blues Got Me

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Breezy Rodio - So Close To It

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:09
Size: 151.4 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[4:37] 1. When My Heart Beats Like A Hammer
[4:27] 2. So Close To It
[2:30] 3. Just About To Lose Your Clown (Feat Chris Foreman)
[4:51] 4. Walking With My Baby (Feat Billy Branch)
[3:53] 5. Sneakin' Around
[3:48] 6. Time To Come Back Home
[3:16] 7. Too Lazy
[4:50] 8. Mary
[6:49] 9. The Day I Met You
[2:51] 10. I Can't Get Enough Of You
[6:02] 11. Please Accept My Love
[5:09] 12. I Win Some More
[3:43] 13. One Broken Heart For Sale
[4:25] 14. How Much Can A Poor Man Take
[4:52] 15. Evil Hearted Woman

It began in New York, where Breezy managed to make his mark. But Chicago was where the real blues action was, and remains. So within a year the guitarist made the auspicious decision to hit the road again, this time heading straight for the Windy City. He’s settled in ever since, steadily honing his craft while emerging as one of circuit’s top young axemen. Breezy quickly found himself a mentor in guitarist Guy King, whose swinging, eminently tasty licks have graced the Chicago blues scene for quite some time. Before long, Rodio joined the band of guitarist Linsey Alexander, known as “The Hoochie Man” to his many devoted fans. Breezy soon advanced to a bandleading role with Alexander’s outfit, the guitarist working on his 2010 CD If You Ain’t Got It as well as Linsey’s two acclaimed Delmark albums, 2012’s Been There Done That and his most recent release in 2014, Come Back Baby. But Rodio found time to do his own thing too, cutting his 2011 debut album Playing My Game Too with a stellar supporting cast that included guest guitarists Lurrie Bell, Rockin’ Johnny, and Dave Herrero and bassist Bob Stroger along with Alexander and King. Breezy’s muse isn’t limited to blues. He issued his first reggae CD,Hope, in 2012 (guitarist Donald Kinsey and bassist Smoking Joe Thomas were in the grooving band), following it up the next year with Strange Situation (not only was local reggae legend Hurricane a prominent presence in the studio combo, he and Breezy perform frequently together in local clubs).

On So Close To It, Breezy reaffirms his crisp, clean mastery of electric blues guitar, displaying a keen sense of tradition and proving himself a convincing vocalist as well. He’s invited another cadre of Chicago’s top blues luminaries to join him, led by harpist extraordinaire Billy Branch, searing guitarist Bell, and two-fisted pianist Ariyo. Hammond B-3 master Chris Foreman is on board too, along with jazz mainstays Art Davis and Bill Overton on trumpet and saxophone respectively. Bassist Light Palone and drummer Lorenzo Francocci constitute a supple rhythm section that gives Rodio precisely the rhythmic push his approach requires. So Close To It is dominated by Rodio’s well-crafted originals. The title track is a hard-edged shuffle sparked by Quique Gomez’s harp and some unexpected tempo changes, while Branch wails the high-end licks on the grinding “Walking With My Baby (She’s So Fine),” its gritty storyline name-checking one of the city’s leading blues thoroughfares. “Time To Come Back Home” is a horn-driven houserocker, the straight-up shuffle “Mary” opens with stinging, Albert King-tinged Rodio guitar before he takes to the mic, and an elegant “The Day I Met You” elicits more marvelous Breezy fretwork and boasts memorable vocal turns from longtime Chicago favorites Joe Barr and Carl Weathersby.

Lurrie steps up vocally for an utterly sublime, T-Bone-influenced downbeat gem, “I Win Some More.” The stop-time romp “I Can’t Get Enough Of You” reveals Breezy’s lighthearted, swinging side, and a lowdown “How Much Can A Poor Man Take” brings the set deep down in the alley. Breezy is particularly enamored of B.B. King’s songbook, reviving his mournful “When My Heart Beats Like A Hammer” as well as a pair of tunes originated by others but popularized by B.B., “Sneakin’ Around” (first out by Rudy Render) and “Please Accept My Love,” originally waxed by Jimmy Wilson. There’s a sleek, surging treatment of Ray Charles’ “You’re Just About To Lose Your Clown,” a revival of T-Bone Walker’s droll “Too Lazy,” and a splendid redo of Elvis Presley’s Otis Blackwell-penned “One Broken Heart For Sale.” Cut live, the closing “Evil Hearted Woman,” another T-Bone goodie, is an exquisite slice of after-hours fare sporting full-bodied piano on the intro.

From Chicago’s top nightspots to European concert halls, this talented young guitarist has made his presence felt. And judging from the convincing contents of this set, this sure won’t be Breezy’s last rodeo! ~ Bill Dahl

So Close To It mc
So Close To It zippy

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