Album:
The Joe Moss Band - Maricela's Smile
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 75:37
Size: 173.1 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 2008
Art: Front
[ 3:20] 1. Suburban Glory
[ 4:02] 2. Green Eyes
[ 4:30] 3. You Made Me So Happy
[ 6:21] 4. Marciela's Smile
[ 3:38] 5. My Life
[ 6:35] 6. I Am Feeling You
[ 3:18] 7. Fire And Water
[ 4:20] 8. Big Leg Woman
[ 5:25] 9. Can You Feel My Heart
[ 3:36] 10. Can't Always Be Right
[ 7:05] 11. She Put A Stick In My Spokes
[ 5:52] 12. Dr. Strangelove
[17:30] 13. Ain't Got No Money
Joe Moss has always loved the blues. By the time he was 15, the singer/guitarist was playing seven nights a week throughout Chicago and he often still works as many as 28 gigs a month. While his previous CDs have been almost strictly blues, on Maricela's Smile Moss stretches himself beyond blues, performing soul ballads, R&B-ish jams, and even touches of jazz. The liner note writer (Mike O'Cull of the Illinois Entertainer) is almost apologetic and defensive in describing Moss' desire to move beyond only playing 12-bar blues, but this is a natural evolution for blues performers. What is important is that Moss keeps the spirit of the blues as his base, he sings with a lot of feeling and sensitivity, he writes excellent songs (11 of the 13 selections are his originals), his guitar solos often sting, and there are a few more straightforward blues included along the way. Open-minded blues listeners will enjoy this well-rounded set, which is topped off by a lengthy live version of "Ain't Got No Money." ~ Scott Yanow
Joe Moss (vocals, guitar, drums); Chuck Desormeaux (horns); Greg Sefner (keyboards); Andre Maritato (bass guitar); Kenny Smith , Rick King (drums).
Recording information: 4 Deuces (02/2006); Clava Studios (02/2006); Semaphore, Chicago, IL (02/2006).
Maricela's Smile
Album:
Joe Moss - Monster Love
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 59:43
Size: 136.7 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 2003/2009
Art: Front
[3:12] 1. Monster Love
[4:53] 2. Love My Baby
[4:59] 3. Mad, Mad, Mad
[6:11] 4. Have You Ever Loved A Woman
[4:33] 5. Oh Sandra
[5:33] 6. Need Your Love
[4:28] 7. Please Love Me
[4:57] 8. Lost My World
[4:01] 9. Life Is Funny
[4:27] 10. So Scared
[2:49] 11. King Swing
[5:29] 12. Ain't Got No Money
[4:06] 13. Train Tracks
The older brother to Nick Moss -- who already had some well-received albums under his belt when this was released in late 2003 -- Chicago guitarist Joe Moss sizzles on his debut. A veteran of Buddy Scott's band as well as a sideman to Magic Slim, Billy Branch, and other Windy City luminaries, the older Moss sounds confident and mature on his first album as a leader. Although there is plenty of straight-ahead blues, Moss aims for a more R&B-laced approach, helped immensely by the addition of organ (no less than three musicians fill the keyboard slot) on most tracks and horns to a few others. He also possesses a low-key but potent voice, similar to Jimmie Vaughan, and delivers these songs with enthusiasm and a tough determination. The organ is an integral part of the sound, and songs like "Ain't Got No Money," with its extended solo, succeed in large part due to the Jimmy Smith jazz/funk feel of the keyboards. Moss' guitar style is clean, sharp, and free of extraneous effects. Reminiscent of Mike Bloomfield, his leads are biting yet fluid and easily adapt to jazz, funk, blues, and even the Delta style he displays on the album's unaccompanied closing "Train Tracks." Moss brings a Booker T. & the MG's feel to the Memphis-styled groove of "Lost My World" and "Mad, Mad, Mad," and seems as comfortable with that as with the traditional Elmore James shuffle of B.B. King's "Please Love Me," one of the album's two covers. His lean playing dispenses with the rock-oriented histrionics that clutter much new blues, especially from white artists. He capitalizes on this style as his lines punctuate the verses of the soul and subtle funk that remain at the heart of his approach. It makes this long-awaited debut a perfect introduction to one of the finest of the new-generation Chicago bluesmen. Joe Moss has learned from his predecessors, even as he creatively takes the basics of blues and shifts them into a more soulful stew that is just as moving. ~ Hal Horowitz
Recorded at Acme Studios, Chicago, Illinois between August 29 & 31, 2001.
Joe Moss (vocals, guitar); Dez Desormeaux (horns); Bill LeClaire (keyboards); Dave Christansen, Eric Michaels (organ); Todd Fackler, John Sefner (bass); Rich King, Kenny Smith (drums).
Monster Love