Rab McCullough - 2 albums: Belfast Blues/Belfast Breakdown

Rab McCullough was an active contributor in the 60's and 70's when the blues baby came of age, sharing stages with his peers who went on to be rock & roll legends including Rory Gallagher, Van Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and John Mayall & The Blues Breakers. Unfortunately, the violence and political unrest in Northern Ireland put an end to Rab's career and destroyed the once great music scene. Rab stopped touring and remained in Belfast picking up a job as a steel scaffolder to keep his family. In 1998 he traveled to the home of American blues — Memphis. While attending the famed Beale Street Music Festival he was asked to join Arthur "Mississippi" Williams on stage. It was this performance (by all accounts one of the most intense ever witnessed at the Beale St. Festival) that proved to be the catalyst for Rab to resume the career he thought he had lost forever. In 2000, he returned to Memphis to compete in The Blues Foundation International Blues Challenge. He took home 3rd Place and left his name on the tongues of everyone who witnessed his blistering performance.

Album: Belfast Blues
Year: 2001
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:53
Size: 73,2 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. Louisiana Woman (4:29)
2. Walkin' Back To You (3:42)
3. Ain't Gonna Be Your Fool (5:46)
4. Trouble (4:21)
5. Mistreatin' Me (3:33)
6. Shame On You (5:16)
7. Further Up The Line (4:43)

Little known but critically acclaimed, "Belfast Blues" was awarded the Best Foreign Release of a Blues Record by the Canadian magazine, Real Blues. "Belfast Blues" is known as a soundtrack to the struggle to overcome but it is also a magic potion of hope. Rab’s fiery guitar playing and soulful vocals were molded and refined on the streets of Belfast. Rab has used the Blues to take him past the turmoil of Belfast to a place where all can have good times. Rab’s blues is a passageway to that better place and time that we all seek. Pete Brown, Cream lyricist and one of Blue Storm Music’s advisors, says, "the thing about Rab that is quite interesting is that you give him a song and he comes up with a take on it that you might not have thought of". Rab McCullough dedicated "Belfast Blues" to the memory of the late, great Irish guitarist and fellow Belfast native, Rory Gallagher.

Belfast Blues mc
Belfast Blues zippy

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Album: Belfast Breakdown
Year: 2003
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:53
Size: 130,2 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. Traveling With The Blues (4:43)
2. Don't Get Your Hopes Up (4:55)
3. Blues Radio (3:46)
4. Dirty Black Water (4:33)
5. Can't Get You Out Of My Mind (4:24)
6. Red Skirt (3:00)
7. A Little Rain Must Fall (3:57)
8. Before The River Runs Dry (4:29)
9. Voodoo Doll (4:40)
10. When The Blues Comes Calling (5:41)
11. Jimi's Story (4:32)
12. Dancing Shoes (6:01)
13. Mariano (2:08)

"Belfast Breakdown" is an excellent blues rock album from a bluesman who really should be more familiar to blues music fans. The album has many blues styles, including country, R'n'B, soul, funk, and Latin/Santana type influences. His collaboration with artists such as Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf), Nickie Scott (Van Morrison), Brian Mitchell (Bob Dylan) and Tony Beard (Jeff Beck) help make this record a masterpiece.

Belfast Breakdown mc
Belfast Breakdown zippy

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