Browsing: Album Review

Better For You, the second album by Canadian guitarist and singer Chris Antonik is a more than solid effort of uptown contemporary original blues.

Every now and then a back-to-basics blues album is issued and we are amazed at how effective simplicity really is. Guitars, vocals, and the music itself. This is just such an album. Hans Theessink & Terry Evans’ Delta Time is intimate blues. Simple, beautiful, bare-bones intimate, and inspiring.

When we think about the great live albums, we often think about the great live bands that made them….

This album is good listening on many levels. The musicians are first class and so is the playing. Sound and production quality is excellent. What really seals the deal here is that this album is just a bunch of fun to listen to!

Recorded at Bearly’s House of Blues in Halifax, Live In Halifax is varied, soulful, and the next best thing to being there at a 24th Street Wailers show. The great thing about this album is that it accurately captures all the energy and talent of the band, and the appreciation of the audience.

Quick Fix is a strong outing, especially as a debut album. This album features funky blues, Memphis style soul blues (with a pulse!), swing blues, piano boogie, and superior ensemble style playing. Production values are very good, and the sound quality is good as well. A strong album overall, there are several standout cuts here.

Listening to Fulton Blues, a sense of visualization and reality takes hold, making the experience all the more immediate. The clarity and sparseness of the music lends itself to the experience and storytelling as well.

This is very much an album of atmosphere and mood. It is textured, but also ballsy in a quiet, understated way. Sublime. The players sound great, and Scaggs is smoother than ever.

This is blues with a pulse! There are several stellar tracks here. “Digital Blues” will remind you of 70’s soul with its great beat and crisp rhythm guitar (which is a welcome constant throughout the entire album). Bingham slides a nice little bluesy solo in and the keyboarding throughout is a nice touch.

In many ways, this is an eclectic album. There are songs that are throwbacks to twangy country, and others that are slow, beautiful blues.