Sari Schorr's 2018 release Never Say Never is the kind of blues-infused hard rock that I love. Schorrr's raspy, powerful, badass vocals are definitely the star. But if you've been reading my blog at all, you know it's all about the music first.
Never Say Never reminds me most of an album that not many have heard: When The Blackbird Sings by Saraya. That is a compliment.
Schorr evokes the best of the 80s. Reminiscent of Bonnie Tyler, Stevie Nicks and bluesy hard rock, in the best way. It also has a 70s vibe to it.
Forget what you've heard about rock being dead. It's just being repackaged.
Danielle Nicole's sophomore solo album Cry No More is a sweaty, sultry blues rock album that is the epitome of my definition of "swamp". The Kansas City native would be right at home in the blues scene of her hometown as well as as the Mississippi Delta, or Memphis, or Texas.
Pulling double duty as not only lead vocalist but also bassist for her band, you know the music is going to feature the bass prominently, and that's a good thing. Too often, the bass gets buried in the mix, not here.
Danielle Nicole started playing bass in order to keep her former band, Trampled Under Foot, a family affair. When she ventured out on her own, no way she was giving up the bass, for the betterment of us all as fans of music.
Is there anything particularly innovative or unique on Cry No More? Not necessarily. But that's not a bad thing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with knowing your wheelhouse and going with it and making kickass music. In fact, that's what I love about the album. It knows what it is and it's going to be as good as or better than anything else you hear.
Her voice is not going to blow you away. It has some Bonnie Raitt qualities, maybe some Melissa Etheridge. However, her voice is perfect for the type of music she plays. It just fits like a glove.
If you start listening and don't like the first song, "Crawl", then stop. But if you do, you're in for a treat. Not a bad song on the album.
I'm going to post a live version of the song "Save Me", because as good as the studio version is, this is better. Which I think every song would be.
Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown's self-titled album is their fifth release and second full album. It's an eleven song piece of real hard rock, swampy, groovy, bluesy and guitar-heavy.
Tyler Bryant grew up in Texas and moved to Nashville during his senior year of high school. The Shakedown is comprised of drummer Caleb Crosby, bassist Noah Denney and guitarist Graham Whitford (son of Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford).
With this self-titled release, Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown seem to have found their niche, deftly combining the blues, swamp and heavy rock with a touch of Alice Cooper creepiness and Aerosmith (of course, right?). Sonically the album is great.
Vocally, well, Bryant doesn't have the best voice in the world, but it works. See the Alice Cooper reference above. His voice exudes the right emotion and passion on every song.
This is another great example that rock isn't dead if you want to find it.
Here is the official lyric video for "Heartland":
And here is a live acoustic version of my favorite song from the album "Ramblin' Bones":
I don't have expectations that cannot be met. That seems to be a healthier way to live life. I'm not saying to lower the bar, but don't make your expectations beyond the realm of probability. Maybe I was a little too excited for the new Elles Bailey album. Her 2016 EP The Elberton Sessions had my hopes up.
After hearing that, I couldn't help myself.
Then she drops her first full-length album, Wildfire.
Well, my expectations, as high as they were, turned our to be low. Wildfire is a great bluesy rock album with some country elements. It's bluesy and swampy. Bailey's voice is smokey and torchy and powerful. The instrumentation and production are impeccable. It's true to course and also diverse.
Here's the thing. It's pretty much a modern 70s rock album coming from a current British female artist. Not so much in lyrical content, but sound. There's a cover of Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" that I didn't recognize until the second spin because it is so different.
Though rooted heavily in the blues, Wildfire is so much more than just blues. There is something to be appreciated for fans of any genre that values real instrumentation and vocals over electronics and autotuned vocals.
The new album from singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Zsuzsanna Eva Ward, better known as ZZ Ward is an amalgam of all things blues, alt-rock, R&B, Americana, smokiness, and swamp. The Storm brings all that together in an 11 song album that works.
If you're a regular reader, you know I prefer interesting and unique. Starting with Ward's voice, this whole album encompasses both interesting and unique.
It's not hard to tell when an artist is making music they want to make and when an artist is going through the motions. The Storm is the former, bringing in all of Ward's influences in which every song feels like she means what she's singing and the instrumentation backs it up, whether sparse or layered or anywhere in between.
The 11th song, a bonus track from "Cars 3", is a fun song featuring Gary Clark, Jr. How can that be bad?
All in all, The Storm is a complete album. There's some fun, there's some heavy, there's some heartbreak, there's some snark and sass. And there is lots of ZZ Ward.
Grammy-nominated and doing vocals for the likes of Jeff Beck, Joe Bonamassa and Slash, Beth Hart is not the kind of artist you are accustomed to seeing spotlighted in this space. That being said, how many of you are actually familiar with her work?
I'll admit, I was not until I stumbled upon a video a couple of months ago on YouTube. Then I dropped the ball on the February 3 release date of Fire on the Floor.
Fire on the Floor is not a straight up blues album, though the blues threads heavily throughout, along with jazz, pop and rock. Doesn't really matter though as Hart's sultry, smokey, alluring voice carries the album from start to finish.
Beth Hart can sing anything if she wanted, I'm convinced. On Fire on the Floor, she almost does. Where her voice really shines is when she booms the lower register. So powerful.
This is thirteen songs for grown-ups, with grown-up subjects, dealt with in grown-up ways. No pettiness, no fluff, just real songs about life.
Fire on the Floor is not for everyone, and that's okay. All music is not for everyone, but all music is for someone. But for those that get it, this album is fantastic. Beth Hart has outdone herself with this one.
There is no such thing as a perfect album. But there are good albums and great albums. Eliza Neals' 10,000 Feet Below falls into the latter category.
Neals' latest record is 11 songs of fantastic music. 10,000 Feet Below is a rocking blues album with more texture and nuance than you would expect. Neals' powerful, sexy, sultry voice is complemented by a wide array of excellent musicians to make a cohesive yet diverse album of musical genius.
If you even only think you might like blues, check this record out.
This was one album I was genuinely looking forward to this year. So many times, I'm disappointed. 10,000 Feet Below exceeded all expectations. Seriously, I don't know what songs to choose to put here, so I'm just gonna put out a couple that resonate with me the most (and of course, they won't be the traditional ones).
If I had 2015 to do all over again Eliza Neals' Breaking and Entering may have made one of my year end lists. Unfortunately, I didn't hear this album until a couple of days ago. That's the beauty of music, there is no expiration date on good. Whether it be 2015 or 1995 or 1965, good music is good music. And that's what Eliza Neals provides: good music.
Hailing from Detroit, Eliza Neals borrows heavily from the Mississippi delta and combines it with the upper midwest blues style with just a touch of rock. Neals has vocals reminiscent of Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Nicks. That combination makes for an enjoyable listen for those that like the blues but not too pure.
Don't really know much about Beth Hart other than she did some stuff with Joe Bonamassa. I stumbled across this new song of hers, "Fire On The Floor" and it's too good not to share. Bluesy, smokey, sultry, torchy and swampy.
After a recent conversation with a couple of other bloggers who also look for stuff outside of the mainstream, I took a deep dive into the music of John Hiatt. Now, I had always been a fan of Hiatt's, I just never realized how underrated his music is until now.
I was very familiar with the album Slow Turning because it has my favorite Hiatt song on it, "Paper Thin". At that time, I was not into digging for stuff like I have been the past few years, so I never really got into his entire catalog.
Little did I know that Bonnie Raitt's hit song "Thing Called Love" was a John Hiatt song. Or that his songs have been recorded by such diverse artists as Three Dog Night, Ronnie Milsap, Iggy Pop, Conway Twitty and the Neville Brothers.
What kind of music does John Hiatt make? Mostly just good music, but if you want reference, look above at who has recorded his songs. Country, Americana, blues, soul, heartland rock, roots. The thing is, Hiatt can't really be pigeonholed into one genre. That may have hurt him commercially, but we, as listeners, get a treat.
If you're reading this blog, you're going to find something in the John Hiatt catalog that you like. He's been at the game for a long time, so for a starting point, go with 1988's Slow Turning and then progress forward or backward. Or if you like what you hear, jump around and explore. You won't be disappointed.
This is the song that introduced me to John Hiatt, "Paper Thin":
And another one of my favorites, "Perfectly Good Guitar":
Doing this as a hobby, sometimes stuff slips past me. I try to keep as current as possible, but life happens. Greetings from This Town by Jennifer Westwood and the Handsome Devils was released in May of 2015. I just found it earlier this month. But, as the saying goes, good music never goes out of style.
Jennifer Westwood and the Handsome Devils are a bluesy country rock outfit from Detroit. Or maybe a country blues rock band. Or maybe a rockin' country blues band. Whatever you want to call them, their music is good.
From the blues rock opener "Bad Luck Charm" to the foot stompin' high energy country of "Divorcee" to the the straight-up country of "Sinner Part Time" to the smoky, bluesy swamp of "Wade in the Water" Westwood and her band can bring it.
Here are a couple of my favorite tracks.
"Bad Luck Charm"
Diana Rein, the self-proclaimed Six String Siren, has a new album, The Long Road. As Rein was responsible for all of the songs and all of the instrumentation on the record, this 18 month long "labor of love" is unashamedly and unabashedly all Diana Rein all the time.
While honing her craft by watching videos of her favorite artists, Rein, through many hours of practice, has carved out her own sound.
If you're a blues purist, this won't be for you, but if you're like me and like a little rock and pop and country in your blues, your can't go wrong with this album.
Singer/guitarist/blueswoman Samantha Fish has released her third record Wild Heart. It's been a little over a year since I first heard her previous album Black Wind Howlin', which I wrote about here.
Wild Heart is an evolution in the best sense of the word. This record has more texture, color, depth and breadth than Black Wind Howlin'. And that's not a knock on Black Wind Howlin', because it is fantastic. Wild Heart is everything you want in a record. You don't want the current song to end, but can't wait to hear the next one.
There is some Southern Rock style blues rockers, some blues, some country, some Americana. It's all there.
Here are couple of live versions of songs from the new record.
Crystal Shawanda grew up in Ontario, Canada on a reservation. You can read her bio on her official webpage. What I want to focus on is her music and incredible voice.
Her 2014 album The Whole World's Got The Blues saw her turn away from the country music of her first record, and she truly found her place. Her voice, to me, sounds like a cross between Tanya Tucker and Bonnie Raitt with a touch of Aretha for power.
The soul-inspired, country-tinged blues rock music is the perfect bed for her vocals to lie.
Here's a live version of the song "The Whole World's Got The Blues". Enjoy.
If you like any combination of country, Southern Rock, blues,Texas country, gospel, Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Allmans, Alabama, Jerry Reed, the Eagles, Marshall Tucker, the Bellamy Brothers, etc., you might just find something you like in Chris Hennessee's latest record Greetings From Hennessee.
Classify it how you want. As regular readers of my blog know, I've given up. Just say it's good music.
Koritni's latest record Night Goes On For Days could have come straight out of the 80's. And that's a good thing. This Australian band with a French guitarist sounds like they grew up on the Sunset Strip, or Indiana or Mississippi. Confused yet?
Koritni could have easily come out of the mid to late 80's LA sleaze rock scene. Or feel right at home with the Mississippi Delta blues inspired Southern Rock of the 70's. Even touches of American heartland sentiment a la John Mellencamp.
Whatever, they make it all work in a sound that I find refreshing. Mostly it's just good, fun, 80's style hard rock. If you're a fan of that era, these guys do it right.
And they self-aware of what they are doing. Enough to make fun of themselves as is evident in this track, "Rock'nRoll Ain't No Crime":
Sometimes you find good music, sometimes good music finds you. As much as one tries to stay current, sometimes something sneaks past, only to be found later. Such is the case with Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown.
The Texas-bred, Nashville-based blues rocker is back in the studio working on new music. If past music is any indication, I'll be spotlighting the new record when it comes out.
Sari Schorr's 2018 release Never Say Never is the kind of blues-infused hard rock that I love. Schorrr's raspy, powerful, badass vocals are definitely the star. But if you've been reading my blog at all, you know it's all about the music first.
