Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Just for You reviewed by Harmonica Joe

Just for You
Darrell Nulisch
http://www.darrellnulisch.com/
http://www.severnrecords.com/
Severn Records
10 tracks/37:55

Darrell Nulisch has just released "Just for You", his fourth recording for Severn Records. Darrell has been a full time singer since 1978. He was a full time member of Ansonfunderburg and the Rockets. "The Whole Truth" his first cd for Severn Records came out in 1998.

Of the ten songs on "Just for You", Darrell wrote six of them. Besides being a good song writer and harmonica player, his main attribute is his great vocal talent. His voice is his main instrument on this recording, setting the stage for some fine easy listening. His vocal range can be sometimes gritty and raw, bluesy, gentle or big and booming. He has great dynamics in his vocal range. He puts a lot of himself into his lyrics and presents them to us with feeling and meaning.

The band on "Just for You" features the so-called house band of Severn Records. It is a great mix of talented musicians. The keyboard style of Benjie Porecki really is animated and stands out to be a really great addition to the recording. Johnny Moeller, of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, brings his very impressive guitar skills to the project. He also adds a reggae influence to "Let a Women be a Women". With the addition of Steve Gomes on the bass Robb Stupka on drums, a full horn section and some fine background singers Darrel has an awesome band to compliment his vocals and lyrics. This is a really good mix!

Darrell's take on, Slim Harpo's, "Just for You" is a good example of his ability to take a song and make it his own. He uses great phrasing and his vocals keep a heart felt tone to them. Also on "Just for You' we are treated to some of Darrell's harmonica skills. He has a true Slim Harpo - Lazy Lester quality about him without just being a harp clone. Adding the horn section to this tune with his harp playing makes it a very bluesy sounding track.

"Let a Women be a Women", written by Nulisch and Gomes, is one of the most upbeat tunes of the cd. The keyboard playing of Benjie Porecki is featured a lot here. Good stuff it is. Johnny Moeller also has a standout guitar solo that brings a reggae style to the tune. This could be one of my favorite tunes of the cd.

"Just for You", to me, may not be an all out blues CD. It leans more to the soul - rhythm and blue side a bunch but it still ends up to be bluesy in a good way. This is not a bad thing to have happen. Darrell Nulisch is an absolute pure vocalist. He can go from subtle to powerful and back without effort. He brings great phrasing, meaning and feeling to his lyrics. This is all good.

"Just for You" is a fairly short recording, just about 38 minutes; it is filled with quality presentation. Not being a big horn band fan, I must say that I still found this CD to get me attention in a good way. It is very easy to listen to and enjoy!

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