Daylight at Midnight reviewed by Mark Thompson

Daylight at Midnight

Travis "Moonchild" Haddix

Earwig Records
www.earwigmusic.com
10 tracks/39:22

Haddix is not a household name despite the fact that he has thirteen recordings to his name. The Mississippi native will soon be 70 years old but you would never guess it when you hear his latest effort. As the lead singer, songwriter and handling the guitar solos, the focus is squarely on Haddix's shoulders and he is up to the challenge.

Time has weathered Haddix voice, darkening the tone and giving it a rough-around-the edges quality without sapping its strength. It is perfectly suited for slow blues tunes like "Backward Baby," which finds Travis taking a humorous perspective on the breakup of a relationship. When the band breaks into a funky strut on "You Kind of Fool," Haddix voice swells with righteous indignation.

Most of the tracks have a medium tempo groove. The backing band is more than adequate and includes a four piece horn section. Haddix can still coax plenty of fine sounds out of his guitar, whether it's bending a note for all it's worth or laying down fast single-note runs that rival guitarists half his age.

Haddix melds elements of soul with blues and ends up with a sound that may not be original but is definitely worth checking out. As Haddix quotes in the notes, " I am the best I can be -- and since no one else can be me, there's none better."

Stop and Think About It reviewed by Mark Thompson

Stop and Think About It

Chris James & Patrick Rynn
Earwig Records
www.earwigmusic.com
12 tracks/52:39

Guitarist Chris James and his partner, bass player Patrick Rynn, are currently part of the all-star band that operates out of the Rhythm Room in Scottsdale, AZ. During their career they have played with legends like drummer Sam Lay, Dave Myers and guitarist Jody Williams. James handles all of the vocals and the pair contribute five original compositions to the project. They are backed by an assortment of blues veterans including Lay, David Maxwell on piano and Bob Corritore on harp.

The disc gets off to a rousing start with "You"re Gone." James quickly establishes that he is a guitarist to be reckoned with. That becomes more apparent when he switches to slide guitar on the next track, "Early One Morning," resurrecting the spirit of Elmore James. Chris goes even deeper into the Elmore's legacy on a supercharged version of "Hawaiian Boogie," with several fine piano breaks from Julien Brunetaud. "Got to Move" is a slow grinder that includes a truly evil-sounding slide guitar tone from James.

One of their original tunes, "Mister Coffee," pays tribute to "..the man that grinds so fine" and features some excellent harp from Corritore. On slower tracks like "I'd Like to Write a Letter," James and Rynn are able to maintain the high level of performance. While James' voice has a limited range, it is easy on the ears and he never pushes it too hard. He is up to the task of covering the classic "Confessin' the Blues," his voice powerful yet under control.

James and Rynn have put together an outstanding package that grows on you with each listen. They have captured the style and sound of the blues from those bygone days. And they were able to accomplish it all while using a rotating cast of backing musicians. How good is this disc ??? My answer is that I am buying my own copy -- and you should get one too !!!

Miss Understood reviewed by Steve Jones

Miss Understood
Carolyn Wonderland
Bismeaux Productions
www.carolynwonderland.com
12 tracks/44 minutes

Austin, Texas, has given us a lot of great music and Carolyn Wonderland keeps that tradition alive. Whether she is bluesy, rocking, going country or being funky, she delivers the goods. This is her sixth album and the 20th overall that she has appeared on and it is one I will be adding to my collection. The packaging is pretty well done, too. I rarely comment on the package, but the cool photographs of Carolyn scream “hippy chick” and add a certain charm.
The CD begins with the title rack. Carolyn hammers out some great lap steel guitar and gritty vocals that set the tone for a nice little CD. I was sold with the first few chords of this song that this was going to be a great album and I was correct.
Seven of the cuts are penned all or in part by “Miss Understood” herself. The covers are equally interesting. She shows what she can do with Rick Derringer’s “Still Alive and Well,” a song she and Johnny Winter must have done together numerous times when they toured together.
I Don’t Want to Fall for You” is a particularly touching ballad that Wonderland guts out. She is gritty and breathy in her delivery. An interesting note is that two of the tunes have references to the king of beasts. On the second cut on the album, a cover of “I Found the Lions,” Wonderland sing that you can find her where the lions are and that they shouldn’t be messed with. The final track “Feed Me to the Lions” is a a slow original tune where she asks to be hidden in the jungle before they feed me to the lions.
Some of Carolyn’s older stuff is passionate but it does not have the passion and intensity she displays on this CD. Her vocals are heartfelt and touching. She is far more expressive and effusive in the emotions she displays. If you want to here some blues based stuff that will at times wrench at your soul and at other times make your foot tap, this is a CD for you.

Red Top reviewed by Mark Thompson

Red Top

Liz Mandeville
Earwig Records
www.earwigmusic.com
15 tracks/59:06

Liz Mandeville (formerly Greeson) has a career that has spanned two decades as a blues road warrior. Her fourth release on Earwig should raise her profile in the blues community. Using a collection of musicians who have been members or currently are part of her touring aggregation, she has put together a strong collection that clearly illustrates the breadth of her talent.

There are a couple of local connections as Brother Dave Kaye handles the bass on six tracks and Rodney Brown, who frequently sits in on area jam sessions, adds his tenor sax to five cuts. Another legendary sax player, Eddy Shaw, appears on two tracks.

Whether it's the horn-driven swing of the title track or the down-in-the-alley "Dog No More," Mandeville has the vocal chops to grab your attention and never let go. She can belt it out with power and grit on "My Baby's Her Baby Too" or be a sultry chanteuse who expertly delivers the sassy lyrics of "Scratch The Kitty," which also features Liz on lead guitar.

"Hold Me" is a remarkable performance of a smoldering soul ballad that finds Mandeville pouring out her hurt in a voice wracked with pain. She explores hurt of a different nature when her leaves her and ends up in Iraq on "Illinois National Guard Blues." But Liz isn't afraid to have a good time and cut loose, as is evident on "Guilty of Rockin' All Night."

The scope of Liz Mandeville's talent really hits home when you discover that she wrote every song in this engaging collection, deftly handling the variety of styles. She gets strong support from veteran musicians but this project takes off due to strength of her contributions. Well worth a listen !!!

Ice Storm reviewed by Mark Thompson

Ice Storm

Scott Ellison
Earwig Records
www.earwigmusic.com
12 tracks/46:20

Ellison is another musician who has been out there playing and recording without attracting too much attention on the national level, although some of his tunes have been used on TV shows like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Like Haddix, he handles the lead vocals and most of the guitar parts. Ellison also had a hand in writing each song. More than twenty-five musicians and singers make a contribution to the project.

Most of the material falls into a generic blues/rock mode, with the emphasis on the rock sound. A pounding beat and screaming guitars bludgeon the life out of the blues elements. Ellison doesn't possess a voice strong enough to breathe life into his bland batch of songs.

While there isn't anything horribly wrong with "Ice Storm," it contains little that would distinguish it from a legion of other releases.

Los Fabulocos reviewed by Mark Thompson

Los Fabulocos
Los Fabulocos
Delta Groove Music
http://deltagrooveproductions.com
13 tracks/46:25

The best American roots music is a composite of a number of different styles that are blended into a savory musical gumbo. Led by guitarist extraordinare Kid Ramos, Los Fabulocos expertly mix strong Tex-Mex influences with blues, rock & roll and Louisiana swamp pop on their debut recording. The band, all veteran musicians, includes Jesus Cuevas on vocals and button accordion, James Barrios on bass and Mike Molina on drums. They create a musical landscape that revisits ground memorably covered by Los Lobos early in their career.

The star of the disc is Cuevas, who dominates the proceedings any time he cuts loose on his accordion. On "Un Mojado Sin Licencia", his fingers dance all over the keyboard, creating exciting runs that serve as contrast to his more serious tone of his vocal done in Spanish. Ramos leads the way with a nasty guitar tone on "Day After Day", but Cuevas elevates the proceedings with more fine accordion over a Hooker boogie beat.

The band takes "Lonesome Tears in My Eyes" south of the border with some fine acoustic guitar and an heart-felt vocal from Ramos. "Educated Fool" finds the group rockin' the Huey "Piano" Smith tune for all it's worth. They cover another swamp pop classic, Rockin' Sidney's "You Ain't Nothin' But Fine", with the guitar and accordion playing off of one another before Cuevas erupts with another exciting solo to bring the proceedings to a close.

Ramos doesn't get the spotlight as often as might be expected, given his stature as a guitar master. He and Cuevas trade licks on a track from the king of zydeco,Clifton Chenier's "All Night Long", which is followed by the instrumental "Burnin' the Chicken". Ramos makes the most of this opportunity to display his prodigious skill on the guitar.

If you are looking for a straight blues recording, this release is not for you. If you are a listener with eclectic tastes, Los Fabulocos will win you over. Their heady mixture of genres and quality musicianship brings a refreshing vitality to every track. This one is highly recommended !!!

One More Again! reviewed by Mark Thompson

One More Again!

William Clarke

Watchdog Records

10 tracks/40:11

This 1993 recording is another archival release from the late William Clarke's widow, Jeanette, and their daughter Gina. They have been keeping his memory alive with a series of recordings from the vault that have shown that Clarke consistently performed high quality blues with a strong west-coast influence. Clarke played his harps like a jazz horn player, playing with power and technical skill. His bands always had that strong swing rhythmic feel that is present in all great jazz recordings. And Clarke needed a strong guitar player that had the talent to keep up with him. Alex Schultz was a long-time collaborator and his work on seven tracks on this disc serve proof as to the tastefulness of his playing.

The disc opens with a rocking untitled instrumental that features Clarke improvising like crazy on the chromatic harp, blowing long sustained notes before blasting out some rapid-fire, intricate lines that lead to him trading licks with Schultz. Two tracks, "Five Card Hand" and "Educated Fool" are alternate versions of tunes that appeared on Clarke's Alligator Records discs. Also included are two distinctly different takes of "Home Is Where the Heart Is", a Clarke composition. Take 1 is an slow blues that provides further evidence of how strong a singer Clarke was. His harp solo expresses the feelings of longing and despair in the lyrics. Take 2 is more than a minute shorter and sports a piano-driven arrangement at a driving tempo that finds Schultz in the spotlight with a fiery solo. Another Clarke original, "When I'm With You Baby", gets a riveting performance punctuated by Steve F'Dor's piano fills.

The sound quality of the disc is quite good - the performances even better. Clarke learned the lessons from all of the great harp players and developed his own original sound. Hopefully there is plenty more material of Clarke's that has yet to see the light of day. Packages like this will ensure that listeners will never forget this dynamic musician.