CD Review: Piper & The Hard Times, "Revelation"

 

Wake up all Blues fans.  The focus of today's blog is the dynamic Blues band, Piper & The Hard Times and their national debut recording, "Revelation".  The band's leader is Al "Piper" Green who does the Vocals.  This band is intense and lives in the vintage Blues world and leaves nothing in the recording room.  The band's soul is strongly rooted in the Blues but they also mix in touches of R & B, Soul and Rock.  If you are new to traditional Blues, you will enjoy listening to "Revelation".  If you are already a true Blues fan you will not be disappointed with the 12 songs on this CD.  The recording is terrific and gives the listener the feeling he would get if he was listening to a live performance.

The core musicians consist of Al "Piper" Green, Steve Eagon and Dave Colella who have been playing together for  over 20 years.  Al "Piper" Green performs the vocal with intensity and earthiness.  Piper grew up in a muscially inclined family in Bolivar, Tennessee where he sang in gospel choir while being fascinated by the best of Soul, Pop and Rock on the radio.  He sings with strong emotion and authority that make the lyrics believable.

Guitarist Steve Eagon grew up in Northern Ohio and has been playing since his teen years.  He notes that his style developed from his early influences from artists Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Stevie Ray Vaughan.  Eagon also is the principal Composer for the band along with contributions from Piper and Colella.

Drummer Dave Colella is the only core member from the North, a New Jersey native.  But you would never guess he was not from the deep South when you listen to the strong and solid Blues foundation he provides for this group. 

"Revelation" is this band's debut recording but it's sure to become a classic Blues CD!

I have attached two "YouTube" videos so you can experience the flavor of this outstanding Blues CD.  The first is a New Orleans-flavored tune "Trouble Man" with a hard driving vocal from Piper.  The second is a slow Blues song filled with ache and emotion, "Twenty Long Years".

PLAYERS:

Al "Piper" Green- Vocals 

Steve Eagon- Guitar and principal Composer

Dave Colella- Drums

Amy Frederick- Keyboard

Parker Hawkins- Bass

Shaun Murphy, Lisa Oliver-Gray, Melissa Gardner- Background Vocals

Chris Floyd- Harmonica

Dick Aven- Tenor

PLAYLIST: 

1. Trouble Man

2. The Hard Times

3. Heart For Sale

4. Preacher Blues

5. Revelation

6. Working Farm Blues

7. Crave You

8. Come Back Knockin

9. Why Not Me

10. You're Gonna Miss Me

11. Walk With Me

12. Twenty Long Years

                                                                "Trouble Man"

                                                                    "Twenty Long Years"

The Laurie Morvan Band Plays "Rockin" Blues at Woody's in Palm Springs, CA

Today's guest Reviewer is "The Blues King", Tim Marchio.   This is Tim's second guest review for the Music Man Blog,  and I am sure you will enjoy it as much as his first.  Tim is a long-time Blues fan, and he also plays Blues on his Guitar.

The Laurie Morvan Band, a five piece ensemble plays the Blues at Woody's in Palm Springs most Thursdays nights.  I mean, really plays the Blues.  I expected a good time as I truly enjoy the Blues, especially live.  However, I was not prepared for what I heard.  The band consists of Keyboardist Tom Salyers, Bassist Pat Morvan, Drummer Lonnie Jones and backup Vocals by Lisa Morvan. 

Laurie in particular, was great.  Not good, but great.  They started with a classic B. B. King tune, “The Thrill is Gone”.  The guitar was tight and the band nailed it.  I must admit, it was a bit out of the ordinary to hear a woman sing such a well-known B. B. song.  But she did a good job, making you feel it.  Then the night took off from there.  Laurie is an outstanding guitarist.  In an intimate club like Woody’s, she easily connected with the crowd.  The band played original tunes mixed with classics from Albert King, Luther Allison and Stevie Ray Vaughan.  Laurie was masterful, her singing got stronger throughout the night and her renditions worked marvelously. 

The band has accumulated several awards from the International Blues Challenge including, Best Self-Produced CD (2010) and top10 finalist in the Live Band Competition (2008).  Other accolades include twice being named the House of Blues Radio Hour “Blues Breaker” artist of the week, a B.B. King’s Bluesville “Picks to Click”, and winning the Blues Festival Guides’ 2008 Blues Artist on the Rise Award.

Now, about her guitar playing; in her opening song, she sounded like early Clapton channeling BB King.  For the rest of the night, she jumped, jived, played fast and slow.  She played most songs had more than one solo and it worked every time.  I was amazed at her technical skills, but the Blues is all about the feel, the visceral effect  of the playing is what will move the listener.  In that, she sold it.  She lives the Blues, and her dedication was obvious.  I saw Joe Bonamassa last summer in a small arena and I enjoyed Laurie's show much more.  Laurie can play fast, real fast, but fast doesn’t necessarily always mean “good”.  She is both.  If I could play guitar like that for one night with that band, I would not stop until dawn. 

The Laurie Morvan Band sells CDs on their website (www.LaurieMorvan.com).  You should visit her site and purchase at least one.  I know I will.  There is a live "YouTube" of tonight's performance for your listening and viewing enjoyment.

     

Book Review of "Clapton, The Autobiography"

It's summer and like most of you, I am catching up on my reading list. Over the past years, several of my music friends highly recommended Eric Clapton's autobiography that was first published in 2007.  I finally got a chance to read it. Although this book became a New York Times bestseller, I personally  found it somewhat disappointing and not at all uplifting. I will give Clapton a good deal of credit for doing the writing himself and not going with the guest-writer route that most rock stars have used.  However, Clapton's lack of writing skills resulted in a book that was somewhat boring in parts for the reader.  That said, Clapton's honesty about his own shortcomings and his love for the blues and the major players that influenced his career makes the book "a must" for all Clapton fans.

 Eric painted a life story of a troubled young boy with an identity problem who evolved into a chauvinistic unhappy narcissist. It seemed to me that Clapton's life was consumed by the need to capture things and people he wanted and once he got them he lost interest which is what occurred with his relationship with Pattie Boyd. However, on a positive note, his description of his burning love for Pattie Boyd while she was still married to George Harrison produced his outstanding song "Layla".

Like most of the rock stars of the 70's, Clapton goes into great detail about his addictions that somehow did not kill him until he finally turned the corner and cleaned up.  I found his comments about his thoughts and relationship with other extraordinary musicians like the Stones, the Beatles, B.B. King, George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan very interesting. I was disappointed that Clapton did not spend more time writing about his wonderful guitar playing.  I think it would have greatly added to the enjoyment of the book.

Music Man Awards This Book "2 Quarter Notes"

4 Quarter Notes= Excellent Book, Must Read
3 Quarter Notes= Good Book
2 Quarter Notes= Somewhat Interesting
1 Quarter Notes= Save Your Time and Money

Jeff Golub Ready To Release New CD Featuring Henry Butler

Great news for all Jeff Golub fans. Jeff will be releasing a new CD at the end of June that is sure to be outstanding. The CD is a tribute to the music of Albert King, B.B. King and Freddie King, I think that says it all about why you should own this CD. According to Jeff "When you look at the modern blues and rock vocabulary, it's almost impossible for anyone to play something that doesn't reflect their influence somehow.  Whether you're talking about Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, anyone you can name, they are directly or indirectly influenced by something that one of them did or played. Their songs are timeless and, while they also certainly had their influences, the impact of their work is unquestioned".  Keith Richards also credits the "Three Kings" in his new book, LIFE, in similar words to Jeff's. As soon a I can get this CD, I intend to publish a review. Stay tuned!