WFHB Music - Bloomington Community Radio

Buck, Willie – “The Life I Love” (Delmark) A

Originally from Houston, Buck moved to Chicago as a teen in the early fifties. Despite hanging with Muddy Waters and haunting the club scene (tossed as underaged until Muddy “vouched” for him, Buck sat in with a bunch of people but pursued life as a mechanic for the most part, until he started putting bands together in the ‘70s when economy helped him secure many famous musicians to perform in a variety of groupings. This is a re-release of Buck’s only full-length recording from that time. Members of the famous ACES (Louis and Dave Myers, etc.), Little Mac Simmons (harp) and John Primer (2^nd gtr) appear here. The whole disc is a picture of a good bluesman – like so many others—who lived the scene and the blues, chose family and a working life as his main gig, but never gave up on blues anyway. Many songs here are Muddy covers—his main influence. His singing is down home and right out of the 50’s and neighborhood Chicago bars (#4)…good to hear stuff from that era so well done.

Hounds Tooth – “Soul Rockin’” (Tweed Tone Records) B+

In a mostly live recording, the band does 7 originals out of ten tunes in real journeymen style. Rockin’ stuff with fine playing, good vocals and a good sense of how much is enough. They throw down with tunes that nod to Slim Harpo, George Thorogood, Robben Ford, and Freddy King…and rock it up while they’re at it. Adept and fun. Genuwine dancin’ stuff. Not for Morning Mix.

Jackson, Rocky – “Testify!” (High Life Records)

Texas guitar player doing a bunch of electrified covers…nice bar band, but not necessarily a standout for radio.

Kirchen, Bill – “Word to the Wise” (Proper) A

Co-Founder and guitarist of Commander Cody’s Lost Planet Airmen, Kirchen has been a road dawg since Jesus was young. Here he pulls in friends and fellow “dawgs” Maria Muldaur, Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Norton Buffalo, Paul Carrack, Dan Hicks and Chris O’Connell to help him deliver a good set of rock/rockabilly/country—many of them originals that kick booty (the Dylanesque # 4). The whole disc is really excellent musically and guests only add to a mix reminiscent of Commander Cody/Dan Hicks/Texas section of the rodeo. Good for all mixes…classy.

LaVette, Bettye – “Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook” (Anti) B-

No one ever said LaVette didn’t have girt and nerve. Here she steps way outside her usual blues and soul groove to adapt old-time popular British rock tunes. For fans of her soul and funk musical history, this walk on the pop-soul side will be a difficult leap…ditto for fans of the original British rock tunes. That’s a tough recipe to digest, but innovative—I’ll give her that. The Beatles “Word” for instance, morphs into a cool soul rendition. LaVette, traditionally a wail-and-shouter, does best when she can apply that to the tunes (#1, #11). Her voice doesn’t wear as well on the slower ballads unless she can really wail (#7), and since most tunes here are slow, it is difficult to hear and accept the new versions with open ears. Interesting and chancy…high marks for that, but overall I’m not won over.

May, Willie – “Grand Mal Indigo” (Independent)

Scratchy vocals, medium guitar skills….not recommended.

Mulebone – “New Morning” (Red Tug Records) A

Spare instrumentals on tunes by this acoustic blues duo. Resonator and slide guitar back great vocals, painted with harp, minimal percussion, flues and even conch shells. This CD is a surprise—can’t say I’ve ever heard of John Ragusa (vox) or Hugh Pool (gtr/harp), but they pull a really engaging blues sound out of the box…colored with rock arrangements but still fitting into the acoustic blues genre. Interesting – like flute work on Fred McDowell’s “Kokomo” followed by a gut-bucket version of Wolf’s “How Many More Years” with vocals through a harp mic, then a light-hearted, fingerstyle Rev. Gary Davis tune. Refreshing. All good for Morning Mix.

Shogren, J – “Bird Bones & Muscle” (JAHA!) A-

A combination of oddities…this man, a professor of philosophy and past King of Sweden’s special professor on environmental science, Shogren lives half-time in Sweden, and the rest in Wyoming, where he put together this amazing rootsy band, sporting tunes from “Weird old America.” Cool stuff…he plays resonator, mandolin, and sings with people on accordion, yodeling and banjo…barbershop quartet stylings in a modern setting. Who would have guessed? Acoustic, eclectic, intelligent lyrics and fun. “Recalling everything from Dylan to Dr. John, Buck Owens to Tom Waits, Shogrun explains, ‘No veneer—just a coat of varnish to keep out the weather’.” Original.

Smokin’ Joe Kubek & Bnois King – “Have Blues Will Travel” (Alligator) B+

Blues rock from Texas…with Smokin’ Joe providing the sizzling electric guitar backup while Willie King delivers the goods with smooth vocals that tame things down to bearable. Vocals strong and adept though aged. ZZ Top and Sam Cooke…strange but good and definitely rockin’. Great dancin’ grooves…don’t even buy a ticket if you don’t want to dance; don’t dance if you don’t wanna sweat.

Sounds of Rhythm – “Under the Blue Light” (Rusty Key Records) B

Old fashioned, clean doo-wop, street corner doo-wop singing. Strangely this group is from Marin in California’s Bay area. Most tunes sporting smooth vocals only…with finger-snapping and percussive backup vocals for rhythm--very cool. Instrumentation sparely applied as record moves forward. Thought this kind of doo wop was history. Many of the songs are older, but all perfect for doo wop interpretations. Interesting Isaac Hayes nod (# 12) and modern touches on old style. All mixes.

Taylor, Rick – “Lucky Room” (Volunteer Records)

Canadian guitarist and acoustic blues singer…guitar work is adept, vocals not so much. Not recommended.