Sheba The Mississippi Queen ~ A Real Good Woman

 

This album is real hard to explain. This is a blues album, with some great musical chops, & some sweeeeet vocals. The lyrics are very simple, which is the only bad thing that I can say about this album. Sometimes, Sheba, speaks to you in her songs like Barry White did in his, unfortunately, she is not Barry White. It works for him…and him alone. George “Chocolate” Perry (strings, bass, drums & horns), Michael “The Dog” Gauthier (keyboard, strings, & horns), Warren “Roach” Thompson (guitar), & Chuck Juntzman (slide guitar) more than make up for the few simple let downs on the album with their mastery of their instruments. I find that Sheba, while giving a great vocal performance, gives her best performance on the ballads on the album. That is where I see the best in this album. All songs are good, however, except maybe 1 or 2 songs. I give this 4 Music Guru Stars.

 

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Flav Martin & Jerry Marotta ~ Soul Redemption

 

These 2 fine musicians got together to make 1 fantastic album. Flav Martin, who has worked with David Crosby, Al Stewart & Suzanne Vega, just to name a few, makes such beautiful sounds with his instrument, you may forget where you are. While Jerry Marotta has worked his craft with Paul McCartney, Hall & Oates, Sarah McLachlan, John Mayer, & the Indigo girls just as well.You may know Jerry Marotta, who worked with Tony levin in the rhythm section of Peter Gabriel’s band. Well, guess what, they’re on this album as well, along with Peter Primamore (Piano), Thor Jenson (guitar), Marc Shulman (guitar) and Gary Schreiner (harmonica, accordion). Having no expectations for this album, I inserted the CD and got totally lost in the meld of the music. I was doing some work at the time & totally stopped what I was doing & was fixated on the music. You must give this one a listen. IT WILL NOT DISAPPOINT! I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru Stars.

Tempest ~ Thirty Little Turns

 

This is the 2nd album that I’ve heard from Tempest & while I’m not a fan of most of Lief Sorbye’s vocals, the musicianship is enough for me to get over this hurdle. Along with guitar, bass & drums, most of the album revolves around instruments such as mandolins, mandoguitar, flute, pennywhistle, & fiddle. The musicians other than Leif Sorbye, is Adolfo Lazo on drums, Kathryn Buys on the fiddle & harmonies, Josh Fossgreen on bass & harmonies, & Ab Menon on electric guitars. You also get the great Robert Berry playing keyboards. Tempest on their last album that I heard was a cover of the Grass Roots “Let’s Live For Today”. On this album, they cover the Beatles “Norwegian Wood”. While I said that I didn’t like Leif’s vocals, he works this song very well. There are other tracks that he does as well, but, for me, not enough so. I do like this album. Give it a try & tell me what you think. I rate this 3.5 out of 5 Music Guru Stars.

Cody Carpenter’s Interdependence

 

This wonderful piece of music is something that you HAVE TO HEAR! This is a fine example of progressive rock mixing with jazz & fusion. While Cody Carpenter doing his great playing on keyboards (& guitars), you get Jimmy Haslip putting some great bass track that just talk to you. Jimmy is the perfect companion for Cody’s project. You also have Scott Seiver on drums keeping the rhythm section solid. This album reminds me of a keyboard version of Jeff Beck during his “Wired” years. This album took me by surprise & is highly recommended. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru Stars.

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Matthews Southern Comfort ~ Like A Radio

 

Matthews Southern Comfort is back… and better than ever. Since their album put out in 1970 with a hit song, from Joni Mitchell, “Woodstock” was a big hit for them. This is a restart for the band featuring founder Iain Matthews along with 3 other musicians/song-writers. If you were a fan of the previous Matthews Southern Comfort, you’ll love this album. It includes 12 brand new songs & 3 new versions of Matthews Southern Comfort’s classics, including James Taylor’s “Something In The Way She Moves”. In that same way that Woodstock made it to #1 on the charts, this song could do the same. The album should definitely be on the charts. This is really that good. Give this a listen. The musicianship is excellent as are the harmonies. I rate this 5 out of 5 Music Guru Stars.

Various Artists ~ Backroom Blues Volume Six

 

Another fine compilation from Bongo Boy Records brings you the blues, in fine form. What can I say, that I haven’t said about previous volumes. Great sound, great production, great blues. Best tracks to listen to are “HOT BLOODED 4 U” by E.G. Holmes & “Shoulda Coulda Woulda” by Revis Johnson. Give this one a listen. I give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru Stars.