Soul Shaker
An aptly titled release, "Soul Shaker" is centerpieced
by "The Holdin' On", a soulful ballad that points out,
with concise and absolute precision, the source of the
pain that fills and overflows the gap left in one's
life by the departure of a lover ... It's not the
letting go ... it's the holdin' on. There has not
been a release like this since Otis Redding's "Otis
Blue",and even that immortal soul bombshell, with its
several classic, irreplaceable moments, lacked the
consistent quality of "Soul Shaker."
Going on at more length about these dozen magnificent
tracks would be superfluous. "Soul Shaker" is a great,
great CD.
Del Junco has always been known as a flexible, open
minded harmonica player. One should never expect one
of his releases to focus on some narrow stylistic
definition like "Chicago blues" or "Toronto jazz,"At
the same time, variety is a double-edged factor in
creative product, detracting from continuity exactly
as much as it adds to impact. The one loving tribute
to Sonny Boy Williamson II on Blues Mongrel leaves
this reviewer hungry for more, but then, so do the
several other styles del Junco shares so adeptly on
the release. "Let's Mambo" is a great party
instrumental, as is the unlikely movie theme, "Our Man
Flint."
This is a strong, honest, loving album, in keeping
with this label's standards and those of the artist.
Acid blues at its best. Thank Eddie Turner and Northern Blues for reminding us how good that can be.
Tommy Castro
Blind Pig Records BPCD5094
www.blindpigrecords.com
"The blues is in good hands. This is the person who
has the voice, the sound and the right intentions to
touch everybody's heart". Carlos Santana, commenting
on Tommy Castro.
by Arthur "LoveWhip" Shuey
Blues Mongrel
Carlos del Junco
Northern Blues Music NBM0026
www.northernblues.com
Yes, there are famous harmonica' players. Among them is
Carlos del Junco. These days, he's perfecting
application of Howard Levy's overblow technique, which
gets the chromatic scale out of diatonic harmonicas,
thus allowing one to play in every key on a C harp,
usually a Hohner Golden Melody, ideal for the task by
virtue of being tuned equal rather than just. Blues
Mongrel is, in some ways, a demo disc for the overblow
technique. He extends a thoughtful kindness to harp
players by giving detailed liner note information
about keys and gear used on all twelve cuts here.
by Arthur "LoveWhip" Shuey
Rise
Eddie Turner
Northern Blues Music NBM0027
www.northernblues.com
This guy's fascinating in that he's stepped straight
into 2005 from 1967. This is psychedelia a la Jimi
Hendrix. Not that it sounds like Hendrix; it just
shares the same ideas of musical _expression. The
title track is an acid blues, heavy on droning
electric guitar, laid over a New Orleans parade second
line percussion beat. That's novel and cool. The fact
that Turner covers the Hendrix classic, “The Wind
Cries Mary,"and sounds completely like Eddie Turner
and nothing at all like Jimi Hendrix is a nice, subtle
touch.
by Arthur "LoveWhip" Shuey