The naysayers are always talking about how the Blues is dying and we all need to make an effort to keep it alive. While the keep it alive part is true, the Blues is certainly in good hands as long as there are young players who continually step up and take the torch and run with it.

Chicago-based guitar slinger Joel Paterson is one of those players. Not only is he a bona-fide Blues guy, he plays jazz, rockabilly, country pedal steel and probably some classical if you can get him to admit it. Being well-versed in all types of musical genres is his motivation. That, and a desire to put food on the table. Playing in a variety of bands enables him to stay sharp and he can make a decent living in and around his adopted city of Chicago.

Joel is originally from Madison, Wisconsin but he was lured to Chicago many years ago by the music and has never left for any length of time.

“Thank you, I’m glad you think I’m still young,” Joel says. “I’ve been a professional musician for about 20 years now, so I feel like I’ve been at it for a while. I know a lot of people might think of me as more of a swing, jazz, rockabilly, country, etc guitar player—but I always think of myself as a Blues guitarist first and foremost, because that was my first love and it’s what got me started playing guitar.”

Just like many of the young guns today, Joel heard the old masters on vinyl in his parents record collection as a teenager and caught the bug.

“I started when I was around 13 or so, and I taught myself the rudiments of guitar from a Lightnin’ Hopkins LP that my mom had,” Joel relates. “That is when I became obsessed with Blues. There is a great record store in my hometown of Madison, WI called B-Side—they got in a lot of the Yazoo label LPs back then. I bought them all and that’s how I got into acoustic country Blues. I learned guitar mostly by ear. I took some theory lessons later to learn what the hell I was doing, but I’m pretty much self-taught. Of course I love all of the Chicago Blues greats, but most of my early influences go back to ‘20s and ‘30s Delta stuff. But I get into everything, I love acoustic and electric Blues the same.”

One standard question almost all guitar players are asked is who are/were their favorite players and Joel has an extensive and diverse list of great pickers to choose from. He spans the whole scene from acoustic, to electric Blues, to jazz and country. A definite testimony to his guitar dexterity.

“That’s always a tough question for me—get ready for a long list,” Joel says. “Here are a few in no particular order: Blind Blake, Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Big Bill Broonzy, Tampa Red, Muddy Waters, Robert Nighthawk, Freddie King, B.B. King, Albert Collins, Magic Sam, Charlie Christian, Tiny Grimes, Bill Jennings, Barney Kessel, Grant Green, Les Paul, Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, I’m sure I am forgetting a lot.”

Joel’s bio describes him as an all-around player and never pin points his first love—Blues but he says he plays in the various groups to sustain himself without having to hit the road for long spells like so many of his contemporaries choose to do.

“The Blues, country, rockabilly, jazz guitar wizard has spent the last 10 years touring and recording with acts like Dave 'Honey Boy' Edwards, Wanda Jackson, Carl 'Sonny' Leyland, Jimmy Sutton's Four Charms, Deke Dickerson, and his own Joel Paterson's Blues Roundup and the Modern Sounds (who were voted best Chicago Jazz Band in the 2009 Chicago Reader Poll). While Paterson can recreate the sound and feel of guitar greats like Django Reinhardt, Tiny Grimes, Chet Atkins, Wes Montgomery, and Merle Travis, he can also nail the Chicago and Delta Blues idioms of guitarists like Blind Blake, Robert Nighthawk, Jimmy Rogers, and Freddie King. If that wasn't enough, this guy can also tear it up on a pedal steel. Plain and simple this cat can play.”

“Definitely a love of playing (is why I play in various bands),” Joel says. “Definitely love of playing and love of music. But I think it just came naturally out of living in Chicago and trying to get by playing music. There are so many great musicians here from different genres, I usually get into a new phase out of necessity by joining a new band. I do manage to I squeak by playing here. I go to my home state of Wisconsin to play a lot, too. “

“Here are some of the bands around Chicago that I currently play in:

The Modern Sounds. We specialize in Chicago's finest in classic Blues, swing, rockabilly, and everything in between. The band features a big sound and tight, three-part harmonies,” Joel says.”

Joel plays guitar, Beau Sample plays slap bass, and Alex Hall is the drummer. The band strives to bring its audience back to the "Modern" era.

Paterson formed Ventrella Records in 2001 as an independent label based in Chicago specializing in all styles of American roots music, including Blues, jazz, rockabilly, Western swing, and more.

“I founded Ventrella Records in 2001 with the release of the solo country blues album, "Down at The Depot,” Joel says. “The label is named after our friend and spiritual advisor James Ventrella, Chicago music connoisseur and international man of mystery. Ventrella Records is mismanaged by me with Beau Sample and Alex Hall as production staff. We founded Ventrella as a way to get rich quick or go broke show.

“Our goal is to showcase the great musicians on the roots scene today,” Joel says. “We will continue to make records until I run out of money or licks, whichever comes first. The ideal place to buy Ventrella products is out of the trunk of a 1997 Honda Civic, but our CDs can be found on cdbaby.com if you are a savvy internet shopper.”

Shake 'Em On Down features Joel on guitar and vocals; Rick Sherry, harmonica and vocals; Alex Hall, drums; Beau Sample, bass (and other various rhythm sections featuring Chicago's finest).

“We play an early style of electric country Blues and jump Blues, with a heavy dose of Dr. Ross, Joe Hill Louis, Papa Lightfoot, Robert Nighthawk, Muddy Waters, Big Walter, Johnny Shines, John Lee Hooker, Sun Records era Howlin' Wolf, and more,” Joel relates.

Then there’s The Joel Paterson Trio, a jazz and Blues organ trio featuring Chicago legend Chris Foreman on the Hammond B3.

“We have managed to fit a Hammond B3, Leslie, full drum set, and guitar and amp behind the bar at the famous Green Mill Cocktail Lounge,” Joel says.

Devil in a Woodpile displays Joel’s love of country Blues first learned way back when first listening to Lightnin’ Hopkins on his mom’s vinyl.

The band features Chicago country Blues legends Rick Sherry on harmonica, washboard and vocals; Joel Paterson, National resonator guitar and vocals; and Tom Ray on upright bass and beard.

“I’ve played a Resonator guitar for many years in a Chicago country blues band called Devil in a Woodpile,” Joel relates. “Resonator guitar comes naturally to me because I started out playing country Blues and ragtime. Now lap steel and pedal steel—that is another matter. I started playing that later and it has always been a challenge for me. I think that’s why I like it. I can give you another endless list of steel players I like, but my main influences are the basics: Jerry Byrd, Jimmy Day, and Buddy Emmons.”

The Western Elstons band plays Chicago honky tonk, featuring Scott Ligon on bass and vocals, Casey McDonough, Jimmy Sutton, and Joel on the guitar and pedal steel.

“We play about once a month to a nice, dedicated little crowd.,” Joel says. “We play ‘50s and ‘60s era honky tonk music. Old beer joint music. It gives me a chance to keep up with my pedal steel playing, which is always a challenge.”

Joel’s latest project is The Cash Box Kings, another classic Chicago Blues band who record on the Blind Pig label. CBK has recently been nominated for a Blues Blast Music Award for best contemporary Blues album.

“I didn’t start the band (CBK),” Joel says. “They started in Madison. I started playing with them if they needed somebody to play in Chicago. And I started going up to Wisconsin to play a bit with them because I always love seeing all the familiar faces around Madison.

“I wouldn’t say we’re touring extensively,” he says. “We just play some festivals here and there when it makes sense. Festivals are great, by the way. I’m all for any gig that brings Blues and roots music to a bigger audience gets us in front of a good crowd. All I will say is that Blues is dance music, so get out of your lawn chairs and shake something. But my favorite gigs are still always a great little crowd in a small club. I think that is the way roots music has always been the best experience.

“We are always trying to juggle everyone’s crazy schedule,” Joel says. “I live in Chicago so I don’t have to tour too much to get by. I’m lucky that I get to go to Europe every now and then with my band The Modern Sounds, and The Cash Box Kings. That’s always a hoot.

“They are definitely appreciative in Europe,” Joel says. “They make you feel good. I think Americans are more into their iPhones and take music and musicians for granted. That’s all I’ll say. But every time I go to Europe I’m ready to come home and find a good cheeseburger.”

As mentioned, this is merely a partial list of groups Joel is associated with. He’s obviously in demand as a player and front man.

Most artists get asked about career highlights and Joel referred this writer to his agent for any comments.

“Better let my agent get back to you about that,” he says, with a laugh. “Oh wait, that’s me. (It’s) hard to say. The Modern Sounds opening up for Jeff Beck a few years ago for two nights in Chicago was a great show. I still get a lot of people coming up to me that learned about us through that. The trips to Europe I’ve taken are always a blast. Playing Deke Dickerson’s Guitar Geek festival in California was always a thrill. But I think my career highlights are always just good local shows where we can get a nice little crowd of people listening and dancing.

“As for low points, I played in Bo Diddley’s backing band for a night in Madison way back when,” Joel recalls. “I think it was a career highlight but maybe it was a lowlight because I couldn’t hear one note that I played. No, I’m kidding, it was a thrill. Hard to say about lowlights, maybe I’m good at blocking them out of my mind.”

Joel pays respects to the Vaughan brothers and the Austin players as having an early influence on his playing.

“Oh definitely, those early T-Birds records were a big influence on me when I was starting out,” he says. “I still love them. I have a lot of friends in Austin. That’s where all the pickers live that make you depressed and want to go home to practice. My favorite is Dave Biller.”

Paterson’s versatility and wide ranging musical interests obviously allow him to stick close to home and work on pet projects of which he has numerous.

“Right now my main projects in Chicago are The Modern Sounds, with the versatile musicians Beau Sample and Alex Hall,” he says. “That’s the band where I can just be myself and play whatever I want. I’ve also been playing a lot with the great harmonica player, Rick Sherry. We do everything from acoustic country Blues to ‘50s Sun records-era Blues. I play every Sunday night at the jazz club, The Green Mill with the legendary Chicago organ player, Chris Foreman. We play all the old Jimmy McGriff B3 stuff and it is a blast.”

On the state of the Blues, Joel says he’s too locked into his own Blues world to pay much attention to what’s happening outside his sphere.

“Ouch, that's a tough one,” he says. “I'm not sure. I'm bad at keeping up with what is going on these days. I'm kind of stuck in my own world of listening to the old records. I do wish there were some more folks around here to play that with. But, there a lot of great players around. It’s just frustrating when they all live in different cities.”

All some of us can do is listen and write about it. But, there has to be an audience, right?

Visit Joel's website at www.joelpaterson.com. 

Here are a few videos to check out this great guitar talent!

Joel with the Cash Box Kings CLICK HERE

Joel with Modern Sounds CLICK HERE

Joel with Devil In a Woodpile and Honeyboy Edwards CLICK HERE

Joel with the Joel Patterson Trio CLICK HERE

Joel Patterson and Rami Gabreil doing some amazing swing guitar CLICK HERE

Photos by Bob Kieser © 2013 Blues Blast Magazine

Too Slim and the Taildraggers - Blue Heart

Underworld Records

http://www.tooslim.org

11 songs; 49:26 minutes; Suggested

Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock

I have already picked the 2013 Song of the Year (awarded in 2014); it is Too Slim and the Taildraggers’ "Good to See You Smile Again." Surely, track five from Tim “Too Slim” Lanford’s 11th Taildraggers’s studio release will be a top notch contender for "Song of the Year" in every Blues lover’s playlist! Slim wrote it from a deep place of love, and he brought into the studio the fantastic, former Wet Willie front man Jimmy Hall to sing the soaring lead vocals. It is a pure Blues number that “sho’nuff is” the Blues with Slim's penetrating, Chicago Blues guitar notes “singing along” in the mid-song passage. The unbelievably talented studio lineup includes Grammy Award winning producer Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, Susan Tedeschi) on drums, Reese Wynans on organ, Delbert McClinton cohort Rob McNelley on second guitar, and Tommy McDonald is the bassist. Further, Jimmy Hall adds his magic harmonica to the title cut, also done in classic Blues style, about a lover with a "big Blue Heart made of glass."

Tim "Too Slim" Langford and wife/manager Nancy made a career enhancing move from Seattle WA to Nashville TN in the fall of 2012, and the positive results showed up right away in his latest CD, "Blue Heart," the 19th release overall in his incredible career. Recently charting as high as #3 on the Bilboard Blues Chart, “Blue Heart” gave Too Slim a pleasant shock. “It was quite a surprise, when I looked at the chart the first time. I actually overlooked it (his new album’s position); you know, I didn’t look high enough,” he laughed. “I’ve been on the charts 20-some times, but never that high,” Too Slim said in an August 2013 Blues Blast magazine interview with Terry Mullins. The fact is: his last four albums have charted in the Top Ten on the Billboard Blues Chart.

Across the set, recorded in Nashville and composed in the unique genre of "Too Slim and the Taildraggers music," Langford takes his songwriting and masterful guitar work to an inspired level. Is it the water in Nashville or just the Southern vibe? Either way, the nine originals and two covers are simply killer! The CD possesses all of the qualities that have made this originally-from-Spokane WA-band fantastic: witty lyrics, true Blues spirit, and most of all, superb musicianship. Fans of TS & the Td will hear Slim’s ripping slide guitar and passionately sustained lead lines they have come to expect and love. They will also enjoy an oil painting by Nancy Langford as we are treated to another CD cover featuring her wonderful art.

The ferociously gritty, low-down opening number "Wash My Hands" may be interpreted as a sequel to "Shiver," the title track from Too Slim's 2011 CD which was nominated for a B.M.A for Blues Rock Album Of The Year. "Wash My Hands" expounds on "Shiver's" theme of trying to redeem oneself from bad decisions, with Too Slim wryly commenting, "I used to be a sinner, and I liked it." Sometimes, the aftermath of bad decisions sticks to one like smelly river sludge: "So I washed my hands in the muddy Mississippi, but this life of sin don't wash off easy. Doing my best to try to come clean, but that dirty old devil left a stain on me."

"When Whiskey Was My Friend" opens with an atmospheric, almost spooky intro featuring a trembling organ chord from Reese Wynans and a mesmerizing guitar refrain. Here, our long-suffering narrator is trying to reason with himself (and all inebriated, lovelorn friends): "If had some whiskey; I’d drink it all. No one to talk to except these dogs. I try to tell them about these Blues. They’re staring at me like I'm a fool… It used to be so easy when whiskey was my friend." The tricky truth about alcohol is that it may seem like a boon companion, but will become an addicting "frenemy" in the end.

New Nashville friend David Duncan provided the song “Shape Of Blues To Come” while Slim makes it his own and Rob McNelley creates a tantalizing rhythm guitar line. Fans will also find Langford dipping deeper into his art on the set closing song, “Angels Are Back,” featuring acoustic slide with intertwining electric guitar lines.

For the future, Langford plans even more touring from his new centralized geographic base. His latest touring trio consists of E. Scott Esbeck on bass and drummer Jeff “Shakey” Fowlkes helping to bring the Too Slim sound, for the first time, to the east coast and southeast, where it should be a natural fit.

Thanks to Amy Walker who contributed to this review.

For other reviews and interviews on our website CLICK HERE

David Gogo – Come On Down

Cordova Bay Records

www.davidgogo.com

Self release

12 songs - 50 minutes

David Gogo is nothing if not prolific. The Canadian singer, guitarist and songwriter’s latest album, Come On Down, is his thirteenth solo album, in addition to his film and TV compositions. Inspired by a recent blues pilgrimage through Memphis, Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama, Come On Down features six songs written by Gogo and six cover versions and the result is a very enjoyable blues-rock album.

Opening with a rollicking version of The Faces’ “Bad ‘n’ Ruin” which features searing slide guitar (and, it must be said, significantly better production values than the dear old drunken Faces ever managed), it is immediately apparent that Gogo is a fine guitarist and equally good vocalist, with a warm, rough-hewn, lived-in voice. The band does an impressive job of capturing the in-your-face swagger of Rod and Ronnie’s old band.

The second song, the title track, is one of the highlights of the album. It’s a lovely minor key ballad with tremolo-drenched rhythm guitar and a sparse rhythm section. Gogo sings with impressive passion and commitment: “We lean on the future with the strength of the past, but it’s not always good things, good things that last.”

It is interesting that Gogo credits his blues pilgrimage as the inspiration for many of the songs on the album, since “Natchez Dog” is the only song that is “pure” blues. The vast majority of the album actually sounds more influenced by the American rock scene of the 1970s and early 1980s. “Kings” bears more than a passing resemblance to Glenn Frey’s “Smuggler’s Blues” with a hint of Robert Palmer’s “Simply Irresistible” in the overdriven guitars that open the song. There are also two Fleetwood Mac covers in “Spare Me A Little Of Your Love” and “World Turning” (the latter of which Gogo turns into a slide guitar tour-de-force), and a version of Robert Palmer’s “Looking For Clues” with heavily processed guitars and 80s-style drum fills to the fore. The other cover is “Let’s Go Get Stoned”.

Despite writing only half the songs on the album, Gogo’s songs are at least as impressive as the covers. “Blue Eyed Daisy” is a flat-out rocker featuring feedback, several overdriven guitar solos and a very compressed drum sound. “Worth It”, by contrast, has a Stax/soul feel, with a catchy chorus in which Gogo sings: “From darkness comes better times. I can’t promise you that things will be perfect. But come on over to my side, baby, and the love I will give you will make it all worth it.” It also features a beautifully melodic guitar solo that has hints of Clapton’s style of the mid-80s.

The wide range of blues, rock and pop styles played by Gogo on Come On Down is reflected in the number of musicians who feature on the album, including amongst others Rick May, Marisha Devoin and Jay Stevens on bass, William Arthur Hicks and Gordon Grant Baird on drums, and David Vest and Chad Geekie on piano and Rick Hopkins on organ. It is testament to the quality of the musicians and the production skills of Gogo, Rick Salt and Michael Burke that the album hangs together so well and does not feel at all disjointed.

David Gogo is obviously a serious talent and this album has encouraged me to find out more about his back catalogue. In the meantime, Come On Down is well worth checking out by any fans of well-played, well-written blues-rock.

For other reviews and interviews on our website CLICK HERE

Lurrie Bell – Blues in My Soul

Delmark Records

www.lurrie.com

14 tracks; 66 minutes

Quite a lot of CDs these days are only tangentially ‘blues’ but here is one that will be a treasure for all serious blues collectors. Lurrie Bell is an absolute master of Chicago blues whose last two CDs have seen him demonstrating his abilities in acoustic and religious styles. Here he returns to electric Chicago blues and tackles a great selection of classic tunes (with three of his own compositions as well), backed by a crack team of Chicago players: Willie ‘The Touch’ Hayes on drums, Melvin Smith on bass and Roosevelt ‘Mad Hatter’ Purifoy on keys. Matthew Skoller adds harp to six tracks and a three man horn section graces two tracks. Most readers will be familiar with Lurrie’s playing but for anyone new to his music he plays lovely, clean guitar lines without any effects, all the emotion comes from his fingertips. No wah-wah, no distortion and a lesson in style and touch to any budding blues players out there.

The CD opens with an excellent T Bone Walker track “Hey Hey Baby” on which the horns add considerably to a swinging performance. Lurrie’s autobiographical slow “Blues In My Soul” has some wonderful playing from Lurrie and organ and piano accompaniment from Roosevelt. Lurrie has had some hard times over the years so it is good to hear him express his current position so positively: “I like what I’m doing today, this comfortable way of being myself”. All the ingredients of a slow blues are here, from the warm bass/organ wash at the bottom of the mix, through Willie’s expert touch (hence the moniker!) on drums to Lurrie’s emotional soloing. After that Big Bill’s “I Feel So Good” is a great choice with its infectious beat and Matthew’s harp working in tandem with the guitar. “She’s A Good ‘Un” is always associated with Otis Rush though it’s been covered many times. Lurrie makes it his own in this gently rocking version where Roosevelt’s piano is a central part of the cut. “’Bout The Break Of Day” aka “Early In The Morning” is here credited to Junior Wells though I always thought of it as a Sonny Boy Williamson 1 song. Either way it’s another winner!

Jimmy Rogers’ “Going Away Baby”’s insistent beat is fuelled by Willie’s drums and Matthew’s harp. Jimmy is also credited as the author of “My Little Machine” but I again think that it is a SBW1 song; whatever the accuracy of the labeling it’s a fine version as Lurrie bends the strings effectively in his solo. Between these two songs Lurrie’s “24 Hour Blues” is dedicated to Magic Slim who had passed away on the day of the recording, as Lurrie mentions in a spoken intro. The striding piano here is a star feature. Little Walter puts in an appearance with Lurrie’s interpretation of his “I Just Keep Loving You” where most appropriately Matthew’s harp is prominent in a rapid fire run-through. “T-Bone Blues Special” and Eddie Boyd’s “Just The Blues” both leave space for Roosevelt’s piano to shine, the former in an uptempo piece, the latter in a slow blues.

Lurrie’s third composition, the instrumental “South Side To Riverside”, is another keeper as the horns return to propel a funky riff and Lurrie and the horns play along in tandem – great stuff! “If It’s Too Late” is by James L Smith and romps along nicely before Otis Spann is covered on his “Blues Never Die”, another slow blues and a lyrically appropriate end to the CD as Matthew returns to accentuate the lyrics with his harp.

I have written at some length as every track deserves a mention. Apart from a slight quibble with the attribution of two of the songs I can wholeheartedly recommend this one to all readers of Blues Blast. I can confidently predict that this CD will be on many lists of the best albums of 2013 – it’s already on mine!

The Blues Overdrive – Self-titled CD

Gateway Music – TBO010312

www.bluesoverdrive.dk

11 songs – 40 minutes

Veterans of the Danish blues scene, The Blues Overdrive invades the U.S. market with this sparkling, smooth eponymous 11-tune release, highlighted by the debut recording of an unrecorded song from the catalog of American roots-rock legend JJ Cale.

Led by Martin Olsen on vocals and guitar and backed by Andreas Andersen on six-string, Thomas Birck on bass and Lars Heiberg on drums, the band was founded in 2001 and synthesizes several genres from swamp blues to shuffles in a pleasant, unhurried manner. They established themselves in the European community in 2003 by winning the 25th anniversary blues competition at Mojo Blues Bar, the pre-eminent club in Copenhagen, where they are based and from which they released two previous CDs for the European market.

\The disc kicks off with “Death On The Highway,” a nice, up-tempo shuffle in which Olsen gets in his car to look for a girlfriend who goes missing overnight. His vocals are light, clear and accent-free, and his guitar-playing strong, with clean, crisp accents in response to his singing and a long solo at the end. “Out In The Country” follows with a Jim Morrison/Doors feel in praise of a barrelhouse woman’s lovemaking skills. “I Was Wrong” is a rapid paced shuffle dealing with misplaced trust in an deceitful companion. Olsen’s lead drives the song forward atop the hard-driving rhythm section.

The pace slows dramatically with “Ball And Chain,” a sonically rich grinding blues in which the singer has a definite difference of opinion with his significant other. “Mr. 16 Tons (Blues For Thorup)” follows. It’s a tribute to the late Peter Thorup, who’s considered the godfather of Danish blues and who co-founded and worked alongside British legend Alexis Korner in three different bands -- New Church, Collective Consciousness Society and Snape -- in the ’70s. It’s a loping send-up in which the band reverentially wonders: “Where’d you get that fancy sound?”

“Too Blind To See” tells the story of a man who’s found out too late that the woman he loves has always done him wrong, but remains permanently on his mind. “I Need Your Lovin’,” a blues-rocker, precedes “Got Myself A Woman,” written by Cale in the ’70s at the height of his career when he was producing major hits that included “After Midnight” and “Cocaine” and performed in public, but never recorded. After two years of discussions, The Blues Overdrive finally won permission to be first in the world to put the tune on disc, and they’ve done Cale proud. The vocal delivery is throatier than the composer’s but the production compares well to his work. It sings the praises of a gal pal who evolved from a hustler to someone 18 years old and “really fine.”

The band switches to a Chicago sound for “Big Fat Woman,” a nice walking blues with a familiar theme. Thomas Foldberg sits in and contributes a tasty harmonica solo. They change the pace with a slow blues, “Done Tryin’,” next, bemoaning efforts to reach a loved one on the telephone, before finishing with “Feelin’ Kind Of Blue,” which features a man who’s been “walkin’ in the dark” for too long and who’s urging his companion to rock him long and hard to chase the blues away.

Unlike many of their European contemporaries who delve deeply into the rock side of blues, The Blues Overdrive lays down consistent, steady, swinging tracks This CD would be a welcome addition on both sides of the Atlantic.

For other reviews and interviews on our website CLICK HERE

Global Noize – Sly Reimagined

Zoho Music

10 tracks / 51:49

From 1967 to 1983, Sly and the Family Stone laid down huge hits and played a vital role in the evolution of the soul and funk music genres in the United States. This San Francisco-based group’s career started off strong, but their productivity tapered off over the years as egos and drugs distracted them, and they eventually lost focus on the music. Their songs have been covered by everybody under the sun, but nobody has gone as far as Global Noize, who has created a super-slick tribute album, Sly Reimagined.

Global Noize’s core members are DJ Logic on turntables, Falu on vocals and Jason Miles with the keyboards and programming. Miles was the producer and arranger for this album, which had to be a Herculean task with the complexity of the personnel that participated in the project. Noize is famed for seamlessly working guest artists into their live shows and recording projects; this time they outdid themselves, featuring 9 singers and 17 instrumentalists, including luminaries such as Roberta Flack and Nona Hendryx, as well as Greg Errico, the original Family Stone drummer.

Sly Reimagined includes ten tracks, but only eight songs, as there are two versions of a few of the tunes. It would be a stretch to call this a blues album, as there is a heavy funk, jazz and world music influence, but it is a really neat collection of music with a unique sound that is quite compelling.

Nona Hendryx kicks things off with “In Time,” and right away it is obvious that this is a tight album. The keyboards, horns and guitar are pure 1970s funk, but Butterscotch’s tasteful beatbox and Malika Zarra’s backing vocals give this song a modern world beat.

“It’s a Family Affair” appears twice on this album: first with Roberta Flack on lead vocals, and a second time with Falu taking the lead. Flack’s take (the Groove Version) has a multi-layered contemporary sound with an infectious percussive beat overlaid with keyboards, turntables, horns, and counter vocals by James “D Train” Williams. Falu’s Mumbai Mix of this song provides a completely different tone, with her Indian-style vocals, crazy synths, Jay Rodriguez’s righteous tenor sax work and a decidedly more Spartan beat. I cannot pick a favorite between these two versions as both are very well done.

Global Noize went in a different direction with their two versions of “The Same Thing,” as Hendryx takes the lead vocals on both. The first time up it has a fast tempo with turntable scratching and baritone sax. Then for the redux (67 Mullholland Drive Mix) they slowed things down considerably for a pure funk vibe with heavy keyboards, more of Rodriguez’s tenor sax and Amada Ruzza’s popping bass. Though the first version is very good, the second one blows this song out of the water, and I even prefer it over the Family Stone original.

Maya Azucena provided the lead vocals for three of the songs: “Fun,” “You Can Make it if You Try” and “Stand!” She has a gorgeously throaty voice, and can hold her own with any soul or blues singer I have ever come across. This young woman from Brooklyn has appeared on many albums over the past twelve years, often times helping out worthy causes along the way.

Throughout the album I was taken with how Jason Miles took the original Family Stone material and arranged it into an innovative format while still keeping the original spirit of the music alive. Even with diverse personnel contributing to each track, the album has a unified sound and theme throughout. The engineering and mixing are spot-on, and though I am very picky about production values, I found nothing to complain about here.

Sly and the Family Stone was a very important contributor to our musical culture and history, and I am grateful that Miles and his crew of regulars and guest artists put their hearts into creating this tribute. Sly Reimagined is not an album of cover tunes, but is instead a worthy tribute, and Global Noize has set the bar high. I hope you can check it out for yourself!

For other reviews and interviews on our website CLICK HERE

CD's - For less than the cost of one small ad in a newspaper, you can advertise your shows, new CD or any Blues product. A great way to get the Blues word out! Blues fans WANT to know about your Blues event of product. Call Bob at (309) 267-4425 or send an email to for a confidential quote today!

Blues Blast Magazine covers Blues all over!

We also offer effective advertising for Festivals and Club Owners, Recording Companies and Performers. Put your Blues advertisement on our homepage at: http://www.TheBluesBlast.com either as a sponsored event or as a featured event, product, recording or merchandise.  We get 55,000 visitors and 3,000,000 hits A MONTH on our website! More than 26,000 Blues Fans, Musicians, Recording Companies, Club Owners, Blues Societies and Festival Promoters in all 50 states and in more than 90 countries read the Blues Blast magazine each week. You can feature your event or product in the largest FREE internet Blues magazine delivered right to your inbox each week.

Contact us Today at