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ZZ
Hill Jr. -
Goin' To Mississippi
Delta Roots Records
Running Time: 51:33
By Ben Cox
I had come to believe that
soul-blues and southern fried soul had all but passed on (with a few exceptions
of course) with the passing of Johnnie Taylor and Tyrone Davis in the past five
years. It's always nice to be proven wrong once in awhile. Maybe I just haven't
been picking up the right records. However, I came across this CD via a blues
forum on the internet and knew that I had to at least give it a listen. The son
of the late ZZ Hill, the soul blues icon of the late 70s and early 80s from Stax/Malaco
fame has brought a renaissance to my ears of the golden era of great soul-blues.
Singing with vocals reminiscent
of his father and even at times reminding me of the great Jackie Payne, who's
reemergence with the Steve Edmondson Band on the West Coast has brought a
revival to the great soul-blues genre! Hill, along with acclaimed drummer,
writer and producer Twist Turner completely floors the competition with the
horn-drenched, groovtastic album that recallls the golden days of Malaco
Records. With special guest guitarists Melvin Taylor, Maurice John Vaughn, and
Joe Moss reminding us all of the days that classic R&B had wah-wah pedals, horn
sections, beautifully penned songs, and even a Top 40 appeal.
With homage to the later Luther
Ingram on the record on "It Ain't Easy" a Turner-penned track that has lead
guitar by Melvin Taylor reminiscent of the wah-wah lines of "If Loving You Is
Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Right" and the Ingram penned cover of "Lookin' For a
New Love Tonight," Hill is definitely bringing back great old school sounds.
Hill pays homage to his father to the "Downhome Blues" esque "Down Home Girl" on
the eleventh track on the album. Recorded over a period of twelve years. The
album leaves you wanting for more. I can't put into words how thrilled and
exciting it was to hear this album and I consider essential to any blues, soul,
and classic R&B fans out there.
You can purchase the CD by
visiting CD Baby, although quantities are limited as the disc sold out in over a
half hour upon it's initial release.
To
Purchase this CD on CD Baby- CLICK HERE.
You can also pick up the disc by visiting
http://deltaroots.com/
Click
HERE for More reviews and interviews
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