Harvey Brindell

Pennies on the Dollar!
Self Release

Review by Greg Johnson

Long before Harvey Brindell moved to the Northwest, he had made himself quite a reputation playing the blues in the Midwest. Rubbing elbows with world-renowned artists such as Magic Slim, Jimmy Thackery, Shawn Holt, Guitar Shorty, Mike Zito and numerous others, as well as being a regular act playing on the stage at Lincoln, Nebraska’s, famed Zoo Bar, Brindell has earned his rights to play the blues. That is certainly true listening to his first recording since arriving in Portland a few years back. There is an authentic Chicago-sounding delivery that purrs full of jumping blues.

Brindell hooked up with a number of friends that he met over the years mixing a collection of original songs at Jimi Bott’s Portland studio, Roseleaf Recording. The talented friends Brindell brought into the songs include the likes of John “Honeyboy” Turner (who he used to record with back in the Midwest), Mitch Kashmar, JW Jones, Johnny Burgin and of course Bott.

The album itself is sensational with not a sore spot to be heard anywhere. It flows with exceptional playing from all, especially Brindell’s guitar work and vocals. “Pennies on the Dollar” opens with a bouncing beat as Brindell explains the tribulations of working for next to nothing when it is all said and done, the true life of a musician. “The Old Zoo Bar” is a tribute to the renowned club that has hosted the greatest blues artists during its 50-year history, with Brindell naming several. “Short Flight” is a nice tuneful instrumental, while he lets you know of his adoration for his old stomping grounds in a couple of tracks about Omaha. Brindell definitely has a knack for turning a phrase blues-wise as he does repeatedly. A favorite personally is “Mississippi Medicaid” with a humorous take on “alternative” medicine only found in the South that just might include a few unorthodox ingredients like a black cat bone, mojo hand, John the Conqueror root and a little gris gris, too. But honestly, this album hit it quite enjoyably start to finish. Well done!

Total Time: 36:52

Pennies On The Dollar / Need Him And Weep / Take The Boy Out Of The Country / The Old Zoo Bar / Blues For Omaha / Mississippi Medicaid / Short Flight / That’s The Blues / Omaha Bones / Queen Of High Waters (Des Moines 1993)

Leadbelly Calls

Tribute To Huddie Ledbetter
Grand Cru Records

Review by Greg Johnson

German musicians Timo Gross and Adax Dorsam share a fond love for the legendary American folk and blues artist Lead Belly. Joining with a band, they have created quite the unique take on a dozen of the master’s songs, which often utilize non-traditional instruments with the blues, such as sitar, saz, charango and jaw harp. It brings about contemporary readings while still maintaining their original Old World feel.  It mixes traditional takes on tracks mixed with more modern readings, using formats like electronic, country and rock approaches mixed slyly with the blues for a heavily listenable delivery.

The album opens with an intense biographical reading of who Lead Belly was. That is followed by a rambunctious take on “Black Betty” that may lean more toward Ram Jam’s or Larkin Poe’s versions. Yet it still sounds entirely original and takes on Lead Belly’s feel behind the number. “Cottonfields” is up next and includes a bit of country-styled guitar work. “Where Did You Sleep” (aka “In the Pines”) is one of Lead Belly’s most haunting numbers, and comes across exactly as such, even with sitar filling that sounds quite like a mandolin here. The album continues with a number of Lead Belly’s most known songs, including “Midnight Special,” “Goodnight Irene” and “The Gallis Pole.” Each has their own take that is fresh and alive.

Timo Gross is known for his vocal delivery and his guitar work. Adax Dorsam is an exceptional producer and composer who has worked on various artists’ material in Europe along with his own and is a master of multiple instruments.

Leadbelly Calls is a terrific collaboration bringing the works of Lead Belly that have long been in the repertoire of many artists since he first recorded them back in the 1930s and on. But these takes are not time-worn, they’re exceptional and ear catching. This is a tribute that is a knockout and one that is going to garner a lot of new fans not only to Lead Belly, but to these two German artists on an international level, too. Very highly recommended.

Total Time: 52:32

Prologue Leadbelly / Black Betty / Cottonfields / Where Did You Sleep / Take This Hammer / Western Plain / It’ll Blow A Poor Man Down / Blow My Blues Away / John Hardy / Midnight Special / The Gallis Pole /  My Baby Left Me / Good Night Irene / Epilogue Western Plain

Skylar Rogers

Firebreather
Self Release

Review by John Taylor

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 left America’s second city in ruins. Now, 150 years later, Skylar Rogers — whose soul might’ve been forged in those flames – is setting the blues world ablaze with her first full-length album, “Firebreather.”

Trust us, this native Chicagoan’s self-described “soul-rockin’” blues really smoke.

Citing Tina Turner, Etta James, Billy Joel, Koko Taylor and even AC/DC as influences, Rogers sets off a powerful collection of original songs fueled by her upbringing in some of Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods. Her band, the Blue Diamonds — guitarists Stephen J. Hill and Marty Gibson, bassist Jerry Ewing, keyboardist Pete Zimmer and drummer Bradley Arl – brings some serious muscle to the room, but Rogers’ sinewy voice holds its own.

From the rock-driven title cut to the rock-solid “Hard-Headed Woman,” the groove of “Back to Memphis” and the house-rockin’ “Like Father Like Daugher,” the music is convincing, authentic and original. Rogers wrote or co-wrote all of it, with the help of Arl, her drummer.

She draws lyrics from pain she’s endured in her own life. A few highlights:

— “Gonna get lost in the music until my soul is finally free,” she vows in “Back to Memphis.” “I’ll let Memphis heal my broken heart one note at a time.”

— In “Like Father Like Daughter,” she describes how the student has become the teacher: “You taught me how to say bye-bye, how to walk away, how to sweep it all under the rug and hope that it don’t come back to bite you someday.”

— And on “Insecurities,” she offers tender advice to people struggling with self-images on confidence.

Themes of strength and inspiration are run throughout the album. Rogers’ music and faith have clearly guided her through miles of good – and not so good – times.

“Music,” she says “survives the worst, and celebrates the best.”

“Firebreather,” recorded at Sawhorse Studios in St. Louis, follows Rogers’ 2019 debut EP, “Insecurities” and her first national tour. As national health restrictions allow, she plans to tour more this year.

Let’s hope that means she’ll be heading out our way. We could use some warmin’ up around here.

Meantime, keep this album handy. You’re gonna want to listen to it again and again.

Total Time: 39:00

Hard-Headed Woman / Back to Memphis / Work / Like Father Like Daughter / Failure / Firebreather / Movin’ On / Drowning / Thankful / Insecurities