Bernanrd Allison - Storms Of Life [HDCD] RE-UP

Posted By : toejam | Date : 26 May 2009 20:42:25 | Comments : 3 |

Bernanrd Allison - Storms Of Life [HDCD]
EAC | Flac-Cue-Log | 364mb RAR'D - 3% Recovery | RS Links
All Scans Included | Original Release 2002 - This Release 2005

The blues is alive and kicking in Bernard Allison's debut, as he returns to the U.S. after several years of touring successfully in Europe. This young man, son of the late bluesman Luther Allison, shows an impressive and extensive knowledge of the vocabulary of the blues as a mature artform.

After establishing his territory on the brief burst of lightning slide guitar on the opening track, Allison settles down to give a primer on the blues. The title track is suave and urbane, a la early Robert Cray, followed by one of his father's compositions, "Down South," a straight, chugging, Chicago-style electric blues, complete with a boogie-style bass-line, slow shuffle beat and honkytonk piano.

Then he starts branching out, with the reggae-tinged "Just Do Me Any Way You Want," followed by the bluesy folk-rock of Mark Knopfler's "I Think I Love You Too Much." But when he launches into the flat-out roadhouse blues of Johnny Winter's "Mean Town Blues," you know he really means it. This dude can do it all, and then some.

What's next? Another bit of solo slide playing, this time the longer "Mean Town." And then, is that ...? Yup, it's ZZ Top's "I Wanna Drive You Home," followed by Anders Osborne's swampy, Louisiana-style funky blues on "Snake Bit Again." His second track by Luther Allison is a smoldering, slow R&B number, "Reaching Out," with sweet harmony vocals by Kat Wilson and a passionate alto sax solo by David Eiland. "Fistful of Dirt" is greasy blues-rock with lots of slide guitar, "Goodbye Little Girl" is slick urban blues, with lots of horns and a sweet harmonica solo from Richard Rosenblatt. And Allison hits all the right notes on Leon Russell's slow, piano-driven "Help Me Through the Day."

In short, Bernard Allison covers all of the many facets of the blues, from the Delta to Jamaica, Chicago to England, country to city, juke joint to nightclub. He is capable of impressive guitar workouts, as he amply shows on his two solo pieces. But elsewhere, his playing is always in the service of the song. His solos are right-on, not too long, not full of showboating. He has the benefit of a band that finds a deep groove and stays in it all night, anchored by David Smith on bass and Rob Stupka on drums. Ricky Peterson fills in on the Hammond B3, Rosenblatt on harmonica,
and Paul Diethelm on rhythm guitar. [Gary Whitehouse]

Tracks:
01. Slip Slidin' [1:43]
02. Storms Of Life [5:03]
03. Down South [4:13]
04. Just Do me Anyway You Want [5:03]
05. I Think I Love You Too Much [3:56]
06. Mean Town Blues [3:07]
07. Speed Slide [3:08]
08. I Wanna Drive You Home [4:10]
09. Snake Bit Again [3:41]
10. Reaching Out [4:59]
11. Fistful Of Dirt [3:44]
12. Help Me Through The Day [4:49]
13. Goodbye Little Girl [4:19]