Karen Lovely – Ten Miles of Bad Road | Album Review

Karen Lovely – Ten Miles of Bad Road

Kokako Records

www.karenlovely.com

13 tracks / 51:32

Portland, Oregon’s Karen Lovely really hit it out of the park with her 2010 sophomore album, Still the Rain. With a trip to the 2010 International Blues Challenge in Memphis (2nd place!), and three 2011 Blues Music Award nominations, she received a lot of well-deserved recognition. Karen has not been resting on these laurels, though, and her latest album, Ten Miles of Bad Road, is also amazing, earning her another BMA nomination, a Blues Blast Music Award nomination, and the 2015 Blues411 "Jimi" Award for Best Contemporary Blues Female Artist. This all makes perfect sense, as she is a tremendous talent who works hard and inspires those around her to do their best.

Ten Miles of Bad Road has everything going for it, as it was put together in Los Angeles by the best in the business, including producer Tony Braunagel and engineer Johnny Lee Schell. Both of these fellows are members of the legendary Phantom Blues Band, and they also provided the drum and guitar parts, respectively. Karen took care of the vocals, and she was joined by Jim Pugh on keys, James “Hutch” Hutchinson on bass, and the late Alan Mirikitani on guitar. Listeners will hear a lot of other A-list talent that helped out on many of the tracks, all of which are originals.

The album kicks off with “Low Road,” a smoky blues rocker that was penned by Mirikitani, featuring super clean leads from him on guitar and cool Hammond B3 from Pugh. Karen’s vocals are smooth and powerful as she describes her emotions after a lover cuts town in the dark of the dawn. Reviewers compare her vocal style to other artists, but she really has a sound of her own, and her voice blends well with backing singers Julie Delgado and Kenna Ramsey. This is followed up by “Company Graveyard,” another song that was written by Mirikani, but this time with a driving roadhouse beat courtesy of Braunagel and Hutchinson.

There are a lot of other neat songs in this set, and there is not enough room for me to write about all of them, but here are a few other highlights from the disc:

- The title track, “Ten Miles of Bad Road,” brings in the killer horn section of Joe Sublett (sax) and Les Lovitt (trumpet), and this uptempo piece is very accessible, making it radio-friendly. But it is not a sell-out pop song, rather a cool and detached narrative of a relationship that may not be worth the effort that is being put into it. Lovely shows a lot of depth here as she can sing pretty much anything that is put in front of her and make it her own.

- Karen has the perfect voice for ballads too, and a good example of this is “I Want to Love You,” which features solid piano leads from Pugh and more sweet backing vocals from Delgado and Ramsey. With a more sparse instrumentation and a slower pace, the tightness of the backline of Hutchinson and Braunagel is quite prominent.

- The album closes out with “Frank the Spank,” a boogie that sets the tone for the story of a bartender who is too generous with his pours; Lovely’s vocals smoky vocals really drive home the point on this one. This tune is upbeat and fun, and Schell’s guitar is a cool counterpoint to the harmonica of the surprise guest artist, Kim Wilson. What blues album would be complete without some sort of drinking song?

Karen Lovely has raised the bar with Ten Miles of Bad Road, a classy set of a thirteen quality tracks with not a clunker to be found. It is gratifying to see her talent and hard work pay off, and if you are a fan of contemporary blues I highly recommend you pick up a copy of your own -- this is Karen’s best work to date. Also, head on over to Lovely’s website to check out her tour schedule, as she has some gigs coming up around the US. Once you hear her you will not be disappointed!

Blues Blast Magazine Album Review: D.A. Foster – The Real Thing

Good day!

This CD review was originally published in the February 5, 2015 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at www.bluesblastmagazine.com

D.A. Foster – The Real Thing | Album Review

VizzTone Label Group

www.dafostermusic.com

www.vizztone.com

12 tracks / 48:45

It is appropriate that D.A. Foster titled his new album The Real Thing, because if anybody is the real thing, he is. He was the heart of The Shaboo Inn of Connecticut from 1971 to 1982, and during that time the 1000-seat venue hosted almost 3000 concerts, featuring young and upcoming acts that included the likes of Aerosmith, AC/DC, Journey, Cheap Trick, and the Police. It was like a 1980s rocker’s dream come true! But a lot of great blues acts made their appearance there too, such as John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon, T-Bone Walker, Buddy Guy, and a probably a few hundred more. After the club closed its doors (thanks to the scourge of the disco era), a few months later it was destroyed in a fire.

But the story does not end there, as D.A. had a lot left in his tank. He started a production company and ran his own band with luminaries such as Matt “Guitar” Murphy” and Harvey Brooks. Foster brought his fine blues vocals to the table with this project to continue on with a performance career that has been brewing since 1979. Over the past 35 years, everybody under the sun has joined him onstage, including Keith Richards, Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters. You would be hard-pressed to find a better pedigree than his.

Moving forward to 2015, D.A. has cut a fine disc, The Real Thing, which has its own roster of strong personnel; all of them are first-call musicians. Besides D.A.’s vocals, there is the Grammy-winning Phantom Blues Band to contend with, including Mike Finnigan (Big Brother and the Holding Company) on the keys, Tony Braunagel (Robert Cray, and many more) behind the drum kit, Larry Fulcher on bass and Bonnie Raitt’s Johnny Lee Schell on guitar. Other Phantom alumni to be found here are Darrell Leonard (trumpet), Joe Sublett (sax), and Lenny Castro (percussion). Braunagle and Finnigan produced this effort, and it is a polished piece of work, to be sure!

The twelve tracks span classic rhythm and blues and jazz ground as well as a few lesser-known covers, starting off with Dave Steen’s “Good Man Bad Thing.” This is a straight-up funky R&B tune which is a nice intro to Foster’s soulful voice, backed by some excellent B-3 work from Finnigan, sweet backing vocals from Julie Delgado and Nita Whitaker, and horns aplenty.

Not surprisingly, there are a few tunes by Don Robey, who was one of the most prolific R&B writers of the 1950s and 1960s. “Ain’t Doing Too Bad” puts the horns in the spotlight, and Schell brings a little more funk to the party with his syncopated rhythm guitar work, as well a rocking solo. The other Robey contribution is “This Time I’m Gone for Good” which shows off more of Foster’s impressive vocal range.

For pure fun, Eddie Hinton’s “Super Lover” takes first prize. It brings a little bit of everything to the table: fun lyrics, offbeat percussion (courtesy of Castro), machine-gun horn arrangements, and seductive backing vocals. This one should definitely go into your next party mix!

A different line-up was used for three of the songs, with uber-versatile Grammy-winner Josh Sklair on guitar and the hard-working veteran David Garfield on piano. With Josh’s leads and David’s subtle chording, “We All Fall Down” ends up with more of a jazz-rock feel. Bill Withers’ 1985 ballad, “You Just Can’t Smile it Away,” puts Garfield more forward in the mix, and gives guest artist Lee Thornberg a chance to shine on a beautifully muted trumpet (or is that flugelhorn?) solo. And the band’s remake of the oft-covered “Gee Baby Ain’t I Good to You” provides room for FInnigan to take over a bit on his Hammond, lending it a gospel/roadhouse feel.

The album closes out all too soon with George Henry Jackson’s “Down Home Blues,” which is the grittiest and most traditional blues track to be found on this disc. For this one, D.A. pushes his voice into the raspy range, which is a lovely contrast with the backing vocals of Delgado and Whitaker. The backline of Braunagel and Fulcher hold tight in the pocket as this awesome songs ends things on a killer note.

If you were a fan of the good old days at The Shaboo Inn or if you just like solid rhythm and blues, D.A. Foster’s The Real Thing would certainly be a wise investment. Check it out and see for yourself!

Mahalo!