I've been waiting for Melissa Etheridge to do this kind of album. 'Memphis Rock and Soul' (Stax/Concord) rocks with the same kind of staccato horns, fatback bass and organ spills that Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Rufus Thomas and Booker T used to use back in the day. She has the perfect voice to sing their songs. Her tribute to 1960s Memphis R'n'B has her seething with the kind of pent-up grit like never before.
Bluesology: Ghalia Volt s One Woman Band, Mick Kolassa, Sugar Ray and more
Mike Greenblatt s monthly Bluesology column inspects the recent notes of Ghalia Volt s One Woman Band, Mick Kolassa, Sugar Ray and more.
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Any new
Mick Kolassa album is cause for celebration. This longtime champion of the blues helped The Blues Foundation become a guiding force in this music and, indeed, 100% of the proceeds from the sale of
If You Can’t Be Good, Be Good At It (on his own Endless Blues Records) helps support that effort. And what an album! Give Jeff Jensen some credit here. The leader of his own band has settled into a groove with Kolassa over the latter’s last few album and here his guitar shrieks split the black night like lightning. Whether it’s Howling Wolf (“Who’s Been Talking”) or even James Taylor (“Lo And Behold”), the Kolassa/Jensen production gives the attention-to-detail highs priority while not sacrificing the big bass bottom. Kolassa’s voice has neve