The opening track, Stand My Ground, is an uptempo burner with Sastre blasting things out while Little sings about he won’t things won’t bother him as he has to stand his ground. There is a soulful warmth in his gritty baritone that is even better displayed on Copper Tops, with Nye’s strong piano setting the tone before he sings about having a die-hard love affair as delivers an amusing lyric. His vocals might be likened to Brook Benton but with a bit more grit. The title track, Get Loose With It, is a playful number as Little tells his lady to take it off and get loose with it, followed by the slow blues Wheelin’ and Dealin’, where Little talks about being a being with a brand new attitude and either she loves him with a feeling and he is wheelin’ and dealin’ out the door with Sastre playing some particularly nice guitar on this while Little’s relaxed, natural delivery of his song, helps it resonate with the listener.
Little’s soulfulness also is displayed on another strong slow blues, Show Some Sign, again with strong fretwork from Sastre. It’s All About you, is a funky dance number where his wife adds a guest vocal. Going Down Slow is not the St. Louis Jimmy classic, but more akin to the Freddie King recording, Going Down, as he is “going down, way way down too far to go.” Little, waiting for his woman to come home, knows his woman has her New Shoes on and he has pain in his heart as he breaks into a falsetto as he tells his baby its too late now with a nice understated accompaniment. The disc closes with the only song Little did not pen, Tony Joe White’s Rainy Night in Georgia, on which Little sounds pretty close to Brook Benton on the hit recording with some smooth saxophone from Marcus Grisom and some sound effects in the background.
Marcos Sastre does rock out a bit at times and a live horn section would have been stronger than the synthesized horns heard on several tracks, but Keith Little really has a way with a song and brings a warm, gritty sensualness to the music here that should appeal to fans of blues and soul. This can be obtained from Blue Skunk at www.blueskunkmusic.com from which this can be purchased. Keith Little’s website is http://www.summitartists.com/little/home1.htm.
I received a review copy from Blue Skunk.
The afore-mentioned band is a solid grouping that serves its accompanying role well and its members take some concise and thoughtful solos. The band arrangements are decent but the horn riffs are somewhat generic, while the solos show more imagination and flair. Sweet Claudette is a singer with a deep, understated delivery. Although she is not a shouter, she can belt a lyric out. There is a nice variation of material sung and played consistently at relaxed tempos. She can celebrate her man in the opening Best Damn Loving, while complain about her man who has Too Many Irons, in the pot and can’t stay true.
Glazer adds slide guitar to help give atmosphere to her lyric directed against a cheating man who she tells “honey hush, honey hush, honey hush” and Don’t Talk That Yak To Me, with Montgomery ripping off some tough tenor sax. This is followed by Love I See in Your Eyes, with a different lyrical sentiment and plenty of solo space for her band members. The CD cover notes that this was recorded “Live in the Studio,” which perhaps explains the length of some of the tracks. Despite the very nice playing (trumpeter Haralson is wonderful on Love I See in Your Eyes), a string of solos still diminishes the impact of a vocal when one is listening to a performance at home as opposed to seeing a group live. Shortening a couple of the lengthier performances would have provided the performances with more focus and a stronger impression. Its not that the performances are lacking, but as a recording they would have been stronger with some editing.
A couple of interpretations of well known blues conclude this recording. Ain’t Nobody’s Business, based on Albert King’s rendition, opens with some hot guitar before Sweet Claudette delivers her “Detroit Blues Power.” Meet Me is her reworking of the Cheatham’s Meet Me With Your Black Drawers On, with Glazer adding nice guitar. It ends an intriguing hour of blues with a slight touch of funk seasoning added.
My review copy was provided by the record label.
With a few originals mixed in with a bunch of covers James and her deliver a spirited set with some blues-rock touches in some of the accompaniment, but performances that are delivered with a relaxed groove, never coming across as frenzied or hurried. Expecting the worst from an opening rendition of Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads Blues,” I was delighted by the nice, relaxed pace of the performance that owed little to Cream’s blues-rock version, or Elmore James’ spirited slide version. And James’ raspy vocals might evoke Joplin, but she sounded relaxed in her delivery without straining. The contrast between the strong idiomatic slide of Andrews and the more blues-rock style of Childs added interest but the rhythm duo were superb in helping deliver this performance. Her vocal on “I Ain’t Superstitious” moves from casual to fervent with which she mixes in some witty spoken interjections as she exhorts her band and the audience to get silly with it. This latter song has a solid solo where Childs builds off the groove.
Then there are originals like “Make It To The Other Side,” with a nice shuffle groove and her two Joplin covers, “Mercedes Benz” and “Me and Bobby McGee,” where she exhorts the spirit of Joplin, although the quality of her voice will make comparisons between her and the legendary singer inevitable. But James’ lively and infectious performances with the superb backing she gets, make for spirited listening that stands on on its own as she places her own stamp on “I Just Want To Make Love To You,” “Nutbush City Limits,” and Luther Allison’s “Living in the House of the Blues.”
“Seriously Raw” is a seriously fun listening experience. Incidentally, some of her chat with the audience is on a track after the 13 performances. It might be interesting to listen to once, but will wear thin on repeated listening. Thus one can easily avoid listening to this bonus track.
My review copy was supplied by a publicist for the label
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