Harpdog Brown For Love & Money

Harpdog Brown
For Love & Money
Dog House Records

Canadian husky-voiced blues vocalist and harmonica player, Harpdog Brown, has a new recording rooted in the post-war jump blues and the blues shouters like Big Joe Turner, Wyonnie Harris and Smiley Lewis with a touch of Chicago blues. Brown has a gravelly voice similar to Dr. John with a bit of Louis Armstrong, and besides his full-throated singing and harmonica, contributed three originals while Wayne Berezan added two and both Skye Lambourne and Brandon Issak one. There are songs from the repertoires of Louis Jordan, Memphis Slim, and Amos Milburn. Those backing Brown include Brown are Dave Webb on keyboards; Robert Vail Grant on drums; Jeremy Holmes on bass; Steve Dawson, who produced this recording, on guitar; William James Abbott on clarinet and alto sax; Skye Lambourne on trombone; and Jerry Cook on tenor and baritone sax.

This is horn-driven, blues shouting with hot grooves. Indeed the temperature is heated with the opening "No Eyes For Me," although the horn arrangement is a bit trite. More impressive is Webb's organ solo. The groove is a bit more relaxed for the cover of Louis Jordan's "Blue Light Boogie," with Abbott's bluesy alto standing out with the horns adding punch with a very appealing vocal, Webb takes an excellent piano solo, and Brown takes a harmonica solo displaying a big tone, sax-like phrasing and a mastery of dynamics. Even if his vocal on "The Comeback," is overshadowed by the great Joe Williams-Count Basie recording, Brown delivers more than a credible vocal with Abbott displaying considerable finesse here while Dawson adds some stinging guitar fills.

Lambourne rousing trombone opens Brown's "Reefin' Lovin' Blues," a first-rate original jump blues with another tough harmonica solo. Plunger mute growling trombone provides a counter voice to Brown's vocal on the slow blues by Berezan, "A New Day Is Dawning," with Abbott's twisting clarinet solo framed by Dawson's guitar chords with the accompaniment's intensity building as the performance goes on. There are a couple of robust interpretations of Amos Milburn's drinking blues, "Vicious Vodka," and "Thinkin' and Drinkin'." Pianist Webb is superb channeling Milburn's own boogie-woogie rooted style.

Brandon Issak's "I'll Make It Up To You," has a lighter, swinging feel with Webb, Abbott, Lambourne soloing before Brown takes a harp solo in a Rice Miller vein. Then there is the philosophical, New Orleans flavor of Webb's "For Love & Money," with a melody that evokes "Stagger Lee." Webb stands out on this. Brown's harp enlivens his interpretation of the late Wynonnie Harris' "Buzzard Luck." Brown is not as convincing singing Lambourne's love song "Sasha's Lullaby," written when Lambourne was 14, but his forte is being a shouter, not a crooner. It is not a terrible track, but a minor blemish on an extremely entertaining jump blues recording.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is a clip of him performing "For Love & Money."

Jim Byrnes St. Louis Times

While living in Canada for a number of years, Jim Byrnes grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and his new CD, St. Louis Times (Black Hen) is a salute to the blues music and artists who influenced him during his youth and adulthood. Subtitled Songs From and About St. Louis, this recording provides his take on music from such St. Louis icons as Chuck Berry, Albert King, Little Milton and “Stump” Johnson, as well as the likes of Lonnie Johnson and W.C. Handy, and several originals by Byrnes and producer Steve Dawson. In addition to the vocals and guitar of Byrnes and Dawson’s guitar, Dawson brought together a rhythm section of Daryl Havers on keyboards, Jeremy Holmes on bass and Geoff Hicks on drums. John Hammond ( a long-time friend of Byrnes) guests on four selections adding harmonica to three selections, slide guitar to one and shares a vocal on one, while Colleen Rennison shares the vocal on one selection.

The material includes songs associated with Albert King, Little Milton, Fontella Bass and Bobby McClure, Chuck Berry, W.C. Handy, Peetie Wheatstraw and Lonnie Johnson along with four Byrnes / Dawson originals with the performances ranging from pretty straight renditions of Albert King’s I Get Evil and the Bass/McClure You’ll Miss Me (When I’m Gone), to the traditional jazz inflections added to James ‘Stump’ Johnson’s The Duck Yas Yas Yas, St. Louis Blues, and Wheatstraw’s recording of Cake Alley. Dawson’s use of pedal steel adds an usual flavor to the cover of Chuck Berry’s Nadine, while Little Milton’s That Will Never Do is rendered in a somewhat austere stripped down setting.

Byrnes’ grainy vocals appeal with their sincerity and natural, thick molasses delivery helped by the understated backing from the rhythm section. He delivers the lyrics in an unforced matter, often with a bit of humor as on his duet with Hammond on The Duck Yas Yas Yas, with some nice clarinet from Jim Hoke and trumpet by Steve Herrman. He displays the most urgency on the duet with Rennison on You’ll Miss Me (When I’m Gone), while indicating a touch of Peetie Wheatstraw’s on Cake Alley where he employs the Devil’s Son-In-Law’s “oh well well” vocal embellishment. Tom Colclough plays the fine the clarinet on Handy’s famous St. Louis Blues, along with Dawson’s fine National slide guitar to support Byrnes of-the-beat vocal. The originals are solid tunes with The Journey Home being exceptional with recollections of the Mississippi, listening to the Dodgers and the Cardinals over the radio, and the Illinois Central trains with Dawson’s telling guitar responses to the latter.

An affectionate salute to his home town, Jim Byrnes St. Louis Times delights with his heartfelt, and fresh, renditions of some vintage blues and originals The varied settings add to the listening enjoyment of the amiable performances on this engaging CD.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here Jim Byrnes in is recent performance doing St. Louis Blues.