Tinsley Ellis Ice Cream in Hell

Tinsley Ellis
Ice Cream in Hell
Alligator Records

"Ice Cream in Hell" is Tinsley Ellis' 11th album for Alligator Records. There will be no surprises for fans of Ellis' mix of blues and blues-rock filled with his searing guitar and robust blues shouting. Co-produced by Ellis with Kevin McKendree (who plays keyboards (and guitar on one track). Others on this include Steve Mackey on bass and Lynn Williams on drums and percussion. Jim Hoke and Quentin Ware play sax and trumpet respectively on two songs.

In addition to his rocking blues playing and vocals, Ellis is an excellent songwriter who coins intriguing phases in his lyrics. He opens "Don't Know Beans," with "If dogs could talk, about what they see… they would really tell it all, so you don't know beans," as he tells his lover who is she going to believe, Tinsley or her loving eyes. Set against an emphatic groove, Ellis delivers a dynamic performance about a relationship blowing up. Relationships breaking up is a common theme as he sings that they will serve ice cream in hell before he takes his lover back. Besides his robust vocals, there is plenty of crisp, torrid guitar.

Then there is the brashly played shuffle, "Foolin' Yourself," a passionately sung slow, minor-key blues, "Hole in My Heart," and a slide guitar feature "Sit Down Mama" on which McKendree plays rhythm guitar. This latter number sounds like a tribute to Hound Dog Taylor with its house-rocking groove and high energy slide guitar that evokes Taylor. It also sports one of Ellis' best vocals here. Other sterling performances include "Everything and Everyone" with its Latin groove and Ellis evoking Santana's guitar playing, and "Unlock My Heart" where Ellis' guitar channels Johnny 'Guitar' Watson. There is outstanding guitar playing, solid and tight backing, and first-rate originals resulting in another excellent Tinsley Ellis CD.

I received my review copy from Alligator Records.  Here is "Last One To Know" from this CD.

Tinsley Ellis Winning Hand

Tinsley Ellis
Winning Hand
Alligator Records

Near thirty years since he first recorded for Alligator Records (and twenty since his last Alligator album, Tinsley Ellis returns with an album of house rocking blues and rock, showcasing his brawny, volcanic guitar and husky singing. He is joined by Kevin McKendree on keyboards (who co-produced this with Ellis), Steve Mackey on bass and Lynn Williams on drums that was engineered and mixed by McKendree at The Rock House.

Nine of the ten songs are Ellis originals and display the range of his music starting with the searing, hold no prisoners opening blues-rock of "Sound of a Broken Man." In contrast, the easy rocking shuffle blues, "Nothing But Fine," illustrates the clarity and precision, along with fire of his playing along with a more relaxed vocal, while "Gamblin' Man," is a nice original blues performance (the melody slightly evocative of Box Scaggs recording of "Someone Loan Me a Dime"), with a well-shaped, fiery guitar solo and a heartfelt, expressive vocal. Another fine blues performance is "Don't Turn Off The Light." There is also high energy blues-rock of "Kiss This World" with its swelling groove and the rock and roll of "Satisfied," with McKendree's rollicking road house piano in addition to Ellis' guitar. The one cover, Leon Russell's "Dixie Lullaby," sports more rollicking piano (and organ grease) along with some fiery Freddie King inspired guitar.

This is another impressive collection of music from Ellis whose playing shows him still to be a tone master and a fiery guitar slinger. His high energy playing is firmly backed by the terrific studio band. Ellis is also a most congenial, expressive singer and contributed some solid original blues on this memorable blues-rock release.

I received my review copy from Alligator Records. For those in the Washington DC area, he will be at Blues Alley on Wednesday January 17 and playing the Creative Alliance in Baltimore on Thursday January 18. Here is Tinsley from an October, 2017 performance. A fuller listing of upcoming shows is at http://www.tinsleyellis.com/toughloveshows.html.

Tim Gartland If You Want A Good Woman

Tim Gartland
If You Want A Good Woman
VizzTone

Resident in Nashville, Tim Gartland first honed his blues skills in Chicago, then in Boston before moving to Nashville. "If You Want A Good Woman" is apparently his third recording and his slightly grizzled singing and sure sounding harp playing is featured here along with his songwriting on this recording of originals (some penned by his keyboard player Tom West). Others on this include Wendy Moten on supporting vocals; Tom Britt on guitar; Lynn Williams drums; and Steve Mackey on bass. Former Delbert McClinton band member Kevin McKendree recorded this, co-produced this with Gartland, and added organ and piano to a few selections.

Gartland certainly is ingratiating as a singer and harmonica player with his band providing able support, although much of this I would classify as blues-based roadhouse rock in the vein of Delbert McClinton. This is a descriptive observation, and does not relate to the quality of the music. Gartland has written some exceptional original songs (he has a way with words), and he and the band deliver very strong performances. His vocal on the opening "What The Blues Look Like," reminded me of Paul Butterfield, with some tasty harp and slide guitar. This is a terrific song that one can see many folks covering. "Hours Worth" is a rocker where he sings about having a hours worth of whiskey, and of rent that is a month past due. Wendy Moten provides backing vocals and there is a rollicky piano break.

His vocal on "I Had It" has some of the qualities of the recent world weary sounding singing from Charlie Musselwhite as Gartland expresses regrets about having had it all wrong. The title track is built around a reggae riff as he sings about a good woman that stay home if the man is doing her wrong, and after all a good woman simply wants a good man. Gartland does not overwhelm with his harmonica playing, but rather it ably complements his singing. The instrumental "Eight Ball" allows him to display his thoughtful, vocalized sound on harmonica

There is also a fair amount of humor to be heard here. On "Too Many Groceries," where tells this lady that she is as subtle as a train wreck, and she has too many groceries for her bag. Another wonderful song is a homage to Willie Dixon, "Willie That's Who." The lyric here laced with subtle references to some of the late blues giant's songs and lyrics. A driving instrumental "Go West," provides a lively coda to Gartland's rollicking set of blues and rockers that is wonderfully recorded.

I received my review copy from VizzTone. Here is Tim Gartland in performance.

Tinsley Ellis Gets It!

Its been a bit since the last Tinsley Ellis, and the blues rocker has returned with an all instrumental album, Get It! (Heartfixer Music). Recorded in Nashville and Atlanta, Ellis is backed by Kevin McKendree on keyboards, Lynn Williams on drums and percussion; and Ted Pecchio on bass (on 5 of the ten selections). The selections include eight originals and two covers and allow Ellis to display not simply his impressive guitar chops and tone, but his ability to craft thoughtful, yet electrifying solos.

There is a nice range of material ranging from his tribute to (and evocation of the style of) Albert Collins on the opening Front Street Freeze, along with his tribute to Roy Buchanan on Anthem For A Fallen Hero. Berry Tossin’ is a lively take-off of Chuck Berry’s distinctive guitar style through Ellis’ own approach (with some Freddie King riffs tossed in). The title track is a driving bulldozer of a guitar shuffle while Fuzzbuster has Ellis exploring a range of tonal effects. Detour is a cover of a lesser known Bo Diddley track with Ellis playing through a Leslie speaker, suggesting classic Lonnie Mack. 

The focus here is strictly on Ellis as the backing musicians play solely in a supportive role. Get It! impressively displays Ellis imagination, power and taste as a guitarist.

A publicist sent my review copy to me. Here is some vintage Tinsley Ellis doing a classic Joe Zawinul tune that was written for the great Cannonball Adderley.