friend L.C. 'Good Rockin' Robinson would be proud. Rhodes took up the steel guitar as a tribute to Robinson. Material is pretty standard fare with a nice reworking of Jimmy Rogers' You're the One (although wrongly credited to Clarence E. Smith), and Santo and Johnny's pop hit, Sleep Walk (again not properly credited). This is one of the better recent releases to come from Florida's King Snake Studio.
Cleveland mailman Travis Haddix is a double threat as a songwriter as well as a soul-blues vocalist, with Artie 'Blues Boy' White being among those who have recorded his songs. His latest Ichiban release, What I Know Right Now is a solid strongly sung set of soul and blues.With Haddix, the songs are as interesting as his performances. There is the nice moody blues, Strange, with its effective (yes, effective) use of synthesizers, his soulful ballad Getting By With a Lie, and the salacious Jawbreaker. He displays as much wit and soul in his singing as his lyrics. Very solid production from Bryon Cole and the the Kala studio band who, with productions like this, give Malaco Records a good run for the money.
Another recent Ichiban release is Chick Willis' Holdin' Hands With the Blues. While a guitarist, Willis doesn't play here. Like the Haddix album this is a solid contemporary soul-blues date with memorable tracks including the title track (a potential blues anthem written by Denise LaSalle), a deep in the gut rendition of Ernie Johnson's You're Gonna Miss Me, the rocking and funky Heaven to
Betsy, his One Slick Woman, a someone's been in my bed song with nice slide guitar, and the closing ballad, I'm Only Guilty of Loving You. This is a real fine album that shows Willis is capable of doing far more than recycling Stoop Down Baby.
This review originally appeared in Issue 172 of Jazz & Blues Report in 1992. I likely received review copies from Ichiban or a publicist. I believe the three releases may still be available, used if not as new,
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