| TOM GILLAM...DALLAS**** GOTHAM RECORDS Philadelphia based Tom Gillam�s new country-rock album just goes to demonstrate that an album called �Dallas� can come from up yonder and hold it�s own with the more southern-based twang scene. The album, produced by the band�s guitar and mandolin player, Joe Carroll at his home studio in Philly, really caught my attention. Tom Gillam And The Tractor Pulls are Gotham Records first foray into the Americana scene, and evidently it was a good move, because Tom Gillam�s version of country rock is being talked about in a lot of places where he was never recognized before. Gillam possesses an obvious gift for songwriting and it shows in his catchy, memorable lyrical structures and tone. His songs capture your ear and there�s not a vapid chorus to be heard, his music is capable of straddling the �radio friendly� fault-line without selling out. Tom Gillam And The Tractor Pulls are no strangers to the road, having shared the bill with such acts as: The Dave Matthews Band, Tom Petty, Son Volt and the anti-hank himself, Garth Brooks. The Tractor Pulls are right and tight, and I�d imagine that these guys can put on one hell of a live show. Gillam�s music brings to mind such artists as The Allman Brothers, Johnny Cash, early John Hiatt and Steve Earle. �Dallas� starts off with the one-two punch of Diamonds In The Rough and Dallas. Both of these tunes are impressive and contain great rockin� rhythms appointed by Texas honky-tonk styling and searing blues slide-work. The next two songs, Got To Make It Work and Just Like Rain, have a Lowell George ALA� Little Feat feel to them. Other stand-out tunes include the blues-groovy funk-kicker Get My Groove On and A Little Too Strange; each which exemplify what rock and roll is all about. Several ballad type songs on the album including Just Like Rain and Got To Make It Work, hold their own and never resort to being sickly-sweet or boring. The final cut, Bottom Of The Bottle is a great honky-tonk drinking song in the spirit of Lefty, Hank and George. This is a song for those folks who are out looking for a bar that�s still open after 3 A.M. on a Saturday night. This is one album that keeps finding it�s way back into my stereo, check it out. Also, check out Tom�s site at www.tomgillam.com, and his label�s site www.gothamrecords.com for more inf. OTIS TAYLOR...WHITE AFRICAN NORTHERN BLUES RECORDS **** This is the best �real blues� album I�ve heard come down the pike in a long while. Otis Taylor�s gruff, yet soulful vocals, and his tales of desperation and pain hit the blues nail right on the head. there�s no masquerading or blues clich�s going on here. White African is a thought provoking, real blues album that deserves repeated listening. Otis Taylor was born in Chicago in 1948 and by the early 50�s he moved to Denver, Colorado where he started getting into music. He began playing on a ukulele that his mother gave him, then he moved on to the harmonica, guitar, banjo and mandolin all in short order. Otis was in his first band, The Butterscotch Fire Department Blues Band in 1964. In 1969 he was noticed and signed by London�s Blue Horizon Records, but they didn�t like his unique songwriting style, so Otis moved back to Colorado. His next project consisted of A combo with legendary Tommy Bolin in the form of the T & O Shortline. During the 70�s Otis played with The 4-Nikators and the band Zephyr. In 1977 Otis retired from the music business and for the next 2 years he played for family and friends, but refused to perform in public. Thankfully, in 1995 due to the urging of close friends, Otis returned to the stage and released the album �Blue Eyed Monster�. His next album �When Negroes Walked The Earth� was a critical success, gloated over by such famous writers as Rolling Stone Magazine�s Dave Marsh.. Now we have �White African� and what a blues treasure it surely is. Otis does vocals, acoustic guitar, banjo, harp, mandolin, and a special edition electric banjocastor. Kenny Passarelli does bass, and we have Eddie Turner on lead guitar. The album�s musical influences abound with such blues greats as Leadbelly, Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker and Lightnin� Hopkins. These songs are the real deal blues. They tell tales of murder, death and the agonies of life. The first cut is a about a black hobo accused of murder in 1930�s Louisiana. The next song deals with crucifixion Next up is a song with a man begging his mother not to die and leave him alone. Cut four tells the tale of a dying baby without health insurance living in a cardboard box with daddy. The real standout song on the album for me was �Saint Martha� which tells about a woman sent to collect the body of her husband who was not only lynched, but had his body torn apart. Other cuts on the album deal variously with starvation, drunkenness and other such wonderful delights of the human condition. Sound effects such as train whistles and babies crying intersperse several of the album�s songs to eerie effect. In the summer of 2000, Otis Taylor was awarded a fellowship to the Sundance Institute Music Composer�s Laboratory and he is also mentor / instructor for Ottawa�s 2001 Blues In The Schools Project. With artist�s like Otis Taylor on the blues scene, fans will always know they�ve got something special to listen to. Get it. DELBERT McCLINTON, NOTHING PERSONAL NEW WEST RECORDS**** Another winner from Lubbock�s native son that demonstrates his masterful harp chops and roadhouse vet vocals to splendid effect. McClinton�s blues-rock, country-rock, what ever the hell you want to call it -rock kicks just as much ass as it ever did and it�s great to hear him still doing it and doing it well on his new label, New West. McClinton was born in Lubbock, Texas but did most of his growing up in Fort Worth. He made his debut at the age of 16 singing �Crazy Arms� on the Big V Jamboree and he earned his roadhouse badge by playing the string of cut-and-shoot honky-tonks that lined the notorious Jacksboro Highway strip in the late 50�s and early 60�s. McClinton learned his music first-hand from such blues legends as Lightnin� Hopkins, Howlin� Wolf and Big Joe Turner who were traveling through the area at the time. McClinton�s work on Bruce Channel�s hit �Hey Baby� got him on the big time circuit and he eventually toured England where he gave harmonica lessons to a young fellow who went by the name of John Lennon. You can hear his influence clearly on the Beatle�s �Love Me Do�. His first single �Wake Up Baby� was the first record performed by a white man to be played on Fort Worth�s great blues radio station KNOK. McClinton later fronted the Ron-Dels in the 60�s and did a lot of behind the scenes work during this time also. In the 70�s he joined up with Gene Clark and once again hit the charts as �Delbert And Gene�. Delbert McClinton�s songs have been covered by artists such as Waylon Jennings, Emmy Lou Harris and The Blues Brothers. He won a Grammy for his duet with Bonnie Raitt singing �Good Man, Good Woman� from her �Luck Of The Draw� album, and was nominated for a Grammy for his duet with Tanya Tucker and the song �Tell Me About It�. Delbert McClinton, now approaching 61 years of age, once again seamlessly blends blues and honky-tonk on his first new album in three years: �Nothing Personal�. The Title proves to be quite ironic since McClinton says: �I made the record for me and nobody else, with songs that aren�t necessarily what people are used to hearing from me�. McClinton took 11 months to record the new album which features 13 new, original songs. He was also pleased to be able to take his time with the recording, instead of being rushed by having 5 days studio time to cut the tracks as he had with previous labels. The album covers nearly every style of music that McClinton is famous for doing up right. The opening track �Living It Down� has a Rockabilly slant. We get swamp boogie with �Gotta Get It Worked On� and Tex-Mex with �When Rita Leaves�. We get the southern-rock feel of �Squeeze Me In� and the country duet �Birmingham Tonight� with Iris Dement. The funky low-down blues of �Baggage Claim� has a live feel about it because it was recorded with only one mike in the middle of the room. We also get to hear the Texas honky-tonk of �All Night Long� and the Southern soul balladry of �Don�t Leave Home Without It�. There�s also other great songs on �Nothing Personal� that feature Soul, Piano Blues and Skiffle. Wow, what a melting pot! And it�s a pot full of everything that makes Delbert McClinton one of America�s unclassifiable musical treasures. Do yourself a favor and definitely check this one out. |