| CD REVIEW (This review was also published at www.701.com.) |
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| Two Hound Blues is both a fitting testament to the legendary blues-harpist who was better known (albeit reluctantly) as King Biscuit Boy than his real name of Richard Newell, as well as to the wealth of musical talent in Hamilton, Ontario, that remains unheralded. This final release comes almost a decade after his previous record, Urban Blues Renewell (Stony Plain), and two years after his untimely death in January 2003. Sonny Del-Rio, who proudly describes the duo as �a couple of Hamilton Hound Dogs�, alternates on lead vocals with Richard as well as on saxophone with Darcy Hepner, who also composed the horn charts (played by members of Powerhouse, along with Simon Wallis and Steve McDade). Fellow Hamiltonians Georgie Fab and Hepner co-produced the project, which includes performances by a couple dozen of that city�s finest musicians and friends of Richard Newell, all of whom deserve a mention here. On drums: Claude Desjardins, Jack Pedler, Randy Scott and Bob Hayden. On bass: Roberto Occupinto, Johnny Stone, Ronnie Lodge (of Ronnie & The Rockets), and Neil Nikafor. On guitar: Peter Mueller, Bernie LaBarge and Mark Severn. On piano: Richard Whitehouse and Jessie O'Brien. On horns: Darcy Hepner, Simon Wallis, Steve McDade, CarloDi Battista, John Willett, Glenn Higgins and Dan Elliot. This interesting blend of soul, blues, jazz, R&B and blues-rock can pretty well be summarized as rock and roll in its purest form. It�s Juno-worthy material, even if it wasn�t marketed as such, and that�s just how the late King Biscuit Boy would have liked it. A few of my overall favourite tracks (�7th Avenue Blue�, �Treat Your Baby Right� and �Jailhouse Blues�) can also be found on Del-Rio�s 40 Years of Rock and Roll and All I Got�s the Blues CD, which I formerly mistook to be the last King Biscuit Boy recording. A new favourite to add to the list is a priceless rendition of the late Ray Charles� �Hard Times�, featuring Hepner on sax, Richard Newell on lead vocals and, I believe, Richard Whitehouse on piano. Jesse's boogie-woogie style of playing is more prominent on the CD, notably on �Treat Your Baby Right�. Bobby Womack�s �I�m in Love� is covered as soulfully as Aretha�s version, but it�s outshone by B.B. King�s �Bad Luck Soul�. I�d never heard the track before but instantly recognized it as a King tune, possibly just by the vocalization alone. Other cool tracks are an unusual cover of �Let the Good Times Roll� and �Play the Honky Tonks�, another song that was new to me. The relaxing sway of Cozy Eggleston�s �Blue Lights Boogie� (a.k.a. �Big Heavy�) pays tribute to DJ George �Hound Dog� Lorenz with the introduction, �This is for all you hound-doggers out there�smile, it�s all King Biscuit style.� While the low-key jazz styling is still very alluring, I�d love to hear a jumped-up version of it by Downchild. Speaking of which, I�d have to say I�m having difficulty deciding which newly-received CD I like better � King Biscuit Boy/Sonny Del-Rio�s Two Hound Blues or Downchild�s brand-new release, Come On In. Hell, they are both destined to be rock and roll AND blues classics! |
| TWO HOUND BLUES - KING BISCUIT BOY & SONNY DEL-RIO (Race Records - 2004) |
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