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| It�s not difficult to tell why slide trombonist Randy Oxford just won �Performer of the Year (2004)�, with the entire sextet being awarded the �Best New Blues Band� at the Washington Blues Society�s �Best of the Blues� (BB) Awards � this music �gonna make you burn, gonna make you sting�!
The listener�s attention is immediately grabbed by a gradually escalating vibrato, introduced by the �boner� himself, that is more similar to the starting sound of an F1 car race than an angry hornet or bumblebee, a repeated theme in the sinfully glorious cover selections on this CD. On the majority of lead vocals is Virginia Klemens, whose own band has shared bills with artists ranging from Leon Russell, Doc Watson and Leo Kottke, to Howlin� Wolf, Tom Waits and Maria Muldaur. I found her singing to be just right � not too sweet, not too sour, capable of belting out or crooning, with a range and tone that lands somewhere between Aretha Franklin and Bonnie Raitt. The kick-started �Think� (a fast and funky r&b Lowman Pauling tune popularized by James Brown�) is followed by a six-minute-plus blast of Texan heat, which features electric guitarist Jerry Lee Davidson (who co-wrote it with Marge Sampson) alternating with Virginia on lead vocals. Steve Blood makes his d�but on sinuously slinky slide guitar that precedes the raging twister eventually emanating from Randy�s trombone. This one is followed by �Knockin� Myself Out� � a mid-tempo swing-blues fusion written by Lil Green and apparently the first �reefer� song ever to receive radio airplay! Virginia does a great job on vocals here, with Randy�s complementary �sawboning�, backed up by the solid rhythm section, comprised of Riky Hudson on drums, and Jack Kinney on bass. Sonny Boy Williamson�s �Crazy 'Bout You� (which might have been the basis of the Stones� �Satisfaction� hit), at almost eight minutes in duration, was a tad long, but featured an interesting guitar break that veered off into what sounded like a variation on Jeff Beck�s �Freeway Jam�. Memphis Minnie gets a nod on the lascivious blues-rockin� �Bumble Bee�, featuring Randy walking, talking, scaling heights and generally causing �all that buzz� while one of the guitarists gets into a Chuck Berry thang on guitar. Riky Hudson is especially snappy on the drumkit here. Kansas Joe McCoy�s brilliance is displayed on �Why Don�t You Do Right?�, a sort-of laid-back �Stray Cat Strut� kind of composition, previously covered by Peggy Lee. This is my favourite and one that fits Virginia�s vocals perfectly, although some harmony vocals wouldn�t have been out of place. Satchmo�s trumpet prowess has got nothing on Randy�s trombone here � absolutely stunning! Riky adds effective blues whistling (lips) on this one. The artist most popularly known as Prince (originally named Rogers Nelson) is credited on �Peach�, a quirky little rock�n�roller performed with a gusto (and a Little Richard-like scream at the end) that shows another admirable side to this multi-faceted musician. The classic �Help Me� is also covered, although that one was a bit too scratchy for me. Ballsy-voiced Jerry Lee Davidson wrote and sings �Moscow Blues�, a slow, swaying composition that the Blues Cousins could probably relate to � it�s also one of the many extended compositions, averaging a little bit more than seven minutes. Like a gourmet, these guys obviously like to savour a good taste of music, instead of just swallowing a song and regurgitating afterwards. I especially liked that loud, bluesy �Yah� (favoured by harpsters like David Rotundo) three-quarters of the way through and that balloon-deflating fizzle of a trombone coda. The tenth track (of 13) is an original roots-rocker by bassist Jeff Boyan (H.P. Lovecraft), with input from Virginia, who played acoustic guitar here. Quoted as a �spooky song about good and evil�, its intro chords are evocative of Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Bad Company and Paul Fenton�s �Been Down So Long (House Boy)� - nice change in pace. Piano-player Clarence Williams� smouldering �Sugar in My Bowl� was recorded by both his bandleader, Bessie Smith, and Nina Simone. This one has Steve Blood on electric blues guitar that will curl your toes with thoughts of a long-neglected passion! The obligatory rhumba song (by none other than T-Bone Walker) appears in the form of �Hard Way to Go� (not to be confused with John Prine�s �Angel from Montgomery�, which contains those same memorable words) but it�s a �Stairway to Heaven� kind of opus that wanders off into all sorts of rhythmic directions on its own way back home � interesting but weird. The exhaustive but ultimately satiating CD runs out of energy with a laid-back but dramatic country-flavoured rocker written by Billy Edd Wheeler. All the Buzz will surely "give them something to talk about" for awhile in the Pacific Northwest! |
| ALL THE BUZZ - RANDY OXFORD BAND |
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