| SEATTLE RATTLE |
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| When I was first given this CD, a couple of years ago, I knew absolutely nothing about the Seattle blues music scene, so I took a cursory listen to it, liked what I heard but then went back to my local (Canadian) reviews. Very shortly thereafter I was happily deluged with a constant flow of CDs from the Pacific Northwest area (c/o Dennis �Blues Boss� Dudley). I then decided to immerse myself in an in-depth study of Seattle-area artists and bands, some of whom were lucky enough to be included on this compilation CD and others who were not, simply due to a lack of space. Among those on Seattle�s Best Blues whose individual CDs I have reviewed (and loved!) are Too Slim (Tim Langford) & The Taildraggers (�Sam�s Pit�), Little Bill (�Ain�t No Way�), Nick Vigarino (�Blacktop Road�) (one of the brains at work regarding the release of this CD), Henry Cooper (�Guitar Baby�) and Smokin� Gun (�Don�t Touch My Girl�). After hearing complete CDs (and in some cases, three or four of them) from these particular musicians, I probably would have chosen different tracks to showcase from their catalogues, but that�s just personal preference. For that matter, I�ve now got enough fabulous music from Seattle to put out three or four Canadian volumes dedicated to Seattle Blues (and may just do that one of these days, through the proper legal channels, of course). Smokin� Gun, on this particular CD, rules as the �heaviest� blues-rock group, but both Nick Vigarino and Too Slim�s Taildraggers, being more eclectically talented, are equally capable of rocking the blues. The CD�s engineer, Danny Hull, impressively opens the CD with �Money Talks� (from his CD of the same name), featuring Chris Cain, a solo artist I have since heard many times on Canada�s Galaxie Blues subscriber TV channel. Speaking of Galaxie, I have also since had the pleasure of hearing Seattle�s Alice Stuart and Henry Cooper on this 24/7 (no commercials!) music station that leads the way in marketing the Blues (any many other types of music) in North America! Other musicians on Seattle�s Best Blues to whom I have taken a personal shine, based solely on their individual track on the CD, include Brian Butler (�Been There Done That�), The Tim Turner Band (�Turnin� Blue�), The Fat James Band (on the almost 9-minute �She�s Gone�), The Dick Powell Band (�Lose the Blues�) and Jude Bowerman, a jazz-blues-rock fusion team that leaves a sensational lasting impression with �You Brought the Sunshine Inside�. Mark Dufresne (�The King, The Man, The One�) is a top-notch harmonica player who has gone on to become the lead vocalist for Roomful of Blues, which I find personally confounding, considering a few of the band�s former vocalists � Duke Robillard, Curtis Salgado, Sugar Ray Norcia and LouAnn Barton. In addition to his solo CDs, Mark performed guest vocals on Billy Stapleton�s Got To Be a Love CD just prior to his joining up with Roomful of Blues. Tim Casey & The Nightcats, Laurette Langille and the Charles White Band also have selections on Seattle�s Best Blues (which seems to have been originally called Northwest�s Best Blues Collection Disc 3) and I�d like hear more of their work as well. At the time of writing this, Seattle�s Best Blues � Vol. 2 has already been released, so when I�m listening to that one, I�ll be instantly familiar with many of the vocalists and players, such as Danny Hull, Little Bill, Alice Stuart, Nicole Fournier and Nick Vigarino. Some artists in particular that I�m looking forward to hearing for the first time are Annieville Blues, Junkyard Jane, Aaron Richner and Bump Kitchen! I sure hope the next edition includes tracks from John Stephan, Mark Riley, Reggie Miles, The Howlers and Doug Skoog & Blues Alliance! Incidentally, Raw Records has also issued a �Best of Portland Blues�, featuring Isaac Scott, Robbie Laws and Duffy Bishop, etc.), and for us Canadians, a �Best of Vancouver Blues� CD, featuring the long-running PowerBlues Band, David Gogo, Harpdog Brown, UK ex-patriot Long John Baldry, Kenny �Blues Boss� Wayne, The Fabricators, and Willie MacCalder (ex-Powder Blues Band), just to name a few whose music I�ve already heard and love! Visit www.rawrecords.com for details on how to get your own copies! MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A VERY BLUES-Y NEW YEAR (2004), SEATTLE! D.D. |
| SEATTLE'S BEST B:LUES - VOL. 1 - VARIOUS ARTISTS (RAW RECORDS 2001) CD Review by Diane Wells |
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