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| LIVE, RAW & UNCENSORED @ ABOUT THE MUSIC (Recorded live on March 14/03) - STICKSHIFT ANNIE WITH KIMBALL CONANT & THE FUGITIVES AND THE HUDSON BLUES BAND |
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| Stickshift Annie Eastwood has teamed up here with electric/slide guitarist-vocalist Kimball Conant, brother of the late Dave Conant and the multi-instrumentalist Fugitives Larry Hill on bass and Phil Bowden on drums, who bring their Latin, swing, R & B and blues influences onto the playing field. The always-elegant Annie has beefed up her vocal tone, evident in her performance of a couple of original tracks from her d�but CD, Out of Her Mind, i.e., "Moody Woman Blues" and "Miss Phyllis". On these 16 tracks, Annie, Kimball and Michael Wilde (of the Hudson Blues Band) take turns vocally, either performing solo or in duets with Annie. The first half of the CD has Kimball Conant and the Fugitives partnering with Stickshift Annie, and the second half features the Hudson Blues Band. The CD contains covers by blues royalty like Freddie King, B.B. King, Taj Mahal and Elmore James �Yonder Wall"), the last few spotlighting "Dr. Richard" Kimball (Conant) on superb slide guitar. Muddy Waters and Fats Domino also get a nod on "Just Can't Be Satisfied" and "Blues Monday". Kimball sings and plays a soulfully sweet, arpeggio-laden version of "Georgia" on electric guitar, followed by a manic shuffling rumba of a Johnny Winter tune, "Hustle Down in Texas". Kimball emulates Johnny's gruff lead vocals and picks the heck out of his guitar while accompanied by mysterious falsetto background vocals. [I'll have to listen to the original version of that one!] The Hudson Blues Band (Michael Wilde, David Hudson, Guy Quintino and Steve Yonck) then takes the stage, starting with a spiffy five-minute shuffle of Jimmy Reed's classic "Peeping and Hiding" (also known as "Baby, What You Want Me to Do"). "Woke Up This Morning" begins in a rumba style and then jazzes out with an unidentified trumpeter. Michael cautions the audience to wear their hardhat if they plan to dance. I personally prefer the explosive version recorded by Ten Years After. Ray Charles�s �Unchain My Heart� (popularized Joe Cocker) is offered in a somewhat watered-down �parlour� version. Similarly, Freddie King's "Tore Down" and Chuck Berry�s "Route 66" lose some of their original oomph. It took a few replays to get into the new "groove" of these renditions, being a bigger fan of hard-edged blues-rock, but you've got to admire the instrumental talent happening here. Michael and Annie bring things to a memorable close with a sassy duet on "You've Gotta Help Me", with Michael getting lip-loose and fancy-free on harmonica, backed by the sophisticated skills of his bandmates. Kimball Conant on slide guitar and Larry ("Not Over The") Hill also spice up this track. Recorded live at About the Music, a popular jazz nightclub in Seattle, the CD encompasses a variety of rhythms, so there's plenty to choose from, whatever your preference. Overall, though, it is a fairly laid-back, low-key production. If you just feel like kicking back and enjoying some non-abrasive music, this is just the ticket! |