Holmes Brothers Promised Land CD

This multi-talented trio doesn't insult the blues by trying to mummify it. The Holmes Brothers' musical vision is a broad-ranging one that includes touches of country, funk, soul and gospel; their unique version of the blues incorporates all those styles. Wendell Holmes' gritty voice lends itself well to soulful, R&B-based ballads like "The New And Improved Me." Drummer Popsy Dixon's Philly International falsetto is featured on a surprising cover of Tom Waits' "Train Song" that makes perfect sense when you hear Dixon lay into the hard-luck lyrics.

Sherman Holmes' bass style, with its rhythmic and harmonic sophistication, is unprecedented in the blues world; he sounds like a cross between Phil Lesh and Willie Dixon. He wrote "There's A Train" and the title cut--funky, minor-key tunes whose religious themes contrast perfectly with the dark, sensual mood of the music. The band works together so well that you can sense the unspoken communication that allows the three members to work as one musical body. PROMISED LAND, with its paeans to romantic and spiritual love, is an album equally concerned with both sin and salvation.

Recorded at Dockside Studios, Maurice, Louisiana between April and June, 1996.

The Holmes Brothers: Wendell Holmes (vocals, guitar, piano, Wurlitzer piano); Sherman Holmes (vocals, piano, Wurlitzer piano, bass); Popsy Dixon (vocals, drums).

Additional personnel: Tommy Moran (pedal steel guitar); Scott Billington (harmonica); Phil Chandler (Hammond B-3 organ); James Singleton (acoustic bass); Lee Allen Zeno (bass).

Award Winner

Q (4/97, p.124) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "More heaven- and earth-shaking sounds from a group that transcend the polarities of the musically sacred and profane..."
Down Beat (4/97, p.57) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...New York City's streetwise family band takes it back to the church with a set of supersaturated downhome R&B. The Holmes testify with evangelical zeal, whether rolling through...genuine blues grit...or...traditional gospel....And the vocal harmonies are nothing short of heavenly."