Legacy: The Best of Tab Benoit CD

Legacy: The Best of Tab Benoit album for sale As the electric guitar ace Joe Bonamassa was so strongly inspired by blues and blues-oriented six-stringers (i.e., Clapton, Johnny Winter), many of his fans would politely pester him about doing a disc of blues standards. Originally done as a lark, the results of such a session were deemed by Bonamassa good enough to be released--hence, BLUES DELUXE, on which he covers some lesser-known songs and includes three originals. Of course, his fierce, scorching guitar is center stage. If axe-men such as Peter Green, Rory Gallagher, and Buddy Guy are your cup of tea, this DELUXE item is a necessity. Recorded at Unique Studios, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Harris Cohen. Personnel: Joe Bonamassa (vocals, guitar); Jon Paris (harmonica); Benny harrison (Hammond B-3 organ); Eric Czar (electric bass); Kenny Kramme (drums).

Legacy: The Best of Tab Benoit buy CD music Derek Trucks started out as a young guitar prodigy playing alongside his uncle Butch in the Allman Brothers Band, but began following his own path in the late 1990s. ALREADY FREE is the result of a decade-plus spent sharpening his skills and growing his soul. It's probably his loosest, warmest, funkiest offering to date. While it's not markedly different from the Southern-tinged blues-rock of his earlier albums, ALREADY FREE nevertheless mines an altogether greasier groove. The album leans heavily on an old-school Southern soul aesthetic, and the spirit of both Memphis and Muscle Shoals can be heard in much of the material here, whether Trucks and company are adding some Southern grit to Bob Dylan's "Down in the Flood" or getting down the to the groove of one of their blues-rocking originals. Audio Remasterer: George Marino. Liner Note Authors: John Snyder; Ashley Kahn. Recording information: Bakos Amp Works, Atlanta, GA; Swamp Raga Studios, Jacksonville, FL. Author: Ali Akbar Khan. Photographers: Derek Trucks; Vincent Tseng; Blake Budney; Erica Trucks; Mike Schmelling. Personnel: Derek Trucks (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums); Doyle Bramhall II (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals); Mike Mattison (vocals, acoustic guitar, background vocals); Kofi Burbridge (vocals, piano, Clavinet, Wurlitzer organ); Yonrico Scott (vocals, drums, percussion); Count Mbutu (vocals, percussion); Todd Smallie, Susan Tedeschi (vocals); Eric Krasno (guitar); Mace Hibbard (tenor saxophone); Paul Garrett (trumpet); Kevin Hyde (trombone); Tyler Greenwell (drums, percussion); Duane Trucks, Bob Tis (percussion); Chris Shaw (sound effects). Audio Mixer: Chris Shaw .

Legacy: The Best of Tab Benoit CD music Given his place in the pantheon of American rock music, Gregg Allman's solo career away from the Allman Brothers Band has been generally disappointing. Perhaps that's why it took nearly a decade between his previous album, 1997's Searching for Simplicity (its title alone indicates his frustrations) and 1988's over-produced yet underwhelming Just Before the Bullets Fly. A whopping 14 years later, Allman joins forces with roots producer to the stars T-Bone Burnett, hoping that some of the latter's mojo can rub off on a singer who is one of the great white soul and blues vocalists in rock music. For the most part it does, as the duo choose 11 relatively obscure covers from classic artists such as Bobby "Blue" Bland, Junior Wells, and B.B. King that have clearly influenced Allman's musical approach. The backing is organic but far from stripped-down with horns, multiple guitars, and even background vocalists supporting the singer's patented crusty growl. From the opening raw thump of the ominous Sleepy John Estes' "Floating Bridge" to a peppy yet intense take on Muddy Waters' "I Can't be Satisfied" and a fiery reworking of Magic Sam's "My Love Is Your Love," Allman sounds invested and inspired by this material and his musical surroundings. Veterans such as Dr. John (credited here with his real name, Mac Rebennack), Doyle Bramhall II, and Burnett's often used rhythm section of drummer Jay Bellerose and Dennis Crouch on bass keep a taut yet easygoing lock on the groove. That's particularly evident on the predominantly acoustic version of Skip James' "Devil Got My Woman." The horns that appear on five tunes never overpower the sound yet help propel Allman's soul-searing performance of Bland's "Blind Man." Ditto for Otis Rush's slow blues "Checking on My Baby," which brings the vocalist back to his "Stormy Monday"-styled beginnings. One original co-written with Allman Brothers Band guitarist Warren Haynes, "Just Another Rider," while not a terrible song, pales in comparison with the rest of the material and could have been saved for the next Brothers album, where it might make a better fit. Allman is credited with B-3 on the majority of the tunes, but his contributions are generally mixed so low as to be nearly inaudible. His organ can be heard on a low-down run-through of Amos Milburn's "Tears, Tears, Tears" that captures a sweet, jazzy noir West Coast blues. It adds up to Allman's best and surely most focused and cohesive solo release, and one where the template can hopefully be repeated in less time than it took this to appear. ~ Hal Horowitz Audio Mixer: Mike Piersante. Recording information: Village Recorder, Los Angeles, CA. Editors: Emile Kelman; Jason Wormer. Photographer: Danny Clinch.

Legacy: The Best of Tab Benoit songs Tab Benoit's latest release on Telarc, Fever for the Bayou, continues in what has become Benoit's signature territory, a funky, ragged blend of Louisiana swamp blues and East Texas guitar, with hints of funk, soul, and country thrown in to give the gumbo just the right spice. If it sounds like a formula, well, Benoit's jagged guitar playing and increasingly soulful vocals make it clear that this is the music he loves, so it hardly matters. He touches a lot of bases here, including an eerie approximation of Elmore James' slide sound on a cover of James' "I Can't Hold Out" (which also features some cool tenor sax work from Jimmy Carpenter), then conjures Buddy Guy on Guy's "I Smell a Rat," fires up on the old Slim Harpo chestnut "Got Love if You Want It," and tears through a wonderfully swampy take on Levon Helm's "Blues So Bad" before ending things with an acoustic version of Clarence Williams' "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" (made famous by another Williams, Hank Williams Sr.). Cyril Neville guests on two tracks, "The Blues Is Here to Stay" and "Little Girl Blues," while Big Chief Monk Boudreaux contributes and sings a delightful Mardi Gas chant called "Golden Crown." But the strongest tracks are all Benoit originals, including the fiery opener, "Night Train," the Stax-by-way-of-New Orleans stunner "Lost in Your Lovin'" (which shows that Benoit is as much a singer as he is a guitarist), and the voodoo swagger of "Fever for the Bayou." It's not just that Benoit plays the blues with a primal punch and more than a hint of grace and soul, it's that he has a vision for it, and grounds it in both time and place, which means that he isn't just another Stratocaster gunslinger, but an American original. It's time for people to catch up and discover this guy. ~ Steve Leggett Liner Note Author: Art Tipaldi. Recording information: Piety Street Recording, New Orleans, LA (08/2004). Photographer: Jenny Bagert. Personnel: Tab Benoit (vocals, guitar); Tab Benoit; Big Chief Monk Boudreaux (vocals, tambourine, percussion); Carl Dufrene (bass guitar); Daryl White (drums); Cyril Neville (vocals, percussion); Jimmy Carpenter (saxophone). Additional personnel: Monk Boudreaux (vocals, tambourine).

Legacy: The Best of Tab Benoit CD music Fans of guitar master Joe Bonamassa will be delighted that 2011 was such a prolific year in his career. First came the fine, rootsy Dust Bowl, then 2, the second chapter in his Black Country Communion project's catalog. Don't Explain, a collection of soul, blues, and jazz-oriented covers in collaboration with vocal firebrand Beth Hart marks his third entry this year. The ten-song set of blues and soul is a logical extension of her vocal contribution to "No Love on the Street" from Dust Bowl. Opening is a thoroughly raucous contemporary blues reading of Ray Charles' "Sinner's Prayer," followed by a quirky version of Tom Waits' "Chocolate Jesus," and an unusual cover of contemporary jazz-pop singer/songwriter Melody Gardot's "You Heart Is as Black as Night." On this cut, a string orchestra adds a touch of perversity; it offers the impression of a femme fatale singing a Brecht-Weill number in a smoky cabaret in front of a moody string orchestra, buoyed by a brooding electric blues quintet. "For My Friends," a Bill Withers' tune, is a big, nasty, jagged blues number that keeps the funky groove intact. The title track, a number closely associated with Billie Holiday, falls flat. Hart tries too hard to employ Holiday's phrasing, the string orchestrations are overblown, and Bonamassa's crew is too reverent. This formula also mars the remake of Aretha Franklin's "Ain't No Way" that closes the set. Far better are readings of Etta James' signatories "I'd Rather Go Blind," and "Something's Got a Hold on Me." Hart's emotive, throaty delivery is perfectly suited to both songs, and she resists trying to ape James' phrasing. Since they follow one another directly, the musical difference between them also showcase's Hart's diverse abilities. The former is a soul burner, the latter a gospel blues. Bonamassa and band accent her every phrase with requisite rowdiness, sting, and grit. The pair's only vocal collaboration is a burning read of Delaney & Bonnie's "Well, Well." With Anton Fig's breaks and rim shots underscoring Arlan Scheirbaum's electric piano fills, Bonamassa's burning leads, the chunky, rhythmic foundation from guitarist Blondie Chaplin, and Carmine Rojas' bassline, Hart and the lead guitarist trade whip-smart call and response vocals with enough raw country-soul to bring the song to a new audience. While not a perfect recording, Don't Explain is a good one, whose strengths are numerous enough to warrant a second go round. ~Thom Jurek Liner Note Authors: Laura Grover; Beth Hart. Recording information: Village Recorders, West L.A. Photographer: Mike Prior. Personnel: Joe Bonamassa (vocals, guitar); Beth Hart (vocals, piano); Blondie Chaplin (guitar); Arlan Scheirbaum (keyboards); Carmine Rojas (bass guitar); Anton Fig (drums, percussion). Audio Mixer: Kevin Shirley.

Legacy: The Best of Tab Benoit buy CD music This is the usually prolific Louisiana guitarist Tab Benoit's first studio album in nearly four years, and although all his releases are top shelf, this one is slightly better. He teams up with New Orleans transplant Anders Osborne, who not only plays second guitar (press notes say B.B. King's famous "Lucille" was used for these sessions) but also co-writes seven of the eleven songs. Other high-profile bandmembers include Ivan Neville, Beausoleil's Michael Doucet, and drummer Brady Blade. In addition, noted roots producer David Z. recorded the project, bringing even more high wattage talent to the proceedings. Since 2003, Benoit has been an active spokesman and president for the Voice of the Wetlands environmental organization so, not surprisingly, the subject matter of some of the material leans toward the state of the bayou. That's especially true in "A Whole Lotta Soul," where Benoit sings "what you gonna tell the spirit/when the heart of the bayou bleeds" and "In It to Win It" that leads off with the line "I was born inside this Delta." Musically, Benoit sticks to his patented blend of soul, rock, blues, and Cajun, often mixed in the same song. His voice has attained a lived-in grit, always present but now somewhat accentuated by production that is spacious yet full. The electric set includes one unplugged tune; "Long Lonely Bayou" features just Benoit on acoustic and Doucet on fiddle. It's a highlight that finds the singer sounding as torn and frayed as the bluesmen who have been such a large part of his influences. He goes pure soul-blues on Toussaint McCall's slow dance classic "Nothing Takes the Place of You," this disc's Otis Redding-styled '60s entry, and rips into the lyric with tearful regret nearly equal to the original. The lovely and passionately sung Osborne-Benoit tune "Sunrise" treads similar territory. The closing zydeco rhythm of "Mudboat Melissa" allows both Doucet and Benoit to open up and solo against a festive, driving Louisiana backbeat. But the album's most riveting moment is arguably its opening title track, where Benoit and band tear into a tough, grinding, stomping blues-rocker that builds tension as it progresses and finds both guitarists unleashing slashing riffs on a song that might be Benoit's most powerful recorded performance. While nothing after quite tops it, lots comes close, making this one of the guitarist's finest overall efforts and well worth the extended wait. ~ Hal Horowitz Recording information: Dockside Studio, Maurice, LA. Photographer: Nicole Smith Williams. Personnel: Tab Benoit (vocals, guitar); Michael Doucet (vocals, fiddle); Anders Osborne (guitar, background vocals); Ivan Neville (Hammond b-3 organ); Brady Blade (drums). Audio Mixer: Tab Benoit.