The playing on, and the content of,this album is very uneven. Tracks 1,2,3,4,7 & 8 were recorded with his roadband at the time. The others were recorded with a five piece that includes a keyboard player who pads out the sound ( Carl Snyder Jnr).The material is woefully varaiable."Don't pick me for your fool" gets the album off to a tight start but Seals' compositions are a weak link.The vocals are variable as well. They work well on the uptempo tracks, but the slow blues "I can count on my blues" is difficult to listen through, and not saved by the harmonica work of Billy Branch.Not the best place to pick up on the undoubted talents of Son Seals.

This is an excellent example of Kenny Neal's downhome blues. Recorded in Florida with his road band at the time, which included the much under-rated Lucky Peterson on keyboards, Ken Johnson on drums and either Noel or Darnell Neal on bass ( best to keep it in the family!) it displays the width of Neal's many styles.Favourites are "That knife don't cut no more" in which he gets to stretch out and "Do I have to go that far?" Apart from some second guitar from Pat Rush on "Going to the Country" the album sounds pretty much like the band on the road did at the time. Finally, special mention for two excellent cover versions which to my mind transcend the originals, namely "I can read between the lines" and Chris Youlden's "You aint foolin me". Close your eyes and the band are there playing for you!

I normally like Tinsley Ellis' albums, but this one is the exception. It doesn't really hold together with any cohesion, and was evidently the result of (at least)two different sessions. The ones with the basic band of Bob McNeely (guitars) Scott Koziol(bass and Tad Parker (drums)[tracks 1,2,6,9 and 10] are tight and show off Ellis' guitar playing. I'd guess that this was his road band at the time; it certainly sounds like it. Producer Tom Dowd evidently wanted more tracks and variation, so the other tracks have a different band ( Duck Dunn on bass) with the augmentation of Kevin McKendree (keyboards) on some tracks.Best track from this session is Magic Sam's "Look what you done", but on the album as a whole pick are "Diggin'my own grave" and "One sunny day". If you're new to Tinsley Ellis buy another album first.

Its quite often a bad sign when an artist resorts to naming an album after a former hit, or reprises the track by "bringing it up to date". So it is with this album. There's a shortage of material good enough to match the voice, which is in tremendous shape throughout."Trapped 1990" is a poor substitute for the original and LaSalles compositions seldom rise above mediocre. George Jackson weighs in with "Wet Match" which starts the album.The real stand out track is a reworking of Al Green's "Love and Happiness" which really cuts it. Forgettable!

The album,recorded in 1989, was never one of their very best, but with the passing of time it hasn't aged well.Much of the material that they were writing was labored and relied heavily on the guitar interplay between Donald Kinsey and Ron Prince. The best self written tracks here are "Midnight Drive", "Get outta here" and "Big Time". The latter has Stephen Dawson on keyboards which adds an interesting texture to the track. He also appears on "Rivers invitation" written by Percy Mayfield the tour-de-force of this album.Not the first Kinsey report album to buy!

If you're looking for a starting place for Lonnie Brooks, this isn't it. The basic band of Brooks, Tom Giblin on keyboards, Augustus Taylor on Bass and Kevin Mitchell on drums work hard to hold it all together but there are two main problems. Firstly Ronnie Baker Brookes muscles in on the action, and he's nothing like as good as Dad. Secondly the songs, particularly the Brooks' efforts are pretty forgettable. The best tracks on the album are are "Temporary Insanity" and Denise La Salles "It's lying time again". The only dual composition that works is "If the price is right" and that's because Koko Taylor takes the vocals.Buy the others first!

Quite apart from the performance, this must be rated alongside some of the classic "live" albums of all time.There are three main ingredients, the crowd who are so clearly up for enjoying themselves, and of course know all the tunes off by heart. Then there's the recording engineer/producer who hasn't attempted to edit out the "liveness' of the occasion.The group sound is terrific. There are false starts, with Dion shouting "let me start this one" at one point, with all the performers coming in at wrong times. All this adds to the atmosphere. Finally, of course, there's Dion and the Belmonts who gave everything. It must have been electrifying to have been there.The real bonus of the CD of course is that unlike the vinyl version it doesn't end on one side in the middle of a song, and you don't have to turn it over! By any standards this is a great album, and if you've never heard it,,, go get!!

The first four tracks alone of this album make it an essential purchase.These tracks recorded for Capitol not only have some astounding McShann piano work, but also feature Julia Lee on vocals. The performance is electrifying!. Tracks 5-11 were recorded in Los Angeles in 1945 and feature Crown Prince Waterford Numa Lee Davis and Jimmy Witherspoon on vocals, and include a remake of Walter Brown's "Confessin' the blues.The same line up recorded tracks 12-15 for Premier. The band is tight, though some of the performaces lack drive. Tracks 16 to 23 were recorded for Mercury in 1946, and are an excellent example of small band ensemble jazz with Jimmy Witherspoon not having to share the vocal honours, and the performances and recording standard are excellent.From this last session you should listen to "Have you ever loved a woman".However, it's the Julia Lee tracks that make this such a cracking set.

This is certainly a step forward for Soulive. Most noticeable is that the basic trio have started to add to the funky stew that is their sound. In particular the use of a four piece brass sectionon tracks 2,6 and 10 adds another dimension to their work. Guest Fred Wesley gets to spread out with some great trombone work - however special mention too for Jeremy Pelt the trumpet player who is a great foil to Wesley's thick sound.Bluenote producers have done a great job in getting Alan Evans drum sound well forward in the mix, although as another reviewer has noted the width of the recording dynamic is questionable. Outstanding tracks for me are "Doin Something", "Bridge to'Bama" and "Romantic". It's to be hoped that this album further brings Soulive to public attention, and that they add further sounds to the gumbo with their next recording.In the meantime, get hold of this!

What marks out this new Gary Burton album for me is the backing band that he's assembled to help him out on what is clearly a project close to his heart. Not only does Burton himself turn in some loving interpretations, he adds something to tunes that you might think had nothing new to give.Special mention for the guitar work of Russell Malone who produces a range of guitar styles to compliment the frontman."Godchild"provides a real opportunity to stretch out, but he's inventive on all three of the tracks he plays on. Christian McBride provides a dense,pure and solid bass sound on the 7 tracks he appears on. Burton used no less than three pianists for the sessions, and adds extra percussion for tracks 1,8 and 10 from Luis Quintero. The overall quality of the recording is excellent, and I have to agree with another reviewer that "Flying Home" is perhaps the outstanding cut. An excellent project.