Doug Cox & Salil Bhatt - Slide to Freedom 2 (Make a Better World)

Northern Blues Records

www.dougcox.org

www.salilbhatt.com

Quality: Recommended

Style: Eclectic, World Music

Slide to Freedom 2 (Make a Better World) follows Doug Cox and Salil Bhatt’s acclaimed debut on Northern Blues from 2007. This CD continues to explore the intersections of acoustic blues and East Indian music; for fans of world music, Slide to Freedom 2 (Make a Better World) offers up many contemplative jams that feature Doug Cox on the National Resophonic Lap-style guitar, Salil Bhatt on the Satvik Veena, and Salil’s father, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, on the Mohan Veena. The rhythm section features Dinah D on bass and Ramkumar Mishra on tabla and percussion, and John Boutte, an award-winning Crescent City vocalist, rounds out this exceptional and diverse ensemble. I first discovered the Mohan Veena, a 20-stringed guitar, on CDs from Northern Blues’ alumnus Harry Manx, and it offers a sound distinct from any other stringed instrument I’ve ever heard, and I’m pleased it’s featured on Doug and Salil’s new CD.

Doug Cox has been recognized as one of the world’s premier slide guitar players, and when not at home in Canada, you can find him either on the road, or on the faculty of guitar workshops at such notable festivals like Kerrville, Vancouver Island, The Cotswolds, or the Aboriginal Performers Camp. His new www.learnrootsmusic.com is a gateway to an array of instructional DVDs, and his DVDs are distributed by Mel Bay Publications.

Salil’s father, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, invented the Mohan Veena, and sits in on an inspired, folksy cover of George Harrison’s "For You Blue." In addition to a traditional reading of "Amazing Grace" with John Boutte’s soulful vocals, Doug and Salil re-imagine Dan Hicks’ "I Scare Myself" nicely. The elder Bhatt paired with Ry Cooder in 1994 for their Grammy-winning A Meeting by the River in the World Music category, and Salil is following in his father’s footsteps.

I particularly liked the longer instrumental tracks on Slide to Freedom 2 (Make a Better World), including the 10+ minutes of "The Moods of Madhuvanti" or "Blessings" (which clocks in at just over eight minutes). I enjoyed the extended interplay between Doug and Salil, but also how they include Ramkumar Mishra on tabla and percussion, and Dinah D on bass, too. The set closes with some pretty bluesy vocals from John Boutte on "Freedom Raga," and after just one listen, I understand why he’s been honored with Best Male Vocalist awards in 2008 and 2009 from OffBEAT magazine’s Best of the Beat Awards in New Orleans.

Slide to Freedom 2 (Make a Better World) is not a traditional blues record, by any means. The CD is, however, mixes musical traditions of the Mississippi Delta and the Ganges Delta, and in the hands of master musicians like Doug Cox and Salil Bhatt, this cross-cultural experience is a music trip well worth taking.

Reviewer Eric Steiner is the President of the Washington Blues Society, a proud recipient of a Keeping the Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation. Please contact Eric at president@wablues.org  or visit www.wablues.org for more information on the Washington Blues Society

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Meantooth Grin - Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead

KAM Records

www.meantoothgrin.com

12 tracks

The good thing about being a music critic, DJ or someone in the music business is that you get to hear a lot of bands you might otherwise never hear about, or you at least get to hear about them a lot sooner than most people. Meantooth Grin is a powerhouse blues rock band hailing from nearby Wausau Wisconsin who really mix up the mud of Mississippi Delta with the fire of Texas rock and blues. Led by Tom Jordan on guitar and vocals, these guys burn it up on their recently released premier CD.

I did not know what to expect when I popped the CD in. The cover shows a devilish looking guy with a National Resophonic Guitar, laughing and playing in front of the hell fires with the shadow of the devil on the stone wall beside him. The title of the album supported the perception of "sell-your-soul-to-the-devil" blues, too. The CD has a short spoken intro (written and performed by Doug Kroening, another upcoming Midwestern bluesman) backed by crickets, baying hounds and the steel guitar. The lyrics are talking about staying one step ahead of the devil and such, so when the first real track started I must admit that I was a bit unprepared. What came out of my speakers was some blazing hot distorted guitar licks back by a solid rhythm section more like ZZ Top or Johnny Winter than the traditional music from the crossroads in the Mississippi Delta. Amped up and solid guitar work and vocals by Jordan, backed by band mates Brian Miller on drums and Seth Heffner on bass, I listened to these guys totally rock out the first two full tunes and just said, "Wow!"

"Drive" and "Killing Time" were the first two tracks of all original stuff; they were followed by long, slow blues number "Dark Was the Night", showcasing Jordan’s gritty vocals (which remind me a lot of the talented Noah Hunt) and stinging guitar play. We also get the first really good taste of guest musician Pete Shank’s Hammond B3 organ here, too; he’s more than solid on the keys. I especially enjoyed the title track where Jordan’s distorted vocals and steel guitar deliver the goods in a track reminiscent of the Drive By Truckers style of macabre lyrics. The gimmicky and scratchy 78 rpm record sounding "Evil Woman" and "Insomnia" feature Jordan going solo acoustic and showcasing another side of his talents. Cole Holliday adds his harp work to the CD, and it literally blows the listener away in tracks like "Killing Time", "Tommy Gun" and "Homeless and Homesick".

This is a solid initial offering from a talented trio of local guys with a pair of equally talented backups on hard and organ. The all-original cuts give us their take on traditional and rocking blues, and let me tell you that given what I heard I can’t wait to track these guys down and listen to them live!

Reviewer Steve Jones is secretary of the Crossroads Blues Society in Rockford. IL

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Bankers Blues - A Study In The Effects Of Fiscal Mischief

Document Records

24 tracks; Total Time: 69minutes 21 secs

If you’re looking for rare, classic, vintage blues, jazz, boogie-woogie, gospel and country music then Document Records is the place for you. Many call it ‘the only’ place. Established in 1998, and based in Scotland, Document has uniquely sourced, re-mastered and digitized the vast majority of Afro-American acoustic blues, jazz, spirituals and gospel recordings (1900-1945) from original 78 recordings. But Document nearly got screwed at the height of the ‘credit crunch’ in 2008, when, despite no fiscal problems, a full order book and a comprehensive business plan, their bank refused to give them credit. Put simply, a company that was/is hugely successful became a victim of want Document call the ‘inappropriate behavior of financial whiz kids’. The company survived and is now fully back in business. This CD is their revenge (they call it ‘a riposte’) on their bankers HBOS and a comment on too many bankers profligate ways..

Dedicated to Bernard Madoff (who needs no introduction) and to a number of others involved in aspects of the recent financial meltdown, the CD draws on Document’s vaults to bring us recording made at the beginning and the height of the Great Depression, as well as some after-the-event philosophising. Depression stuff includes: Barbeque Bob’s (‘We Sure Got Hard Times Now’) recorded in 1930 at the height of the Great Depression "You heard about a job, now you is on your way (x2) Twenty men after the same job, all in the same 'ol day." By 1931, Robert Hicks (Barbecue Bob’s real name) was dead from pneumonia; Big Bill Broonzy’s [as Big Bill Johnson] (The Bankers Blues) recorded in 1930 with a sly word of caution "If you got money in the bank, don't let your woman draw it out, "Cos she'll take all your money and then she'll kick you out.". Words of advice come from Little Son Jackson (1953) who’s ‘No Money’ (sometimes called ‘No Money, No Love’) needs no explanation and neither does Memphis Minnie’s, 1948, ‘Million Dollar Blues’. A 1958 prediction comes from Rufus Thomas (‘Save That Money’) "You’d better save your money, things gonna get tough again."

In short, this is a terrific collection of roots music, but one word of warning. Some of the tracks, like Blind Alfred Reeds old-timey fiddle piece, ‘Money Craving Folks’ and the wonderfully named Brother Fullbosom’s ‘A Sermon On A Silver Dollar’ are not blues but are no less delightful.

Ian McKenzie lives in England. He is the editor of Blues In The South a monthly flier providing news, reviews, a gig guide and all kinds of other good stuff, for people living and going to gigs along the south coast of England. Ian is also a blues performer www.myspace.com/ianmckenzieuk and has a webcast regular blues radio show on Phonic FM in Exeter (1pm Eastern/ 12 noon Central).