Mississippi Cadillac Blues Band - Stone Cold

Self Release

http://www.mississippicadillacbluesband.com

10 songs; 41:00 minutes

Styles: Contemporary Mississippi Blues; Blues-Rock and Roll

Periodically, when bands send in albums to be reviewed by Blues Blast, they include a personal note with the CD. Perhaps it's a Post-It missive, or a salutation scrawled on the back of their business card. The Mississippi Cadillac Blues Band sent the latter: “‘Thanks for listening! We are a hard-drivin' blues band from Mississippi,’ Bud Bays.” Such succinct modesty does not begin to reveal the full richness of their latest CD, “Stone Cold”! Mississippi is still today a “Blues Mecca” – the original, as a matter of fact. Crowds are extremely particular when they support artists to a level of regional hit. Rest assured that Bud Bays, Alex Ross, John Miller and Will Hunt are, and should be on their way to national recognition. Produced by Bays, the band consists of native Mississippians who are all music veterans.

“Stone Cold” starts off with “Every Night and Every Day,” one of seven original tracks written by Ross and his posse. Ross' lead guitar is delightfully fidgety, treading a fine line between mid-and-up-tempo majesty. Mississippi Cadillac knows what pure blues is all about: consistent chords, simple yet catchy refrains, and wicked instrumental solos (guitar as well as piano, organ and Wurlitzer played by studio guest Billy Earheart of Amazing Rhythm Aces fame)! There is nary a wrong note or missed lick anywhere. That's part of the reason why this CD is top quality. Every person in the band feels the blues, and is “hard-drivin'” on the stage and studio as well as the road.

Even when they perform covers of other bluesmen's hits (such as Otis Spann's “Home to Mississippi” and Al Smith's “Country Wagon Wheel”), their own interpretations are phenomenal! This band also knows how to craft a maddeningly-awesome earworm. “Cheatin' Ways” and the grungy stomp “Beauty Operator” are proof positive of this. One more hallmark of their blues creativity is the overall way that “Stone Cold” sounds, even on tinny speakers that are built into one's computer monitor! Over and over, listeners will find themselves hitting “play,” and not just on one particular song, either. Mississippi Cadillac realizes an often-ignored truth about great albums: they are tapestries, each song an integral part of the overall musical picture. Not one should be slighted.

If I were to send a note back to the band in return for sending “Stone Cold” my way, it would read: “Thank you for keeping the blues not only alive, but thriving, in the 21st century. Your latest album is a permanent addition to my own collection, and should be in others', too! – I’m a Brand-New Devotee!”