Through Toledo
Vanguard
Who is this guy? Where did he come from? Did he really write, arrange and perform all these great songs himself, playing virtually every note on the album?
Month: August 2006
Reviews
William Lee Ellis
God’s Tattoos
Yellow Dog
The godson of Bill Monroe (father Tony Ellis played banjo for the Blue Grass Boys), Ellis is a classically trained guitarist who gave up his job as pop music critic for The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal so he could pursue a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology — and, of course, make new-millennium blues gospel records.
Reviews
Bo Ramsey
Stranger Blues
Bo Ramsey Records
Ramsey’s latest is a laid-back homage to blues greats and great blues — kind of a guest DJ turn where instead of spinning his favorites, he performs them. The tunes all are given a coat of equal parts swamp and shuffle: Lightnin’ Slim meets J.J. Cale.
Reviews
Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys
Turntable Matinee
Yep Roc
Sandy and the boys started out in the mid ’90s as a retro rockabilly outfit, but soon branched out to Western swing, country, folk and even a little jazz. Following a break in which bandleader and band recorded an album apart from each other, the group reunited for the 1999 EP, “Radio Favorites,” which boasted some refreshingly exotic numbers.
