Rain or Shine
Blues Acres
Unpretentious, heartfelt, modern country blues played on classic resonator guitars just doesn’t get any better than this. A member of the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame and the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Price’s blues are infused with the residual rock inclinations of his ’70s group, the progressive Mother Blues Band (which spawned another amazing musician, Bo Ramsey).
This is all fingerpicking slide, all the time — except for the addition of drums and trumpet on the final track. Price plays a National ResoRocket on six songs, a Greg Bennett Avion Samick on three and a ’58 Stella 12-string on one. His wife, Vicki, also a National player, joins in on three numbers. All songs are originals.
Not since the late, great Jerry Reed’s “Pickin’ ” 10 years ago has an album alternated between vocal and instrumental tracks so expertly, presenting the music in perfect compare-and-contrast sequence. Kickin’ it off is “Hornet’s Nest,” a ResoRocket showcase and testament to old-school country blues that serves as a reference point for the album, with Price’s down-home vocals leaving no doubt about the artist’s dirt-road cred.
Next up is “Joe’s Guitar Stomp” on the Samick Avion. As the title indicates, Price’s foot plays a prominent part, but the instrumental obviously was written for this incredibly awesome-sounding electric guitar and must be heard to be believed. On this cut and the other two featuring the instrument (“Too Little Too Late” and “Rock Slide”), the guitarist’s attack and sustain are mind-blowing.
“Nellie Bell” is a beauty to behold and the best of the instrumentals. Acoustic and ultrapretty, its gently rolling slide interweaved with intricate fingerstyle picking comes across like Ry Cooder fused with Duane Allman — “Cherry Ball Blues” meets “Little Martha.”
“Blues on 12,” another instrumental, is the sole selection played on the Stella, and at first doesn’t appear to even be a slide number until almost the end when the slow blues breaks out into a few slippery riffs.
influenced by Earl Hooker at an early age as well as by his mother’s blues records (which, according to the Waterloo Courier, she saved her lunch money all week to buy starting in 1935), Price is as legit as they come. He and his wife also had the honor of performing on the “Artists in Resonance, Vol. II” portion of the National Reso-Phonic catalog; they play his original tune, “There’s Good Rockin’ on a Steel Guitar,” on their twin National Resolectrics.
Tracks
1. Hornet’s Nest
2. Joe’s Guitar Stomp
3. Too Little Too Late
4. Nellie Bell
5. Steel Guitar
6. Lu Lu
7. Last Stop Now
8. Blues on 12
9. Beer Tent Boogie Woogie
10. Rock Slide
Total time: 33:33
External links
artist’s website
CD Baby
iTunes Store
