GARY CLARK,JR.

James Knowles (drums), and Blue’s wife,
Ilaria Lantieri (bass), Blue adds the keyboards
of Italy’s Damiano Della Torre for
the night’s set. The double disc clocks in
at a healthy two hours of Blue’s trademark
funk, blues, jazz-inspired excursions, and
even a seven-minute, deep chromatic
treatment of the classic field holler
“Another Man Done Gone.”
Every Sugar Blue show includes his
history of the blues harmonica and this
recording offers a similar thesis. After the
accelerated opener, “Red Hot Mama,” Blue
gives a nine-minute discourse on Muddy
Waters’ “One More Mile,” which has traces
of Junior Wells’ classic funky approach to
Chicago blues in his band’s punctuating
accents. Blue barrels through lick after lick
like a frenzied Charlie Parker, and McFarland
answers the call with his own brand of
seasoned guitar. Then, Blue leads his band
through Willie Dixon’s stop timed “Hoochie
Coochie Man.” Here, the somewhat slower
tempo allows listeners to appreciate Blue’s
high-end tenor vocals and his agile note
placement. Again, it’s McFarland’s hardedged
guitar that keeps the music steeped
in the traditions. (Remember McFarland
has spent his life backing blues masters
like James Cotton, Little Milton, Lucky
Peterson, Otis Clay, and so many others.)
The perfect guitar foil, McFarland plays
every gig with Blue and others combining
his own creativity with the stability nightly
shows on the road demand. On McFarland’s
“Swing Chicken,” Blues sits out while
McFarland and Della Torre swing with
unbridled enthusiasm.
Blue honors Cotton with “Cotton
Tree,” a 10-minute biographical tribute to
one of Blue’s most important mentors. After
three hard-hitting harp assaults, the light,
jazzy approach to Blue’s vocals and harmonica
offers a comforting break. His
encore, “Messin’ With The Kid,” pays tribute
to Junior Wells, another Blue mentor,
and features McFarland’s explosive and
46 BLUES REVUE
imaginative fret work. It would not be a
Sugar Blue show without the ten-minute
performance of “Miss You,” the Rolling
Stones 1978 Number One song that was
beefed up by his signature harp riff. Blue’s
“Bad Boy’s Heaven,” offers him the
extended opportunity to reassemble his
phrases into cutting edge expressions.
Contemporary themes surface on
“Bluesman,” where Blue addresses the cultural
effects of the oppressive years from
Jamestown slavery to today and asserts the
blues blood that runs through him. “Krystalline”
is Blue’s funky ode to the mysterious
white lady who is as dangerous as she
is alluring.
If you have seen Sugar Blue and his
band in recent years, this live CD perfectly
captures the musical charms of his show.
– Art Tipaldi
RICK HOLMSTROM
Cruel Sunrise
M.C. Records
There’s a reason Rick Holmstrom’s trio was
tapped to back Mavis Staples on the road
and in the studio over the past several
years. First, it’s no secret that Holmstrom
has been able to channel Pops Staples’ jangly
guitar in a way that’s all-at-once blues,
rock, and gospel. Equally important, the trio
is extremely tight and well oiled, with Jeff
Turmes holding down the low end and
Stephen Hodges keeping time. On Cruel
Sunrise, the band is perfectly in tune with
each other, leading and following as
needed. All of this has been evident while
playing with Staples as well as on Holmstrom’s
earlier releases. But this time there’s
more: this time out, Holmstrom really shows
his chops as a writer. With twelve tunes full
of vivid imagery and clever hooks, the disc
will flat out make you feel something, even if
you can’t put a finger on it.
Holmstrom doesn’t fit neatly into a category,
but he leans hard on blues and rock,
with a West Coast twist that materializes as
part California rock & roll and part psychedelic
rock. The Beach Boys meet The Doors
meet Dick Dale: Surfedelia. The disc kicks
off in high gear and settles into a groove that
includes Mavis Staples guesting on two
tracks. There’s ample energy, even on the
restrained tracks, with rich layers and depth.
The real genius is in the subtleties, like the
low sax that washes across the chorus of the
title track, the backing vocals on “It’s Time I
Lose,” or Hodges’ careful choices of shakers,
brushes, and blocks throughout the
disc. Holmstrom stacks these loose pieces
together like a shaky Jenga tower and it
stays upright.
The highlights include “Creepin’ In,” a
tune that will stick in your head all day. In the
middle of a set of blended genres, Holmstrom
offers up his take on classic lyrics,
“The sun’s gonna shine on my front door
some day, ” a subtle reminder that he’s a
bluesman at heart. The gentle love song “By
My Side” is beautiful for its stark simplicity.
On the mesmerizing lullaby instrumental,
“Luellie,” Holmstrom pushes his guitar to the
limit with harmonics and reverb. “Luellie” is a
bit of an oddity for the disc, but rumor has it
there’s a deluxe edition with instrumental
takes on classic blues and Americana tunes.
While the writing is impressive, the
performance is nothing short of impeccable.
Cruel Sunrise is quite simply one of the
best albums I’ve heard in very long time.
– Eric Wrisley
ZAC HARMON
Music Is Medicine
Urban Eagle
All music fans will agree with the album’s
title as well as the lyrics of Harmon’s reassuring
“The Healer,” a mid-tempo blues
bounce that extols the virtues of our universal
palliation. On this self-produced followup
to 2009’s From The Root (Northern
Blues), the multi-talented Mississippi native
co-wrote the 11 originals, a collection of
blues and pop-slanted soul with the bubbly
Buffet-like reggae floater “I’d Rather Be
With You” as the lone curve ball.
I most enjoyed the bluesier tunes
like the Hookerish grinder with spiritual