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From power ballads to edgy growls, the album is sure to please fans of soul and blues alike. The duo even delve into a bit of a country vibe on “Can’t Let You Go.” This track has a toe-tapping rhythm driven by drumbeat and hand claps. On “Nutbush City Limits” we hear Hart’s gritty roar, with swinging horns and backing vocals. “Rhymes” has a soulful shake, the brass section giving it gusto. Beth and Joe slow it down for some powerful ballads, including “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know.” Joe’s guitar wails on “Miss Lady,” as keys and horns accompany.

Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa have come together to create a compelling retrospective on some old school rock’n soul. Their talents do well to compliment one another, as if they could do any wrong. Hart’s range is exemplified on the album, as Joe’s guitar dances hand in hand.

The Review: 8/10

Can’t Miss Tracks

- Nutbush City Limits
- I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know
- Can’t Let You Go
- Miss Lady
- Rhymes
- Seesaw

The Big Hit

- Can’t Let You Go

Review by Don Tice

Taylor soon strolled on stage with her band and ignited the crowd with a thumping rendition of “Soul Station.” Soon the masses were stomping their feet and rocking their heads to the funky blues number. Taylor has a wondrous gift for creating the mesmerizing sounds of musical fusion, blending blues, funk, soul and rock. The track “Beautifully Broken” really gave the audience a taste of the soulful vocal tones Taylor can produce.

Being in such a snug setting, the feel of the whole gig was rather intimate, especially when sampling the slower and more emotional melodies of “Almost Always Never.” It was one of those moments where it no longer felt like a show, but more of a spectacle to get totally lost in. Even as the song ended with Taylor plucking the closing melody, the crowd stood silent in awe.

The performance was captivating from start to finish. It was mostly promoting Taylor’s latest material, but a few old favourites like “Diamonds In The Dirt” reminded us of the openhearted and endearing quality her lyrics possess. The set closed with the electrifying tune of “Dead And Gone,” including a blistering guitar solo to see us off into the night.

- George Ward

*Photo by Stephen Fourie

The listener will begin their journey on a classic American road trip with a girl on a track entitled “The Road.” An excellent choice to kick start the album, this song’s upbeat vibe will encourage the listener to keep tuning in. The next track, “Scratch My Back,” is a song which attempts to set free an array of bottled-up emotions – he’s had this itch for so long, and he needs this girl so they can “make each other right / just like before.” Property is stolen in “Larceny,” and the listener is then brought down to “The Border,” a short Spanish-style acoustic-guitar instrumental that cleverly leads into the track entitled “Mexico.” A lovely song, “Mexico” is a story of traveling there with the high hopes of clearing his head and finding himself again in the midst of having lost his woman. “Awakening” is a soft, beautiful song of a newfound spirituality, while the cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Little Red Rooster” booms with grungy distortion. “California Hills” follows suit, a song about the 1860s Gold Rush in which he gives all that he has in order to get his lady to California as she chases the gilded promises it infamously offers. “Poor Boy” walks aimlessly through his life, barely scraping by to make ends meet and always trying to remember to stay “on the right side of wrong.” Finally, the album closes with the track “Hannah,” a mellow song about the Civil War laced with a beautiful and unforgettable sense of nostalgia.

While the eclectic independent band is still gaining notoriety, this album will surely lead them to well-deserved recognition on the blues rock scene.

The Review: 7/10

Can’t Miss Tracks

- The Road
- Larceny
- Awakening
- Hannah

The Big Hit

- The Road

Review by Jill Jacobs

The terms “soulful” and “blues” are almost inextricable, and if there’s one thing Ty Curtis’s album is all the way through it’s soulful.  Beyond that, though, some emotional elements seem to get lost in the translation.  Curtis seems to draw from a variety of different genres (most of which are at least semi-related to blues) to provide variety.  The country influence on Ty Curtis’s self-titled release is undeniable, and every once in a while ventures into almost-gospel territory.  The mid-section of this release is particularly noteworthy.  “How was I to Know” pulls the reggae card, resulting in an almost lazy, ska feel.  Of course, some credibility is lost on this track when the lyrics are considered: “How was I to know I would need you / On this island in the Caribbean.”  The result, of course, is that the track feels a little too contrived.  “Feel What I Feel” offers some funk triplet rhythms, passionate vocals on Curtis’s behalf, and Ephraim Owens’ horn mastery.

This record still has its moments of honesty.  Curtis’s vocals on “How was I to Know” are fresh and earnest, and the album closer, “Baby Blue,” gets into a groove that feels refreshingly natural despite its contrived lyricism.  “Play My Part” also has a subtle sense of urgency despite its slow pace and acoustic basis, and is perhaps Curtis’s best vocal performance of the record.

Any type of departure comes with its risks, and sometimes albums that reach for new heights can turn out a little underwhelming.  What clicks on this album, clicks well – the spectacular horns on the second half of “Feel What I Feel,” or the gospel-esque passionate vocal delivery of “Play My Part.”  For the most part, though, Ty Curtis will leave his listeners wanting just a little bit more.  Perhaps that little-bit-more will rear its head on his next release – if anything, this record signals all Ty Curtis’s potential ready to manifest itself.

The Review: 7.5/10

Can’t Miss Tracks

- Play My Part
- Feel What I Feel
- Baby Blue

The Big Hit

- Play My Part

Review by Richard MacDougall

On Get Back on the Highway, Ten Foot Tall Band weaves heartfelt songs focusing on the follies so typical to life while still creating a sense of hope and progress (the pertinent example being the name of the title track itself). The record is just 15 minutes long but with its playful groove organ, seasoned guitar licks, and familiar vocals, the fun is sure to last longer.

The project began with Stills and Goldberg writing together at their mutual manager Elliot Roberts’ recommendation. “It was like finding a long lost soul brother,” says Goldberg (who hadn’t met Stills before, their shared 1968 credit notwithstanding).  “We connected on so many things, started jamming, and soon had begun writing our first song.” Next came Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and their three-way chemistry was immediate and intense. “The Rides are a perfect mix of generations, where three musicians who love and play the blues collide and create music that goes beyond all our other individual life experiences and career achievement,” says 35-year-old, Shepherd, who’s had six #1 Blues albums. “Stephen and I have rock backgrounds as well, but the blues is the fabric that holds this all together.” Stills says, “It was just really magical with the three of us, one of the best times I’ve had in my musical career.”

That exhilarating creative sorcery blasts through ten fire-breathing tracks, four of them Stills/Shepherd/Goldberg co-writes including the album-opening barnburner “Roadhouse”—about the life of an itinerant bluesman—the melodic, CSN-esque “Don’t Want Lies,” and the title track, a groove soaked, guitar-heavy anthem with a soul-baring lead vocal by Stills. Other highlights include a Crazy Horse-caliber send-up of “Rockin’ In The Free World”—“Everyone gets off on this one,” says Goldberg, “just a ton of electricity on this Neil Young classic.” The four additional covers are the tracks on which Shepherd sings lead, including “Talk To Me Baby” and “Honey Bee” by blues giants Elmore James and Muddy Waters, respectively, and Iggy Pop & The Stooges’ “Search and Destroy,” which The Rides truly make their own. The album closes with the raucous “Word Game,” a song Stills wrote during his late ’60s era with Buffalo Springfield, but never recorded.  “It was an old acoustic song that I had fun adapting to an electric band,” he says.

The in-the-moment energy and unscripted emotion of Can’t Get Enough, however, are among the album’s greatest strengths, as is the powerhouse guitar interplay between Stills and Shepherd, and the stellar accompaniment from Goldberg—who, as a teenager in his native Chicago, sat in with Muddy Waters, Otis Rush and Howlin’ Wolf, and went on to play keyboards for Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival, formed The Electric Flag, and composed with Gerry Goffin. The album was recorded live in the studio over the course of about a week at EastWest in Los Angeles, helmed by longtime Shepherd producer Jerry Harrison, a renowned musician in his own right (Talking Heads, Modern Lovers, Casual Gods). Mostly first or second takes made the album’s final cut.  In addition to Layton—Shepherd’s drummer, and also a veteran of Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Double Trouble—the players include bassist Kevin McCormick (CSN, Jackson Browne).

“In the spirit of that simple, raw authentic 40s and 50s blues music the three of us love, we got in there and boom! A few takes and we were done,” says Stills. “The songs have muscle, they don’t sound dated or contrived, they’re very natural and organic. I can’t wait to tour with these guys and start recording again!”

What’s the Toronto blues rock scene like, and how has it been coming up through there?

Toronto has an amazingly diverse music scene, partly because it’s so multicultural and accepting, but also because of its rich musical history. Great Blues, R&B, and Rock bands from the states all play here from NY City, Detroit and Chicago and everywhere else. It’s also Canada’s largest city, so anyone who is serious about music in Canada ends up here. The scene here pushes me to keep playing and growing, and I think it has helped us to be a band with real roots.

What is it about the blues that drew you to the genre?

Wow! That is hard for me to put into words but here goes… When I first heard Hendrix and Page I knew that they had gotten it from somewhere, because how else could guys in their twenties play like that. It was through them that I discovered the blues. It hit me like a lightning bolt to the chest! And I knew I had no choice but to play music with that kind of sincerity and bravery.

How did you decide which cover songs to perform on Diamond In A Coalmine?

Jake Chisholm

Well, I heard Listens’ version (with Robert Plant) of “You Better Run” and thought it was great song and a wicked vocal performance. I thought it would be really cool to adapt it a bit to the sound that we shoot for live. We tried it at a couple shows and people cheered every time we did it.

“Traveling Riverside Blues” was just a jam that we did in the studio at the very end of one of the sessions. I thought the vibe was cool so it “made the cut.”

You have been an in demand session player in Toronto. Why did you feel the time was right now to launch your solo career?

I feel very inspired to make recordings and play guitar with other artists to try to make the best music that we can. But for me, my band is the chance to do my thing, and in terms of timing there was no master plan ahead of time. It just seems to be that people are digging it and it has its own momentum now. I hope that momentum keeps building because we are having a blast!

Will you be touring to promote the album?

Yes, we have a lot of festival shows booked this summer in Canada. And we’d like to get to the US and parts of Europe next. For us, it’s all about playing live and connecting with an audience, and we’re looking for the right connections to help us get out to new audiences. Diamond In A Coalmine has only been out for three weeks, but already there is a lot going on.

If you had to pick only 5 albums to listen to for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Led Zeppelin, 1
Kenny Burrell, Midnight Blue
Jimi Hendrix, Axis Bold As Love
Louis Jordan, Rock and Roll
Muddy Waters, Real Folk Blues

But I could go on and on…

What’s next for you?

Touring, Festivals, and writing for the next record.

Interview by Pete Francis

On the official press release for the album, Out Here is described as “a big rock and roll hug,” a fitting comparison that seems to justly portray the band’s embrace of genres ranging everywhere from Americana, blues, funk, and alternative rock. The album begins with a strong string of roots-driven tracks spiced with bluesy grooves. As “Alleyway” and “Hold the Line” set a swift rock ‘n roll mood early on, “Never Too Young” tugs on the reins a bit while retaining an alternative bluesy feel. It doesn’t take long for Cody Beebe & The Crooks to shake things up; though the entire album sticks to an underlying roots-rock theme, tracks like “Out Here” and “Sweep” reveal the band’s interest in mixing genres. The beautiful twinkling piano sprinkled throughout “Never Too Young” headlines on “Sweep,” transforming into a majestic presence that makes for an utterly beautiful song, even if it does shift the band more towards alternative rock than roots or blues. The violin cameo on album closer “Counting Sheep” further demonstrates the band’s expansive musical range as they incorporate instruments not typically associated with blues and rock music.

On their 2009 debut Friends of the Old Mill, Cody Beebe & The Crooks set a precedent for rock experimentation, something they execute well on Out Here. Joined by producer John Goodmanson, Cody Beebe & The Crooks have on their latest record pulled together a collection that cannot be assigned a blanket label. Providing a little bit of everything with a strong roots and alternative rock undercurrent, Out Here is an enticing continuation of the eclectic musical styles that Cody Beebe & The Crooks are quickly becoming known for.

The Review: 7/10

Can’t Miss Tracks

- Alleyway
- Hold the Line
- Never Too Young
- Sweep

The Big Hit

- Alleyway

Review by Meghan Roos

Having listened to the entire album for the first time, it felt as though the tracks generally blended into one blaring mass and there was nothing too thought-provoking coming through. However, after several repeats there are a few sweet little licks and riff sequences to be heard especially in tracks like “Black And Blue Tattoo” and “Twist Of Fate.”

One definite seductive feature from this band is the expressive and commanding voice of Joanna Swan. The rest of the group form a solid backing and are extremely proficient in their instrumental skill. However it just feels as though they lack the song writing formula needed for a truly great blues rock song.

“How Many Times” is the last track and unquestionably stands apart from the rest. Being more of a ballad, it plays an emotionally charged ending and is not to be missed. While Big Crush have some points of interest, they seem to be a tough band to relate to on an intimate level. The album is worthy of good recognition, but it still lacks overall refinement needed to reach a wider respectful audience.

The Review: 7/10

Can’t Miss Tracks

- Black And Blue Tattoo
- Twist Of Fate
- How Many Times

The Big Hit

- Twist Of Fate

Review by George Ward