The Fremonts featuring Mighty Joe Milsap

CD – Mighty Crazy

            The Fremonts call themselves “modern purveyors of the 50's and 60's blues found on classic labels like Chess, Excello, and Sun records”. They succeed like crazy on this disk. They recapture the sound as well as the feel. Vocalist Mighty Joe Milsap is not well known outside of this CD, but he sings with an easy authority that complements the Fremonts traditional sound.

            The Fremonts have Kurt Kalker on drums, Troy Sandow on harp, and Patrick Skog and Tony Tomlinson alternating on guitar and bass. Both of the last two handle the leads well, with a slight touch of rockabilly sound. Sandow has a real feel on the harp, playing for tone instead of speed.

            The eleven cuts contain both covers, like Frank Frost’s “Pocket Full Of Money”, and solid originals like “Chunk a Rock”. The only loser is “Real Combination For Love”, which is an uninteresting ballad.

            If you are crazy for the blues, you will soon develop a mighty liking for this rocking CD.

            Artist web site at http://www.thefremonts.com.

- Dave Howell