|
BO RAMSEY
STRANGER BLUES
CD review by Pat Benny
Stranger Blues is a concept album, of sorts, in that each
tune seems a continuation of the preceding. Each track plays
like a chapter in a book; but the story here is the feeling;
the state of the mind of the artist.
If youve a good ear for music, or a good memory; if you can
read the liner notes, you will see that each tune is a classic
composition by some of the great composers of the Blues.
Its hard to believe that the brooding, consistent tempo, the
soft husky whisper of each tune is plucked from the songbooks
of Elmore James, Little Walter and Willie Dixon.
Jimmy Reeds You Got Me Busy is the first to recognize, with
Howlin Wolfs (Chester Burnett) No Place to Go, the biggest
surprise.
Some will perceive the arrangements as repetitive, lacking
diversity, but most will agree with this writer that Bo Ramseys
Stranger Blues is a unique departure from the standard treatments
of these tunes.
This is what was called an album, back in the olden day, before
the term CD became the norm. An album conveys a collection of
thoughts and emotion and should be regarded with this respect.
Worth the price of admission is the track Freight Train,
an instrumental that reaches into the heart and touches its
most tender spot.
Find out more about Bo Ramsey and his Stranger Blues at: http://www.boramsey.com
|
