JOHN EMMS MUSIC REVIEWS

Damon Fowler has never been afraid to take chances with his electric southern roots gumbo.

Lyrically strong, and pushed by bassist Chuck Riley and drummer James McKnight Fowler’s gritty third cd heats up those tubes.

Often funky, strutting, and vibrant all in the same song this Tab Benoit produced album encompasses roots music in all it’s forms.

You can delve deep down with Old Fools, Bar Stools and Me, get Stones-esque funky on the title track, or catch the gator groove on Grit My Teeth.

What comes out is Florida “Natchall” strut. You have to be born with it.

And Fowler lives it on his cover of Elvis Costello’s Alison and his slide cover mantra  TV Mama.

Exceptionally strong, and powerful, Fowler and his great band are way gone and that’s a good thing.

JOHN EMMS is a veteran music journalist

online roots radio host http://emms.podbean.com/ and roots/blues songwriter with Canadian rockers THE SHAFTMEN https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/paycheque-blues/id365389443

Nothing grabs your attention more than a good solid road band with chops to spare, and The 24th Street Wailers are that band.

On their new cd Wicked, there is plenty to spare in that Ol’ blues gas tank.

From the blistering title track, to the short hip swing inflections on the instrumental Boones Bounce, over to their Bobby Darrin cover of Love Me Right,  24th Street Wailers walk the walk baby.

Truth be told I can listen to, jump around the room to, or check out the chops on Lindsay Beaver’s songs like I Need You, Aim To Please, or the Emily Burgess’ rocker Solid Ground.

The gig is also Jon Wong’s tenor sax solos ripping through you like good Ol’ Junior Walker, and bassist Mike Archer gets tons of groove with drummer Lindsay Beaver and her superb lead vocals

The band does not push new boundaries in their own blues songwriting.

Instead, the writing is traditional, with enough changes and killer feel to keep the listener on his or her feet.

That is the key . Your enjoying yourself.

Produced and engineered by Billy Horton in Austin Texas, the group has now added piano player Jesse Whiteley

Either way, Wicked is blues deluxe.

JOHN EMMS is a veteran music journalist, online radio host, and blues/roots songwriter with Canadian Rockers THE SHAFTMEN  https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/the-worlds-gone-crazy/id673101570