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PHANTOM
BLUES BAND "OUT OF THE SHADOWS"
Source: Blues
& Rhythm Magazine
Date: 11/2006
Writer: Norman Darwen |
That's
out of Taj Mahal's shadow, of course. The Phantom
Blues Band are an award-winning outfit in their
own right if "Best Band of The Year 200",
for their backing behind Taj counts! They are
certainly a talented bunch, with Denny Freeman
perhaps the best-known figure thanks to his own
solo outings, plenty of backing work, and his
tenure as co-lead guitarist in the Cobras with
Stevie Ray Vaughn. Many of the other members also
come from the Lone Star State, and this outfit's
collective performing and recording experience
ranges across Doctor John, B.B. King, Smokey Robinson,
and Andrew Tosh (son of reggae star Peter) to
Bonnie Raitt, John Fogerty (ex Creedence Clearwater
Revival), the Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix.
Don't
go expecting a blues-rock set though this CD
is, with very little exception, firmly rooted
in the r&b styles of the fifties and sixties.
Look at the composer and original artist credits
the likes of Don & Dewey, Chuck Berry, Sonny
Thompson, Jimmy McCracklin, Lowell Fulson, Syl
Johnson and Ray Charles to name just a few and
each track is generally crafted with a lot of
care. "Havana Moon", to name just
one example of which I expected little, is given
a reasonably authentic Latin treatment. Across
the album's fifteen titles, the vocals are shared
between guitarist Johnny Lee Schell, bassist
Larry Fulcher and keyboardist Mike Finnigan;
all are notable singers. There seems so little
ego around on this set that I almost feel like
apologising for singling out for special praise
the vocals of that last-named ? deep and soulful
on the Little Willie John hit "Let Them
Talk" (not a song that is often covered,
is it?), wailing like vintage B.B. on "Part
Time Love", gospelly with Jesse Winchester's
"I'm Looking For A Miracle", and just
raving away on "Yield Not To Temptation."
Jon
Cleary adds some additional piano and there
is an example of fine New Orleans funk in a
Meters style with the opener, whilst "Big
Boy Pete" keeps things in the Crescent
City with its Professor Longhair styled treatment.
Taj Mahal crops up to lend his presence (and
harmonica) to "I Only Have Love",
but truth to tell, his contribution is one of
the weaker efforts here. His Caribbean heritage
is also referenced with a cover of "Book
Of Rules", a reggae hit in the seventies
for Jamaican group the Heptones. It is given
a fine and very appropriately dub-inflected
performance, but it might have been better suited
to a different album, eh guys?
OK,
many readers will already have the bulk of these
titles on original 45s or reissue CDs, and will
wonder what the point is. Maybe those reasonably
new to the genre might check this out and be
inspired to seek out the originals but even
if they don't, they will have some fine covers
of some classic songs. Even if you already know
all this material, you have to hand it to these
guys they certainly know what they're doing
. . . and they do it so well. A very pleasant
surprise indeed!
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