PHANTOM BLUES BAND "OUT OF THE SHADOWS" Source: Blues in Britain Date: 12/2006 Writer: Mick Rainsford

Many of you will know the Phantom Blues Band as Taj Mahal’s backing group, and will therefore appreciate them as some of the finest musicians on the blues / roots scene today. During a lull in their hectic schedule with Taj, the band decided to release a limited edition “vanity” CD of their own, chock full of funky, soulful, horn driven blues and R&B. This set has now been picked up by Delta Groove and released with two additional tracks.

The PBB consists of Tony Braunagel (drums), Larry Fulcher (bass/vocals), Denny Freeman (guitar), Mike Finnigan (keyboards/vocals), Darrell Leonard (trumpet), Joe Sublett (sax) and Johnny Lee Schell (guitar/vocals), aided and abetted by Jon Cleary (piano), Lenny Castro (percussion) and the ‘Bossman’, Taj, on harp.

The set opens with a sizzling rendition of Leo Nocentelli’s ‘Do The Dirt’, a funky, Stax orientated slab of soulful horn driven R&B, that sets the standard for a set that grabs you by the scruff of the neck, shakes you around and refuses to let go until the final track ends. Lowell Fulson’s ‘My Aching Back’ is a funky, soul infused blues replete with smoking sax, Jay McShann influenced piano and horns that riff salaciously; ‘I Only Have Love’ retains those funky horn charts, on a number that has a potent gospel / Don & Dewey feel, laced with elements of Otis Redding, Castro’s percussion and Taj’s harp adding subtle textures and colourings to the mix. The Don & Dewey influence is also present on the PBB’s rendition of their ‘Big Boy Pete’, which captures the spirit of their funky, gospel inflected harmonies to perfection.

Leonard and Sublett’s horn charts give Chuck Berry’s ‘Havana Moon’ a big band styled R&B feel that is enhanced by Cleary’s jazz inflected piano; ‘Who’s Been Sleeping In My Bed’ is a bitingly soulful slab of R&B with growled vocals laced with anguish, underpinned by a moody, baying horn section featuring smoky trumpet from Leonard; whilst Sublett comes to the fore with some joyous sax on the gospel inflected ‘I’m Looking For A Miracle’.

The two extra tracks are Mike Finnigan’s own “Baby Doll”, a horn fuelled slab of R&B replete with anguished vocals, weeping guitar and deep rolling piano – and the funky rumba rhythms of Ray Charles “Mary Ann”.

The Righteous Brothers’ influenced ‘Rain Down Tears’; the poignant, tortured soul of ‘Let Them Talk’; the infectious gospel exuberance of ‘Yield Not To Temptation’, and a wildly funky workout on Jimmy McCracklin’s ‘Think’, are further delights on a set that literally sizzles from first track to last.