Rick Galusha's Pacific St. Blues and Americana

Since inception (1989), Pacific St. Blues & Americana strives to be a discerning voice helping roots fans sift through the mountains of music released every year. We are not for everyone; we want to engage active, critical listeners that hear beyond d'jour. Interviews include: Johnny Winter, Bill Wyman (Rolling Stones), Jerry Wexler, Tommy Shannon & Chris Layton, B.B. King, Dr. John, Robin Trower, Robben Ford, Mato Nanji, Joe Bonamassa, Harry Manx, Sue Foley, Marshall Chess, Billy Lee Riley, Charlie Louvin, Kim Richey, Radney Foster, Eric Johnson, David Clayton Thomas, Al Kooper, Phil Chen (Wired, Blow By Blow), Ian McLagan, Art Neville, Southside Johnny, Miami Steve Van Zant, Nils Lofgren, Bruce Iglauer, Charlie Musselwhite, Studebaker John, Chris Duarte, Smokin' Joe Kubeck, Hamilton Loomis, Peter Karp, Roomful of Blues, James Harman, Hadden Sayers, Malford Milligan, Melvin Taylor, Otis Taylor, Dave Alvin, Coco Montoya, Jimmy Thackery, Marsha Ball, Maria Muldaur, Shelby Lynne, Magic Dick & J. Geils, Lil' Milton, BuddyGuy, Aynsley Lister, Matt Schofield, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Guy Clark, Joe Ely, James Cotton, Robin & Jesse Davey, Hugh Coltman (Hoax), Sean Kelly (Samples), John Entwistle (The Who), Mark Olson (Jayhawks), Walter Wolfman Washington, Anthony Gomes, Bob Malone, Chubby Carrier, Buckwheat Zydeco, Murali Coryell, David Jacob Strain, DeAnna Bogart, Michael Lee Firkins, Guy Davis, Jason Ricci, John Doe, Little Feat, Matt Woods, MikeZito, Peter Buffett, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Corky Siegel, Todd Park Mohr, Watermelon Slim, Magic Slim, Corey Harris,- - - - - - ------------------------Radio archives: http://www.kiwrblues.podomatic.com/. Playlists: http://www.omahablues.com/ Reviews featured in http://www.blueswax.com/. Email: KIWRblues@gmail.com Live online; Sundays 9 a.m. (-6 GMT) http://www.897theriver.com/

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Album Review: Russ Tippins Electrickery




Artist: Russ Tippins Electric Band
Title: electrickery

Like America’s rust-belt, Newcastle Upon Tyne, located in the industrial northeast of England, is a hard rock area much like Detroit, Cleveland or Omaha. The area is also largely an unrecognized breeding grounds for world class music talent including; Sting, Bryan Ferry (Roxy Music), The Animals, Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) and Brian Johnson (AC/DC). Newcastle’s Russ Tippins looks like Pat Travers, sings like a cross between Steve Marriott & Geddy Lee and is heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page. His album, ‘electrickery’ has all the makings for a heavier rock milestone yet heavily influenced by blues textures … this is not a blues record.

Critically, Tippins brings little new to the party but his sound and smooth playing puts the hammer to the anvil and should appeal to blues rock fans; a significant slice of the today’s blues market. The album opens with a fiery cover Hendrix’s ‘Freedom’ and closes with a hidden cover of ‘Lemon Song’ by Led Zepplin (via’s Robert Johnson and Willie Dixon).

In a genre lead by Joe Bonamassa with support from Aynsley Lister and Mato Nanji ; Tippins has strong commercial promise which will expand as his song writing skills develop. Bass player John Dawson and drummer Ian Halford set up a solid platform for Tippins to solo and soar. The track, ‘She’s Gone’ is a powerful ballad that makes easy entry for radio hosts which harkens strongly to late period Humble Pie. The “hit” on this record is the fast-moving panoramic title track, ‘electrickery,’ where Tippins and Dawson whipsaw the fretboard with manic energy.