Album Review: Hague

Artist: Hague a/k/a Mark Stenton
Title: (self titled)

A few folks have heard the bromide, “Taking coals to Newcastle.” A substantially smaller circle will know that Newcastle Upon Tyne, a northeast English town, was “home” to significant rock music talents including; Sting (The Police), Brian Johnstone (Ac/Dc), Brian Ferry (Roxy Music), Eric Burden (The Animals), Lindesfarne, Splinter, Nic Armstrong, Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) and Andy Taylor (Duran Duran). Much like the midwest American cities of Omaha or Detroit, Newcastle has a perchance for rust-belt rock n’ roll that leans towards metal. So it a tribute to the internet that, ‘Hague’ has been able to muster any accord amid the heavier sounds that Newcastle is known for.

As an avid music fan, I lost my muse. Where it went I could not say. Perhaps it was the grind of 24 years in the pre-recorded music retail business – an industry that is literally less than half the business it was five years ago. And more than a few musical muses have been pilloried on the rail of radio’s endless blah, blah, blah. Having celebrated the twentieth anniversary of, ‘Pacific Street Blues & Americana’ (www.KIWRblues.Podomatic.com) I’d become a part of that dinge albeit trying to convey art over amassing an audience. I lost my rock n’ roll heart…so much so that I’ve resorted to trolling the internet listening to obscure LPFM (low powered frequency modulation) radio stations that recent legislation in Britain created. One day I found a heartbeat. Lionheart Radio, a real community station, located in Alnwick, Northumberland: a mere hamlet on the North Sea coast between Newcastle and the lowlands of Scotland. It was art. Oh, it’s not that their air-talent is that “talented.” One day it’s a conversation about Mrs. Thompson’s fresh garden tomatoes and the next it’s a choir of school children. Host Ally Lee is perhaps the most spontaneous deejay I’ve heard since KQKQ died in May of 1978. Lionheart is a come-to-life ‘Petticoat Junction’ that streams across the internet. It’s a community and you’re welcome to listen in.

It was on Lionheart that I heard the musical project by forty year old Mark Stenton’s. In a world where tits sell toothpaste, this was all together different. ‘Hague’ is at once a nostalgic memory you never had and the lilting smell of mom’s hug after coming in from the cold. It is the simple interplay between vocal, acoustic guitar and rich backing textures that allow the listener to focus on the well written music that sweeps you away with mental images and rendering lyric lines. The used of space is brilliant. Whether a keyboard, flute or super low bass, Hague builds a audio soundscape that is immediately friendly. Stenton’s sound is a bit ‘Bare Trees’ (Fleetwood Mac), a tad ascending English sing-a-long and a less palliative David Gray.

This five track EP opens with the track, ‘Fool.’ Stenton juxtaposes a flute against a strumming guitar as he sings, “You act like a fool, so they think you’re a fool. You want to fit in but I don’t know where on earth to begin.” It is a powerful song with layered texture and solo-era Lennon bite. “You say many things, without saying anything. Who’s in the mirror staring at you? What are trying to prove, when you act like a fool?”

“These northern stars flicker in silence, and the moon is burning red.” The album closes with the near cinematic song, ‘Northern Blues.’ Stenton uses space among a sonic pallet that harkens Townshend with, ‘See me, hear me, come on talk to me. Feel me and heal me, come on home to me.” A kick drum emulates a heartbeat as the song’s character bemoans a departed lover or the death of a dear someone. “These northern lights, they dance awhile, like the spirits breaking free. I’ll sing to you, my northern blues. Till you’re resting with me.” At 2:21 this is a powerful and moving artscape that is dramatic, underplayed and wrenchingly beautiful. This five track EP “has no filler.” Hague can be heard at; http://haguemusic.co.uk/

Putumayo's tasty Christmas albums

Title: A Jazz & Blues Christmas
Title: New Orleans Christmas

Label: Putumayo
Writer: Rick Galusha


Long know for their colorful covers and faux-ethnic artwork covers, the Putumayo Recording label is a leading record label for compiling world music artists together onto an album that is both interesting and often entertaining. In 2006 they Putumayo released an album of Christmas songs fashioned out of the New Orleans genre. This year (2008) they are back with an equally interesting foray entitled, “A Jazz & Blues Christmas.” As a pairing these are the only Christmas albums to get repeated listening on my turntable this time of year.

Often Christmas and Holiday albums are rehashed efforts to modify traditional carols which, for me, are limited and lack freshness. How many versions of “Jingle Bells” can the average human withstand? Now I get to eat my own words as Ray Charles version of ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ is a marvelous interpretation from Florida’s street savvy master of soul – it is at once languid, bluesy, horn driven and captivating. Also featured are mainstay artists such as B. B. King, Charlie Brown, Ellis Marsalis and the New Birth Brass Band.

Thankfully Putumayo uses it strength in the market to introduce new artists with interesting additions the roots Christmas category. As a fan of roots music in nearly all of its genres there is a sassy quid pro quo when the performing act, Randy Greer and Ignasi Terraza Trio, perform, ‘Wrap Yourself in a Christmas Package.’ To find a Christmas album that is entertaining and seasonal is a rare gem.

These are two diamonds to consider for your December festival making.

Rick Fowler Back on My Good Foot album

Artist: Rick Fowler
Title: Back on My Good Foot
Writer: Rick Galusha

Rick Fowler’s latest album, ‘Back on My Good Foot’ is a well performed album. Fowler’s voice compliments the style and his high energy playing is tasteful and not over-bearing. He can play: he can sing… but like so many twang-bar kings, Fowler’s apparent weakness is his songwriting. From the opening bass lines of, ‘Infected with the Blues’ Fowler delves into blues clichés including; preachers, crossroads, devils and demons. It shows that being a very good guitar playing does not make you a songwriter.

On, ‘Running from the Truth’ Fowler tries his hand at political commentary, taking a cynical stance towards our two party-system while offering no solutions; simply bitching. I can’t cite the source but, “Democracy is an absolutely terrible government – but it the best form of government on the planet.” In many ways cynicism is a cop out and makes for bad lyrical filler.

This is a fan’s album. It is very well played and arranged. The best track on the record is a cover of the Savoy Brown tune, ‘Hellbound Train’ where Fowler stretches out and showcases his chops. As a sideman Fowler has an impressive list of friends and employers. Occasionally a vanity project is a diamond in the rough but, ‘Back on My Good Foot’ is not cutting any new ground here.

Gary Moore - Bad for You Baby

Artist: Gary Moore
Title: Bad for You Baby
Writer: Rick Galusha


Irish Bluesrocker Gary Moore is no newcomer to the idiom. Before there was a Sebastian Bach, Moore and Phil Lynott formed ‘Skid Row’ in the early 70’s. Shortly after that Lynott would leave to form Thin Lizzy and Moore would maintain a dalliance with Lynott until Phil‘s death in 1986. As a young man Moore took guitar lessons from Peter Green – founder of the Fleetwood Mac Blues Band. When Green opted out of the music industry he bequeathed his famed Les Paul to the young Belfast player. In 1995 Moore would pay homage to Green with the critically acclaimed album, ‘Blues for Greeny’ where Moore covered Green’s music; using the slow blues technique of Green to launch an album of rapid fire solos and meandering wondrous fret work.

While Green’s influence on Moore is apparent, equally obvious is Moore’s fascination with B. B. King and his perchance of holding a single note for numerous measures and making the tones and shadings fill the recording. Over the stretch of his four decades of recording, Moore has sharpened his tasty albeit up-tempo ax slinging that is sure to attract fans of Joe Bonamassa, Mato Nanji or Jeff Beck. And while song writing is historically a short coming for wunder-players, Moore’s vocals compliment his style and his albums historically have included a mix of covers and self-penned tunes with strong melody lines. Moore relies on blues textures and structure as he creates a sound that is easy to embrace and yet full of depth.

Moore’s latest album, Bad for you Baby, is a plain good record. Admittedly, his version of the blues, while widely embraced, is not aligned with most critics and other assorted purists. However, for the Everyman in each of us – this is an album with depth and variance that includes languid ballads like, ‘Trouble Ain’t Far Behind’ and the screaming guitars of ‘Umbrella Man.’ Moore’s covers two Muddy Waters songs, ‘Walkin’ Through the Park’ and ‘Someday Baby.’ He also follows Johnny Winter lead by covering J.B. Lenoir’s, ‘Mojo Boogie’ as well as Al Kooper’s Blood, Sweat & Tears era, ‘I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know.’ Denver’s Otis Taylor pays back the favour by appearing on Moore’s album by playing his African banjo on the track, ‘Preacher Man Blues.’

Fans of the afore mentioned Joe Bonamassa, Jeff Beck and Mato Nanji(Indigenous) will enjoy Moore’s romp through the blues genre; his tender emoting notes and fiery finger fretted runs. Radio hosts might look at the smokin’ ‘Umbrella Man’ or the slow and emotive, ‘Did You Ever Feel Lonely?’

Joe Bonamassa - Live from Nowhere

Artist: Joe Bonamassa
Title: Live from Nowhere

Within today’s contemporary blues scene there is an audience that loves a hot guitar player. Some bemoan the act; some adore it. The latest two disc album by Joe Bonamassa is a showcase for the New Yorker axman. There are few players today with the depth in their trick bag that Bonamassa brings to the table. And while simply rolling out impressive lick after lick can make for a tedious listening experience, Bonamassa balances the fine line between serving the song and musical masturbation. Today, it seems the guitar gods of our youth are now either dead or over 60 and matted with gray hair. Clearly Bonamassa has the chops to vie for similar recognition and the poo-poo’s certain to follow such a suggestion are based upon little more than jealousy and a lack of scope.

In addition to being able to write a good song, or at least co-write one, Bonamassa has a well developed history of rock’s finest players and tributes them throughout this latest effort. In the melody ‘Django/Just Got Paid’ Joe throws in licks from a myriad of artists including Peter Frampton and Jimmy Page. On the same disc the live version of his track, ‘Asking Around for You,’ a contemporary blues-rock classic, is instantly recognizable for its ethos of B. B. King; who took the teenage Joe under his wing. So one has to ask, why this rock player is considered by many to be a “blues artist?” For no other reason than that is where his audience can be found and if fans vote with their dollars – Bonamassa is an unheralded upstart that is earning his respect one venue and one fan at a time.

Throughout this live album Bonamassa swings between serving the song and taking off on fret board adventures that may not appeal to all blues fans. Included are some earlier classics including, ‘Woke Up Dreaming’ and a too short version of, ‘If Heartaches were Nickels.” Also included is his now trademark show stopper, “A New Day Yesterday/ Starship Trooper/Wurm’ (covers of songs by Jethro Tull and Yes).

In all this is a radio ready album for shows and fans that derive from a classic rock background and dabble in the blues for sonic familiarity and access to the new artists that, for whatever reason, today’s radio ignores. The track, ‘India/ Mountain Time’ is as strong a blues-rock ballad as rock radio could possibly hope to discover- but in order to discover music one needs to be a leader (and a listener) rather than a pollster and, well, perhaps the absence of Bonamassa of the radio today is a reflection of why pertinent rock radio died in a Wisconsin helicopter crash nearly two decades ago.


So why isn’t this album given a higher rating than eight? ‘Live from Nowhere’ is an album seeped in the blues ala Humble Pie, Led Zeppelin and Rory Gallagher; however, to the “Blues” establishment this is not a “Blues” record…none-the-less it is an easy fit to most ears with soaring solos, tasty keyboard interplay and blistering rushes of bravado. What only time will tell is if this album will cross over into, ‘a dear friend’ that is played for its warmth as much as its songs and solos. “Feel the wind blow, feel the time flow, and I’ll be there when the morning comes.’

Indigenous revive career with 'Broken Lands'

INDIGENOUS - “BROKEN LANDS”

While rock music is awash with bands comprised of siblings the South Dakota band Indigenous cut a swath in the bluesrock genre for ethnic bands like Los Lonely Boys and the Homemade Jamz Blues Band. During the past decade Indigenous has struggled to live up to its initial promise; struggling to find a voice since the ’98 release of, ‘Things We Do.’ In the succeeding ten years, through three subsequent albums and two CD-EPs, Mato Nanji, the sole remaining founding member, has parted company with his siblings, changed management and allowed his promising career to nearly fall apart. The fans disappointment has been palatable. With the August release of ‘Broken Lands’ the promise sensed on their 1995 release, ‘Awake’ has been fulfilled.

As the son of noted Indian Rights pioneer Greg Zephier, Mato Nanji has been silent on this legacy…until now. When Zephier died of natural causes in 1999 Jackson Browne played at the memorial Indigenous Jam concert. Zephier honored his son by giving him the native name of America’s first Civic Rights leader Standing Bear. Greg raised his son to be sober, principled and to admire the music of Jimi Hendrix, Santana, Albert King and eventually Stevie Ray Vaughan. All are lessons Nanji took to heart.

The band’s previous album, ‘Chasing the Sun’ dealt with the trauma of breaking up a band comprised of family members. The release of his latest effort, Broken Lands, shows Nanji using the Draconian nightmare of growing up on an impoverished reservation, being invisible to most Americans, to sing the blues…the real blues. On the song, ‘Place I Know’ Mato remembers a community raped by alcoholism and drug abuse when he sings, “I hear a baby crying in the night, with no mother in sight. Walking down the street with no shoes on their feet…You take all you can, in this place I know.” For this writer, contemporary blues have never been more real; more apparent or more genuine. The subsequent instrumental break shows the “ancient art” of guitar weaving between Nanji and the band’s other guitarist Kris Lager that is captivating and panoramic..

On ‘All I Want to See” the band brings back the textures of a prominent acoustic guitar so righteously used on the title track of their ’98 radio embraced album, ‘Things We Do.’ By the seventh track of ‘Broken Lands’ the band has downshifted into the albums most radio friendly track, ‘Just Can’t Hide’ where the band uses crisp melody lines against (more!) cowbell to accelerate the album’s energy a notch above the normative. Gone are the atonal groove tracks of previous records and back are melody lines intertwined with blues textures and subtle but biting lyric lines.

Guitar hackers will relish at the interplay between Nanji and Lager but it is organist Jeremiah Weir’s background playing that seems to push and prod the album with gentle textures and polite nods ala’ the Allman Brothers or The Derek Trucks Band. John Fairchild on drums and A.C. Wright on bass round-out Nanji’s touring band that is road tight and solid on a foundation that was born on the windswept high plains of Nebraska. There are six radio friendly tracks on this album including the jumping, ‘Make a Change,’ a Black Crowes style, “It’s Alright With Me” and the Hendrix textured, ‘Should I Stay.” Not to be confused with an Eric Clapton track of the same name, ‘Let It Rain’ simmers into a full blown rock tune that is comfortable – drawing the listener into the album. Nanji repeatedly leans into the wind with guitar solos that build the song and ends soon enough.

On ‘Eyes of a Child’ Nanji contrasts his childhood to those of his own children when he sings of his home life with wife, co-writer and vocalist Leah Nanji when he says,“You taught me what I need to know. Living with no envy and loving all around, Finding your voice with each little sound. Gaining strength from the arms that embrace you; Never worry about the troubles that may face you. Teaching others life is a gift. With every smile you will get your wish.”

Fans have waiting a long time to hear this album. As with any band there have been disappointments. To those of us that have trudged out to see the band over the past ten difficult years – ‘Broken Lands’ is a masterpiece. Nanji has stepped up with an album of songs that will bind fans back to a band that has finally found its voice…a voice with a message that matters.

Perhaps Nanji is speaking to listeners when he sings, “Still remember all the things we had together…Can you hear me calling you. Can you feel me missing you? I know I was lost before…now you’re all I’m looking for” from the album’s track, ‘Still Remember.’ Broken Lands comes out August 19th on Vanguard Records.

album review: Kelly Hunt Mercy

Artist: Kelly Hunt
Title: Mercy
Writer: Rick Galusha
Rating: 7

If the South has Marcia Ball – then the Midwest has Kelly Hunt. Originating in Kansas City, Hunt has a storied career built by hard work and seemingly endless touring. While recognized by many, Hunt’s career seems to just shy of the level playing field that many national label artists muster. None-the-less this piano player continues to deliver solid albums.

Kelly Hunt’s piano focused sound blends a rough edged tavern blues with a contemporary melded blues that can initially be indistinct. The sounds and the textures are immediately recognizable, and there are plenty of “blue notes,” brought together with a less evident melody line but a strong groove. Most of the modern blues community will immediately be at ease with Hunt’s sound.

“They told her two girls could not make a life. This is wrong. Get up, find you a man and be a wife. Oh but when their eyes met they knew it was right. They had no choice but to follow this life. And their love was so big, all heaven broke loose. Their love was so big it made it stone truth.” And thus begins the third track, “Love” on Hunt’s album, ‘Mercy.’ While musicians have historically held a liberal bias, one wonders in the day of 24 hour news if music will continue to be a source for intellectual discourse or merely become a clanging gong of politically correct mind numbing. Clearly there are those who advocate the “shut up and sing” mentality while the oft kicked Constitution guarantees the singer a voice in the public square. When an artist chooses to employ a topical political issue in their art, and step into that public discourse, they open themselves up to criticism that can go beyond their art and focus’ on their content.

Personally I am less drawn to random topical issues being thrown amid recordings. Yes, I recognize an artist’s right to compose and preach but I also recognize my lack of appreciation of society’s seemingly endless polar tugs. I also have a personal desire to seek “just” entertainment for my money and my time. There are artists you come to expect political messages from such as Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, Neil Young, Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen but at what point can you draw the line? I suppose at the ‘on/off’ button for you CD player. I skipped the last Springsteen tour; not because I necessarily disagreed with his bantering messages but because I didn’t want to have to pay to hear them. Call me a curmudgeon.

On the title track Hunt and band perform a haunting and beautiful ballad focused on a soft piano line emphasized by Hunt’s vocal lines. The singer advocates for personal mercy for herself and others. It is a wonderful and moving piece that should appeal to radio. In all this is a good, not great, album of songs by a hard working Midwestern barroom talent with aspirations to become a national artist. Hunt’s voice varies between Aretha Franklin in her prime and a modern Etta James’. The songs are above average but failed to fully capture this listener’s ear…although most listeners would find varying levels of enjoyment in this collection of songs.