Two Shades of Blue captures Robben Ford at the height of his artistic maturity-rich, soulful, and emotionally charged. Blending his unmistakable guitar tone with fresh songwriting and beautifully crafted arrangements, the album delivers everything fans love about Ford while pushing his sound into new territory. A must-hear release for blues, jazz, and guitar aficionados alike, Two Shades of Blue stands poised to become one of the defining records of his storied career.
Sonny Landreth's album Bound By The Blues marks a return to the slide guitarist's musical roots. It presents a bold, big-sounding collection of recordings. That climb to stratospheric heights of jazz informed improvisation, the best of classic rock, and inevitably remain deeply attached to the elemental emotional and compositional structures that are at the blues' historic core. Bound by the blues is a powerful tribute to the durability and flexibility of the genre, and to his own creative vision. Sonny name-checks Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters and some of Landreth's other musical heroes along the way. He also pays homage to fellow slide guitarist Johnny Winter, with the instrumental "Firebird Blues." He recreates some amazing covers "Walkin' Blues" by Robert Johnson, and "Dust My Broom" by Elmore James. Landreth continues to develop his vision and his musical voice, growing increasingly original and distinctively diverse sounds expanding from blues, zydeco, folk, country and jazz, making Bound By The Blues one of his most ambitious albums to date.
I want to shock people," says Solomon Hicks with a megawatt smile. And whether you were there at his barely legal teenage club shows, caught on for 2020's breakout debut Harlem - or are hearing him for the first time on new album How Did I Ever Get This Blue - the rebel energy of this acclaimed New York singer-songwriter always moves the needle. His new songs race from earworm originals, past pop covers torn up with electronica and punky riffs, to reignited blues standards that prove how potent this genre still is in the right hands. "With this new record," reflects Hicks, "I wanted to showcase where my ear, my head and my guitar playing is at right now
I want to shock people," says Solomon Hicks with a megawatt smile. And whether you were there at his barely legal teenage club shows, caught on for 2020's breakout debut Harlem - or are hearing him for the first time on new album How Did I Ever Get This Blue - the rebel energy of this acclaimed New York singer-songwriter always moves the needle. His new songs race from earworm originals, past pop covers torn up with electronica and punky riffs, to reignited blues standards that prove how potent this genre still is in the right hands. "With this new record," reflects Hicks, "I wanted to showcase where my ear, my head and my guitar playing is at right now
For Robin Trower, stage and studio are two sides of the same coin. If you've followed the seven-decade career of the award-winning British bluesman, you'll know every song on One Moment In Time: Live In The USA. But unless you've pushed your way to the front of his sell-out shows, you've never heard them like this before. "I'm a different player on the stage," considers the 80-year-old. "It's almost impossible to get to that point in the studio. It's the sound of the guitar, it's the volume, it's the crowd. For what I do, it takes one hundred per cent commitment for it to work. But if you do it well, it's life-affirming."
For Robin Trower, stage and studio are two sides of the same coin. If you've followed the seven-decade career of the award-winning British bluesman, you'll know every song on One Moment In Time: Live In The USA. But unless you've pushed your way to the front of his sell-out shows, you've never heard them like this before. "I'm a different player on the stage," considers the 80-year-old. "It's almost impossible to get to that point in the studio. It's the sound of the guitar, it's the volume, it's the crowd. For what I do, it takes one hundred per cent commitment for it to work. But if you do it well, it's life-affirming."
