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Way
Beyond the Blues
1. Medicine
Man - 3:13
2.
Come Home Baby - 7:50
3. Dead
Man's Money - 4:12
4. Greyhound
Bus - 3:56
5.
Damn That Guitar - 3:52
6.
Kill Me Quickly - 6:17
7.
I've Seen the Devil - 3:48
8. Please
Don't Love Me Anymore - 4:43
9.
Showed My Soul to You - 2:10
10.
Lil' Mambo - 4:36
11. Goin'
On - 9:16
Purchase
this CD
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Joe
Richardson
Way
Beyond the Blues
Joe
Richardson - Guitar, Harp, Vocals
Keven Phelan - Bass
Richard Lamm - Drums
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Joe
Richardson was born in southern Louisiana's Atchafalaya River
Delta, so pickin' & playin' has been a way of life from
an early age. At the age of 6 his grandpa gave him a guitar
from a pawn shop, and he taught himself to play. The experience
he gained from musical legends of the locale allowed him to
develop a style consistent with his background. Submerging himself
totally in music is what has driven his very existence for as
long as he can remember. A versatile veteran, he also plays
fiddle and steel guitar.
Kevin
Phelan was born in Levelland, Texas where they dance in circles
in the roadhouses. This, in turn, kicks up a heap of dust and
causes lots of tornadoes, which attract extra terrestrials,
who taught Kevin the blues at an early age. "It all started
one day when he was choppin' cotton out in the July west Texas
sun. Things got kinda strange....." Over the years, Kevin
has been schooled in the classics at Southwest Texas State University,
spanked by James Polk in his Little Big Band, and sanctified
through five years of Sunday jamming at Ted Hall's Blues Church.
After a very successful period of composing music for computer
games with The Fat Man (http://www.fatman.com),
Kevin returns to the local scene to join up with Joe Richardson.
We
invite you to pick up this CD. For the legions of dedicated
blues fans, we think you'll find that this collection builds
some exciting new inroads from the paths of our forefathers.
For those of you who are new to the Blues, or don't know jack
other than you just like good music, as long as you know Joe,
you don't need to know jack!
www.joerichardsonexpress.com
Credits:
Mastering & Mixing: Dave McNair
Guitar, Harp, Vocals and Producer: Joe Richardson
Engineering: Steven Allen & Jack Rock
Executive Producer: Jack Rock
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Review:
Of
all the new material that I have previewed in the past many
months, this recording is by far my personal favorite. "Way
Beyond the Blues" is a wonderful showcase of both Richardson's
diverse influences and outstanding musical talents. The recording
bears a strong electric delta blues likeness while at the same
time remaining fresh and original. There is a considerable Mississippi
juke joint influence evident throughout the recording, as well
as a goodly dose of Texas blues. The songs are all well written,
Joe Richardson originals and the lyrics are with purpose. Oddly,
the recording is somehow an extremely simple and straight-forward
effort, yet at the same time a very powerful work. The band
is three piece, with Joe Richardson providing the guitar and
vocals, Kevin Phelan adding solid acoustic and electric bass,
and Mike Taylor rounding out the lineup with some of the more
tasteful drumming I have heard in a while. The CD is simple,
in that there are no added players or extra instruments played
on multiple tracks. Despite its simplicity, this is powerful
and passionate music. What you hear from this band on this recording
is what you get live. "Way Beyond the Blues" has added
the name of the Joe Richardson Express to my list of "must
see" artists. The set opens with a very Louisiana flavored
"Medicine Man", which is Richardson's alter ego. After
a slow blues powerhouse "Come Home Baby", the track
"Dead Man's Money" offers the listener the first taste
of Richardson's stinging slide guitar. The following three tracks
include two of my personal favorites "Greyhound Bus"
and "Kill Me Quickly", which are both laced with gut
wrenching slide and soulful juke joint vocals. "Kill Me
Quickly" is especially good, and is what we used to term
as "boll weevil picking music". You folks from the
south will know what I mean, while all others may just prefer
to call it "evil". The other songs are all good, but
time and space are not sufficient here to allow me to say all
that I would like about this exceptional work. Suffice it say
that this recording comes with my "must own" seal
of approval.
Tom
Branson
http://gottheblues.com/
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