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*** *** *** WAY BEYOND THE BLUES
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Joe Richardson
- Guitar, Harp, Vocals *** *** *** Joe Richardson was born in southern Louisiana's Atchafalaya River Delta, 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. Gaining experience from musical legends of the locale has allowed him to develop a style consistent with his background. Submerging himself totally in his music is what drives and 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, which kicks up a lot 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, he's 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 Sundays 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.
Credits: 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 |
