Texas guitar slinger Lance Lopez has assembled a who's who of blues and rock guitar players to flank him on West of Flushing, South of Frisco, the debut album by the aptly named Supersonic Blues Machine. Living legends Warren Haynes, Billy Gibbons, Robben Ford and Walter Trout join young guns Chris Duarte and Eric Gales to aid Lopez in crafting a briliantly pure and edgy blues album that is possibly the ultimate excercise in professionalism. Each of the rock and roll legends (and legends in training) stop by to lend a personal touch to their individual tracks that only they are capable of doing.
From the opening chords and lap steel strains of Miracle Man through the final notes of Watchagonnado, Supersonic Blues Machine's debut effort is rock solid - each track and each guest just different enough to keep things interesting, but equally cohesive. Lopez and his crew start the party with the romping Miralce Man, and the up tempo driver, I Ain't Falling Again, properly laying the groundwork before inviting in the parade of all-stars and turning things up a notch (or two).
Billy Gibbons is the first of the legends to step in, joining Lopez and Co. for Running Whiskey, a short ZZ Top-esque rocker that fits both Gibbons and the "house band" perfectly, complete with a signature solo from the veteran rocker to put the official stamp of The Reverend on it. Haynes is up next, lending his signature vocals and guitar work to Remedy, a tasteful, beautifully penned tune about the power of music. Not to be outdone, Lopez steps up and matches Haynes lick for lick to close the track out.
If it's at all possible to warm up an album with the likes of Billy Gibbons and Warren Haynes, Lopez and his band have done so, blowing the roof off the joint, thundering through Bone Bucket Blues, a growling freight train blues number featuring dueling slide guitar and harmonica from Jimmy Zavala and a punishing back line from drummer Kenny Aronoff and bassist Fabrizio Grossi.
A slew of guests round out the album, including Lopez's fellow next-generation blues torchbearers Eric Gales and Chris Duatre and another pair of bonafide blues legends in Walter Trout and Robben Ford. All four turn in standout performances, ranging from Gales and Lopez teaming up for blues riff clinic on Nightmares and Dreams to the sweet, soulful pairing with Robben Ford on Let's Call It a Night.
When it's all said and done, it's simple: If Lance Lopez's Live in NYC was his opening statement to the blues community, the Supersonic Blues Machine is proof that Lance means business.
In an age when so much of the music is shallow, over-produced bubblegum pop, it's a rarity to find a pure blues album that doesn't have the name Buddy Guy or Eric Clapton on it. For Everybody Wants a Piece, Joe Louis Walker straps on a six-string, turns up, and blows out a blues album the way a blues album is supposed to be: Full of emotion, thick riffs, deep grooves and searing guitar licks.
Walker and his band come out swinging, laying down a pair of thundering guitar riffs on the album's title track, Everybody Wants a Piece and Do I Love Her, highlighted by some brilliant fretwork from Walker on the former, and punctuated by a series of equally impressive harmonica fills on the latter. Two tracks later, Walker digs deep, spinning a tale of saving a love affair that's falling apart that was made for a blues album on Black and Blue. Walker's heartfelt lyrics are matched by the wah, reverb and tear soaked guitar solo that brings the track's final minute to a close.
But Walker and Co. are just catching a groove and the guitar licks keep coming hot and heavy on Witchcraft and One Sunny Day, before slowing things down a bit and gathering around a church organ for Gospel Blues, then laying down a rendition of the old spiritual Wade in the Water that belongs at a tent revival.
A trio of vintage inspired tracks close things out, with Walker channeling his inner Otis Redding, Muddy Waters and Elmore James on Man of Many Words, Young Girls Blues and 35 Years Old, reminding us that even in the 21st Century, the godfathers of blues and soul are still as important and relevant as ever.
For this blues fan, Everybody Wants a Piece is a breath of fresh air. Joe Louis Walker's musicianship and dedication to his craft and his music is etched in this album from the first note to the last. It restores the faith that the blues are alive, well, and thriving and will continue to be as long as bluesmen like Walker keep picking up the guitar.
It's a tall task to come on stage at the legendary BB King's Blues Club during Johnny Winter's birthday party and play the blues. Not only was Lance Lopez up to the task, he delivered a incendiary seven song set, full of heavy riff driven original blues rock songs that are chock full of energy.
Right out of the gate, Lopez hits the gas, with a hard driving 12-bar blues, Come Back Home, complete with a blistering solo which is only a small taste of things to come. The riffs are non-stop, with the meaty riffery of Hard Time and Get Out and Walk. Next, the gears shift and the band dusts off (and supercharges) the only cover song of the set, Robert Johnson's Traveling Riverside Blues. Lopez and his trio pound out the classic in their signature fashion, giving it a powerful treatment that I can only imagine would have even Johnson himself grinning.
The highlight of the set though, is undoubtedly Lowdown Ways, where Lopez eases off the overdrive and shows off his chops. Over 11 minutes, Lopez delivers soulful vocals and a lethal combination of tasteful and blinding guitar licks that will leave you spellbound. It would be unfair, however, to lay all the praise for the excellence of Live In NYC at Lance Lopez's feet. A blues trio is nothing without a solid rhythm section, and drummer Chris Reddan and bassist Mike Nunno provide a rock solid foundation from the word go, driving the riffs along, and giving Lopez a musical canvas on which to shine.
Short and powerful, Lance Lopez's Live In NYC is certainly a statement: With guitar slingers like him on the loose, the future of the blues is in good hands.
