MOTHER BY ELECTRIC MARY

Electric Mary is a high-energy Blues/Rock band from Australia that’s well on its way to becoming
a worldwide sensation. The band has been at it for ten years and is set to drop its fourth studio
album, Mother, on February 15, 2019 via Listenable Records. The sound is full-bore Third Wave
Classic Rock with a bite and energy that will appeal to fans of crunch guitar bands like Led
Zeppelin and Black Crowes. What’s cool is that Electric Mary doesn’t sound like a bunch of guys
merely playing their influences but like true fans and musical minds that have this rock and roll
thing locked down from the inside out.

Named in honor of the infamous Electric Mary Campbell, studio manager at Jimi’s Electric Lady
Recording Studio, the group has a depth of songwriting and feel few bands out there can match.
Vocalist Rusty Brown is vibrant, expressive, and authentic fronting the lineup on Mother and it’s
easy to hear how Electric Mary wound up on the road playing big rooms with legends
like Whitesnake, Judas Priest, Deep Purple, KISS, Alice Cooper, Motörhead, and Def Leppard.
The band taps into the true spirit of old-school rock music while simultaneously pumping it full
of modern rock fire. Mother sounds less like some old band’s great lost album than it does like
the ass-kicking grandsons of real rock stars who intuitively understand what made those vintage
bands so great and are taking it a few steps further.

The songs presented here work well as one long listen and are all brilliantly recorded. Bassist
Alex Raunjak and drummer Spyder are heavy when necessary and subtle when required and lay
down a strong foundation for guitarists/vocalists Pete Robinson and Brett Wood and the magic
they make. Both players bring big tones to the table and have chops to burn, which makes
Mother an exciting album from start to finish. If you love actual feel-drenched guitar slinging,
this will quickly become your new favorite record. One spin of the first single “Woman” and
you’ll be hooked. Robinson and Wood are as formidable a duo as there has ever been and can
slug it out with any band in your record collection.

“Gimme Love” opens the set with a big rock groove that will knock down walls and blow the
cobwebs out of your mind. “Hold Onto What You’ve Got” is anthemic and flirts with a “Song
Remains the Same” feel that’s expansive and open wide. The band rocks hard but plays tightly
together and the track gives a glimpse of its live power. Other standout tracks include “Sorry
Baby” and “It’s Alright” but it’s best if you just play the record from the beginning and let it wash
over you. There’s not one lame second here to be found. When was the last time you listened
to an album like that?

Fact is, Electric Mary absolutely kills and rock fans should rejoice to find this album. Mother is
rock and roll as it should be: loud, gritty, melodic, and explosive. The band plays well but, more
than that, it hits an emotional edge that sets this music apart. Influences can be heard but every
one of these tracks can stand up on its own just fine. Electric Mary has its way with everything
we all love about this kind of music and comes up with a fresh sound and approach that keeps
getting better with each new record. Here’s hoping that this current effort brings the band the
international headline status it is clearly ready to attain. Right now, all you need to do is buy a
copy of Mother and listen to it for at least a week straight. Trust me, you’ll love it. It’s a way of
life.

SIGNS BY TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND

Una vez más, la Tedeschi Trucks Band nos vuelve a dejar flipando. Al final se vuelve una mala
costumbre. Lo brillantes que siempre han sido Susan Tedeschi y Derek Trucks por su cuenta,
sumados a una colección alucinante de músicos en su banda, salen trabajos alucinantes como
Signs.

El cuarto trabajo de estudio del matrimonio Tedeschi Trucks, junto con su banda de 12
miembros, es una unión más del blues con la americana. Una unión llena de buen gusto, talento
y una amplia gama de sonidos. Signs fue producido por Fantasy Records y sacada al mercado el
15 de febrero.

El disco no teme abordar temas profundos, como la ansiedad o la pérdida, a la vez que atiende
a lo más profundo de nosotros. La letra y, a veces, los sonidos, nos preguntan quienes somos y
se preguntan a la vez cuál es el camino que debe seguir el Rock Sureño con el que se iniciaron.
La composición de los temas, junto con contribuciones de (¡oh, sorpresa!) Warren Haynes,
Oliver Wood y Doyle Bramhall II, hacen de Signs un trabajo con el que la Tedeschi Trucks se
vuelve a poner en primera línea, si es que alguna vez la abandonaron.

Sign, High Times se inicia como el lento traqueteo del tren. Una entrada fácil en el disco, pero a
la vez dejándote claro que no es un disco alegre, ni un disco festivo, sino un trabajo persona.
Hablando desde el corazón y sin medias tintas. Hemos estado aquí antes. Sólo nos estábamos
preparando. No vamos a seguir mareando la perdiz. Una llamada a las armas. Un ritmo rockero,
elegante apoyado en una sección de vientos alucinante y una percusión molona, junto con la
voz de Susan Tedeschi, que parece que se vaya a quebrar en cada segundo.

I´m Gonna Be There puede ser un R&B lento, pero no por ello tiene poca intensidad. Susan
Tedeschi nos asegura que la esperanza sigue ahí mientras permanezcamos juntos, bajo el
relámpago, la lluvia, la rabia o las lágrimas. When Will I Begin tiene un tono más profundo y
serio, culminado por el slide de Trucks que lleva la intensidad hasta cimas casi inescalables. El
ritmo se vuelve más urbano en Walk Through This Life, con toques de Stevie Wonder, hablando
de la esperanza y la fe. Con Strengthen What Remains se cambia el tercio, a un género más
acústico y suave. Apoyados por flautas traveseras, violoncellos, casi parece una nana. Justo
como sigue el disco con Still Your Mind, que abre con un interludio de piano. No te duermas,
porque el tema sube el tono y aumenta el ritmo. Se nota la emoción en el corte, en la
persistencia del bajo y el solo de guitarra de Trucks.

Hard Case es el tema alegre que estábamos echando de menos. Un ritmo saltarín y juguetón,
que nos recuerda a los tiempos mejores. Tiempos en los que el R&B urbano de los 70 toma forma
en el genial momento de teclado. Shame vuelve a los tonos oscuros. Susan Tedeschi habla de
los que han estado envenenando el pozo. Un blues funk agitado y profundo, en un tema
reivindicativo, casi caótico al final. Sospechosamente actual. Sospechosamente político.

Un giro hacia el country en All The World, con el que Tedeschi habla con su voz intensa, apoyada
en un trabajo de la banda increíble. Especialmente los vientos y el teclado. They Don´t Shine
vuelve a los sonidos por los que conocimos a esta unión. Un ritmo grande y un trabajo de
virtuosos, en el que suenan como una big band de Rock Sureño. Tan aparentemente sencillo que
da miedo. The Ending es un corte homenaje a Col. Bruce Hampton, amigo y mentor de la banda
que falleció durante un concierto homenaje de 70 años. Como siempre, Trucks y Tedeschi son
capaces de hablar de inevitabilidad de la muerte, del camino que es la vida, de forma honesta.
Signs es un disco profundo y brillante a la vez. Tocando temas como la pérdida y la angustia vital,
la Tedeschi Trucks Band mueven el country, el rock sureño y el blues hacia un punto más
personal que a veces da miedo tocar. Se nota la mano de Susan Tedeschi y la importancia que
le da a cada corte, con una sensibilidad especial, que no te dejará indiferente.

Te los recomiendo si te gusta… Susan Tedeschi

Si sólo tienes 10 minutos:

- Sign, High Times

- I´m Gonna Be There

- They Don´t Shine

El hit:

- Sign, High Times

JOHN MAYALL NOBODY TOLD ME

John Mayall, ‘The Godfather of British Blues,’ is back with his newest album, Nobody Told Me. It
will be released on February 22 by Forty Below Records. Co-produced by Mayall and Forty Below
founder Eric Corne, it gives us Mayall in top form (at the age of 85) on vocals, guitar, keyboards
and harmonica. The legendary bluesman is accompanied by an impressive list of guest guitarists,
including Joe Bonamassa, Alex Lifeson, Todd Rundgren, Carolyn Wonderland, Larry McCray
and Steven Van Zandt, and the results are nothing short of spectacular.

The Order of the British Empire medal-winner and Blues Hall of Fame inductee is also joined by
his regular rhythm section of Chicago bluesmen, Greg Rzab on bass and Jay Davenport on drums.
Billy Watts plays rhythm guitar and the horn section from the Late Night with Conan
O’Brien house band added the brass.

Track one on Nobody Told Me, “What Have I Done Wrong?” features guitar titan Joe Bonamassa.
Since he’s no stranger to working with great horn ensembles in his own music, his sophisticated,
yet biting fret work sounds right at home with the timely punches of the brass section. Mayall’s
vocals, powerful and smooth with just a touch of a bluesman’s rasp, are delivered effortlessly
on point.

Bonamassa also appears on track six, the slow-driving “Delta Hurricane.” His relentless attack is
indeed a hurricane of well-placed notes, working well against Mayall’s tastefully understated
keyboard soloing. Once again, the horns punch things up right through to the final notes.

Blues guitar shredder Larry McCray makes two blistering contributions to this album. “The Moon
is Full” is an upbeat funk/blues nugget. Propelled by Rzab’s pulsating bass lines and Davenport’s
staccato snare cracks, McCray uses all the available space in the intro, between verses and in
the solo break to fill our ears with stinging string work. Mayall deftly dirties up his keyboard solo
to match McCray’s grittiness. On the late Gary Moore’s “The Hurt Inside,” McCray’s aggressive
playing is wholly appropriate, while the vulnerability of Mayall’s vocals capture the sentiment of
Moore’s lyrics.
The current lead guitarist for John Mayall’s band, Carolyn Wonderland appears on three tracks
which, taken together, show off her virtuoso blues guitar chops. On “Distant Lonesome Train,”
the Houston native/Austin transplant speaks fluent slide guitar. Later, she makes her guitar chirp
brightly and phrases exquisitely on the stop and go shuffle “Like It Like You Do.” Last,
Wonderland applies the lightest of touches on “Nobody Told Me,” complimenting Mayall’s
melancholy piano and vocals.

The most welcome surprises on Nobody Told Me are guests Alex Lifeson of Rush, Todd Rundgren
and “Little Steven” Van Zandt of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, each of whom turns in a very
worthy blues guitar appearance.

Lifeson, who is known as a prog rock pioneer, shows up on The Jeff Healy Band’s “Evil And Here
To Stay.” He lays back during the front half, allowing Mayall to carry things on keyboards and
harmonica; during his solo and through the ending, his rock chops yield to his admirable blues
chops. What does come through of his characteristic playing is his muscularity and the way he
tends to make his notes sing out.

Todd Rundgren tears it up from the top down on the STAX Records classic, “That’s What Love
Will Make You Do” by Little Milton. Conversely, Mayall’s vocals are subdued compared to
Milton’s emphatic cries on the original. The rhythm and brass sections capture the spirit of
Booker T. and the MGs and the Memphis Horns, nicely capping off a perfect track.

Veteran rocker Steven Van Zandt owns his moment in the spotlight on “It’s So Tough.” In his
capable hands, the guitar emotes rock, blues and soul, all at once, as Mayall sings, “It’s so tough;
there must be something we can do. Think more about your neighbor; ‘cause now it’s up to me
and you.”

Back in 1963, John Mayall emerged as a force of the blues, not only because of his genuine
musicianship but also because he proved to have an ear for emerging talent. In 2019, Mayall still
has the chops and the ear for talent, and Nobody Told Me is another unquestionable success for
the revered bandleader and blues master.