This is a live CD that was not planned or scheduled and leans towards the bootleg type of recording. It was taken from the soundboard at a show in Melbourne Florida on May 27, 2002 in front of 20,000 people. As such it has that bootleg vibe to it complete with commentary between songs.
There are 13 cuts on the CD, seven of which were written by Forrest McDonald and Raymond Victor. The remainder of the songs were written by a who's who of the blues...Jimmy Thackery, Ray Gaines, Josh White, Howling Wolf, Albert Collins and Mike Bloomfield. As such it clearly falls into the bar blues type of music, sometimes down and dirty, sometimes jazzy and sometimes rockin boogie-woogie. 'Anchor To A Drowning Man' is the classic Jimmy Thackery sound complete with the growling vocals, sort of a slow shuffle. 'Work Work' is a piano boogie-woogie. 'People I'm Hurting is another slow shuffle, similar to something that Buddy Guy might do. 'Southern Exposure is a slow almost jazzy blues. This one reminds me of something that you might hear in a smoky blues club in the 50's. 'That's my Baby' is a boogie-woogie shuffle driven by the piano that has a rock-a-billy sound similar to something that Brian Setzer might do. 'Not Enough Money' again reaches back to a mix between rock-a-billy and a 50's jazz club. 'Blues In the Basement' is a slow grinding blues, with guitar work by Andrew Black. Again this is solid 'bat blues'. 'Traveling South, the last cut on the CD smokes with a Texas Blues accent. The guitar work is very good and the crowd obviously liked what they heard from this band.
Bottom Line: This CD is a good Preview of Forrest McDonald and the 3D Blues Band. The production is limited, as you would expect from an almost bootleg live recording although the sound is better than most live recordings. If you like boogie-woogie mixed with rock-a-billy and a good dose of the blues, then you should like this CD. This is very good 'bar band' music and as such I would give it 2 stars out of 5 for the overall package.
Forrest McDonald - Guitar & Vocals
Raymond Victor - Piano & Lead Vocals
Andrew Black - Guitar & Lead Vocals
John McKnight - Drums & Lead Vocals
Jonathan Schwenke - Bass & Vocals
Contact Info:
World Talent Records - (770)-931-8116
Web sites:
www.wtrhq.com
www.forrestmcdonald.com
Simply click on the CD cover at left to order this CD NOW!
This review is copyright © 2002 by Robert T. Murphy, and Blues On Stage at: www.mnblues.com, all rights reserved. Copy, duplication or download prohibited without written permission.
For permission to use this review please send an E-mail to Ray Stiles.
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