Bone Blue is the kind of Cd, one might pick up after watching a band give a good live
performance, and maybe you take the Cd home file it away and never play it, but stop!
this Cd is to good to file away, it is awesome.
Little Chris & The Night Crawlers are based in Southern California and have just released
this first album which is a mix of standards and originals from Chris Fast who leads the
band and is also the lead vocalist and harp player.
The album has a big band blues sound and unleashes some very powerful playing and
good quality vocals.
The album starts well with "Too Poor" which features Chris Fast's excellent voice & harp,
the song motors along at an up-tempo pace with each member of the band adding
some nice touches. A favourite of mine is a song written by Chris Fast, "Flipped Her Wig"
which has a haunting harp lead, and it is a very catchy harp riff, also the tenor sax solo
in the middle adds to a great piece of music, to which Chris keeps that haunting riff
on his harp right up to the end fade out. Sonny Boy Williamson's "Love In Vain" is given an
excellent brassy up-beat treatment as it scorches along, after drummer Dennis Kenmore
kicks it off. "Bad Bad Whiskey" starts `a capella then bounces along at a gentle pace,
lovely stuff. "Just Another Bump" starts off with some great horns from Alfredo Ballesteros
and Bud Deal and harp from Chris, the song is a real swayer and has a great earthy feel
to it, the horns and sax's combine so effortlessly all the way until the end.
Willie Dixon's "29 Ways" is started off by a nice little solo from Fred Rivera on bass, the rhythm
is slightly off beat which gives it, a slight Latin feel as the song grooves along.
"Too Young To Die" sees the band really swinging, Hank Barrio plays some great fills on guitar,
Chris on harp is magnificent and Tom Bray adds some snappy trumpet bits on this classy
excellent work-out. The album's closing number is a Delaney Bramlett song and he is featured
playing National slide guitar on his "Moanin' Blues" which has a Delta sound rather than
the big band blues which the band use on most of the album, Chris's harp playing is once
again first class and his gritty vocal is top notch.
A very good album. Do Look for it, you will not be disappointed.
The band's website: www.littlechris.com
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