Slide guitarist/songwriter, Molten Mike Desselle is an institution in the Tampa Bay area. Well-known in the area for his slide guitar and all original material, Molten Mike has received numerous awards and nominations in the Tampa Bay area, including Best Blues Guitarist, Best Entertainer, Best Singer/Songwriter and Best Blues Band.
My previous experience with Tampa Bay area slide guitarist Molten Mike extends as far as one excellent live performance at the 1999 Fort Lauderdale Blues Festival and the first two recordings by the Molten Mike Group, Blues Meltdown (1997) and Genuine Bluesman (2000). Given my limited, but positive, history with the music of Molten Mike, I was VERY surprised when I popped his latest release, Chameleon, into the CD player. With the general expectation of some down home style blues, laced with edgy slide guitar, I was stunned by the sounds that came from the recording from the opening notes of "Love Is Underrated" to the closing riff of "Girls of South Beach."
Chameleon is a twelve song CD (all original) that pretty much includes twelve very different styles of music. Styles include blues, jazz, rap, hip-hop, zydeco, swamp music and a style or two to be determined by the listener. That is not to say that this is a bad CD in any way, it is just a different CD and one that is not made for the pure blues lover by any means.
The CD opens with "Love Is Underrated," a song with an eery, slow-jazz feel, haunting sax by Frank "Dr. Goodsax" Bowman and hollowed-out lyrics, definitely not the blues. Mike brings back both the more blusey sound, along with his fine steel slide guitar work on "Have You Heard The News," another unique number. "Everything Changes" follows and so does the musical style, as Mike and company bring a bossa nova feeling into the musical mix. The first one-third of the CD finishes out with the zydeco gumbo laced sound of "Bourbon Street Crawl," labeled by Mike as a true story about Mike on the streets of New Orleans.
Following the "you-name-it" sound of "Back To My Life," Mike dives head long into the swamp-laced blues of "Down At Marty's Bar," easily the bluesiest song on Chameleon, lying clearly in the acoustic guitar blues category and destined to be a favorite of the blues lover tracking through the CD. The following number, "Tour De Lance" is a funkified electric guitar instrumental with lots of stinging guitar, backing horns and more nice saxophone to go with the guitar-heavy sound, possibly a reminder of some material that might have been recorded by Edgar Winter's White Trash. The second one-third of the CD cleans up with a smooth, jazzy number entitled "Believe I'm Going Home," with more great sax by Dr. Goodsax and nice organ by Bill "Julio" Barrett backing Mike's distinctive, gravelly vocals.
As Chameleon heads into the final four songs, the mood changes again with a ragtime sounding tune entitled "Down By The Railroad Tracks," featuring piano and clarinet and a sound that might be heard on a Leon Redbone recording. "Cyber Café" follows, a synth-laced instrumental with some familiar riffs and a style that again is open to the "name-it-yourself" style category. "Put The Top Down" is another instrumental that is far more jazz than blues with some haunting sax and a smooth jazz feeling. Chameleon concludes with "Girls of South Beach," another song that is more Latin jazz, than slide blues, but entertaining just the same, with a Santana-like guitar break.
Chameleon is an enhanced CD and includes two hidden musical tracks and music videos of for two additional songs, "Special Rider Blues" and "you'd Be The First To Go."
Chameleon changes styles, just as the chameleon changes its colors to fit into its surroundings. This CD is definitely not for everyone; in fact it may appeal more to jazz enthusiasts than blues fans. Regardless, anyone who enjoys good music will certainly appreciate Chameleon by Molten Mike. To learn more about Molten Mike and/or to purchase any of his CDs visit his website at www.moltenmike.com.
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