Tab Benoit (pronounced "Ben-wah") has been on the blues circuit for a number of years and brings a New Orleans area vibe to his blues. A little looser and with a little more country feel than you might get from Texas or Chicago blues. Tab is a great player and one of the few guys who I've seen keep playing killer leads after breaking three strings on his Fender Telecaster guitar during a single song. He generally breaks anywhere from two to six strings during an evening of playing. One thing about this CD is that Tab can go out and present it live without a problem. He's excellent and I highly recommend that you check him out if he is playing in your area.
The CD itself is composed of a mix of songs, with a variety of styles but all with a swampy feel to them. The opening song 'Baby Blue' leans towards a funky rhythm. Tab's playing is clean with minimal effects if any. 'Boad Launch baby' kicks up the tempo to a rockin shuffle speed. This one has country influences all over it. Eddie Jone's 'Sufferin
Mind' is a slow smoky blues tune. Vocal style here is relaxed leaning towards the B.B. King style of singing. 'Hustlin Down In New Orleans' goes southern country funk again. The sound is fairly rootsy and loose. 'Solid Simple Thing' works with a Chuck Berry rhythm and a relaxed laid back feel. 'Making The Bend' is rocker with an uptempo sound. George Porter guests on Bass and guitar here. This one has a Smokin Joe Kubic/Benois King feel to it. The Burnett/Dixon tune 'Howlin for my Darling' is given an excellent rendition on this CD. The one just has a great swing feel to it.
Bottom Line: This is a good solid CD of music. It's got excellent guitar work all over it, however I wouldn't describe this as a guitarists CD. The guitarwork is clean and pretty much played without effects. The songs carry the overall feel and everything else is in support of that. This CD would lean towards country influenced blues more than anything
else. Overall I would give this CD three stars out of five.
Tab Benoit - guitars, vocals
Darryl White - drums
Carl Dufrene - Bass
Guests:
Big Chief Monk Boudreaux - vocals & tambourine
Brian Stoltz - guitar
George Porter - bass and guitar
Cyril Neville - vocal and percussion
Web sites:
www.telarc.com
www.tabbenoit.com
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