DVD/CD Review
The Rev. Jimmie Bratcher
Live On the 4th of July
(No record label No cat #)
by Gordon Baxter
Review date: November 2005
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"Keeping the Blues Alive Award" Achievement for Blues on the Internet Presented by The Blues Foundation
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The Rev. Jimmie Bratcher has been involved in the music business for over 25 years, and regularly plays to sold out venues. After two acclaimed studio albums, comes a live album featuring eight songs (from the preceding albums) recorded live on Independence Day, 2003. The packaging combines a CD from the gig, and a DVD which is supplemented with extra features on the Rev. and the band members.
The show opens in rocking style with "Doctor, Doctor," with the horn section adding that extra something special. Bratcher is a good showman, with a nice line in clean guitar breaks, and a good voice, although he does appear a little close to the edge of his range in places here. Everything is in fine order for "Hey Hey" though, which breaks out into a southern boogie after an extended guitar introduction. Paul Draper's B3 provides the icing on the cake this time. Draper also comes close to stealing the limelight on "Rain" with its slide guitar opening, and southern swamp feel.
Bratcher delivers a few extended spoken introductions, which are all part of his way of getting his message across. One of these raises the questions of what Heaven is like, before the band break into another southern boogie ("Party Going On"), where Jeremy Worden lays down the funky bass solo, and Doug Dimmel also shows what he can do on the drums. The band then swing out on "Can't Get Over It" where the horns really come into their own on the chorus, and Bratcher lays down a very tasty solo.
The band then move into more of a blues vein with "Do You Know A Friend," which chugs along nicely. This time the horns are much more mellow and appropriately understated. The blues vein continues with the slow burner, "Love Running," where the horns are positively smouldering. Once again Bratcher and Draper are very much to the fore, as they are for the closing "Something Better," which is probably the rockiest tune here.
"Live On the 4th of July" is an excellent way to get acquainted with The Rev. Jimmie Bratcher. As well as offering a very good overview of the music on his two previous studio albums, you also get some insights into the man himself and the boys in the band if you watch all the extras on the DVD. Bratcher is an accomplished guitarist, with a good voice, and a good songwriter to boot. Many of the songs here have good hook lines, and can either be listened to in the background, or close up if you want to analyse the message in more depth. On this evidence it is easy to see how Bratcher sells out Christian and secular venues across the USA. If you have not caught up with him yet, "On the 4th of July" gives you a chance to see just what you have been missing.
www.jimmiebratcher.com
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