Blues On Stage - Elliott and the Untouchables

Elliott and the Untouchables
"Danger Zone" CD Review
BluePoint Records BPCD-1202, 12 tracks, 56 minutes
by Ann Wickstrom
annw@osas.com

Is it just me, or have there been a lot of great blues bands popping up in the last year? Elliott and the Untouchables are a super foursome from Columbia, South Carolina. Everything about this CD is first-rate, from the cover art to the songwriting (all are originals). Singer/guitarist Elliott New's sound reminds me of our own Dave "Cool Breeze" Brown from the Senders. He doesn't sound like he's trying to win a speed contest when he plays, nor would that be appropriate for this kind of music. It's a combination of swinging west coast jump blues and Chicago-style burners. Guest performer Buddy Parker comes out smokin' on piano on the first song, "Sweet Little Woman." This is a song that would make Duke Robillard proud!

Mike "Naz" Nazarenko deserves special recognition for his fine harp playing, especially when he gets out the chromatic. Not many play it this well. There is a nice balance among the instruments throughout this album. New has some very tasty lyrics as well; here's an excerpt from "More Than That":

More than a jockey can ride
More than a woman wants a ring
More than the river's wide
More than BB is King ...

"Maurice's Mood" wraps up the CD with a heavy dose of smoky, instrumental lounge jazz. Guest musician Skip Pearson's tenor sax and Elliott's guitar take the lead together on this tune that defies you not to snap your fingers.

E-mail Ray Stiles at: mnblues@aol.com

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Copyright © 1998 by Ray M. Stiles
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