Sugar Blue - Colors

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2019
Time: 41:48
Size: 96,0 MB
Label: Beeble Music
Styles: Blues/Harp Blues
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. And The Devil Too - 3:26
 2. Bass Reeves - 4:17
 3. We Will Be All Right - 3:58
 4. Day Tripper - 2:47
 5. Good Ole Days - 2:51
 6. Dirty Old Man - 3:57
 7. Man Like Me - 5:45
 8. Shanghai Sunset - 4:08
 9. Downhill - 3:45
10. Bonnie & Clyde - 4:04
11. Keep On - 2:46

As my friends know; there’s only one actual instrument that I ever learnt to play and that’s the harmonica. Even that was 20 years ago and I doubt I could even get a genuine note out of it today.
I have no idea who the first harmonica player I ever heard would be, but I’ve amassed scores of albums from Blues through Country and even Jazz featuring harmonica playing and my love for this utilitarian instrument remains undiminished.
Which brings me to Sugar Blue, who not only has a love for the ‘mouthie’ but skills beyond my wildest dreams.
This album not just showcases these skills, but being recorded on four continents and using a myriad of musicians shows how just versatile not just the harmonica can be; but Sugar Blue is too.
Opening track And The Devil Too is a Contemporary Blues stomper in the style of Diddley Daddy, that will not just shake the fillings in your teeth, but that bass run may rattle them out if you’re not careful.
The first trip left of centre is the rolling Country tune Bass Reeves, the true story of a ‘man born in bondage’ but eventually growing to be not just be a famous US Marshall but the man the Lone Ranger was originally based on. The song is an absolute doozy and when Sugar’s harmonica slides in the hair on the back of your head will actually stand on end.
Arguably not the greatest version of Day Tripper; but the way Sugar Blue turns the Beatles classic into a Jazz Funk dancethon has to be heard to be believed.
While obviously famous for his skills on the harmonica, Sugar Blue is one hell of an expressive vocalist too, with the grungy Man Like Me and super smooth Downhill being opposite sides of the Blues coin but both showing the man can not just make his harmonica wail but his voice can make you stand to attention too.
I’m especially loving this album because it’s so diverse, with Shanghai Sunset being beautifully laid back, and even introducing us to a Chinese reed instrument called the Sheng, while the heartbreaking We Will Be Alright features a stunning choir called Afrika Riz from Soweto in South Africa takes us in a direction we never expected at point of purchase.
Selecting a Favourite Song is incredibly difficult as COLORS is a giant goody bag of delights; making me have to toss a coin between the deep down n dirty Blues tune Dirty Ole Man , which features some stunning guitar and harmonica interplay and the acoustic Bonnie and Clyde, which like Bass Reeves is as much about the Depression as it is about the Gangster couple as it’s based on true events rather than the romantic imagery of the film; and both songs feature some truly sublime harmonica playing too. Which one wins? Neither ….. it’s a draw.
Harmonica lovers are going to instantly fall deeply in love with this album; but fear not if it’s not your first love for an instrument, as there is so much here that music fan of all persuasions will find plenty to not just admire but play over and over again.

Colors