Big Medicine & Big Medicine - Thank You, Brother Bill: A Tribute to Bill Withers

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2024
Time: 51:48 
Size: 119,7 MB 
Label: Gulf Coast Records
Styles: Blues/Modern Electric Blues
Art: Front 

Tracks Listing:
 1. Who Is He (And What Is He To You) - 4:54
 2. Kissing My Love - 4:28
 3. World Keeps Going Round and Round - 5:26
 4. Just the Two of Us - 4:52
 5. I’m Her Daddy - 4:03
 6. Ain’t No Sunshine - 3:09
 7. Lean On Me - 3:50
 8. Let Us Love - 3:48
 9. Another Day To Run - 2:35
10. Grandma’s Hands - 3:54
11. The Same Love That Made Me Laugh - 4:42
12. Hope She’ll Be Happier - 3:52
13. Thank You Brother Bill - 2:09

Musicians:
Kevin Burt - Guitar, Harmonica, Lead Vocals;
Scot Sutherland - Bass;
Ken Valdez - Lead/Rhythm Guitar, Background Vocals;
Eric Douglas - Drums/Percussion.

One can’t help but think that if blues singer-songwriter Kevin Burt hailed from a blues centric city or major metro, he’d be a major, well-recognized name on the blues circuit. Instead, Burt hails from Iowa which has arguably caused him to work a bit harder and pay considerable dues to get this point. He’s always had good songs and a deeply soulful voice. This is Burt’s time now as we enter 2024 with his second release for Gulf Coast Records, Thank You, Brother Bill: A Tribute to Bill Withers. Burt’s thirty-year climb was sparked in 2018 with Heartland & Soul, on Little Village. This writer penned these thoughts then – “Burt was the 2018 IBC Winner in three categories, taking honors for Best Solo/Duo, Best Solo/Duo Guitarist and Best Harmonica Player. The irony of that is that Burt’s greatest strength is his soulful vocal delivery.” His 2020 Gulf Coast Records debut, Stone Crazy, received four Independent Blues Awards: Best Soul/Blues Album, Song (“Stone Crazy”) and Vocalist, as well as a nomination for Gateway Artist of the Year. He was also nominated for Best Soul/Blues album for the Blues Blast Awards, as well as the Artist on the Rise Award. Additionally, he was awarded in 2021 the Bobby Rush Lifetime Achievement in Entertainment by the Jus’ Blues Foundation. That year he was also nominated for Acoustic Artist of the Year at the Blues Music Awards.These acknowledgements have come during a short period of time, as if to compensate for the many years of flying under the radar. As such, this tribute to Bill Withers is highly anticipated, and seemingly a rather bold step. Instead, Burt formed such a deep connection with Withers in a two-hour conversation, that these songs flow naturally and with deep conviction. As Burt says, “His story relates to my story. His songs relate to different point in time in my life like no other as artist.” Not only that, linking with Withers is a clever move. Many of Withers’ songs are like part of our DNA. How often have you sung along with “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lean On Me,” “Just the Two of Us,” and “Grandma’s Hands” for example? The high level of recognition will only continue to raise Burt’s own trajectory.Burt’s warm, smooth, soulful voice sounds like Withers too, but this is not mere “copycat” craft. The band, Big Medicine, with Minneapolis guitar master Ken Valdez, renowned bassist Scot Sutherland, and drummer Eric Douglas inject funk and grit into tunes that many consider smooth pop. The sequencing is also a shrewd touch as Burt stays away from the mega hits for the first three tracks before introducing “Just the Two of Us” on the fourth, and mostly groups the hits together in the middle of the album so lesser-known material bookends the presentation, giving us (let’s face most folks just know the mega hits) a better appreciation of Withers’ lesser-known material. Unlike Jose James, who did a brilliant, wildly inventive jazz inflected tribute, Burt stays faithful to the original material without trying to replicate anyone else’s interpretation.
Contrast the rawness of Burt’s own harmonica and Valdez’s stinging guitar to the smooth strains of Grover Washington Jr.’s rendition of “Just the Two of Us” as one example. Even the tenor of the song is a bit different in Burt’s hands. His version reads as a partnering quest rather than the sappy romantic celebration that colors so many other versions of the song. Listen to Burt’s impassioned growl in “I’m Her Daddy” to understand how deeply he is into Withers’ songs. Many artists accentuate the gospel aspects of “Grandma’s Hands” but Burt and Big Medicine stay grounded in their deeply searing blues take of the song. The closing title track is obviously the only Burt original, a heartfelt gesture of appreciation, complete with harmonica and surging guitar that completely cease for the unaccompanied final four words, “Thank You Brother Bill,” as if Burt was speaking to his mentor directly.
Thank You, Brother Bill: A Tribute To Bill Withers hits the highest marks on all counts – phrasing, soulful delivery, musical accompaniment, and genuine conviction. Burt may still not reach “household name” status but certainly takes giant steps in that direction with this opus. It’s even more than we could have hoped for.

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