The Reclamators - sing it, white boy!

Bitrate:320K/s
Year:2009
Time:39:44 
Size:91,5 MB 
Label:Crooked Walls Records
Styles:Blues
Art:Front 

Tracks Listing:
 1. Bullet Blues - 3:39
 2. Redhouse - 3:33
 3. Sweet Home Chicago - 3:26
 4. Blues in the Basement - 4:09
 5. Hothouse Blues - 3:33
 6. Bright Lights, Big City - 3:46
 7. Man in the Box - 3:03
 8. Been Retired From Your Love - 3:51
 9. Inflation Blues - 3:54
10. Matchbox Blues - 3:13
11. Steamroller Blues - 3:34

Releasing fifteen singles over a period of six years back in the sixties with only minor success gave Jerome Mykietyn the blues. His misfortune turns out to be a stroke of luck for fans of straight ahead, no frills blues. After starting a family and working a 'regular job' Jerome put together his first blues effort over a period of three years with the help of his son and various musicians from his musical past. He calls his assemblage of players The Reclamators to signify his interpretations of some classic songs. Also included are five of his originals. Four of which deal with social commentary.Ably abetted by his son Jeremy on drums and a revolving cast of crack players, Jerome delivers the goods. With his endearing matter-of-fact voice he sounds like he just came in from plowing the back forty to kick out some blues tunes with his friends. There is a country element that flavors many of the songs. The two lead guitarists he enlisted seem to favor a distorted tone, which suits these songs just fine.The original "Bullet Blues" starts things off fine with Mykietyn's distorted slide guitar added to his tale of losing loved ones to the war. He comments on global warming in "Hothouse Blues" and homelessness in "Man In The Box". He incorporates a working knowledge of the blues idiom into his own compositions to come up with worthy efforts. Enough of a new twist is added to the cover songs to to render a fresh sound. At first you might say 'oh no, not another version of that' when "Redhouse" comes on, but it chugs along with an energetic vocal bolstered by stinging guitar courtesy of Robert Ross. James Taylor's "Steamroller Blues" loses it's 'Pop' novelty quality here. This version lopes along as a slow blues. The musicians execute deftly throughout this disc. It's interesting to discover the nuances of other genres that dart in-and-out during the proceedings. It could be a rockabilly inflection in the vocal or some Chuck Berry-meets-blues riffing. The piano and organ backing fleshes out the sound. David Demsey lends his sax playing to the slow blues of "Been Retired From Your Love".No real 'oh wow' moments here. Instead what is provided is a reliable, easy flowing dose of blues. When something is constructed with such thought we sometimes take it for granted. Here's hoping Mr. Mykietyn has enough blues left over for his next effort. 

sing it, white boy!
sing it, white boy!