Celso Salim - Big City Blues

Bitrate:320K/s
Year:2007
Time:65:13 
Size:150,2 MB 
Label:GRV Records 
Styles:Blues/Electric Blues/Contemporary Blues 
Art:Front 

Tracks Listing:
 1. Best Cheater in Town - 4:35
 2. Big City Blues - 5:02
 3. Truthful Liars - 4:38
 4. Sweet Lovin' Queen - 5:52
 5. Dangerous Games - 4:41
 6. If the Sea Was Whiskey - 4:40
 7. Crazy About You - 5:52
 8. Workin' Shoes - 5:03
 9. Backdoor Loverman - 2:49
10. Hangin' Out with Mr. Daniels - 4:16
11. All over My Skin - 5:19
12. 1000 Miles Blues - 6:17
13. Onololows Blues - 6:05

Big City Blues (GRV Records) is the third album by Celso Salim, and it is arguably the best yet, certainly to my ears – maybe because it is bluesier then the earlier two. The CD benefits from having 12 original songs and just one cover version (“If The Sea Were Whiskey”), and the original songs are all good.Salim shows his instrumental diversity by playing dobro, electric and acoustic guitars – backed by Jason Sterling on drums, Rodrigo Mantovani on bass and guest artists Ari Borguer (piano), Igor Prado (guitar), Sergio Duarte (harmonica) and others.Salim is very obviously a talented musician, and he has been playing guitar since the age of 6; he studied at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, and joined a local blues band in the area, before moving back to his native Brazil in 2000.This is his first album since the 2003 release Going Out Tonight, and it has been worth the wait. The album contains lots of different tempos and styles of blues, from driving rocking blues to simple picking, and obviously has many different influences.The opening track “Best Cheater In Town” is a rocking blues, with some superb harmonica work from Sergio Duarte backing Celso’s stylish slide guitar work. “Truthful Liars” keeps to the same tempo and style with its driving, insistent beat, and slips into track three, the title track “Big City Blues,” slowing down the tempo slightly and showcasing some nice piano work by Ari Borguer.
Track four, “Sweet Lovin’ Queen,” is pure Muddy Waters-influenced and is possibly the best track on the album – the slide guitar is pure heaven! I’d buy the CD for this track alone. The cover of Willie Dixon’s “If The Sea Was Whiskey” is another contender for best track on the album, staying true to the original without being a direct copy.
There isn’t a bad track on the album, it’s just that some are better than others. There seems to be some high standard blues coming out of Brazil at the moment, and this is a good listen. --- Terry Clear

Big City Blues