Blues With Horns Vol. 1
Moon Voyage, 2017
8/10
Listen to Blues With Horns Vol. 1
The long running outfit Chris Daniels and The Kings celebrated 33 years of music making with this 15th album, and they’ve brought along Freddi Gowdy for the blues, funk and jazz festivities where the 7 piece band puts their inimitable song craft on display with much proficiency.
Daniels and company lead with the bluesy fun of “Sweet Memphis”, where lively horns from Darryl Abrahamson and backing vocals from Hazel Miller and Coco Brown add much to the soulful yet playful opener, and “Fried Food/Hard Liquor” follows with plenty of swampy swagger as Daniels’ guitar lines and warm harmonica enter the raw and powerful delivery.
Halfway through, “Wouldn’t Treat A Dog (The Way You Treated Me)” offers funk nods with no shortage of melody amid a gritty and tuneful climate, while “Baby’s In Love With The Radio” is a festive album highlight that grooves, shakes and flows with R&B stabs. “Can’t Even Do Wrong Right”, another exceptional track, then makes great use of keys alongside a bouncy spirit in the rhythmic atmosphere that will get your body moving.
As we near the end, “Them Changes” is a swift and glorious display of timeless blues rock, and “Rain Check” exits the listen on a calmer note of keys and harmonica alongside smooth vocals.
An album indebted to the sounds of Memphis and New Orleans, Daniels and his band company offer both covers and originals here, and any and all fans of blues, R&B, soul, funk, rock’n’roll, jazz and Motown will be amazed by the incredible performances and top notch songwriting.
Travels well with: Henry Gray & Bob Corritore- Cold Chills; Artur Menezes- Fading Away