Customer Reviews

Big Delta

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On his latest release, Omar "Kent" Dykes revisits some songs from his past CD's giving them a slightly revised Delta interpretation and, at the same time adds a couple of new tunes as well as a cover of Felix Pappalardi's Mississippi Queen. The CD features the drums of Terry Bozzio and the bass of Roscoe Beck on various track for a super tight rhythm section. Also featured on the disc is Papa Mali ("Thunder Chicken") who accompanies Omar on slide and sitar guitar. The CD showcases Omar's versatility and talent and successfully gives old time Delta musicians a nod while retaining originality.
The only soft spot would be the inclusion of "Mississippi Queen" which, other than the title, seems to be out of place here. Otherwise, a fine release.

One might wonder what Omar & The Howlers (i.e Ken Dykes) want with this release because most of the tracks are already recorded and released earlier. The only (artistic) reason would be that Omar have changed his opinion about how some previously released songs would be arranged, and now wants to set the record straight. Even if some songs sounds a bit different from the original versions it's not obvious that these new recordings are better versions. Omar have also decided to cover Mountain's "Mississippi queen", but I believe that this slower version doesn't add anything special to the otherwise great track. This album is of course worth having, either you're a big time fan of Omar & The Howlers or just a blues lover who's seeking an introduction to this band.

I actually discovered this artist and CD from the recommendations at Amazon.com. I'm very glad I did, it's really, really good.