Double Take

Kenny Neal, Billy Branch | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 13, 2004)
• Original Release Date: 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Alligator Records
• ASIN: B0000YTOW6
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,990 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Entertainment Weekly, January 16, 2004

"...delivers a set of country blues that might just renew your faith in the eternal verities...stunningly gorgeous"

Product Description

Take two critically acclaimed bluesmen, team them up in a recording studio, hit the ‘Record’ button, and listen as the magic begins to flow. Case in point: Kenny Neal and Billy Branch’s new Alligator album, DOUBLE TAKE. Kenny Neal is a critically acclaimed triple-threat bluesman, whose guitar and harmonica prowess are matched note for note by his soulful singing and passionate performances. Billy Branch is among the best blues harmonica players in the world. He is a gruff and potent vocalist, a groundbreaking solo artist, a valued session player and leader of the venerable Sons Of Blues. Neal and Branch got together in a studio in France in 1998 and recorded a magnificent acoustic album (released only in Europe), paying tribute to past musicians and laying the path for a bright and uncompromising future for the blues. Now that album—DOUBLE TAKE—is finally seeing the light of day in the United States. From St. Louis Jimmy’s Goin’ Down Slow to the Little Walter gems My Babe (written by Willie Dixon) and I Just Keep Loving Her to Sonny Boy Williamson’s Don’t Start Me Talking to the originals Billy and Kenny’s Stomp and Northern Man Blues, the two trade vocals in a relaxed and warm meeting of styles, riffs, whoops and hollers. Blending deep blues tradition with a contemporary, pulsating edge, Neal and Branch deliver a foot-stomping and spirited look into the blues through the eyes of two remarkable musicians who will continue to be at the forefront of the blues world for many years to come.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars !Tremenda Combinacion!, June 13, 2005

By 

bluejim (Castro Valley, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Double Take (Audio CD)

...as they say in Salsa music. These guys work very well together. Just the two of them with judicious use of overdubs as best as I can tell. This is my first album with Billy Branch on it. My goodness, the man knows his way around a harp. Lets you know why they call it a Mississippi Saxophone. Thanks Alligator, for licensing this from it's original European label.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ***3/4. Enjoyable acoustic session, May 6, 2006

By 

Docendo Discimus (Vita scholae) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Double Take (Audio CD)

Originally issued on Isabel Records as "Easy Meeting", 2004's "Double Take" is the second incarnation of this acoustic 1998 session.

It is a lean affair, just Kenny Neal (guitar and vocals) and Billy Branch (harmonica and vocals), but the sound is never flimsy, and the two second-generation bluesmen turn out fine renditions of classic numbers like "Mannish Boy" and Willie Dixon's "My Babe", and an interesting, up-tempo version of James Burke Oden's "Going Down Slow" which features instrumental backing in double tempo and a slightly revised melody line.

"Double Take" also includes two excellent takes on Kenny Neal's poignant slow number "The Son I Never Knew", and Neal's presence is generally stronger than Billy Branch's...he also contributes "Baby Bee" and "Early One Morning" compared to only one original by Billy Branch, the slow "Northern Man Blues".

A couple of songs are pretty lightweight, like the clich?d "I Just Keep Loving Her", and this "Don't Start Me To Talkin'" doesn't measure up to Sonny Boy Williamson's original. But most of what is here is very good, and "Double Take" is certainly worth a listen, even if it isn't one of the major items in either man's catalogue.

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Acoustic Blues, February 11, 2010

By 

Blues Guy in Philly (West Chester, PA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Double Take (Audio CD)

This is a solid CD of acoustic Blues. The harmonica playing is outstanding and the voices of Kenny and Billy blend together very well. This is laid back music, great background music.