Customer Reviews

Duke Meets the Earl

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was lucky enough to have a ticket for the central court in Wimbledon and watch the best tennis final ever played in the championship: Borg vs. McEnroe. After few hours of breath taking spectacle the image of McEnroe on his knees after the winning point is still present today in my eyes. WHAT A DAY IT WAS! If you are wondering: what does it have to do with a blues record? Well it does for me. When I received the delivery from Amazon the feeling I was feeling was the same I proved that day waiting for the match to start. You know that you are about to be witness of a magnificent, historic event and your excitement grows and grows until the match starts and then, when it started, you are carried away in a roller coaster of emotions that are hard to describe in words. Here, my friends, we are in the presence of the two best blues white guitarist alive playing together and the final result in terms of emotions and excitement is very much the same. 8 songs, 72 minutes of great music played the way only Ronnie and Duke could possibly play. They hit the ball hard in each other court using all their best skills exchanging bending, sliding, stretching the notes to the limit, squeezing their guitars as I never heard before. WHAT A BLUES RECORD! We are in the presence of greatness, this is it, this is the best electric-blues album of our era! A fantastic result that I am afraid is already the benchmarking all the others modern electric blues albums will have to be measured against. Uptempo, swinging but mostly slow blues in the menu in an almost (50%) instrumental album. The CD from start to finish captures your attention and makes you experience some of the deepest and strong emotions you have ever had or will have listening to modern electric blues. It is a sterile and pointless exercise to try to find a "favourite" track in this CD because they are all stunning. However is hard not to mention the 15 minutes plus slow "My tears" in which Duke Robillard demonstrates that he is not just an incredible guitar player but also a very good singer, and the great "A soul that's been abused" penned by Ronnie and sung by Mighty Sam McClain. With the appearance of the B3 master Jimmy McGriff as special guest in two songs and a very tight and precise rhythm section the album flows from start to finish in no time and it really looks like instead of 72 minutes it has lasted only a couple. Who's the winner then? Who's the best player? Borg or McEnroe? Ronnie or Duke? That day in Wimbledon McEnroe won, however it is hard to say who was the best player in the court. In this record we have no winners my friends they both won! They both demonstrate that they are the bests around. If there is out there a must have album, this is the one. A billion stars wouldn't be enough to rate this masterpiece!

If you're reading this review, chances are you're a fan or one if not both of these men. You know about Roomful of Blues and the Broadcasters and you could even be from New England. Maybe you're just a very astute afficionado of the blues. What you're probably looking for is confirmation that this album is as good as you've made it out to be in your mind. You're in luck, it is. What this is not is two guys calling each other out for a showdown at high noon. What it is is two good friends and two exceptional guitar players jamming together and making exceptional music for the joy of playing together. We're just lucky enough to be able to take home the finished product. If you're a blues fan or a guitar man (or woman), your collection's not complete without this one. It's a dandy!

I got this album the day it was available. Great blues from Roomful of Blues former guitar players. Each has his different style and it is very noticable on this recording. Each is featured on a different stereo side-Ronnie on the left and Duke on the right. Lots of slow and fast blues jams with an occasional vocal. I have played this album over and over and never will I get tired of it. If you love the blues and you love these guys-don't wait-get off this web site and go buy it now!!!!!!

Here we have Exhibit A for great blues: 72 minutes of two guitar masters jamming and riffing off of classic or near classic blues tunes. Although there are some nice vocal touches and the band plays some part in the whole experience, those bits are there to provide the foundation for these guys to just take off and GO MAN GO. Not too fast, not too slow, just cruise and cruise to the blues.

Too many modern blues albums are taken up with commercial concerns or featuring a specific artist. Here you get more of the feel of, I dunno, that visit to a club where the players are sitting in the smokey darkness, letting the music wash over you. No 90-second singles. No specific destination.

It's not Rachmaninov, but that, emphatically, is not the point. Someone, somewhere complains that no new ground is broken here, but that misses the point to. The point here is the pure joy of two players at the height of their powers letting us share in the joy.

If you like the electric blues and need a little injection of hot licks, get this one today.

I hadn't heard of these two guys before. I just stumbled onto them checking out CD's online. Wow what a great CD! These guys put me into another mind set listing to their inter mixing of guitar playing. This made my hour and 20 minute ride home a treat to bare. I almost turned around when I got home so I could listen to it again. This is a good CD, well worth the price of admission.

This CD is destined for greatness. No ifs or buts. My one of all time favourite blues instrumentals is Albert Collins' "Backstroke" covered by Ronnie Earl and Duke R. That magic is here in this CD captured beautifully over a generous 72 minutes of simply beautiful soulful playing and singing. No guitar histrionics of Mach 2 finger picking here. No sirree. These players play with tremendous sensitivity and feel. Allowing space and time between notes to convey mood and emotion.

There are several things fans should note about this CD. The first is the sound of the guitars. What tone!! The notes come slashing and piercing out of the speaker. Full blooded and full bodied there is astonishing depth. Listen to what Duke does in the third chorus of his solo in the opening track. He does something to his tone that makes his strat jump up and say "didn't think I was a strat before did ya? Well I am!" Ronnie's solo is everybit compelling. He struts and swaggers and slashes his way through the shuffle. This is the just first 8 minutes folks!!!

The second aspect is the superb accompaniment by the supporting players. Jimmy Mcgriff's B3 washes (including his intro to the tune) behind the principals in "My Tears" locks the slow blues grooves. He also solos on "I need you so bad". But the real B3 highlight is Dave Limina's work on the beautiful "A soul that has been abused."

The third aspect is that it contains a mix of different grooves: shuffle, swing, slow burners, chicago style walking blues. Furthermore the songs are sequenced nicely.

Finally, the CD showcases two masters at the absolute pinnacle of their prowess. Duke and Ronnie are in total command of their instrument and their ability to express their feelings for the blues. Most importantly it illustrates the futility of comparing virtuosos to determine who is better--an all too common conversation topic. Forget comparisons. These are guys have the one thing it takes to achieve greatness: they make you care.

This is a CD to be discovered and relished for yourselves. We blues fans know what THAT is all about right?

Fair warning: this CD will not leave your player anytime soon once you play it.

If you've ever liked the T-Bone Walker style, or drooled over the pure T-Bone licks that both Ronnie and Duke have graced us with over the years, "Two Bones and a Pick" is eight minutes of pure jump-blues-guitar-heaven. I can, and do listen to this for hours on end. If any two white guys have got that jump-blues-guitar-thang down, it's these two. T-Bone is grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Unlike some artists who get together and try not to outplay each other, i.e. not show each other up, these two planned the session well ahead that allows each to show their virtousity against each other without the latter.

The production, songs chosen and performance from other backing musicians are brilliant.

If you like guitar duels in the jump blues fashion, this is a recording to buy.

First off; I really appreciate artists or labels that give you at least 60 minutes of play time and don't cut out lengthy guitar solos. This CD certainly delivers in this regard as Ronnie Earl and the Duke trade guitar jams in creative duets for a solid 70 plus minutes. This is a close 5 star recommendation but it isn't a classic and it isn't groundbreaking; although I would think some reviewers would seriously disagree with that point. It's just damn good music by two pros whose different styles compliment one another. Highly recommended.

As a fan of diverse musical styles, ranging from baroque organ through world music to current rock, everything I like must have one quality--it must come from the soul. Although I am not that familiar with blues guitar, the first time I heard this CD while shuffling through selections in a borrowed car, I was transfixed. The power and feeling conveyed by the guitar solos, as played by these two artists exceeds description. When I play track four, Ronnie hits a few notes, especially around the fourth minute, that, no matter what I am doing, give me the chills. The only piece that I can compare this to, in which a single note on a stringed instrument can convey so much, is perhaps the Chaconne from Bach's Partita in D minor. If you just like great music, regardless of any knowledge of the blues or any genre, BUY THIS CD!