Customer Reviews

Greasy Kid Stuff

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ramos does what he does best and gets other guys do to what they do best; this is what leading bands and producing cds is all about.

I've been a big James Harman fan for a long time. I used to see him with guitarist Kid Ramos in smokey clubs in LA with 50 people or so. Great shows. I bought this because I was interested in what Kid Ramos could do on his own. Well, I still don't really know. His guitar work is sort of lost on this disc He only wrote one of the songs and quite frankly he is mearly a backup guitarist to a pretty amazing showcase of great blues front-men/harp players. When the guitar does kick in it's fine but nothing special, just standard blues riffs.

On this CD, Ramos continues the trend set on his last two releases, "Kid Ramos" and "West Coast House Party" by inviting several guest performers. However, unlike either of the other releases, Ramos has eliminated the keyboards as well as the horn section and has invited only harp players to the party opting to handle all guitar duties himself.

Accompanying Ramos are Paul deLay, Johnny Dyer, Rick Estrin, James Harman, Charlie Musselwhite, Rod Piazza and Lynwood Slim. The result is an excellent stripped down performance, which recalls early Chicago blues in the style of Jimmy Roger, early Muddy Waters or Mojo Buford, and yet still retains the flavor of each performers unique style. Overall this is a very good CD and all songs, with the possible exception of the rockabilly number "Hold Me Tenderly", mesh well together. If you like harps and down home blues, check this out.

Great mix of blues and rockabilly with many guest artists . Track 5 is a classic tune with all that a rockabilly tune should have. Very enjoyable cd

Kid Ramos rounds up his usual suspects such as vocalist/harp master Lynwood Slim for this great session. Actual this cd features the regular Kid Ramos Quartet you see in Long Beach clubs, with a plethora of special guests and occasional honking saxes, and horn sections. This is some greasy late 40's-mid 50's sounding jump blues. Ramos' greasy jazz drenched guitar licks are the main feature throughtout this spectacular set of the west coasts prime blues players. It prooves the west coast is the best coast, at least as far as the retro jump blues scene goes. Also of note Ramos is able to play in a variety of styles from Johnny Guitar Watson to Link Wray, and rockabilly roots style(think 50's Sun records!!!). Great stuff, but mostyl danceable rockin' jump swing/blues.

Kid Ramos is going from strength to strength, and with this 4th solo outing he is finally establishing himself as the master of "friends"-albums. His partners in crime on this album includes harmonica players/ singers Charlie Musselwhite, Rick Estrin, James Harman, Rod Piazza, Johnny Dyer, Lynwood Slim and Paul DeLay. With the exception of Charlie, James and Lynwood he has never recorded with these artists before. Despite the title - this album follows in the footsteps of his former 2 releases with focus on old style rhythm & blues, some songs with the addition of horns. Kid has hammered out stinging and low-down guitar over many years now but he is clearly coming out in his own right with this CD! The result shows what an excellent backup he is to harmonica players and how he propels the music on every track through his trademark licks. He gets to play more rock-oriented guitar with the latest Fabulous Thunderbirds lineup but here he is solely dedicated to true rockin blues! It is a sheer joy to hear Rick Estrin and Kid doing the tribute to Little Walter on "Marion's mood" and Paul DeLay's r&b fuelled "Holler" - to James Harman's vocal prowess on 3 tracks!The only mishap on this recording is the way that the bass is so low in the mix that most normal Hi-Fi systems will have a problem to pick it up. As I would have thought it has to do with the fact it is supposed to sound vintage, it could have had slightly more distinctive sound. Despite this minor sentiment - make no doubt about it - this is an album that demands to be heard and definitely one of the very best in 2001!

Ok everyone...this is it....it is done. The Kid has the winner that he should have had at the Handy Awards on his last effort. This is the one! My gawd....blues has not been this good on a single release ever. With so much smooth help from heavies like Charlie Musselwhite, Rich Estrin, James Harman and the great Rod Piazza this copulation would make Willie Dixon envious. There is no doubt about the one eye slant presence that Kid has in the blues community. What other artist in that genre, or any other for that matter, can pen his name to the cover of an album that can put together such a party? I have been collecting music since the radio was a transistor and an ear piece hanging from a cheap white string and I have never heard or seen anything like it. You can only wish that you could go to this party in person. I want to tell you guys, though, that buying and listening to this is as close as that can get. Thank you, Kid and freinds. I have said it once and I will say it again, please keep it up....I'm a buyin'.

This is a fine CD! There is a variety of styles without any weak tracks. Some damn fine musicianship on all tracks. Great singing, harp playing, guitar playing, etc. My favorite track is the title track, Greasy Kid Stuff. Kid Ramos has a really cool tone on that one. He has great tone on all songs, but that one stands out. Devil's Foot is way cool too. Somewhat unusual. Buy this one! You won't be sorry, unless you're weak.