Customer Reviews

Howl With the Wolf

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

 

 

Four years after his last release, Studebaker John Grimaldi and his Hawks are back with an all original Chicago blues style CD.

This disc features a variety of infectious tempos the likes of which are not often heard. It is quite refreshing to have a modern blues musician who writes songs today that are reminisent of years past. John's harp playing is sharp, his vocals pleasing, and the rythym is tight. This is some good party stuff and is highly recommended. Potential clunker: Juke Joint Jump, otherwise, its flawless.

This is Studebaker's best work in my opinion. There isn't a bad track on the disc and it holds your attention throughout.

A strong opening track, 'Burned by Love' promises powerful rifts and melodic slide-guitar work and that is precisely what this CD delivers. With the addition of a rhythm guitar and keyboards over the previous issue, this collection has a jazzy feel at times, but doesn't lose the R&B power. The is an R&B CD more rich and varied than most. Thankfully, unlike most other R&B works, it doesn't have the slow, funereal blues ballads which seem to be an obligatory inclusion. There are slower songs for sure, but they never lose the zip and vitality of the collection.

If I have one (small) criticism, it's the harp solos. Studebaker is an accomplished and stylish harmonica player, giving a deep, muscley sound to the instrument as opposed to the trill, tinny tones most produce. However, his solos can be overdone to the point of chaotic at times. A strange characteristic as the rest of the music is tight and compact.

But this is just one small wrinkle in what I believe to be one of the best modern albums in this genre.

Studebaker John Grimaldi is a long time veteran of the Chicago blues scene, but this is the first album I have checked out by him. John plays a mean harmonica, tasty guitar, sings and writes all of the songs. I am quite impressed with the guy and this is a solid blues rock album. Some of his more party oriented stuff reminds me of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, but those tracks tend to be the weaker ones on the album. John plays some fantastic slide guitar on several tracks and his harmonica playing often reminds me of Greg "Fingers" Taylor. All in all this is a very nice modern blues album by a relatively unknown Chicago area talent.