Customer Reviews

Neck Bones & Caviar

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

 

 

This is a fine record by Blues guitarist and singer Mel Brown. He plays with a trio (The Homewreckers)including the excellent pianist-organist John Lee. Mel Brown sing a few originals, Ray Charles's I believe to my soul, a great cover of Allen Toussaint's Get out of my life woman and Muddy Waters's Woman wanted. He lived the blues, he knows what it's all about and he has a good voice sometimes reminiscent of Percy Mayfield. His guitar playing is great, with a mix of singles lines and chords. But to me the highlight of the session is Lord have mercy on me on which Mel Brown is alone and plays piano wonderfully. This is true blues.

Voted best blues album of 2000 by several blues magazines, how come such a great record is so undestimated here ? This CD is definitly the best blues cd Mel Brown has ever made : stingin guitar, deep voice, original covers of great songs, very good band ; try not to surrender to "Woman's wanted", "In the mood" or the incredible "I believe to my soul". Please take a listen, you won't regret it !

I have read some professional reviews which takes this 'Neck Bones & Caviar' to be the best of Mel Brown's records, but personally I think of 'Homewreckin' as better. Nonetheless in both records Brown's performance is on a very good level, in my opinion and in that of the great Joe Louis Walker, who says that Brown is probably one of the greatest guitar players in any style. I find two themes in this `Neck Bones' that are not on the same level as the others: Z.Z.Hill's `You' re the one' and Ray Charles's 'I believe to my soul', both a little boring.
Also the record features a not very inspired Jim Bodreaux on drums. He takes some themes away from the Blues and gives them a rhythm somewhat "funky" as in Mel Brown's 'Summer magic', and still more noticeable in a slow classic Blues as St. Louis Jimmy Oden's 'Going down slow'. In general it is a good disk, with highlights as Muddy Water's 'Woman wanted', a perfect version of Allen Toussaint's 'Get out my live woman', the original 'I want to hold onto you, Baby' and 'Blues on the green', a great Blues, a very good version of 'Lord have mercy' where Brown plays the piano really well and closing the LP a version of John Lee Hooker's 'I' m in the mood' which begins somewhat enigmatic and finishes as a true piece of Blues. I give it between 3 and 3,5 stars.