Buddy Miles - Blues Berries

List Price: $11.98
Our Price: $5.95
You Save: $6.03 (50%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.42 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details

CD Details

Music reviews of Blues Berries

Music Review: Blues Berries
Rating: 4 Stars

The life of Buddy Miles has seen more ups and downs than... but he is back riding high with his new release 'Blues Berries'. The disc is a return to the rock, funk and soul stew that Buddy is famous for.
Recent efforts like 'Miles Away From Home' strayed a little too far away from the blues, but 'Blues Berries' finds Buddy with his irons firmly in the fire. Sneaking up on you, right out of the starting gate, is a funk-infused
version of "Tobacco Road". This will apparently not be any standard 12-bar
blues and shuffle exercise, as the rest of the album proceeds to prove. By
the time Buddy reaches the end of the nine-and-a-half minute emotional
marathon that is "Compassion For The Blues", he'll have everyone reaching
for a Kleenex and crying in their beer. He also struts out two of the
latest loves of his life, "Big Mama" and "Miss Suga' Fine". The ladies
carry a lot of weight, "Miss Suga' Fine" being the heavier of the two.
There's also a taste of Louisiana in "Bayou Delta" and an acoustic stopover,
where Buddy and his gang pay a visit "Down At The Crossroads". Buddy's
gang, by the way, includes some old friends to this listener's ears. First
off, there's Rocky Athas. A legend in Blues-rock circles, Rocky is the
perfect foil to Buddy's Funk and Soul tendencies. Much like baseball's
great "Babe" Ruth, Rocky seems able to take aim with his Strat, then swat
riffs and licks at will. Holding down the beat with Buddy is Chris Layton.
Are these two gentlemen playing drums or pounding tent stakes into the
ground? The drums are that powerful. Flying below the radar are bassists
Tommy Shannon and Robert Ware, laying a throbbing foundation for the others.
Layton and Shannon, remember, are better known as Double Trouble. They
prove that here, kicking dirt and attitude around over the course of these
songs. Tying the whole package together is the B-3 keyboard tapestry that
Mark Leach weaves in and around the songs. In the end, it all boils down to
a great album from a band of gypsys, if you will. They're all at the top of
their game, and they have met at a crossroads, where the Blues Berries grow
plump and sweet. Stop. Sit a spell. Have a taste.

Description of Blues Berries

Blues CDs

• Music > Styles
• Jazz
• Pop
• R&B
• Rock