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James Cotton. Cotton Mouth Man

Cotton Mouth Man
James Cotton
2013
Review contributed by Sean McCarthy

James “Mr Superharp” Cotton (77 at the time of his new Alligator album’s “Cotton Mouth Man” release) can barely sing anymore but he can still play the harp.

His stunning blasts on his chosen instrument are as powerful as ever.

Cotton is the living embodiment of the Chicago blues, and one of the genre's last surviving founders of it having mentored with the great Sonny Boy Williamson.
He recorded, played, and toured with Howlin' Wolf and managed to fill the hole left by Little Walter and Junior Wells in Muddy Waters' late 1950s band, cutting his first sides at the age of 19 for Chess Records.

Rock Candy Funk Party. We Want Groove

We Want Groove
Rock Candy Funk Party
2013
Review contributed by Sean McCarthy

I was glad that I didn’t fall victim to the most classic of blunders.
The most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia".

But, only slightly less well-known is this: "beware an artist’s side projects!” unless of course those side projects happen to contain artists named Dylan, Harrison, Lynne, Orbison and Petty.

So as Joe Bonamassa approaches his 25th year as a professional musician, I approached this disk with caution, as it is hardly surprising that he is involving himself in a number of diverse side projects.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds. On The Verge

On The Verge
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
2013
Review contributed by Sean McCarthy

The last time The Fabulous Thunderbirds released a studio album was in 2005.

On the Verge is the 12th official studio album released by a band of that name, yet the only thing this record has in common with the 1st official T-Birds release is Kim Wilson (the only constant member of the group since its beginnings).

This record will surely surprise the more casual T-Birds fans, but perhaps it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to realise that a band so often defined by its guitarists takes on a different character once the lead singer definitively asserts his status as the band's leader.

The (mostly) original songs are arranged with thought and no little skill.
There is a lot more going on than what was once a straight-forward sound..