Retro Music Review | Oldies, Reissues and New Releases with a Retro Sound

Barry Levenson - The Late Show (Rip Cat Records; RC 1101)
reviewed by Michael Macomber

Guitarist Barry Levenson knows your blues. On this mostly instrumental album, he tells the story of your life with his strings. He knows your ups, your downs, your struggles, your triumphs.

On “Meters Runnin’”, he recalls that night you were kindah upbeat, happy and a little too drunk, walkin’ your walk and spendin’ your paycheck like it was wine. He knows what you said to that woman you met at the bar, he knows how you laughed when she threw a drink in your face, he knows you finger-snapped your way home and never did go back to settle up for the damage you did to the men’s room door.

The sparse and intense “Steel Life” finds Levenson recounting your hard-working week. The muscles across your back stretch over the bridge of his instrument, taking on more weight and more pain, knowing there is no other choice. Sometimes Levenson is the foreman, looking down on you with disdain. Sometimes he’s the sun, burning straight into your eyes. Sometimes he’s a friend with a glass of water and a smoke, a short break, before it’s back to the job.

And on “Charlie’s Ride”, he remembers that fine lookin’ lady you danced with all night long last weekend. And he reminds you that her number is in your wallet.

From the kick of “Riley’s Shuffle” to the heart-rending truth of “Blue Tears”, from the mysterious melancholy of “The Late Show” to the too-hot cool of “Turn Up the A.C.”, Barry Levenson knows your blues. Just back up and let the man tell the story.

Andy Poxon Band - Red Roots (EllerSoul Records)
reviewed by Michael Macomber

OK, we could go into all the hyperbole about how amazing it is that a kid of 16 could write, play, record and produce such an incredible album. But let’s put that aside for the moment. Forget that blues guitarist/singer/songwriter Andy Poxon is so freakin’ young. Just spin this disc, kick back, and marvel at one of the finest genre blending artists to hit the scene in a very long time.

Poxon pulls influences from rock, blues, rockabilly, pop, country, soul, jazz, ad infinitum, and folds them seamlessly into one another. His voice has texture and truth, his lyrics come from genuine emotion, his arrangements are heartbreaking and heart-racing, toe-tapping and tearful, and most importantly, 100% effective. He knows how to bend your emotions with those strings.

“Hottest Thing in Town” echoes the swing-a-billy mix of the Stray Cats, while never becoming an imitation. The badass funky groove of “No Love” is utterly irresistible, recalling the best of Allen Toussaint. “I Want You So Bad” is a sweet, gentle blues ballad, wide-eyed and romantic, utterly gorgeous. “I’ll Sing the Blues” is as heavy duty as anything out of the big-muscle rock n roll blues of the late 60s, with a drop of a Cream for good measure. And when Poxon declares “I can’t get my feelings wrong”, he hits on a universal truth of the form that is pretty darned perceptive for an artist of any age.

Poxon and his Band have recorded a great blues album, with many more to come, no doubt. Keep an eye on this guy. He may actually bring the genre back to national prominence.

For more info on Andy Poxon and his album “Red Roots”, visit http://ellersoulrecords.com and http://www.andypoxon.com.