Blues Wax

A Classic Collaboration , (10/10/07)

Debbie Davies was a member of the Albert Collins Band from 1988 until 1991 when she left to form her own band. The first Debbie Davies Band album, Picture This, was released in 1993. Blues Blast is her ninth band album. In 1997 Davies won a Handy Award for Contemporary Female Blues Artist of The Year. She also appeared on two well-received collaboration's, 1998's Grand Union with Anson Funderburgh and Otis Grand and 1999's Homesick for The Road with Tab Benoit and Kenny Neal. She is a tasty guitarist and an emotive singer. This newest album is a collaboration with fellow ex-Albert Collins guitarist Coco Montoya, Tab Benoit, and Charlie Musselwhite. For this outing Davies has recruited Bruce Katz (organ), Rod Carey (bass), and Per Hanson (drums), who are reunited here, as in 1993 this unit was Ronnie Earl's Broadcasters. As with any true collaboration, the participants perform throughout the recording.
Opening with the "A.C. Strut," Davies and Montoya exchange guitar riffs and technique learned from their mentor Albert Collins on this Davies original instrumental. Davies sings "My Time After Awhile," a song often associated with Buddy Guy. Then she reprises "Sittin and Cryin" from her Round Every Corner CD, released in 1998, only this time Charlie Musselwhite is playing his trademark harp. Musselwhite's solo is unbelievable. Davies' voice has never sounded better and it causes the listener to believe this is indeed her time.

Usually the first three tracks are an album's best, however, here, after three we are just beginning to get heated up. Charlie Musselwhite sings and plays harp on "Movin and Groovin," from his 1993 release In My Time. Musselwhite sounds the best he has in years. Tab Benoit sings a passionate version of "Crawling King Snake," which becomes a tribute to its author John Lee Hooker as Benoit gives one of his hottest performances on this classic shuffle. Davies seems to bring out the best in everyone.

Davies sings "Howlin' For My Darlin," the Howlin' Wolf classic. Her guitar lines here are inventive as always. Davies and Musselwhite harmonize on the Don Castagno-authored "Like You Was Gone." Davies, Montoya, and Benoit trade guitar solos on "Where The Blues Come To Die," while Davies' vocal is one of the highlights on this extraordinary album.

" Sonoma Sunset" is a ten-minute instrumental opening with harp from Musselwhite and it evokes a perfect evening. Benoit takes a wonderful guitar solo here and it's followed by solos from Montoya and Davies. This is a fitting end to a classic collaboration. Debbie Davies is egoless as she allows the participants sufficient space to express themselves, thereby creating a recording that will still be enjoyed many years from now.

Richard Ludmerer is a contributing editor at BluesWax.

From Riveting Riffs.com Aug. 2007

Mind blowing, is the best way to describe blues artist Debbie Davies' new CD Blues Blast. The album released under the Telarc label provides the listener with a dazzling array of some today's finest blues musicians, including Debbie Davies (guitar/vocals), Tab Benoit (guitar/vocals), Coco Montoya on guitar, Bruce Katz(B3 organ), Charlie Musselwhite (vocals/harmonica), Rod Carey (bass) and Per Hanson (drums).

If you are a fan of Chicago blues music then you are going to absolutely fall in love with "Moovin' & Groovin'." The song is built upon the same rhythms that have propelled bands like The Downchild Blues Band and The Powder Blues Band for decades. Musselwhite who wrote this song, blows some spellbinding notes, gets you moving and snapping your fingers. His vocal performance is incredible. Hanson's drumming is spectacular.

Davies comments on what made this CD work so well, "With tour schedules being what they are, it's nearly impossible to get four blues musicians in the same studio at the same time. So making this record was a rare joy, and a highly satisfying experience. All of us, Tab, Coco, Charlie and myself, are students of the old school, and there's a sense of history that ties us together. We all brought our 'A game' and we all game together, we spoke the same language. The exchange of ideas that took place in the making of this record had very little to do with talking and everything to do with music."

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Southland Blues
August 2007

Debbie Davies' Blues Blast – Telarc

One of the busiest women in the business enlisted three equally busy bluesmen for this latest release. Veterans all, they mesh together as natural as biscuits and gravy on this superb program of original songs and familiar classics. Tab Benoit, Coco Montoya and Charlie Musselwhite join Debbie Davies and her band for a swingin' blast that features titles such as "Howlin' for my Darlin'," "Crawlin' King Snake" and "My Time After Awhile."

Davies' "A.C. Strut," no doubt a nod to her mentor Albert Collins, begins the session with the kind of up-tempo blues that she carried with her during her three-year reign with Collins from 1988-92. With this opener she and Montoya trade guitar licks in an expanded instrumental conversation that sets the house on fire. Montoya, who was Collins' drummer in the mid-1970s, learned his guitar lessons at the elbow of the master before moving on.

The sound that Davies gets from her band supports this union with her three guests amicably. Organist Bruce Katz, bassist Rod Carey and drummer Per Hanson keep it tight while driving a heavy backbeat. When Davies sings "Howlin' for my Darlin'" and "Where the Blues Comes to Die," you can feel the adrenalin flowing. Her emphasis on the instruments around her, however, results in stories that move on under-explained. Musselwhite, Benoit, Montoya and Davies put more message into their instruments than into the lyrics.

As they all come together for the album's closing number, "Sonoma Sunset," you can feel those soulful vibrations going through you. Another instrumental number, this one lets each veteran blues artist express through his/her instrument clearly, concisely, and completely.

-- Jim Santella

Amazon.com – August 2007

Any blues fan dedicated to live music will testify that when musicians play with their peers, the energy rises a few notches. That's the concept behind this meeting of the minds hosted by guitarist Debbie Davies. Fellow string-benders Tab Benoit and Coco Montoya (both have worked with her previously) join harmonica veteran Charlie Musselwhite and let the resulting fireworks naturally explode.

Typically, these projects wind up being overdubbed affairs, a Process that dilutes and often negates the concept. But except for a few instances, largely with Benoit, Davies and her musical friends assembled in the studio, resulting in the titular explosion. Both Montoya and Davies apprenticed under Albert Collins, and the opening "A.C. Strut" captures the Texas blues legend's loose shuffle style as the guitarists trade sizzling licks. Montoya and Musselwhite join for "Sittin' and Cryin'," a finger-snapping Davies original where the harpist tears into a limber and authentic Little Walter-styled solo topped only by the next track, his own "Movin' & Groovin'," to which he also contributes lead vocals.

--Hal Horowitz

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From Modernguitars.com

Blues Artist Debbie Davies Triggers Musical Explosion on New Telarc Release
Press release Source: Telarc

When blues guitarist Debbie Davies’ released All I Found (CD-83636), her June 2005 debut on Telarc, Blues Revue raved: “She pulls out all the stops. She can play it all: seductive, soulful material, down-home delta blues, or humorous tales of life on the road.” Two summers later, Davies follows up with the August 28, 2007, release of Blues Blast (CD-83669), a pressure cooker recording that showcases her seasoned guitar and vocal capabilities and includes guest appearances by three high-profile bluesmen: guitarists Tab Benoit and Coco Montoya, and harpist Charlie Musselwhite.

“Like a master chef’s gourmet meal offering exquisite courses, Debbie has crafted a nine-course wallop of her musical vision and spirit,” says Art Tipaldi, senior writer for Blues Revue and the author of the album’s liner notes. “One listen to Debbie’s tribute [to guitar mentor Albert Collins] with Coco, the opening ‘A.C. Strut,’ proves these kids learned Pop’s lessons.” And that’s just the beginning. While the spirit of Collins is ever-present in Davies’ guitar attack, the earthy Texas shuffle has become her trademark sound. On Buddy Guy’s classic "My Time After Awhile", she conjures up that fiery Lone Star groove.

Four of the eight remaining tracks are either written or co-written by Davies. Musselwhite ups the ante when he steps in with his high-end blows and low-end draws on Davies’ own “Sittin’ and Cryin’” and Musselwhite’s own contribution, “Movin’ and Groovin’”. Labelmate Tab Benoit joins Davies to pay homage to two legendary blues masters: John Lee Hooker on “Crawlin’ King Snake” and Howlin’ Wolf on “Howlin’ for My Darlin’”. The closer, “Sonoma Sunset”, bakes slow and rich like the perfect high-calorie dessert for every blues lover. Davies and her three accomplices join together in this minor-key, slow-blues instrumental. The combination of Musselwhite’s harp solo – an exquisite succession of one sonic innovation after another – and input from all three guitarists turn this track into a ten-minute workout. In the final coda, it’s easy to feel the spirited enthusiasm in their teamwork.

“With tour schedules being what they are,” says Davies, “it’s nearly impossible to get four blues musicians in the same studio at the same time. So making this record was a rare joy, and a highly satisfying experience. All of us – Tab, Coco, Charlie and myself – are students of the old school, and there’s a sense of history that ties us together. We all brought our ‘A game,’ and when we came together, we all spoke the same language. The exchange of ideas that took place in the making of this record had very little to do with talking and everything to do with music.”

More than just a creative dialogue, Debbie Davies’ latest is a Blues Blast.