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Frank Macchia: Bluezapalooza
ByBluezapalooza takes that concept deeper, moving into earthy blues grooves, with lead vocals from Macchia himself, and Larry Walker on three tunes: "The Long Goodbye," "Sittin' In My Backyard," and "Anxious Man (With A Furball)." Both singers bring James Cotton's gruff, gravelly vocal delivery to mind; Cotton played harmonica in the bands of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf in his early days, then broke away and established himself as a terrific band leader and vocalist in his own right.
And some fun? Of Macchia's tune "Fang" (he wrote and arranged them all here), the composer says of the lyric content: "No deep meaning...just a fun romp." This sums up the entire album. Fun blues, some with some polish, others with some dirt on them, featuring crisp arrangements, featuring Ken Rosser's wailing guitar licks (Rosser has a masters degree in classical guitar, but has no problem rolling around in the blues), powerful woodwind backdrops (along with keyboards) from Macchia, drummer Brock Avery's charging rhythms, Nick Hafarcma's funky bass lines and Tracy London's subtle backing vocal embellishments, all put together to make a credible, hard-charging blues album which leans to the the traditional style while reaching up high into the twenty-first century.
Track Listing
Circus Glee; Alligator In My Fridgerator; Sittin' In My Backyard; Treadmill; Fang; The Long Goodbye; My Torment; Anxious Manx; Anxiety; I'm Goin' Crazy.
Personnel
Frank Macchia
composer / conductorKen Rosser
guitarBrock Avery
drumsNick Hafarcam
bassTracy London
vocalsLarry Walker
vocalsAdditional Instrumentation
Frank Macchia: vocals, keyboards, woodwinds, compositions, lyrics; Larry Walker: vocals (3, 6, 8).
Album information
Title: Bluezapalooza | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Cacophony
Comments
About Frank Macchia
Instrument: Composer / conductor
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