All About Jazz

Home » Articles » CD/LP/Track Review

ADVERTISE | FOR PROS
218

Dave Riley: Whiskey, Money & Women

By

Sign in to view read count
Dave Riley: Whiskey, Money & Women
The Dave Riley blues style is marked with equal parts authenticity and guts. With blues singer/guitarists currently available at a dime for the dozen, it is refreshing to be confronted with a dose of originality. New York’s Fedora Records seeks to keep the blues in its elliptical orbit through featuring such musicians as Riley, a fearless practitioner whose music is fueled by his own encounters with life’s blue junctures. His music is succinctly delivered through meaty crunch chords, layered precision picking, and a voice that bellows with authority and mobility. Whiskey, Money & Women I laced with a tone of granulated joy and redemption.

Riley, who spent 25 in the correctional circuit as a guard in Illinois’s Joliet State Penitentiary, is a reformed addict and Vietnam veteran. He is joined by son, Dave Riley, Jr., snap-drummer Sam Carr, and Arkansas harp man, John Weston. The bulk of the music is played as a blues power trio. They open the disc with Detroit Jr.’s infectious “Call My Job.” Riley makes the tune his own, tactfully placing 7’s and 9’s in the rhythms and spilling filler riffs with grace and accuracy. “Tribute,” which features Riley alone with his guitar, cites such forerunners as Elmore James, Wes Montgomery, and Texas slinger Freddie King as masters, Riley acknowledging their powers in the artform and humbly taking the torch for his passion. He further pays tribute, ripping through standards by Howlin’ Wolf and BB King (“Smokestack Lightning” and “Angel of Mercy”). Oddly enough, the record closes with a soulful take on John Lennon’s “Imagine.” The number begins with a monologue that calls attention to grade school violence. Riley’s chord strumming is choppy at best, but his intentions are forthright.

This record makes a fine introduction to a Southern unsung bluesman.

Fedora Records on the web: http://www.jazzdepot.com

Title: Whiskey, Money & Women | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: Fedora Records

Tags

Dave Riley CD/LP/Track Review Alan Jones Fedora Records United States Whiskey, Money & Women

comments powered by Disqus

Music & Tickets

Shop for jazz at Amazon
Shop at HDTracks for high definition downloads
Shop for jazz at CD Universe
Shop for concert tickets at Ticketfly
Shop for tickets at Ticketmaster
Shop for tickets at TicketWeb
Shop at Hifi Man

CD/LP/Track Review
Read more articles

Related Articles

Read Dirt...And More Dirt CD/LP/Track Review
Dirt...And More Dirt
by Karl Ackermann
Published: May 22, 2018
Read Brother Raymond CD/LP/Track Review
Brother Raymond
by Roger Farbey
Published: May 22, 2018
Read Frescalalto CD/LP/Track Review
Frescalalto
by Ian Patterson
Published: May 22, 2018
Read Motion CD/LP/Track Review
Motion
by Geannine Reid
Published: May 22, 2018
Read El Duende CD/LP/Track Review
El Duende
by Chris Mosey
Published: May 22, 2018
Read Walk The Walk CD/LP/Track Review
Walk The Walk
by Mark Sullivan
Published: May 21, 2018
Read "Converging Tributaries" CD/LP/Track Review Converging Tributaries
by Mark Corroto
Published: September 5, 2017
Read "A Home In Between" CD/LP/Track Review A Home In Between
by Troy Dostert
Published: July 17, 2017
Read "Live from San Pedro" CD/LP/Track Review Live from San Pedro
by Edward Blanco
Published: April 3, 2018
Read "Running After The Sun" CD/LP/Track Review Running After The Sun
by Bruce Lindsay
Published: June 7, 2017
Read "Public Access / Headline / Crossings" CD/LP/Track Review Public Access / Headline / Crossings
by John Kelman
Published: March 25, 2018
Read "Paint" CD/LP/Track Review Paint
by Jerome Wilson
Published: October 16, 2017