REVIEWS FOR LIVE, DOWN
AND DIRTY
BLUES: Steve Thorpe - Live, Down and Dirty
It was if I laid back in my easy chair, closed my eyes and
dreamed I was hearing Joe Cocker and Jimi Hendrix melded together
to form one hell of an album. Commercially all the songs would
have to be edited for radio but this is a total blues album
and you sure get your monies worth. This is some fine musicianship
and great renditions. My favorite tracks are The Thrill Is
Gone, Dust My Broom and Everyday I Have the Blues, on which
that Bass player is astonishing! Great vocals by Steve and
the piano player is one of the best I've heard in some time.
- Bob Gallo, Cashboxmagazine.com
http://www.mary4music.com/CD30.html#SteveThorpeCD3
Steve Thorpe
"Live, Down and Dirty"
(Recorded at Lou's Blues & Dirty Harry's)
BY PETER "BLEWZZMAN" LAURO, © AUGUST, 2006
So you're a world class national touring Bluesman and you're
about to embark on a tour of the Southeastern United States.
In need of a second guitar player, who can sing his ass off,
who ya' gonna call? Well if your name is SMOKEY WILSON, GREGG
ALLMAN, BIG BILL MORGANFIELD or SPENCER DAVIS, you're most
likely gonna call STEVE THORPE. And that's exactly who these
blues greats call. When cats like that know you've got it,
it's no wonder that the STEVE THORPE BLUES ORCHESTRA is one
of the most sought after bands in the state of Florida.
"LIVE, DOWN AND DIRTY", could not have been more
perfectly named. Recorded live at LOU'S BLUES & DIRTY
HARRY'S, two hot venues with rockin' audiences, this disc
contains twelve very low down and dirty blues tracks. STEVE
THORPE would have it no other way.
The nucleus of the BLUES ORCHESTRA is the formidable foursome
of STEVE THORPE on guitar, slide guitar and vocals; his son
NATHAN THORPE on bass; KENNY CLARKE on piano, synthesizer,
and organ; and TOM BAYES on drums. Additionally, appearing
on two tracks are DENIS LAAK on drums; DAVID PASTORIUS on
bass; J. J. MARTIN on sax; and ROY BRANHAM on harmonica.
Wasting absolutely no time, the BLUES ORCHESTRA goes from
zero to kick ass as soon as the introduction is over. The
disc opens with a fiery hot version of "DUST MY BROOM
/ BOOT HILL". The smoke from this seven minute sizzler
may very well set off the detectors. STEVE'S slide guitar
is second to none and the SRV fans in the audience will be
delighted with the very reminiscent vocals. KENNY gets a great
assist here with some truly flamboyant keyboarding.
NATHAN & TOM get in on some of the very hot action in
very funky versions of "I JUST WANT ATINY BIT" &
"NEVER MAKE A MOVE TOO SOON". Although there are
some excellent vocals, and several nice piano and guitar accents
throughout, the rhythm section takes charge on these two.
B. B. fans will be loving the "SWEET LITTLE ANGEL /
HOW BLUE CAN YOU GET" medley. This is real, unadulterated,
low down and dirty blues at it's very finest. The feeling
STEVE puts into this one, added to a voice that was made to
sing songs like this, make this one of the discs numerous
highlights.
Having a penchant for turning songs into a jam, it's no surprise
that STEVE'S version of "LITTLE WING" is nearly
10 minutes long. It's also no surprise that the song was done
to perfection. KENNY'S synthesizer, J. J's sax and STEVE'S
Hendrix like play all highlight this track.
THE BLUES ORCHESTRA'S version of "THEY CALL IT STORMY
MONDAY" rocks. On this unique interpretation, the whole
band is locked into a real tight groove and it's an all out
jam done at triple the tempo of any version I've ever heard
of this song.
Other tracks, magnificently done but not mentioned, include
"THE THRILL IS GONE", "FLOWER GIRL" (original),
"EVERDAY I HAVE THE BLUES", "KEY TO THE HIGHWAY",
"YOUNG FASHION WAYS" and "HURRICANE GRAYS"
(original).
"LIVE, DOWN AND DIRTY", containing nearly seventy
five minutes of some of the best blues music you'll ever hear,
is a disc the Blewzzman feels every blues lover will enjoy.
Grab yourself a copy soon.
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