![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sippnotized.jpg\")
Mr. Sipp is the nom de blues<\/i> of Castro Coleman. The 2014 International Blues Challenge winner is also known as \u201cThe Missisippi Blues Child.\u201d Sippnotized<\/i> is the fourth long-player from the acclaimed gospel-blues guitarist-singer.<\/p>\n
Across the new album\u2019s ten songs, Sipp synthesizes his influences into a cohesive whole. \u201cGonna Be Alright\u201d wouldn\u2019t be out of place on any of Sly and the Family Stone\u2019s classic-era albums, but Sipp manages the feat of engaging in pastiche while never losing his own musical personality in the process.<\/p>\n
The title track explores fun territory; Sipp\u2019s spoken intro suggests Parliament\/Funkadelic, and when he starts singing, he sounds a bit like early \u201870s Stevie Wonder. The song\u2019s understated wah-wah guitar and horn section make \u201cSippnotized\u201d sound like classic slab of funky soul.<\/p>\n
\u201cFree\u201d is an outlier; with its dated guitar and synthesizer textures (and funk-popping bass figures), it sounds like an \u201880s funk slow jam. It\u2019s effective at capturing that particular vibe, though it remains an open question whether there\u2019s much demand for such a musical excursion. The gospel vocal arrangement that dominates the song\u2019s second half does redeem things, but it still feels underwritten and derivative.<\/p>\n
Sipp gets back on track with \u201cF 2020.\u201d The letter stands for exactly what you think it does; the tune is a survey of the challenges faced in the first year of the pandemic. But while Sipp doesn\u2019t shy away from enumerating the negatives \u2013 \u201cthat was a terrible year,\u201d he sings \u2013 his outlook for the future is hopeful. Beyond the lyrics, the tune gives Sipp room to stretch out and deliver an extended guitar solo.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Mississippi Step\u201d reaches back to music\u2019s past for its theme: creating a new dance. Electronic hand claps and some engaging synthesizer splashes create a musical throwback that\u2019s undeniably fun. Running his guitar through a phase shifter allows Sipp to give \u201cCan You Feel Me Now\u201d a psychedelic blues character. The tune\u2019s deep-groove melody is among the best on the record. And even though Sipp is in preaching mode, his good-natured approach isn\u2019t likely to alienate less spiritually-inclined listeners.<\/p>\n
If only to underscore Sipp\u2019s stylistic range, \u201cFallen Loved Ones\u201d would be a success. A late-night blues weeper, it features some lean, jazzy guitar work and deeply soulful, heartfelt vocals. And responding to what he characterizes as his fans\u2019 desire for some \u201clowdown blues\u201d with \u201cDirty Mississippi Blues\u201d he turns in a I-IV-V number that delivers on that promise. And right before he tears into a stinging solo, he name-checks his previous album, 2017\u2019s Living Blues Award winner Knock a Hole In It<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Mr. Sipp unplugs for the set closer, \u201cThe One.\u201d After an extended spoken introduction, Sipp delivers an autobiographical lyric. He expresses his desire to bring smiles and joy to his listeners; more than anything, \u201cThe One\u201d sounds and feels like a love song. But it\u2019s one directed not to an individual, but to those who some might call fans. Yet as Mr. Sipp explains in the song, he thinks of them as family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mr. Sipp is the nom de blues of Castro Coleman. The 2014 International Blues Challenge winner is also known as \u201cThe Missisippi Blues Child.\u201d Sippnotized is the fourth long-player from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21794,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,49,65],"tags":[4665],"class_list":["post-21793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blues","category-new-release","category-review","tag-mr-sipp","cat-9-id","cat-49-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21793"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21795,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21793\/revisions\/21795"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}