{"id":26918,"date":"2024-03-03T05:30:15","date_gmt":"2024-03-03T10:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=26918"},"modified":"2024-02-01T08:03:05","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T13:03:05","slug":"album-review-delta-blues-outlaws-welcome-to-the-blues-highway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/03\/album-review-delta-blues-outlaws-welcome-to-the-blues-highway\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Delta Blues Outlaws \u2013 Welcome to the Blues Highway"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Fronted by guitarist and singer Billy Jones, Arkansas-based Delta Blues Outlaws have managed to release two albums in the space of just over a year. Billy Jones & Delta Blues Outlaws<\/em> hit the shelves in mid 2022; now a live set, Welcome to the Blues Highway<\/em> documents a performance at Harlow\u2019s Casino in Greenville, in the heart of the Mississippi Delta.<\/p>\n

Jones\u2019 good-timing approach to the blues is evident right from the opening strains of “Shade Tree Mechanic,” as he implores the audience, \u201clet\u2019s have a party!\u201d While the band \u2013 bassist Rev. Keith Tucker, drummer Ricco Smith and keyboardist Corey Bray \u2013 lays down a chugging vamp, Jones sings and plays a tune more than a bit reminiscent of “Wang Dang Doodle.” The brass section in the arrangement comes courtesy of Bray\u2019s keys; while it\u2019s inevitably a bit sterile-sounding, it does add to the song\u2019s overall vibe.<\/p>\n

The late December date of the show makes it just right for a reading of Charles Brown\u2019s “Please Come Home for Christmas.” Bray takes the spotlight here, providing a solid piano foundation for the song, and spicing things up with an organ solo. The simmering “Runnin\u2019 Out of Lies” serves up a snaky rock riff; it\u2019s only in the chorus that the song exhibits much blues character.<\/p>\n

Loping country blues are at the heart of “Tryin\u2019 to Get to You.” A laid-back blues ballad, “Someone New \/ Before I Let Go” provides a welcome opportunity for Jones to stretch out on lead guitar. But some jarring (and presumably unwanted) feedback mars the performance. Better is “No Diggity,” with Jones giving his wah-wah pedal a workout.<\/p>\n

Thanks to Bray\u2019s choice of keyboard sounds, “Love\u2019s Train” has a strong \u201880s r&b slow jam character. Jones provides a yearning vocal quality that fits right in with that vibe. A cover of the mid \u201860s pop tune “Barefootin\u2019” likely brought dancers out on the floor of that Mississippi juke joint. Unfortunately, the use of keyboard samples to provide the horn parts lends artificiality to the proceedings.<\/p>\n

A highlight of the live set is “Can We Talk?” Jones croons romantically on this r&b ballad. The holiday theme reprises with a reading of William Bell\u2019s Stax classic, “Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday.” Bray adds some spot-on vocal harmonies to the performance.<\/p>\n

Scattered mic feedback reminds listeners that Welcome to the Blues Highway<\/em> is a live, warts-and-all recording. But technical shortcomings don\u2019t completely negate the effectiveness of the understated “Tennessee Whiskey.” After telling the audience, \u201cWe gotta go,\u201d and promising to return within a month, Jones and his band share holiday wishes and close the set with the funky “Keep On Rollin\u2019.”<\/p>\n

No doubt witnessing Delta Blues Outlaws live onstage is a rewarding experience. An audio-only document of a performance \u2013 or at least this one \u2013 can\u2019t help but fall a bit short. As recordings go, Jones and his band mates are better represented on their 2022 studio set.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fronted by guitarist and singer Billy Jones, Arkansas-based Delta Blues Outlaws have managed to release two albums in the space of just over a year. Billy Jones & Delta Blues […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26919,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,49,65],"tags":[5347],"class_list":["post-26918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blues","category-new-release","category-review","tag-delta-blues-outlaws","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\/26918","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=26918"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26920,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26918\/revisions\/26920"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}