Emanuel Casablanca – Strung Out on Thrills
These 11 songs & 2 bonus’ from outlaw blues guitarist Emanuel Casablanca provides a Brooklyn brave style showcase. The PR states he wants to keep the blues alive, but it’s alive & thriving with many elite blues performers. Many are extremely skillful but on close inspection they do lack the “life” of the genre. They didn’t live it. None lived the life of a John Lee Hooker, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, or Furry Lewis.
But I believe Emanuel (guitar/vocals/KushKash) tries to embody his urban take to help the genre thrive through his original blues grooves. It involves evolution. With his sophomore CD produced by Emanuel with Paul Howells Strung Out on Thrills (Drops Feb. 2–VRG Music Group/Casablanca Unlimited/51:00) EC succeeds.
Now, many have said they reenergize the blues. But it’s an established genre, it comes from a traditional roots-based ancestry. The blues are in the trees down South, in the food & water, air & soil. It can be faster, slower, polished & grittier but, you can’t re-invent a genre without getting away from what it is. You can put a hat on, gloves, shave your head, wear new shoes — but it’s still you.
With the opener “Dogshit,” the smoking guitar of Joanna Connor blisters fingers – it has a nice heavy net result. Then, “Strung Out On Thrills” weaves in well-developed with a Tony Joe White intonation vocal style. Fascinating. Blues with a strident drive decorated to deliver hot & steamy like crawfish.
However, “Visceral,” & “Pistolero,” are slow-burn blues with a dash of acoustic playing but Emanuel’s velvety blues voice adds the unique ingredients to both. There are no growls, or tempered tonalities just smooth as ginger ale but it’s whiskey. The shift in music comes & it’s like pulling a gangly green leaf from the ground only to be rewarded with a red-hot radish.
Few artists capture the lumbering percolating blues like EC. It’s not so much different from basic blues as a vein of genealogy that runs deeper than the basics. Guitars resonate with Jeff Healey’s virtuosity rather than the expertise of Roy Buchanan. It’s rootsier with a mud & sticks enhancement & a hefty bottom that comes in like a dump truck with “Conniver.” A heavy-duty chance at tipping the scales, warping the floors, adding cracks to the wall. This is heavyweight blues – it dissects the ears. “Lass,” is gasoline on fire once the female kick-ass vocals pour on.
Highlights – “Dogshit,” (2) versions, “Strung Out On Thrills,” “Visceral,” “Conniver,” “The Farm,” great drums on “Pistolero,” “Lass,” “Morning Wood” & “My Life’s Fire.”
Musicians – Julian Chobot, Sam Lazarev & Cito Bass (bass), Donald Sturge Anthony McKenzie II, Max Freedberg, Blaque Dynamite & Poyraz Aldemir (drums), Supremo Massiv (congas/tambourine), Joanna Connor, Elliot Sharp, Laurence Henderson & Eric Simon (guitar), Kelli Baker & Sir Malcolm Jamal (vocals), Ian Forde (bass/synth) & Salvo.
CD @ Amazon & https://www.emanuelcasablanca.com/