Curtis Salgado – Fine By Me
This veteran blues artist has a sense of humor that lightens up the dark recesses of blues. His opening tune “My Girl’s a Nut,” has a Roger Miller-type of country humor tacked onto a blues drive. With cut 2 Curtis slides into a more soulful position with “Better Things To Lie About” & the brass punctuations work solidly with his enthusiastic vocals.
The brass doesn’t play it straight it’s arranged like a chorale of voices that answer each other with deep saxes, sharp trumpets & Curtis’ vocals echoing through a street that’s empty except for a whiplash harmonica blast. Cool tune. This out-funks most funk 70s bands & with the addition of the bluesy harmonica adds a soulful twist.
Salgado’s 1980s former boss guitarist/vocalist Robert Cray guests on “Forget About You,” a galloping blues saloon unified vocal variable that’s simply blues having fun. There are 12 invitations to some soulful blues on Fine By Me (Drops June 30/Little Village/44:00) that can also lasso ears unfamiliar with the genre since Curtis is an artist who is also entertaining.
The album features a variety of song styles from blues, gospel, R&B, jazz, funk R&R & soul with dashes of mixes that bring out the Salgado (harmonica) distinctive flavors. Curtis produced the album & the deep gospel efforts feature the harmonies of The Sons of the Soul Revivers (brothers James, Walter & Dwayne Morgan).
By the tracks “You Give The Blues a Bad Name,” & “Under New Management” there’s a tint of Paul Butterfield Blues Band when they employed some brass in the late 60s. The tune has a Boz Scaggs feel & it drips off the blues sultry & swampy. “Under,” is a little more commercial-mainstream than many other tunes. But it still holds since it’s played & sung with well-articulated harmonica & piano. Snapping fingers is a nice touch. Curtis may have a blues pathology in his voice but he’s cleverly alive as an entertainer.
Highlights – “My Girl’s a Nut,” “Better Things To Lie About,” “Forget About You,” “Fine By Me,” “Safe At Home,” “The Big Chagrin,” “Cheap Stuff,” “You Give The Blues a Bad Name” & “Under New Management.”
Musicians – Rome Yamilov, Snuffy Walden, Billy Watts, Anson Funderburgh, George Marinelli Ben Rice & Hershel Yatovitz (guitars), Alan Hager (slide guitar), Kid Andersen (acoustic bass/guitar/keys), Keith Brush (acoustic bass), Terry Wilson, Endre Tarczy, Freddy Trujillo & Jerry Jemmott (bass), Tony Braunagel, Derrick D’Mar Martin, Paul Revelli, Andy Worley, Nick Otis & Jim Bott (drums), Jim Pugh (Hammond B3/piano), Jeff Paris (piano), Galen Clarke & Loren Gold (keys), Teresa James, Lindsay Reynolds & Lisa Leuschner Andersen (bgv) with horn section: Joe McCarthy (trumpet/horn arrangements with Curtis), Lars Campbell (trombone) & Tim Bryson (tenor & baritone saxes).
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