Billy Price – Person of Interest
This set gets off to a soulful big band start with “Inside That Box” an energetic performance mindful of how Stevie Wonder crafted his brass for “Songs In the Key of Life” many years ago. Pittsburgh’s Billy Price has a vocal that is part Kim Wilson (Fabulous Thunderbirds), part Boz Scaggs (“Lido Shuffle”) & some Steve Cropper-type lead guitar tones & the backup vocalists about as soulful as anything Muscle Shoals ever produced.
There are 13 tantalizing morsels of fat tones on Person of Interest (Drops Aug 2/Little Village/58:14) recorded in Studio City, CA. Billy Price was once associated with the legendary guitarist, the late Roy Buchanan & sang on 2 of Roy’s LPs. Solo-wise Price is a veteran of the music business with 20 LPs along with sets with the Keystone Rhythm Band & Billy Price Band.
“She Checks All the Boxes” is hot in the way that Arthur Connelly’s “Sweet Soul Music” was in the 60s or the Bar-Kays’ “Soul Finger.” There’s a slight flavor of the early J. Geils Band in this funky groove & some warm penetrating sax work that’s always welcome in a driving tune. Price also has the relevancy & snappy sound of Joe Camilleri’s 1989 Australian band The Black Sorrows’ (“Chained To The Wheel”) & his offshoot JoJo Zep & the Falcons where they added even more horns.
Falling back to a more serious posture is “Mercy” a well-written soulful number with a touch of gospel that sets it aside from the funkiness & showmanship of the others. Nice touch, sung with lots of delicacy. So good, if Aretha Franklin was still with us she’d probably cover it.
This type of music is one of the only genres that require a cliché-type song title because this music thrives on words & lines that are common in the street lingo. Instantly recognizable. So, I can’t spite the work for its song titles.
“Change Your Mind,” which features guitar-great Joe Bonamassa on the album is in memory of the late Roy Buchanan. Roy’s laid-back blues (“The Messiah Will Come Again”) mostly narrated rather than sung. This song is projected respectfully with finesse & the Buchanan spirit.
Highlights – “Inside That Box,” “I Never Heard It Before,” “She Checks All the Boxes,” “Mercy,” “Can’t Get Enough” & “Change Your Mind.”
Musicians – Larry Fulcher, James “Hutch” Hutchinson & Reggie McBride (bass guitars), Josh Sklair, Shane Theriot (electric guitars) with Johnny Lee Schell (guitar solo on 2 cuts) & Joe Bonamassa (lead guitar on “Change Your Mind”), Jim Pugh (keys), Tony Braunagel (drums), Lenny Castro (percussion), Maxayn Lewis, Fred White & Will Wheaton (background vocals), Ron Dziubla (tenor/baritone saxes), Eric Spaulding (tenor solo on 3 cuts) & Mark Pender (trumpet).
CD @ https://billy-price.square.site/
