Billy Branch & The Sons of the Blues – The Blues Is My Biography
This showcase begins with a more upbeat shuffle-blues blast (“Hole In Your Soul”), which falls into the category of entertainment & not traditional blues. It’s good, but this isn’t where Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, or Sonny Boy Williamson fans would reside. But listen on. The Grammy-nominated Billy Branch (harmonica/vocals) has a wonderful voice, the piano parts are sumptuous, the harmonica thick & the horns crisp.
Vocally, on occasion, there’s a youthful Keb Mo’ tonality that’s finely tuned in Billy’s vocals. It lacks Keb’s rural aesthetic, but Billy instead injects lots of old-world blues intuition from dusty songbooks. There are 11 well-punctuated tunes that spice The Blues Is My Biography (Dropped Nov 7/Rosa’s Lounge Records/48:57) as produced by Larry Batiste (horns arranger/vocals).
The LP was recorded in Alameda, CA & Chicago, Illinois, with a group of musicians that differed from each venue. The Sons of the Blues is a rotating collective. The narrative of the classic cover of “Dead End Street” is laid out well with some hefty horns & is a credible modernized rendition. It doesn’t have the urbanized, darker soulfulness the 1967 Lou Rawls version possessed. Of course, the deep Rawls baritone is hard to match. I think the effort by Billy, though, is quite superb.
“Begging For Change” has a nice groove with an aching lead guitar solo, the addition of the female lead vocal of Shemekia Copeland adds color & backup singer Ronnie Baker Brooks the tints. A haunting harmonica adds atmosphere. Excellent. The blues in its finest form arrive with “Toxic Love.” An enticing arrangement & quite cool.
With “Call Your Bluff” & “Return of the Roaches,” there’s a tendency to glide into a comparison to the late Eugene McDaniels’ strange soulful LP excursion “The Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse.” McDaniels was originally more of a strong ‘60s pop singer (Gene McDaniels — “Tower of Strength,” “100 Pounds of Clay”). He morphed in the ‘70s into this progressive soulful personality that’s evident as well on this Branch piece. Aggressive, creepy progression with a dynamic vocal tone. For select tastes. Good, nonetheless.
“The Blues Is My Biography” is a significant soulful-blues ballad. More aching harmonica that gives the song individuality. Horns & piano frame the melody excellently. “How You Living?” is back to a Keb ‘Mo tonality (as a reference point since Mr. Branch is older, more experienced & has been around the barn more than Keb ‘Mo). Mr. Branch has a voice that defies his years. The set is obviously the work of a masterful musician.
Highlights – “Hole In Your Soul,” “Dead End Street,” “Begging For Change,” “Call Your Bluff,” “The Blues Is My Biography,” “Toxic Love,” & “Return of the Roaches.”
Musicians – Giles Corey & Troy Lamkus (guitars), Marvin Little & Ari Seder (bass), Sumito Arioshi (keys) & Andrew “Blaze” Thomas & Dionte Skinner (drums/vocals). Guest: Bobby Rush (guitar/vocal/harmonica on “Hole In Your Soul”).
CD @ Amazon & Apple + https://www.billybranch.com/index.html