BENTLEY’S BANDSTAND: November 2025
Al Basile, BLUES IN HAND. Lock up the blues crew, because Al Basile is on the lurch and recorded what is the best album of his celebrated career. He’s grabbed the uptown blues by the horns and is more than ready to kick up some naugahyde action through the window. This is sophisticated music made for those who like to hit the Ritz or sleep on the street. And even though Al Basile looks like he could handle himself in either locale, what matters is that his communication skills are superb when walking the rhythm & blues highway, there is always a tinge of music in everything the man plays or sings. His cornet and voice are on levels of their own. With guitarist Kid Andersen on every song but one, which is “Ain’t What You Say,” ably set fire by Jhett Black, this is an album racked up to go all the way. Really. And it’s not easy to record an album in 2025 that sends the chills and thrills like it was still 1960 down at Duke Record on Erastus Street in Houston. But Basile has really pulled off a massive musical miracle. Every single note and heartbeat rings true. It’s no accident that Al Basile has been nominated for a Blues Music Award nine different times.This is a man that is real as a felony, but manages to stay on the sweet side of the low down action in today’s world. There is no telling exactly where he’s going to take these songs, but it’s a sure bet it’s going to be on the real side of the avenue. If there’s any chance in the world his magic hasn’t taken over the local groovemeter yet, it’s time to jump on this train and turn it up to 12. It’s a mind twister of pure strength. Right on time.
Duwayne Burnside, RED ROOSTER. When it’s time to put it in the alley, look no further than Duwayne Burnside. RED ROOSTER is a blues album, with emphasis on the blues. Son of R.L. Burnside, there is no way his son could make anything but a knocked-out collection of blues songs that might be recorded so you can actually hear it all closely, but at the end there is no way the listener didn’t get the real thing delivered straight from a Mississippi bluesman. Produced by the man with the exquisite ears–Mr. Cody Dickinson–with pure dedication. This is truly a work of love, since these are men whose parents part dedicated the music that sits at the very center of blues reality. Duwayne Burnside doesn’t take anything for granted. He enters the studio ready to burn, and never assumes anything that wasn’t needed to be done. With players Luther Dickinson and Jimbo Mathus, the sound the band created was purity of the highest power, where every note is needed on the tape. There is something about the power of purity for Mississippi musicians that can never be faked. It’s there in every note and beat. If it’s not quite needed in the mix, it’s gone. Luckily these are professional Mississippi musicians, and they know how to play anything required on these real-deal blues songs. Blues is a music that tells the truth. That’s really the bottom line on anything that Duwayne Burnside is going to do. They don’t put anything unnecessary on the songs, but they also don’t hold back when the monkey nerve needs to be hit. Ready to burn.
Steve Howell & Fats Kaplan, KNOW YOU FROM OLD. America has songs that feel as old as the mountains that run through the United States. They have a sense of time that keeps the music alive, and at the same time says there is something so permanent about it they’ll never age. It gives such a loyalty to America’s history of music that everyone who plays it has signed up for the ages. Steve Howell and Fats Kaplan are those who are 100% proud of what they’ve signed up for in songs that will forever last. And while Howell has taken an interest in many different realms of sonic pleasure, he loves to come to the periods that seem to call him home. This new album is a total stone-cold classic. Playing partner this time out, Fats Kaplin, is a fiddler with few peers. And though the man plays a variety of instruments, it’s the fiddle that calls the loudest. Becoming partners on KNOW YOU FROM OLD makes perfect sense, and the outcome is such a haunting feeling that it wouldn’t be odd to find out the two men are brothers. But they’re not: They’re two people who can throw 100% camaraderie into these songs likely were born together to play them. Whether it’s “Black Dog,” “One Kind Favor” or anything else in the playlist, this album takes a heartfelt journey to share where some of America’s musical roots started, and have kept on growing like family members who don’t live together, but perform wherever the good sound takes them. What a sound.
Jim Keller, END OF THE WORLD. There are certain musicians who have a totally natural knack for synchronizing different sounds and styles into music that needs to be heard. It’s not easy to explain exactly the sound they’re chasing, but what is heard is rolls. And even if the style can’t be pinpointed into something that makes total sense, what is clear is the sound is for keeps. Jim Keller knows what he’s doing. He started writing songs on the East Coast when he was young, and by the time he helped form Tommy Tutone in the early 1980s there was no doubt he wasn’t going to stop. The band’s monster hit *867-5309,” written by Keller and Alex Call and sung by Tommy Heath, tore through the radio charts in 1981, and took the group to the toppermost of the charts. But Keller had other sights to go for and off he went. But as is often said, music is a lifelong love and after several releases Keller has returned with an album that cannot be stopped. The different styles of American rock he is absolutely accomplished at is all over END OF THE WORLD. With a voice that is perfect for the world we’re living in now, coupled with classic American songs, it seems like the 40-plus years since the Tommy Tutone ride on the Hit Parade is really no time at all. Keller and co-writers like Byron Isaacs, Adam Minkoff and a couple others have fashioned the type of music that takes one listen to catch on. The music feels like Americana that has been polished into a strong feel, and lyrics that can’t be forgotten. It’s a pretty good chance that Jim Keller has been this great his whole life. Some artists have the touch, and don’t lose it. Just like the phone number “867-5309,” the one no one can forget, there are songs on END OF THE WORLD that likely won’t ever go away. Jim Keller’s voice has a real-life majesty to it that feels like it has always been there. There are moments on some songs that the ear would say this is a sound of the ages. Hooray for that.
The Lucky Losers with Cathy Lemons & Phil Berkowitz, ARRIVAL. It takes a lot for a duet that rocks to the heavens to grab the lightning like they invented the sound. But in many ways, that’s exactly what the Lucky Losers do on ARRIVAL. Cathy Lemons and Phil Perkowitz are both obviously devoted to each other and their sound. This is the band’s sixth album, and it really does sound like one that will break them through. Each is a singer of prime time talent, and while they can play blues until the sky turns green, what the group really does is find a way to sound like themselves. Cathy Lemons is funky as a chicken pen, but she also can put on her high-heel sneakers and go out walking tall. And so can Phil Berkowitz. He is the perfect complement to Lemons, and neither ever turns to anything but cool originality to get their feelings across. And good for them they are the high-flying songwriters each one is. Originality is really where the real goods get started in a band, and this couple is full-bore when it comes to writing all-time keepers. And just when the special touch is needed, Phil Berkowtiz’s harp steps into the mix and blows just right what the song needs. The next time an itch for a funky duo feels like exactly what’s needed, remember these two. They’ve got a ton of funk and some to spare, and don’t sound like anyone else right now. Another Greaseland winner.
Mavis Staples, SAD AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD. There are those who live on this Earth like their reason for being here is to pass beauty to all those with the openness for sharing. Their daily desire is to make sure what comes around goes around in a way to touch others. The joy of sharing stays alive. Mavis Staples is surely one of those in this chain of vindication. The woman’s voice carries the sound of redemption and goodness without really trying. There is just a sureness in the sounds heard that no questions need to be asked. Songs like “Beautiful Strangers,” “Sad and Beautiful,” and all the other chillbumpers here are like a circle of humanness that comes from a different place than just reality. There is also a genuineness inside the soul this woman shares on every song which leaves no question it needs to be asked. Staples is a singer with ways of passing along how the basics of life are meant to be shared. When the musical notes come to the fore a circle begins to radiate within the music. In so many ways, it all feels like a sense of magic has arrived, and thinking is no longer necessary. Instead, it’s the experience of opening the heart that is called for, and Mavis Staples has moved beyond the mind and moved into the true basics of the spirit, and that is time for sharing whatever needs to be shared. When she sings, “You got to have peace,” there is no more that needs to be understood because the most important realm of life has been addressed. And as the world starts to feel like it is moving toward the possibility of an end, that’s exactly when the likelihood of a cosmic marvel could actually appear. Because it has to. The Staples family of singers lived through all kinds of ups and downs, and in some ways were there to bring about the changes that helped life continue. And there is no reason to think they cannot share those miracles again. Sometimes it feels like the Grammy Awards should create a Miracle category, awarding the songs that take over when it seems like life is moving beyond sharing. And there is no way to return to the realm of resurrection. Songs can bring miracles, and Ms. Staples is just the person to make sure it happens now, because it could be now or never. Do not delay.
Tommy Talton, SEVEN LEVELS. There are thousands of ways for musicians to leave the stage for good, but it’s usually the hardest that means the most. When Tommy Talton passed away in 2023, he’d just finished recording songs for an album, and though he finished the tracks he never got to go back and finish the last few compositions. But from listening to how full and powerful the songs that were recorded, nothing feels missing. That’s how great this collection is. Talton made his name in Cowboy, and Capricorn Records group that always felt like one of the groups that came out of the crowd. Talton’s guitar was majestic, as were his songs, and while they achieved success, it should have been longer and more. When these newly released tapes were found and finished, it felt like the circle had become complete. Talton’s songs had such an inner beauty that very few Southern musicians could compete. And these final recordings surely put a candle on the cake. There is such a powerful beauty at the core of songs like “I’ve Got the Sun” and “In My Heart” that it can only be dreamed what could have happened in the future for the man. In my heart.
Kurt Lee Wheeler, LATHEMTOWN. This singer-songwriter of endless empathy has finished an album that only arrives every few years. It’s a full-tilt accomplishment of mixing songs by Foo Fighters and Chris Isaak with originals and more in a way that hasn’t been heard often. Wheeler’s way of covering different styles of bluegrass and other acoustic sounds sounds like he has invented this purity of his own, and then bringing in other intriguing surprises. Above all is the vocals the singer delivers.. They are ancient and modern at the same time, and blend with other vocalists in a style that feels like the history of America on display. Wheeler has strength in his vocals that isn’t heard that often. It’s like he takes the history of the Southeast and wraps the instruments of the players around songs that carry the feeling of the country and the history of American music all sung into one. The gorgeousness of history hasn’t been delivered quite like this in a few decades. LATHEMTOWN feels like a place to live for those who believe in the land around them, and whether it’s history or personal lives being written about it all comes together in a highly personal manner. Kurt Lee Wheeler is someone to discover and then stick with. Wheeler has taken some twists and turns in his musical endeavors. But the best news is that the man has arrived at a style that fits him like his own road to the future. The future he was meant to take. Go with him.
Dar Williams, HUMMINGBIRD HIGHWAY. There are some singer-songwriters that just have a native instinct to write songs that go all the way to the deepest part of human’s life, and can get inside their most beautiful feelings and turn them into song lyrics like they’re signing their name. Dar Williams is someone who has always been able to do that, over and over, and make the human tribulations become a sacred part of staying alive. Her songs are more than just full of feelings. They are full of truths and pains and what it takes to keep persisting. And on top of that, she can sing them like that’s what her place on the plan is for. HUMMINGBIRD HIGHWAY is one of Williams’ very best releases. It is able to teach us truths while at the same time splitting the heart in two. She is someone who always gets where she wants to go, but without making it seem like an effort. The best of these songs, and there are many on this new album, seem to land exactly where they want to be between lyrics and music, and don’t have to stretch. There is never any issue of weaker songs on a collection, and the woman’s voice has continued to get more evocative and stronger as she continues writing and singing. Dar Williams is one of the most gifted person in music, and will probably continue in that direction for years to come. Good for us.
Reissue of the Month
Bobby Charles, LAST TRAIN TO MEMPHIS. One of the great American songwriters is Bobby Charles. Born Robert Guidry, this is a Louisiana man of the highest order, who wrote some of the greatest songs of the second-half of 21st century. Charles had a way of combining music of the Pelican State with rhythm & blues, and never let a listener hear the split. His first hit was “See You Later Alligator,” but he immediately split for the bayou side of the state and got busy with songs like “Walkin to New Orleans” and other classics. One of Charles’ secrets was just how incredible a singer he was as well as songwriter. Especially on the ballads. His voice could easily make grown men cry and women want a date. This fabulous two-disc collection pairs together two of Bobby Charles’ later albums and one thing is for sure: it is a music-lover’s guarantee of the kind of recordings that could hit the monkey nerve and make grown-ups cry. The man could write music that went all the way to the deepest part of the human soul, and then leave some room for cutting-up and making a joyful noise. He was a favorite of other artists like Bob Dylan and Doug Sahm, and never quit writing the lyrics and chords that made living swing. This is not a collection to miss, because unfortunately there won’t be any more. A fine affair.
BENTLEY’S BANDSTAND: November 2025
