First I would like to Thank The Bravuras, especially Felix and J. Bones for donating a brand new copy of Jerry’s Blues for review. The Jerry’s Blues CD is dedicated to the memory of Jerry Reen. The Bravuras demonstrate their complete understanding of traditional blues styles on this CD. Any blues music fan will undoubtedly enjoy this great CD.
On with the CD review, Crawlin’ Kingsnake kicks off this CD with some great slowhand blues lead guitar playing by Felix Mayer. The guitar licks are tasty and the bended note choices are soulful and expressive. After the lead guitar John Puccios exceptional and dynamic lead vocals immediately grab your listening attention. The slow blues groove is provided by John Hufford Sr. on guitar, George Mort on bass and Mike Donaghue on drums. The rhythm track is steady, perfect for John Puccio and Felix Mayer to work some blues magic on top of. All of the rhythm tracks on Jerry’s Blues are solid and perfectly executed.
The second track, Oh Pretty Woman, starts off with John Puccios solid and passionate vocal stylings. Johns blues shouting and expressive growls add to his already strong vocals. The guitars work together to create a melodic and funky guitar track, the distorted lead guitar is cool but not overbearing. Johns vocals end the song on a high note.
Little Wheel features Dr. Dirty, John Valby on a bouncy, blues piano. John Valby shows off his blues chops on the Jerry’s Blues CD. I’ve been a fan off Dr. Dirty since I first heard his music in 1989. John plays a supporting role on this CD and does an excellent job. John Hufford Sr. blows some sweet sounding harmonica licks on this song and Felix rips some lead guitar on a clean sounding solo. A cool sounding piano rake (like Jerry Lee Lewis) takes out this song out.
The blues harp of John Hufford Sr. first grabs your attention on Who’s Dat Man. The blues shuffle tempo makes you feel like dancing along. The blues harp keeps this track moving along, jumping out the mix several times during this song.
John Valby tickles the ivories on the next track, Dogs On Me. This track has a solid, steady old school blues feel and sound. Johns expert piano playing and John Puccios strong vocals carry this song along very nicely.
The next song Bullfrog Blues has a traditional blues sound but the band plays the blues shuffle uptempo and very hot. John Puccios strong, solid singing talent shines on throughout this track. Once again, the rhythm section carries this song along very well sounding like a strong cohesive unit.
Can’t Be Satisfied has a strong Texas boogie type feel to it. This song surely goes over in any bar room The Bravuras perform in. The foot stompin’ boot scootin’ boogie rhythm is infectious, sure to get you dancing along.
The eighth song, I’ve Got A Mind reminds me of B.B. King. This song features a very cool organ track provided by the talented Bob Volkman. Bob rips a nice solo on the keys on this song. A blistering lead guitar solo by Felix brings this track in and Felix blasts out an excellent, speedy guitar solo later on in the song. John Puccios soulful vocals tell a tale of mournful lost love.
My Babe is sung by John Hufford Sr. John provides some excellent harp playing on this song as well. The vocals remind me of Jimmie Vaughan.
I Can Tell is a snappy, bouncy uptempo blues song. John Puccio provides some heartfelt, expressive vocals and Felix snaps off a clean sounding lead guitar solo.
John Hufford Sr. takes over vocal duties on Key To The Highway. The country blues shuffle is a creative take on this blues classic. Felix and John Valby take turns jumping out the mix on this song.
NYC Blues highlights the dynamic, expressive, lead vocal stylings of John Puccio. John AKA J. Bones is a veteran of the N.Y. city music scene. J. Bones has performed in many of the top venues in NY city along with many a talented musician, the musicians John has performed with include Paul Butterfield, Johnny Winter and Johns long time partner Patrick Malone. John brings all of his experience and his love for the blues to The Bravuras.
The closing and title track, Jerry’s Blues is my favorite song on this CD. A blistering lead guitar solo by Felix brings this song in and John Puccios emotional, heartfelt lyrics hold your listening attention throughout this entire song. The Bravuras show their feeling for the blues on this great song. The strong performances are inspiring on the song Jerry’s Blues. The Bravuras are very talented and their passion for the blues is evident on this song.
I would highly recommend The Bravuras CD Jerry’s Blues to any blues purist out there and I’m sure any new and casual fans of blues music would enjoy this CD as well. To find out how you can get a copy of Jerry’s Blues go to www.thebravuras.com, you can also find The Bravuras on Facebook and Reverbnation. The Jerry’s Blues CD was recorded at Mark Studios by Fred Betschen, CD photography was provided by Vonstraus and Graphic Design was done by MarkArt and Jason Boldt. www.markcustom.com