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July-August 2005 Newsletter
CD Reviews
I had high expectations for this album. Mem visited us in Rockford with a fabulous night at Big Cities Lounge back in March. As he played, he named off all the songs that would be on the new release. I was traveling in Maryland and went into Borders right after the CD was released to see if they had it. They did and I popped it in my rental car’s CD player. My hotel was only 5 minutes from the Borders store and I was barely into the second song. I continued past the hotel and drove around listening to the rest of it. The CD didn’t live up to my expectations, it far exceeded them! Mem authored all the songs on this release except for covering the Beatle song “Eleanor Rigby.’ It is a fantastic cover, giving the Lennon-McCartney tune a soulful and bluesy rendition that is truly moving. Even the tribute to Tiger Woods (‘Swing Tiger Swing’) comes off really well. This is a solid and professional effort by this big bluesman from New Orleans. The CD begins with a solid, up-tempo and jazzy number called ‘The Reason.’ Mem’s lyrics are a great cynical commentary on people who don’t want to help others, from fast food restaurant workers to politicians. The tune ‘Battleground’ also is a strong commentary on life. It’s not all slow and blue. The semi-title track called ‘Phunkville’ is total funk-ville. It grooves right along, as do ‘Sweet Potato,’ ‘No Religion’ and ‘Ignant Stick.’ In ‘The lights of Caracas’ we hear an acoustic Mem sounding very soulful on the old six string and then going electric for the second half of the song. Mem Shannon is truly one of the top bluesmen out there. This live album features Mem backed with an outstanding set of band members. I was especially impressed with Rhock Dabon on keyboards. The songs on this CD are all superb. This is a must CD for anyone out there who wants to go to Phunkville! |
