Month: September 2013

James Kinds is one of the overlooked maestros of the blues. In 1977, he was hailed as one of Chicago’s new generation greats – someone to keep an eye on, alongside Lurrie Bell, Billy Branch, and James B. Moore. In 1993, he moved from the West Side to the Midwest – Dubuque, Iowa – where he built a following and was inducted into the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame in 2008. Now, after more than three decades of playing the blues, Kinds has released his first nationally distributed album.

Kinds sings the blues with a glorious gospel-tinged voice. Like the late, great Luther Allison, his vocal mannerisms are drenched in soulful church stylings – all accented by stinging, trebly lead guitar. Kinds is backed by a band of old-school bluesmen that grinds out a deep groove – guitarist Al Pool, bassist Anthony Dotson, drummer Claude L. Thomas, and veteran saxman Eddie Shaw.

Love You From the Top is the sort of classic Chicago blues many thought was extinct.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s April ’11 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Joanne Shaw Taylor is a young British guitarist who, with this album, is moving beyond the blues. While her guitar style is certainly rooted in familiar ground, she writes songs more on the side of soul world and on occasion even tilts toward pop.

“Dead and Gone” is a good place for the uninitiated to be introduced to Taylor. Its funky electric intro builds into a forceful blues-rocker. The solo is bold, in-your-face, and proves Taylor has learned her lessons well. Several cuts, including “Who Do You Love”(not the Bo Diddley classic, but a Taylor original), with its memorable riff and solo with big bends, prove it. What’s really intriguing, though, are songs like “Same As It Never Was,” a pop-soul march with melodic guitar leading the way. Her vocals are, as always, incredibly soulful, calling to mind Joss Stone. Other cuts, including the title song, also point to Taylor’s burgeoning triple-threat talent (singer/ guitarist/songwriter) that could make her a star. At 24, she appears to have a bright future that could see her cross several genres.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s Mar. ’11 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.