Chris Duarte/Bluestone Co./Chris Duarte & Bluestone Co. - 396 [Digipak]

Artist:

Duarte, Chris

UPC:

026245206328

Description:

Personnel: Chris Duarte (vocals, guitar); Toshihiro Sumitomo (guitar, slide guitar); Yoshihiri Ogasahara (bass guitar); Taizo Takafuji (drums); Taro Takagi (percussion); Jesse Bradman (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Jason D`Ottavio.
Recording information: Prairie Sun Studios, Cotati, CA.
Photographer: Ross Pelton.
Proving that the blues not only sees no color but also no country, Chris Duarte unites with Bluestone Company, the biggest blues band in Japan, for a collaboration called 396. Of course, duet albums have a long, storied tradition within the blues -- Junior Wells played with Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter revived Muddy Waters` career, British bands like the Yardbirds supported their hero Sonny Boy Williamson -- so this doesn`t feel opportunistic, although it`s clearly a way for Duarte to consolidate his Japanese following and get Bluestone Company some exposure stateside. In that regard, 396 isn`t a particularly free-flowing jam session, but the album suggests that Bluestone Company aren`t really about loose-limbed jams anyway. They`re a tight, efficient outfit, working precision rhythms that never lose sight of the pocket, and they show a peculiar fondness for funkifying their groove, which makes them feel less like a blues band than a blues-inflected bar band. This doesn`t give Duarte a whole lot of room to roam -- this is hardly a showcase for his guitar the way 2008`s Vantage Point or 2007`s Blue Velocity were and his vocals are too close-miked for comfort -- but it does speak well for him as a collaborator and for Bluestone Company as a supporting band that they could find a comfortable common ground, one that`s partway between their two strengths. Granted, this common ground can sound like a weird, stiff jam from Jeff Beck and Stevie Ray Vaughan`s co-headlining tour from 1990 -- only with less complicated polyrhythms -- but hardcore fans of either artist will find something to enjoy in this cross-pollination. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Track Listing:

DISC 1

1. Back in Town
2. Put Up or Shut
3. Chattahoochee Side
4. 396
5. Give It Back to Me
6. Silverspoon
7. Funky Mama
8. Mad as I Can Be
9. Angelina
10. Still I Think of You
11. Ballad of Kohima Ridge, The
12. H2K3

Album Information

Release Date:

01/27/2009

Type:

Performer

Genre:

Blues

Subgenre:

Regional Collections

Label:

Shrapnel

Producer:

Chris Duarte; Mike Varney; Chris Duarte; Mike Varney

Catalog Number:

2063

Original Release Year:

2009

# of Discs:

1

Studio/Live:

Studio

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

Portions copyright 2005 Muze Inc. All rights reserved.