Rock My Blues Away
Rock My Blues Away {br] Gate gets the party started with this duet with vocalist Kaye Dorian. You'll break a smile when he breaks out the fiddle early on in this record. This cut seems to telegraph the swinging to follow. You'll get the gut feeling it's gonna get deep.Half Steppin' {br] The swing gets a little deeper and smoother and some of the horn breaks are completely way out of town. Unexpected phrasings like this make Gate and his band musician's musicians. Drummer extrodinaire David Peters takes this cut home in true big band style.
Hootie Blues{br]Brown brings it down to the low-down on this bluesy lost-love cut. Blues guitar as only Gatemouth can play can be heard here. His strong-then-delacate phrases speak in that special language everyone in the world understands. He cranks up the band a notch for a large finish. I wish he had taken a couple more choruses, but a great artist always leaves you wanting more. I Want More!
I'm Beginning To See The Light{br]One of Gatemouth's biggest influences is Duke Ellington and he covers this classic in style. If you didn't already know that, from now on you will hear it in most of Gate's band arrangements. One thing Duke didn't have was a Hammond organ so Joe Krown's comping work give this version alot of grease. Like it needed any.
Swamp Ghost {br]This cut is not for the faint of heart. The intro will blow you away. Not the usual way to count off a tune. But Gate gets the blues going and the horns get it swirling. Joe Krown gets one going with a fat leslie-spinnin'/drawbar-pullin' Hammond solo. Just as this cut come up out of the mud, it recedes back in the swamp to finish the tune, or should I say adventure.
Without Me Baby {br]Gate's turns on the shuffle and the whole band gets on the train. One of only two cuts written by Brown, he gets vocal on his gal and let's her know she ain't gonna find no better. "Make a statement." is the instructions during the organ solo. Good advice for any musician.
Gate Swings Again {br]In the footsteps of his award winning record "Gate Swings", he gets a poppin' swing percolating. The best performance of the big band on this cut. Razor sharp ripping horn lines with an imaginative arrangement lets the whole band shine as a unit.
nge Things Happen {br]Gate's cover of this Percy Mayfield tune gives you a deserved rest after the swing onslaught. The Blues on this cut are right on time. The lazy groove takes it's time to deliver all the pain and the big band does a good job of staying back and keeping the feel lethargic enough to cry.
Don't Get Around Much Anymore {br]For any Duke Ellington fan this arrangement might sound quirky. But to a Gatemouth fan, it's his way of covering a master in his own unique way. The highlight is a trumpet solo from New Orlean's Nicholas Payton. Classic and quirky.
Guitar In My Hand {br]Gate wrote this one and brings on the funk. In a bar-band meets big-band groove Brown finds the guitar statements that propel it into a song, not just another groove. The rhythm section of Peters and bass player Harold Floyd bring some of that New Orleans funk to the table.
Jumpin' The Blues {br]Gate comes out of this cut swingin'! With his brick-wall-solid band behind him, Browns guitar is Count Basie-ish sweet contrast to the hard driving groove. Payton got his Louis Armstrong chops up for this one. Great cover of a Jay McShann-Charlie Parker classic.
Things Ain't What They Used To Be {br] Of course Gate is going to take it home swinging. Everyone get one last improvising shot it as they head on down the road. Gate's fiddle makes it's only other appearance. That's a shame because, as this cut shows, nobody plays the fiddle quite like Gatemouth. No body plays guitar like Gatemouth for that
Don't Get Around Much Anymore
