There isn’t anything earthshaking or seemingly unique about the third album from San Diego based duo Chris James and Patrick Rynn. The twelve song set is a fine mix of original tunes and selected covers firmly rooted in traditional post war Chicago Blues. The sound is retro yet average the vocals are everyday easy, the guitar and sax solos are solid but not flamboyant. So what makes this album so irresistibly infectious? In today’s guitar centric market the duo have recruited three of the finest Blues pianists on the planet, Henry Gray, Aaron Moore, and David Maxwell to take part in this project. Centering the groove and the rhythm section; which includes the great Willie ”Big Eyes” Smith drumming on two tracks, on piano gives the album a fresh focal center and spacious room filling sound.
Recorded live in four separate sessions, each track has an air of spontaneity lost in recordings of late. In fact the piano is even slightly out of tune on the juke joint sermon “Before It’s Too Late.” It is hard to remain seated for the old school funk “Just Another Kick In the Teeth.” Guest Jody Williams blazes on the instrumental named after his guitar “Messin With White Lightnin” leaving plenty of room for Maxwell to burn up the keys. Chris does his best Elmore James for the foot stomping “Fact Is A fact.” No album featuring blues piano would be complete without a tribute to Pinetop Perkins and the furious boogie “Take It Easy,” does so in style. The album closes appropriately with the rousing rumba “Last Call Boogie,” featuring smoking piano from 86 year old Henry Grey, who played with Muddy and Wolf, it don’t get much better.
http://www.chrisjamesandpatrickrynn.com/
Rick J Bowen
