Tinsley Elis -Get It – Heart Fixer– Rick J Bowen
One might think releasing an instrumental album of blues, surf and guitar rock in this day and age is unwise, but with the fastest growing genre of music today being “EDM” aka…electronic dance music, the new album Get It, from Tinsley Ellis may prove he has some real moxie.
The strong ten tracks not only pay homage to great groove instrumental groups of the past by instantly bringing to mind Booker T and MG’s , The Ventures , Jimmy Smith and Dick Dale with well composed melodic riffs that have an air of familiarity. You’ll swear he is barrowing from Springsteen’s Hungry Heart on “Sassy Strut” and Elton John’s Your Song on the tender ballad “The Milky Way.” Ellis feeds his guitar through a wound up Leslie on the cover of the Bo Diddley classic “Detour,” turning it into a Wipeout style surf tune.
Then he gives a nod to Texas blues on the hard shuffle of the title track and to the Cannon Ball himself on heartfelt cover of “Freddy’s Midnight Dream.” The rippin’ tune “Fuzzbuster” may sound just like Jeff Beck’s Goin’ Down but with so much wah wah pedal drenched fun who cares.
Of note is the super fat pocket drumming of Lynn Williams and tasty keyboards from Kevin McKendree, while Ellis splits time on bass guitar with Ted Pecchio and playing half the album himself. The smooth shuffle “Berry Tossin’ is given the full Chess Records treatment making you want to shout “Hail Hail Rock n Roll. The closing track is Latin flavored ballad “Catalunya,” evoking Santana’s Europa, not wanting to miss paying tribute to another guitar icon.
It would be so great if this album gets into the hands of young DJ’s and mixers who might mash it up with modern beats and loops and take the great guitar tone from a master such as Tinsley Ellis and introduce it via the dance floor to a whole new generation of listeners who desperately need him.
http://www.tinsleyellis.com
The opening track from Tinsley Ellis‘ Get It!, Front Street Freeze, to download go to:
https://soundcloud.com/blindraccoon/01-frontstreetfreeze#new-timed-comment-at-215894
