Veteran bluesman RB Stone cashes in all his chips and is going for broke with his new album Loosen Up by joining forces with Grammy winning producer, songwriter and drummer Tom Hambridge. Together with a group of crack studio musicians the duo have created a commercial rocking blues album of radio friendly tracks featuring hard driving drums and gritty guitars, exploiting familiar blues and country themes of hard luck in trouble with a tongue in cheek flair. The ten tracks cover all the bases beginning with a southern honky-tonk rocker “High Horse” to the whipping post style jam “Long Gone Lonesome Blues,” a gospel ballad “God Heals You When You Cry,” and a Texas boogie for the title track that features a “Pretty Woman/ Lucille” styled guitar riff. Things really bust loose on the rabble rousing “Texas Drunk Tank Blues,” as Stone trades scorching harmonica leads with guitarist Robert Britt until the driving beat crashed into the wall on the third turn. The album rumbles through a few more well known forms until hitting a stride with the closing barn burner “Harley Heart,” that turns into a sprint match between Stone on Cigar Box Guitar and Hambridge on drums. It is easy to forgive Stone and Co. for using some common lyrical platitudes on a record that sounds this good.
Rick J Bowen
