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REAL
The
Buddaheads, Featuring BB Chung King
CD
Review by Pat
Benny
If
I hadn’t been a fan of BB Chung King and the
Buddhaheads for years now, if I hadn’t seen BB
perform countless times with various band members
using any combination of the name (BB Chung King, The
Buddaheads, even the Alan Mirikitoni Band), I might
have been just a little nervous about reviewing this
album.
Why? Well,
ahem, it’s about the liner credits; that thing about
“Pro Tools.” What the hell is a Pro Tool?
Is it like a rhythm machine, or Dolby? Ray
Carver, the publisher of SBM,
shakes his head and says, “Listen, Pat, you’ve got
to get your head into the new millennium.
Pro Tools is a high-tech, state of the art
computer system used in recording, nowadays.”
Computers, says Ray.
Well Ray, I thought I told you that I
wouldn’t take this job if there was any computer
work involved. “You
don’t have to operate it, says Ray, “You just have
to review it,” says Ray. Well, here goes:
The name of this independently released album is
“REAL.” As I mentioned, the Pro Tools stuff kind of throws me,
especially when the first song, which bears the album
title’s name, bursts through the speakers with a
full horn section.
I’m thinking to myself, is this live, or is
it Pro Tools? But then, BB’s blazing guitar and Boyd Lefan’s throbbing
bass take over and I know that I’m on solid
ground-REAL solid ground, walking on tracks laid down
by a guitar virtuoso-a REAL guitarslinger.
This
album is one of many moods that showcase not only
BB’s incredible guitar, but also showcases his
ability to write a great contemporary blues song,
something that is often found lacking with some of
today’s blues artists.
“911” is a haunting tune that may have to
be retitled, as it has nothing to do with the events
of this infamous day.
This is a song about another kind of
heartbreak. The
guitar leads sound as if they came from deep in the
soul and proceed to take the listener past the
satellites and beyond the stars.
“Better Day” is a slow tune which
demonstrates the quality of BB’s voice, a voice that
is much better than a guitarslinger of his ability
requires. I’ve
listened to his slow blues for years, trying to place
who it is that his voice resembles. If Lionel Ritchie could sing the blues-I mean really
sing the blues, this is how he might sound.
“Crawlin’ Man” and “57 Chevy” both have a
lowdown, sinister quality that lures the listener,
baiting him with a steady rhythm that serves as a
launching pad for BB’s burning, and I mean finger
shredding, string breaking guitar solos that have made
him one of the premier blues guitarists of this era.
Don’t bother to listen for Lionel Ritchie in
either of these tunes!
I don’t want to sound like I’m bashing the Pro
Tools thing. It’s
just that it’s something new to me.
Remember, Howlin’ Wolf hated his first
electric guitar.
And if the credibility of Pro Tools or any
other new recording method must be judged by this
writer or anyone else, we must first listen to
“Dance Maria,” the band’s tribute to Jimi
Hendrix. On
this track, BB can be heard jamming along with the
great Hendrix himself.
The result is a surreal, ethereal and
wonderfully nostalgic in its computer assisted,
psychedelic way.
The twelfth and final cut on this album is a beautiful
instrumental tune entitled “Alana,” named after
BB’s daughter.
This was a wonderful song to end the 58 minutes
of piercing guitar licks.
Listen to this album.
Read the liner notes and absorb the bond Alan
Mirikitoni, a.k.a. BB Chung King has for his family,
his friends and his music and know that this music is
as REAL as it gets.
http://www.buddaheads.com
Mary Rudy Review...here
--Pat
Benny
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