VA - Rockin' The Blues (2017)

Provogue is home to some of the worlds’ finest modern Blues artists and the Label are thrilled to announce their first Rockin’ The Blues 2018 Tour featuring the exceptional talents of Eric Gales, Quinn Sullivan, Gary Hoey and now added to the bill as a special end of show guest is Texan guitar slinger Lance Lopez guitar hero extravaganza. The tour will be calling through Germany, The Netherlands and the UK in March next year.

To celebrate this, Rockin’ The Blues, the album features 14 stellar performances from Eric Gales, Quinn Sullivan, Gary Hoey, Black Stone Cherry, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Beth Hart, Walter Trout, SIMO, Supersonic Blues Machine, Thomas Wynn & The Believers, Jonny Lang, Lance Lopez, Sonny Landreth and Ronnie Baker Brooks. Guitar whirlwind Eric Gales’ Been So Long is taken from his critically acclaimed new album Middle of the Road which was released early 2017, Eric Gales is a man on form and on fire right now. His fourth album on Provogue/Mascot Label Group (15th album in total) sees him at his most expressive yet, his rebirth in fact; it is a deeply personal and reflective record that echoes where he is in his life right now and he allows himself to open up and really flourish. The who’s who of guitarists are declaring their admiration for him; Dave Navarro (Jane’s Addiction) exclaimed that “How Eric Gales isn’t the hugest name in rock guitar is a total mystery”, modern blues icon Joe Bonamassa said he is “One of the best, if not the best guitar player in the world”, whilst Mark Tremonti (Alter Bridge) said ‘this guy could be the best player on Earth” not to mention an admirer in the shape of Carlos Santana.

18 year old guitar prodigy and Buddy Guy protégé Quinn Sullivan has been a music professional for more than 75 percent of his life. He’s shared the stage with Buddy Guy aged eight, Eric Clapton, Los Lobos, The Roots, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi and Joe Bonamassa, and he opened for B.B. King, who later invited him to play his treasured “Lucille” guitar. He’s also appeared on national TV, with guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Oprah, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Conan with Jeff Bridges and twice on The Ellen DeGeneres show aged six and fourteen. Sullivan has packed some extraordinary experience into his decade-long career, Midnight Highway is taken from the his new album of the same name which was produced by multi GRAMMY® winner Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, Susan Tedeschi, Johnny Winter).

It’s just so right-with-the-universe that Gary Hoey’s 20th album, Dust & Bones is an exuberant fusion of blues and rock. After all, this accomplished and diverse guitarist has explored several styles in his career—hard rock, rock, surf, and prog, to name a few. The title track is a bonafide Hoey classic. In 1987, the Boston-born guitarist caught the ear of Ozzy Osbourne no slouch at picking great guitar players and almost ended up in his band (The gig ultimately went to Zakk Wylde.) Hoey scored a major-label record deal where his version of Focus’ “Hocus Pocus” brought him huge success.

There’s no doubt about it, the state of Texas is well known worldwide for its fiery blues guitar players, and Lance Lopez (also singer/guitarist for Supersonic Blues Machine) perfectly encapsulates that fire on Mr Lucky with some furious piece of fretboard mastery.

The album is awash with some of the finest blues artists in modern times; powerhouse Beth Hart is unstoppable on Love is A Lie, the Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter is riding a creative tidal wave, firing out acclaimed albums, hooking up with the biggest names in music and rocking the house each night with that celebrated burnt-honey voice. Arena rockers Black Stone Cherry returned to their roots in September releasing a blues cover record Black to Blues, here they explode in BSC style on Muddy Waters, Champagne & Reefer. Louisiana’s Kenny Wayne Shepherd prowls on Diamonds & Gold saying; Diamonds & Gold is a wink-wink kinda thing about how materialistic our society has become. It’s like, we should be living for bigger things than how much we can accumulate. If you look at the mainstream and what young people are led to believe they should work towards – it’s all just stuff. And stuff doesn’t have much substance. So that song is just to kinda inspire people to look for more in life.”

Nashville trio SIMO get funky on People Say, slide guitar maestro Sonny Landreth demonstrates his chops on this live version of Blues Attack taken from Recorded Live In Lafayette. Blues warrior Walter Trout shows why he is at the peak of his career with the formidable We’re All In This Together ft. Joe Bonamasssa. Jonny Lang returned with his first new album, Signs in 4 years in 2017 and Stronger Together is a soul crossover highlight. Chicago blues man Ronnie Baker Brooks, son of the late great Lonnie Brooks, delivers some fine blues, soul and funk with Times Have Changed ft. Al Kapone. Orlando’s favourite band Thomas Wynn & The Believers deliver an exquisite performance on Wade Waist Deep whilst Supersonic Blues Machine go from strength to strength and reach for the sky on the festival favourite, the hypnotic L.O.V.E.

TRACKLIST

01 Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Diamonds & Gold
02 Quinn Sullivan - Midnight Highway
03 Eric Gales - Been So Long
04 Walter Trout - We're All In This Together (Feat. Joe Bonamassa)
05 Beth Hart - Love Is A Lie
06 Gary Hoey - Dust & Bones
07 Lance Lopez - Mr Lucky (Previously Unreleased)
08 Simo - People Say
09 Thomas Wynn And The Believers - Wade Waist Deep
10 Supersonic Blues Machine - L.O.V.E.
11 Jonny Lang - Stronger Together
12 Sonny Landreth - Blues Attack (Live)
13 Black Stone Cherry - Champagne & Reefer
14 Ronnie Baker Brooks - Times Have Changed (Feat. Al Kapone)



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