Eric Hughes Band - Drink Up! (2013)

                                                              Eric Hughes Band
 ‘Drink Up!’ CD Released 2013 Eric Hughes Band Memphis Blues Society Review Eric Hughes has an engaging smile and an engaging style. The title and cover of his new CD, ‘Drink Up!’ invites you to party with him – and this disc delivers a party, for sure. The arc of the album is just fun – that twinkle in Eric’s eye is genuine! Eric and his band are solid, playing with an economy that is very much appreciated – like the pre- 70s Bluesmen he and brother Walt, together with a solid rhythm section made up of Leo Goff on bass and Doug McMinn on percussion, play the notes that are needed and don‘t overload the songs by overplaying or over engineering. Adding Robert “Nighthawk” Tooms and Chris Peterson to the mix on keyboards, this is a tasty treat that I’m ready to take on just about any time! Not a slave to 12 bar blues, Eric and his band mix it up with a great variety of styles and grooves, giving you a tasting menu of most of Memphis’ musical approaches to live up to the tagline “Every Drop Made in Memphis, Tennessee.” The title track is a fast moving shuffle, reminiscent of Stray Cats, with nice harmonies and great party vibe. From this track you know that you are here to be entertained and have some fun. ‘Drink Up!’ is followed by ‘Baby’s Mama’ an R&B number that tells the tale of “my old use to be,” one of the nicest ex-girlfriend tunes you are bound to hear – filled with affection and a little regret but in a quick tempo that lets you know that he’s still doin’ fine (and if you know him you know that he is). On ‘Blues Musician’ Hughes picks up his harp and reveals the secret that “I’m only happy when I’m down.” This interlude shows Eric’s serious side as a man who understands the blues. Eric then goes back to humor with ‘Frostina,’ where he gets funky, and has a lot of fun with it. Singing of his ice queen “you’re just too chilly to hold” Eric mixes a fun lyric with some nice guitar chops and he keeps up the fun with ‘Tested Positive for the Blues,’ where the piano moves in to take this very bluesy number to a place not yet visited on the album. I was struck by this tune that it’s something that Louis Jordan would have written if he ever got funky. On this tune the harp is brought out again, but kept in the background for a great effect. ‘Mama Don’t Allow’ is an acoustic take on the old standby, with some very tasty picking with a story told over the top of it. Eric gets some nice effects from the resonator guitar to get a piano like sound at just the right spot. From this traditional blues tune Eric moves to the soulful ‘Repo Man,’ which is as Stax as it gets. This song makes you want to get up and dance – as does most of the rest of the album. To mix it up more this track is followed by ‘Memphis Rain’ a slower instrumental with a nice hook - it’s not a thrashing “guitar god” instrumental but one that harkens back to the days of Booker T and the MGs, where a nice groove is established and maintained throughout. Eric takes Sleepy John Estes’ tune ‘Going to Brownsville’ and starts it out as a “Delta style” song and adds a little polish up front. (Although Estes wasn’t from the Delta you can’t tell that by listening to him on the original). As the song progresses he pulls it into modern day Memphis, tastefully updating it with modern instrumentation while staying true to the song – I like this approach – no need to soup it up with pedals, just play it – Eric owns this one and I have to say it is my favorite track on the record. ‘The Ballad of Weevil Point Willie’, in the style of a cowboy song, is a ballad that tells a story and features Walt on the mandolin, for the perfect effect. The song was made for that instrument. The album closes with ‘My Baby Got a Black Cat,’ a little swampy “Southern Rock” tune that is a great dessert to round out this “tour de Memphis” from a solid band.

320kbps

Credits:

Leo Goff - Bass, Backing Vocals   
Doug McMinn - Drums, Congas, Percussion   
Walter Hughes - Guitar, Backing Vocals, Mandolin 
Eric Hughes - Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica   
Chris Stephenson - Keyboards   
Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms - Keyboards   

Tracklist:

01. Drink Up! 02:35
02. That's My Baby's Mama 03:38
03. Blues Magician 04:42
04. Frostina 03:18
05. Tested Positive For The Blues 04:07
06. Mama Don't Allow 02:42
07. Repo Man 02:35
08. Raining on Beale 04:52
09. Going To Brownsville 05:49
10. The Ballad Of Weevil Point Willie 04:16
11. My Baby Got A Black Cat 04:14