Reviews

BOBBY WAYNE - SOUL STATION
BONEDOG BDRCD-26
Bobby Wayne "Soul Station" (**** 1/2). I've been looking forward to
the new Bobby Wayne ever since I first listened to his ridiculously good
last disc "Hit That Thang!". That masterpiece would be hard to duplicate
in terms of song, sound and soul and while "Soul Station" isn't a
duplicate, it's simply splendid and an essential purchase for fans of real
Soul Blues by a great excess. Even with a street date of January 1 2008
it will endure as one of the best of the year.
That locomotive bass, smacking drums, blaring horns and Bobby's
unassuming voice on the title track (and opener) instantly brought a
smile to my face. Stax Records lives. Lyrically fitting, the song is an ode
to his oldtime soul radio (9-Volt) airing DJ "John R's" picks on WLAC.
The hook: "soul station/southern R & B/soul station/that was for me!".
There you have it. Can I get an Amen? It's one of eight cuts penned by
guitarist Mike Sweeney, who offers up another heavy bottomed Soul
Blues thumper with "Leaving Signs", my pick for radio for sure. Of
course on my Internet radio stations I've also been playing the hook-filled
floater "This Amazing Thing", the Northern Soul roller "Knowing
You've Been Loved" and knockout slowie "Right About The Rain". I
should also mention this would serve as one hella good party disc with
funky ass Rhythm & Blues jams like "Diggin' What You Do To Me"
and jumpers like "Soul's Got A Sound". To sum up "Soul Station" for
you in two words: TUNE IN. bluescritic.com

LARRY NATH - LIVE IT!
BONEDOG BDRCD-25
Larry Nath "Live It!" (*** 1/2). Pittsburgh's own Larry Nath is a hard-hittin'
Bluesman with a flair for American and John Mellencamp-like Rock. In fact,
the Artist Formerly Known As Johnny Cougar would do well to pen a tune
like Nath's "Without You". More interesting though are Nath's stomping
houserockers like "Bone Dog Blues" and the raucous title cut. Two of eight
Nath originals. Real mainstream appeal here. "Angel In Disguise" belongs
at Triple A. (wouldn't that be nice?)
The set was recorded with the great Bone Dog Records house band (the Bonedog
All Stars: Jimmy Britton- keys, Brandon Barnes- drums, Mighty Lil' Johnson
-bass, Jim Relja-guitar). Master songwriter Mike Sweeney adds to his growing
catalog of Soul & Blues gems with three contributions. Most notable is the
hilarious "The Killer And The Kin", which spins a yarn about a drunk Jerry
Lewis headed down to Graceland to snatch (by fisticuffs) the King Of Rock &
Roll's crown from Elvis Presley. "Elvis was kickin' and watching TV/askin' who's
that out there waving his pistol at me...the guards at the gate called on the phone.
Elvis said 'Tell him to leave me alone. Either kick his ass or call the police!".
What happens next? Buy the record and find out. bluescritic.com


THE JASON MARTINKO REVUE
DAMAGED GOODS
BONEDOG RECORDS BDRCD-24

The Jason Martinko disc you've sent me has reached me safe and sound,
thank you very much! This is some crazy stuff if you ask me! Everything’s
here – some soul, a little bit of rock and roll, some rockabilly played with a
punk attitude and lot’s of neo-swing, I mean everything. Jason is a fine singer
but what I love the best are arrangements and horn sections’ parts. It’s hard
not to dance to sounds like those. This is one of the most enjoyable releases
I’ve heard in a long time, a fabulous party album! Plus, it is another proof
that Bonedog Records is one of the best independent blues meets soul labels
around, congratulations. - Przemek Draheim - POLAND

LIVING BLUES / OCTOBER 2007
CRAIG KING
BREAKTHROUGH
BONEDOG BDRCD-23
There's not much biographical information available on vocalist Craig
King, but from what's here it sounds as if he's what they used to call
"the real deal"--a genuine, dyed-in-the-wool soul man with equal dollops
of church and street in his delivery and a knack for melding old-school
deep soul classicism with enough contemporary touches(sexy vibrato,
melisma, a nasal edge-of-sneer croon) for him to avoid the "museum-piece"
label.
The songs themselves- mostly credited to producer Mike Sweeney- are,
for the most point, devoid of cliche, and the arrangements are meaty
and,again, agreeably retro (i.e., all "live" instuments) without sounding
dated (special kudos to beef-and-brawn sax man Robbie Klein). King
is a guitarist as well as a vocalist, but since no song-by-song credits are
given it's impossible to know whether the unembellished, cut-to-the-bone
solos here are his,Steve Delach's, or Dave Avery's.
As usual, the true test of a singer's mettle is on ballads, and King passes
with aplomb- his delivery on the cheating song How Deep Does This go
is infused with anguish and longing; So Much In Love, one of the three
songs King penned himself, is an ode to devotion in the contemporary
southern soul mold, and King summons an effectively callow-sounding
emotional vulnerability to heighten the mood.
In a fairer world, there would be a place on the R&B and pop charts for
an artist like Craig King, whose good humored delivery on the funk-
powered Feelin' Like A New 45 both acknowledges and transcends
the irony of a singer working in what was once a singles market now
living or dying on the strength of what was once called an album. As it
is, if justice is served he'll probably have to be satisfied with robust CD
sales and a healthy touring schedule. Not the worst of fates, and it
couldn't happen to a more deserving artist. - David Whiteis

CCraig King "The Breakthrough" *** 1/2
This fine release from Bonedog Records once again
hits the right chords for Soul music like real Memphis-styled
horns, Staxy-rhythm, greasy organ, soulful vocals. Folks, it
never gets old and the formula works for newcomer Craig King
who reminds me of the underappreciated Earl Thomas. King's
a yearning singer who doesn't oversing- proven on the fabulous
60s-style ballad "So Much In Love", a cut that has that lift-up-
your-lighter and sway your arms feel. The bluesy "How Deep
Does This Go" gives you more of the same.
A great horn arrangement pushes the loose n' funky title cut,
detailing a man's inability to connect with his woman. King sings
"Next to me/In this bed where we lay/Sometimes it seems a
million miles away/Tell me where do you go to?". Ah yes, the
mercurial nature of relationships. The moody "This Wasn't Right"
accurately describes the lure and ache of forbidden fruit. Horns
once again propel "A Love Like This", moving in Staxy style,
same goes for the gritty "Feelin' Like A New 45" and the JB-
inspired "What's Right". Widening out and perhaps revealing a
Van Morrison influence (at least by the writer) "The Blues Come
A Knock'in", a Jazzy number in "Moondance" mode. You could
even say there's a little Elton John heard in the bouncy "Leave
Your Love On", then again where did Sir Elton get his influence?
Am I stretching it? Perhaps but all good music today stems from
Southern Soul & Blues and Bonedog Records is a label that
uncompromisingly keeps the classic period alive.

Them folks at Bonedog Records have done it again with another
Staxy Soul/Blues record- this time by Robert Peckman. "Stirrin'
Up Bees" (****) is Peckman's first disc under his own name
but his resume includes singing lead on the disco group Q's LP
"Dancin' Man", which had a Top 23 Pop hit with the title cut.
Prior to this he sang for the groups Mike And Ike and Sparkz.
"Bees" kicks off with a Funky slider called "Put It In The
Pocket" featuring delicious horns by Don Donohoe & Robert
Klein. Irresistible. The hilarious, thesaurus-raiding
"Bamboozled" follows with some loose-jointed piano by
Jimmy Britton. Still both these winners are trumped by the
title cut which includes the uber-clever line describing a date
that ended without a "payoff": "It's like stirrin' up bees...and
not getting any honey! Like robbing a bank and not getting
any money/Like telling a joke that's not even funny". Sorry
Robert, but good for her! Marry the girl first. I immediately
recognized track 4, "A Man Must Stand For Something".
It was first covered by labelmate Billy Price but it's equally
strong here. As a bonus "Bees" features the return of former
Stax artist Johnny Daye to sing on two cuts ("Let's Talk It
| Over" & "Stop And Take A Look") though Peckman is a
perfectly capable singer on his own.This is gritty, earnest
blues-eyed Soul/Blues music at it's zenith.
copyright 2007 by Blues Critic/Dylann DeAnna

Bobby Wayne "Hit That Thing" (Bonedog)
Billy Price "East End Avenue" (Bonedog)
Eugene Morgan "Count On Me" (Bonedog)
Piney Brown "One Of These Days" (Bonedog)
Sublime. Magnificent. Dazzling. (add superlative here). A few words to
describe Bobby Wayne's supremely soulful "Hit That Thing!" (*****). A
friend of mine and fellow critic told me to get a copy of this disc all the
while praising it with nearly blithe drool and I'm now quite grateful (we
Deep Soul/Blues geeks are a verbose bunch when we find a diamond).
100% organic backing. Tasteful female backups, organ, majestic horns,
flawless rhythm and gritty vocals on 13 great tunes equals buy-it-now
-or-forfeit-your-soul. Nearly every track is a standout but a few shall get
special mention. Mike Sweeney's moving "Homestead Greys" is a tribute
to the perseverance of a "Negro League" baseball team before Jackie
broke the color line. Atop a lilting piano n' bass platform Wayne earnestly
intones: "They hit a ball 500 feet past a place they couldn't eat and hotels
they couldn't stay. Through it all they played with pride. Kept the bitterness
inside in the days of the Homestead Greys." Sweeney provides another
brilliant stroke with "On The Drift", a retro-60s Soul coaster replete with
harmonica, chiming guitar, Hammond B-3 and a restrained vocal from
Wayne. Both these cuts are the sit back and pay attention sort. More top
shelf originals come from other members of the "Mojo Boneyard" (Jeff
Ingersoll, Jim Britton & Wayne, given name Wayne Boykin) such as the
sprite "Life Of The Party, funky "Hit That Thing" and Jazzy "Time". On
the lattertracks saxwork by Bobby Jones Jr., Chris Hemmingway and
Robbie Klein must be praised. While mostly originals there's also superb
covers of the Fantastic Four's "Can't Stop Looking For My Baby", Rance
Allen Group's "Ain't No Use In Crying" and The Masqueraders'
"This House Is Haunted". Head over to www.boneyardrecords.com and
and drop a few bones on this disc or that popcorn guy's name isn't
Orvelle Redd...

The career of Pittsburgh, PA's favorite blue-eyed soulman Billy Price reaches
back three decades-plus. His first break came as lead vocalist on Roy
Buchanan's "That's What I'm Here For" & "Livestock" in the 70s. After forming
Billy Price & The Keystone Rhythm Band and later the Billy Price Band he's gone
on to record some 7 records of authentic R & B, most notably the Swamp
Dogg-produced "Can I Change My Mind?" in 1999. Now Price has joined the
Bonedog Records stable for the excellent "East End Avenue" (****).
Co-produced by Price and Jeff Ingersoll, the set boasts 14(!) hard hitting Soul,
Blues & R & B numbers lead by a superb gaggle of musicians. Master
songwriter Mike Sweeney is credited with the crème de la crème here from
the melodic "Soul Sailin'" (great refrain!), Staxy Soul/Blues mover "She Left
Me With The Blues" and Beachy "East End Avenue", which could be
embraced by those shaggin' Carolinars. Price and Sweeny collaborate on
"Funky Like Dyke, Part 2", an homage to Arlester "Dyke" Christian of "Dyke
& The Blazers" (the original "Funky Broadway") who was murdered in 1971.
Price's Peter Wolf-like vocal and the appropriately stanky rhythm live up to
the song's title. The Billy Price Horn Section (Rick Matt, Eric DeFade, Joe
Herndon plus Don Donohue, Robbie Klein on 2 cuts) is in great form through
out. It's striking what real horns can do for a recording. Price teamed with
the ubiquitous Jon & Sally Tiven for five co-writes including the swingin'
Blues shuffler "Keep It To Yourself" and the fed-up "Push Me To My Limit".

Eugene Morgan has an earthy Blues voice similar to Cash McCall and plays
dem N'awlins-style Blues on "Count On Me" (*** 1/2). But the opening
"Crosstie Cutter" is a Soul/Blues knockout with Morgan's Albert King-blessed
guitar licks, forceful horns and chanka-lanka rhythm guitar. It was composed
by Mike Sweeney but Morgan himself penned seven of the 14(!) tracks with
expert production courtesy of the Mojo Boneyard, the staff of Boneyard
Records. Great playing exemplifies "Gonna Tell You", featuring a greasy
Hammond B-3 solo from Fred Delu and a back-of-the-throat growl from
Morgan. There's great covers of Al Reed's funky "99 & 44/100 Pure Love",
an obvious cousin to Wilson Pickett's "Ninety-Nine & A Half", and Ike Turner's
"She Made My Blood Run Cold". This disc was released in 2001 and has
lived in relative obscurity but those who get hip to it's charms will thank me.

Octogenarians like Pinetop Perkins, B.B. King & Piney Brown never get old
and apparently never shake the Blues. Brown made his mark in the 40s with
hootin' & hollerin' Jump Blues and kept pace with changing styles through
the 60s and 70s but, after all but retiring, staged a comeback in 2000 with
the Bonegog Records release "My Task". Six years later we have the solid
"One Of These Days" (***), consisting of eleven Brown originals and two
sturdy covers. Not to take anything away from Brown but producer Jeff
Ingersoll and his roster of dynamite musicians could make anybody sound
good. Fabulous horns, tight rhythm sections and great studio sound typify
the label's output. That said Brown's cache of cuts would still hold up on it's
own. Afterall they are updates of his best material written throughout his
career. His "Just A Little Bit" has been covered a bazillion times. The most
recent "Ain't It A Shame" dates to the early 80s and is even more apt today.
Although lacking specifics he sings: "Ain't it a shame it gives me aches and
pains. Ain't it a shame when someone up and lie to you. They say you owe
taxes to the country. You're living here with all it's liberties. They say you don't
have a doggone thing to worry about it. All you gotta do is put your trust in me.
They're lying to you!". You fill in the blanks. "Kokomo", "Talking About You" &
"In The Evening With The Sun Goes Down" came from the early 50s while the
title cut first appeared originally on Sound Stage Seven Records in 1969.
Whatever case the full sound here renders the early stuff obsolete to my ears.
Bonedog is now four for four in my book.
copyright 2005/2006 by Blues Critic/Dylann DeAnna. May only be
used with permission and if web address www.bluescritic.com and
author's name are included.

Reviews
"Blues In Britain" Magazine
Piney Brown – One Of These Days
Bonedog Records BDRCD-20
Piney Brown first recorded, with his Rhythm & Blues Band, in 1947 on
Esquire/Miracle Records – the band featuring the great Eddie Chamblee
and Sonny Thompson.  Amazingly,nearly sixty years and seven decades
later, Piney is still singing/shouting the blues withan emotional intensity
and vigour that would shame artists forty years his junior. All of the
tracks on this set, bar one, are remakes of his own compositions –
except for Percy Mayfield’s “Strange Things Are Happening” which is
presented as a churning shuffle replete with vibrantly riffing horns and
chicken-scratch guitar.  In fact Robbie Klein (saxophone) and Dan
Donohoe (trumpet) are a crucial element of Brown’s sound – adding a
lowdown funky edge to the slow grinding “Kokomo”, which he first
recorded for SIW in 1952, whilst moaning salaciously on “(They Call
Her) Rosalee” (a 1957 Duke duet by Brooks and Brown), a lowdown
gin-house blues that perfectly highlights a man and a voice that were
born to sing theblues. Brown’s voice is capable of conveying a wide
range ofemotions.  His resonant, deep baritone is steeped in the blues on
“Ain’t A Shame”, a hornfired slab of funky R&B enhanced by Jim Britton’s
barrelhousing piano– his melancholy vocals are perfectly complemented
by baying horns and “in the alley” piano on “In The Evening” – whilst his
impassioned delivery adds a brooding intensity to “My Love”,which is
mirrored by percolating keyboards. Add in the lowdown funky “She’s Super
Bad”– the rollicking New Orleans R&B of  “Talkin’ ‘Bout You” – the veiled
threat and barely contained menace of “Cream In My Coffee (Sugar In My
Tea)” – and “One Of These Days” where he sounds like a rougher hewn
Percy Mayfield – and you have a set that is guaranteed to delight all lovers
of 50’s blues and R&B. 
(www.bonedogrecords.com)
Highly recommended.
Rating 9
Mick Rainsford

"Juke Blues" Magazine
BILLY PRICE
East End Avenue
Bonedog (US) BDRCD-18

‘It’s Almost Time For Me To Go’ exhorts the Pittsburgh-based
singer but not before  he rips into the bluesy opener ‘Keep It To
Yourself’, one of five songs Billy Price co-wrote with Jon and
Sally Tiven for this varied and exemplary soulful 14-track CD
produced by Billy with Jeff Ingersoll at the Mojo Boneyard studio
in McKeesport, PA. Local song-writer Mike Sweeney contributes
six songs including ‘Soul Sailin’’, possessing a similar feel to
Solomon Burke’s ‘Soul Searchin’’, the nostalgic trip down ‘East
End Avenue’, and a tribute to Dyke and The Blazers on ‘Funky
Like Dyke, part 2’. Keyboardist Jimmy Britton penned the light-
hearted, jovial romp ‘If You Cook Like You Walk’ whilst a lengthy
take on the ballad ‘Faithful And True’, previously recorded by Z.Z.
Hill, is the only non-|original track on display. Billy enters Robert
Cray territory on ‘The Other Side Of You’ but saves his best vocal
performance for ‘The Price I Paid For Loving You’, a scorching
piano-led deep-soul gem. On some of his past recordings, Billy
has tended to over-stretch at times, but here he hits the target
with a mix of verve and restraint. Together with a set of quality
songs and a tight, funky band replete with horns and back-ups,
this top-drawer release deserves to catapult him to a much
wider audience. - Ray Ellis  

In the Basement (UK)
Billy Price feat. the Billy Price Band
East End Avenue by David Cole.
Issue No. 43, August-October 2006

Billy Price and his band of seven support musicians - including three
horn players who are a definite presence throughout - have been
excellent exponents of blue-eyed soul for a long time now and this really
fine set, recorded at the Mojo Boneyard, McKeesport, PA, continues the
legacy. Apart from a fine take on Z.Z. Hill's "Faithful and True" (written by
Marlin and Jeanie Green and Dan Penn), with a great wailing sax going
on and "If You Cook Like You Walk," a strutter with piano composed by
keyboardist Jimmy Britton, the rest of the songs fall into two camps
regarding penmanship: either Mike Sweeney or collaborations between
Price and Jon and Sally Tiven. (There's just a minor twist to the latter in
that the mid-paced "Push Me to the Limit" was the product of the Tivens
and Ellis Hooks.) Sweeney's songs are topped by "The Hard Hours," an
easy-beating tale of a break-up and also boast the "East End Avenue" title
track, where party sounds open the drum-beat-driven but relaxed number,
a nice downtempo "Only Two Lovers," and a warm, mid-paced "Soul
Sailin'," where the vocal support brings in the set's only female sounds,
those of Yolanda Barber. Sweeney also contributed a pair of funky items:
"She Left Me With These Blues," which gets a fierce horn attack and a
serenade to Dyke & the Blazers with the riff-laden "Funky Like Dyke,
Part 2," co-written with Price. He and the Tivens have proved no
slouches; as well as the rocking "Keep It to Yourself" opener and the
chugging "Sweet Mistreatin' Love," they come up with three special
beauties: the moody, downtempo "The Other Side of You" - even the
guitar break fits, though maybe it's a tad over-long - the beat-ballad
"The Big Show" and the real piece de resistance, "The Price I Paid for
Loving You," a dead-slow opus, set against a drum beat and with an
effective organ break.

"Contemporary Jazz"
Dwayne Dolphin
"Ming"
[Bonedog Records, 2006]
Reviewed by Rob Young
Date: August, 2006 [14 Tracks 65:52 Total Spin Time]

Although he’s genuinely rooted in traditional jazz bassist and
Pittsburg native Dwayne Dolphin arrives with an mosaic of
creative and innovative music simply titled “Ming” his latest
offering on Bonedog Records. Dwayne began playing drums
by the time he was ten years old within the same year he picked
up the bass guitar. From there his journey excelled when he
turned fifthteen and began playing bass and working with
Pittsburgh’s finest such as Roger Humphries, Pete Henderson,
and Carl Arter. Jazz lovers often squabble back and forth
about the tempo, melodies,and ability to play funk or whatever
wets your whistle. In this case, I’ve heard an assortment of
sounds and textures by a musician who is an extraordinary
talent with aforementioned ability to cover a palette of music
that contemporary jazz lovers in particular will savor and enjoy
with each spin. Dwayne Dolphin primarily plays the Piccolo
bass on this project without being locked into one direction
sonically. Once you hear treasures like Wilton Felder’s
ballad “Way Back Home” featuring Lou Stellute on tenor
saxophone and there’s also Herbie Hancock’s monster groove
“Chameleon,” you’ll shy with joy and relief because you’ll discover
this cat is about playing timeless music and rejuvenating it with
his own unique spirit. Oh yeah, there’s no question you’ll dig
these jams by Dolphin! For those of you that absolutely crave
contemporaryjazz for back in the day you’ll find Dwayne
Dolphin’s “Ming” quite refreshing, a jewel, or diamond in the
rough if you will. Dolphin serves up a superb monstrous rendition
of Roy Ayers’ “Voyage” features the incredible Sean Jones on
trumpet. You can get your spiritual groove in order with Donnie
McClurkin’s “We Fall Down,” and please don’t get sidetracked
by the these covers because this cat knows how to work a tune
to make it his own without diminishing thequality of the original.
Bassist Dwayne Dolphin knows and has fine tune his craft
remarkably well by honing his skills with a host of prime players
in jazz such as: Hank Crawford Group, Wynton Marsalis, Stanley
Turrentine, Nancy Wilson, Melba Moore, Fred Wesley and many
others over the years. Dolphin’s originals are definitely cream
of the crop gems, please check out: Ming, LC’s Lullaby, Right
Before Your Eyes, Mrs. Harrison, The Sipper, Ali and That Name
written by bassit Brian Sanders. On his current project “Ming,”
multi-instrumentalist Dwayne Dolphin has harvest an abundance
of meaningful and certainly enjoyable music, please check
him out at your leisure you want be sorry!