Copyright 1999-2005 - © 2005 Viewpoint Records - All rights reserved

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Way Beyond the Blues


1. Medicine Man - 3:13
2. Come Home Baby - 7:50
3. Dead Man's Money - 4:12
4. Greyhound Bus - 3:56
5. Damn That Guitar - 3:52
6. Kill Me Quickly - 6:17
7. I've Seen the Devil - 3:48
8. Please Don't Love Me Anymore - 4:43
9. Showed My Soul to You - 2:10
10. Lil' Mambo - 4:36
11. Goin' On - 9:16

 

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Way Beyond the Blues CD Cover

Joe Richardson

Way Beyond the Blues

Joe Richardson - Guitar, Harp, Vocals
Keven Phelan - Bass
Richard Lamm - Drums

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Joe Richardson was born in southern Louisiana's Atchafalaya River Delta, so pickin' & playin' has been a way of life from an early age. At the age of 6 his grandpa gave him a guitar from a pawn shop, and he taught himself to play. The experience he gained from musical legends of the locale allowed him to develop a style consistent with his background. Submerging himself totally in music is what has driven his very existence for as long as he can remember. A versatile veteran, he also plays fiddle and steel guitar.

Kevin Phelan was born in Levelland, Texas where they dance in circles in the roadhouses. This, in turn, kicks up a heap of dust and causes lots of tornadoes, which attract extra terrestrials, who taught Kevin the blues at an early age. "It all started one day when he was choppin' cotton out in the July west Texas sun. Things got kinda strange....." Over the years, Kevin has been schooled in the classics at Southwest Texas State University, spanked by James Polk in his Little Big Band, and sanctified through five years of Sunday jamming at Ted Hall's Blues Church. After a very successful period of composing music for computer games with The Fat Man (http://www.fatman.com), Kevin returns to the local scene to join up with Joe Richardson.

We invite you to pick up this CD. For the legions of dedicated blues fans, we think you'll find that this collection builds some exciting new inroads from the paths of our forefathers. For those of you who are new to the Blues, or don't know jack other than you just like good music, as long as you know Joe, you don't need to know jack!

www.joerichardsonexpress.com

Credits:
Mastering & Mixing: Dave McNair
Guitar, Harp, Vocals and Producer: Joe Richardson
Engineering: Steven Allen & Jack Rock
Executive Producer: Jack Rock

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Review:

Of all the new material that I have previewed in the past many months, this recording is by far my personal favorite. "Way Beyond the Blues" is a wonderful showcase of both Richardson's diverse influences and outstanding musical talents. The recording bears a strong electric delta blues likeness while at the same time remaining fresh and original. There is a considerable Mississippi juke joint influence evident throughout the recording, as well as a goodly dose of Texas blues. The songs are all well written, Joe Richardson originals and the lyrics are with purpose. Oddly, the recording is somehow an extremely simple and straight-forward effort, yet at the same time a very powerful work. The band is three piece, with Joe Richardson providing the guitar and vocals, Kevin Phelan adding solid acoustic and electric bass, and Mike Taylor rounding out the lineup with some of the more tasteful drumming I have heard in a while. The CD is simple, in that there are no added players or extra instruments played on multiple tracks. Despite its simplicity, this is powerful and passionate music. What you hear from this band on this recording is what you get live. "Way Beyond the Blues" has added the name of the Joe Richardson Express to my list of "must see" artists. The set opens with a very Louisiana flavored "Medicine Man", which is Richardson's alter ego. After a slow blues powerhouse "Come Home Baby", the track "Dead Man's Money" offers the listener the first taste of Richardson's stinging slide guitar. The following three tracks include two of my personal favorites "Greyhound Bus" and "Kill Me Quickly", which are both laced with gut wrenching slide and soulful juke joint vocals. "Kill Me Quickly" is especially good, and is what we used to term as "boll weevil picking music". You folks from the south will know what I mean, while all others may just prefer to call it "evil". The other songs are all good, but time and space are not sufficient here to allow me to say all that I would like about this exceptional work. Suffice it say that this recording comes with my "must own" seal of approval.

–Tom Branson
http://gottheblues.com/

Copyright 1999-2005 - © 2005 Viewpoint Records - All rights reserved