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STEVE ARVEY CD'S

   

Steve Arvey & Kraig Kenning - Pass The Hat
Review By
Lennart Hedenström of The Northern Light Magazine from Sweden


I had never heard of these boys until the CD landed in my lap. I realize now I have been missing out on something. Kenning and Arvey are two very accomplished blues guitarists these days making a living out of their music on the Chicago blues scene. Arvey has toured across the US extensively backing all kinds of blues artists and he's been seen in the band behind such artists as Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Rogers and many other of the blues royalty. Arvey and Kenning show a broad knowledge of different types of blue on this album but their main thing is acoustic country blues. The fingerpicking of Arvey and the slide of Kenning is pure gold. Just listening on the two opening tracks, two Muddy Waters covers, "Can't Be Satisfied" and "Big Road Blues". All in all only five tracks out of twelve are original compositions on the album so I guess the boys are paying mostly a tribute to their heroes on this album. Another country blues number is the traditional song "St James Infirmary", a raunchy acoustic boogie is the classic "Let The Good Times Roll" and a country blues is "Sliding Delta Blues" (also a traditional song) where Kenning throws in some great electric slide. We get simply fantastic acoustic renditions of stuff by Robert Johnson and Lightning Hopkins just to show you these guys are walking in solid blues territory. As a balance they throw in some numbers where they use a fully electrified backing band on some boogie rockers like "Coming Back To You", "Roll Away The Stone" and "Getting Off ***" - three great foot stomping tracks! The highlight of the album though, for me, is a breathtakingly beautiful Ry Cooder-ish version of "Amazing Grace". Are you into blues? Then there is no excuse for you not to pick this one up!

L. Lewis & Brian Sidler
Bittersweet Records