Steve Arvey - Soul Of A Man
Review By John Ward of Only Blues Music

There's something reassuring about the blues - its popularity dips and rises periodically but it always survives all the musical fads and comes back rejuvinated with a raft of new musicians at the grassroots level. So welcome to a new bluesman - Steve Arvey hails from Chicago [how more authentic can that be!] and his album Soul of a Man is an excellent showcase for his band and his own mastery of the electric and acoustic guitars. This album is so vibrant and rocking that I guess it would be fair to rank Arvey up there with other white bluesmen such as Gary Moore, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Clapton. Indeed there are times when I flashbacked and thought I was listening to the classic British Blues and R&B band Lee Brilleaux and Doctor Feelgood! Mind you, when Arvey roars out the blues you'd believe for a moment that Howling Wolf had crawled his way out of the grave.

The album contains a mixture of original songs and a selection of classic blues from Muddy Waters, Lonnie Johnson, T-Bone Walker and the not so bluesy but heavily rootsy Steve Earle. In terms of style, the album covers them all: rural country blues, urban blues and of course, the hot city variety that made Chicago the blues capital of the world. I'm hard pressed to pick out highlight tracks from the fourteen [plus a hidden lengthy jam session track] on this CD, the variety and quality is just so high. If you're a blues aficionado you'll love this album!