Album Review/ Blues : Blues Corner’s ‘All That We Are’
Blues Corner have just released their latest album, ‘ALL THAT WE ARE’. The band covers it all. All kinds of blues. The slow, the fast and the groovy. Just a great way to spend the afternoon with. Sitting through disc 1, you get the fun, the scenic and the evocative. Moving through coarse, silky, velvet, and swing grooves, they put up a good show.
‘Set Me Free’ opens the album. In all its groovy, glowing goodness, it’s sure to take you back to the golden era of blues. Right back to the epoch of Chuck Berry, Buddy Guy, and Bo Diddley. The track has that swing blues energy with that charismatic rock attitude. It is dynamic and full of that party, dance energy that you want to keep returning to. Tracks like ‘What’s Good What’s Bad’ and ‘The Blues Are About Giving All What We Are’ have a similar make up. The former has a striking rock n roll energy while the latter has a more classic rock ethos.
Tracks like ‘Stone in My Shoe’ and ‘Piggy Back Blues’ have a more expressive style. The rhythm is slow moving, almost snail-like. The character and emotional dynamism flows out of the vocal line. It’s incredibly rustic and full of a country folk feel. It pulls the listener into it. With a coarse vocal texture, they disarm us immediately. We want more of the slow burn, the story and the emotion.
There’s a lot of soul in these tracks. Drawing from old country and deep traditional folk frames, the blues shine more than ever. ‘Double Screen’, ‘Blues Paradise’ and ‘Leaving For Real’ have such an evocative build. The vocals have a way of surrendering it all to the track which makes us give it back all that we have. All that we feel and have ever felt. The instrumentals only add to this feeling. They immerse you in their ambience, in their personality and make up. You get everything.
‘Highway of Love’ (disc 2) and ‘Rock n Rolling’ (disc 2) are easy favorites. Those blues come out dressed in a snatchy suit and dashing smile and have you going weak in the knees. They know what it is like to have a good time and are not shy to take you along. It’s the kind of tracks that revive early Rolling Stones. That loose, dirty, soulful and cool as hell sound. Think Faces, The Yardbirds and The Kinks. They indulge it all, take so much pleasure in playing.
‘I’m Smashed’ and ‘Train Passing By’ have that feel-good, contemplative country blues in them. They lull and dilate and just keep going with the flow. Made so naturally and played with fluid sentiments, it feels philosophical almost. An extension of this with deep classic rock roots we find in ‘Our Legacy’ and ‘4 Guys on the Road’. Both themes that explore what the band is made up of. Rolling with emotion and a whole lot of history, love, and passion, they feel like a road that keeps going on. There’s no end in sight, it’s like sailing into the sunset. A band that plays for the sake of music and the joy of blues. And nothing else. Listen Now!
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The album is available for streaming on popular sites like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music!
You can listen to ‘ALL THAT WE ARE’ by Blues Corner here -
