CD Review - Hamilton Loomis - Live In England
It’s a bit ironic that a CD recorded live at the famous Monday Blues in Oxford, England and Liverpool Marina in Liverpool, England should be reviewed by a guy in Seattle, Washington (after seeing Loomis perform live @ the Sunbanks Music Festival (in Eastern, Washington, U.S.A..), But, it just shows that Hamilton is finally reaching the audience he deserves. AMAZING! Drag out all the adjectives you want, try impressive, or outstanding, even mesmerizing… (And, he’s definitely a hit with the ladies with that smile!).
This CD is top-notch all the way. Tasty roots music with a definite Texas-style flavor. Influenced by mentors Bo Diddley, Johnny Copeland, “Gatemouth” Brown and Albert Collins this CD is blues based, but don’t stick Loomis in any pigeon-hole. The Kid’s got it all.
From the opening instrumental “Pull String” to the closing “Get My Blues On” there isn’t a clunker in the bunch. Standouts for me are “Bow Wow” and “Bo Diddley Who Do You Love Medley”. The music starts out somewhere around the speed limit, gases it up (reaching Mach 3) and then brings you back down, giving you a couple break to catch your breath ( “No, No, No” and “Time”), then mashes the pedal to the floor and drags you along on a ride of scintillating music that covers a broad gamut from blues to funk to soul to rock n’ roll (CAUTION: If you are on blood pressure medication, you might want to double your dosage prior to listening!).
Loomis is backed by an excellent bunch of young musicians. Louisiana native Stratton Doyle is on tenor sax, keys and back up vocals. Another Louisiana product, Kent Beatty provides some definitely funky bass. And, British drummer Jamie Little is featured on this
CD (while the live performance at Sunbanks featured Ryan Cortez on the skins).
But, don’t make any mistake, the show is Hamilton Loomis! An excellent songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist, Loomis strength is performing.
The only drawback to this CD is that it should be a DVD! To truly get the full “Loomis Effect” you need to SEE it! The next best thing is to buy this CD and plan on seeing him the next chance you get.
HAMILTON LOOMIS – Bow WOW!
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