Even though it is Billy Price's latest CD, "Night Work" is also the très fine travail of French blues guitarist Fred Chapellier, which they've released in a very soulful, bluesy collaboration on the French label DixieFrog Records, recorded last year at Mojo Boneyard in McKeesport.
It's now available on Price's web site, and will be released officially on March 12. Billy and Fred will hold a local CD release party April 5 at the Palisades Ballroom in McKeesport. They promise special guests for the occasion, and since harpman Marc Wenner and soulman Otis Clay both guest on the album, I wouldn't be surprised to see either or both turn up.
I've thought for a few years now that Price and his favorite blue-eyed music has never sounded better (I've been listening to him since the late '70s), and the addition of Chapellier, a Roy Buchanan devotee, adds a tough bluesy touch, but keeps the faith with Price's soulful roots. Price and Chapellier wrote or co-wrote nine sides here, and their word processor is as mighty as their blues.
Meanwhile, even though I wrote about the CD in an early sneak preview a few weeks ago, I think it's worth revisiting here. I liked it a lot then, and I like it a lot now -- even more. Here's some of what I wrote, plus some clips from a few songs.
"Night Work" is filled with Price's always-soulful music, complete with his usual tight and hornful band, all enhanced by Chapellier's crisp, bluesy work. Also contributing to the fun: soul man and Price inspiration Otis Clay, and harpman Mark Wenner of the Nighthawks. There are tracks from some fine writers, inluding Pittsburgh's Mike Sweeney, Jon and Sally Tiven, and fine covers of O.V. Wright and Al Green, including Clay's gritty take on Green's "Love and Happiness."
The CD opens with "Smart Money," written by Price and Chapellier, and features Billy singing in a lower and softer register than you usually find in his club work, where testimony is more the order of the night. The tone adds intimacy and warmth, against the bite of Chapellier's guitar work. Here's a sample:
One of my favorite cuts is the title track, a fine Mike Sweeney tune on the virtues of life after dark, featuring a sensuous Wenner harp and some tough Price singing. Try it on:
I don't mean to overlook Chapellier's guitar work here. He's a strong presence throughout, whether filling in around the vocals, or nailing biting solos that range from soulful to bluesy. Here's a sample from another favorite track, "Don't Let My Baby Ride":
Here's the track list:
- Smart Money
- My Love Comes Tumbling Down
- Night Work
- Don't Let My Baby Ride
- When the Lights Came On
- Love and Happiness
- Who You're Working For
- Under the Influence
- The Wrong Woman
- O.V. Wright
- All the Love in the World
- Champagne Blues and Pittsburgh Soul
- Skunk Shuffle
"Champagne Blues" is a Price-Chapellier duet, which just proves that there can be French blue-eyed soul as well. And just in case you read French, here's a review of "Night Work" from Mac & Guitare. But you can listen to the music in any language.
Posted
Feb 26 2009, 01:00 AM
by
Jim White