KENNY NEAL

LET LIFE FLOW

2008-08-21

On his Blind Pig debut after discs on Alligator and Telarc, and a three year health induced hiatus, Louisiana bluesman Kenny Neal calls upon his stints playing with a who’s who in the blues world to break out the wide arsenal of blues styles featured on this release. With a rich, expressive voice that recalls a younger Solomon Burke or even Rick Estrin of the Nightcats, Neal leads a horn heavy band through a number of self penned tunes as well as covers of material by Willie Dixon, Ivory Joe Hunter and his father, Raful Neal, Jr. "Let Life Flow" is an upbeat number with Neal’s stinging guitar adding a nice counterpoint to the saucy horn charts. "Louisiana Stew" and "Starlight Diamond" return Neal to his early swampy roots as a harmonica player while "Blues, Leave Me Alone" and "Another Man’s Cologne" are straight blues numbers featuring ample doses of Neal’s hollow body electric guitar. Ditto for the string laden "Fly Away" where Neal channels the smooth picking of B.B. King and Robert Cray. "Broken Dreams" features Neal with a gruffer voice lamenting the cruel turns of life over a sympathetic horn chart. On "You’ve Got to Hurt Before You Heal" Neal dips deep into southern soul for a smoldering ballad that covers old ground but still strikes a responsive chord. Despite its title and forlorn lyrics about a lost love Bleeding Heart is saved from the bummer bin by Lucky Peterson’s buoyant piano work. The biggest change up comes at the end with the latin tinged "It Don’t Make Sense You Can’t Make Peace". Smitty

More reviews tagged #Blues

  • reviewed 11/2016

    Lee DelRay
    Brand New man

  • reviewed 01/2008

    POPA CHUBBY
    DELIVERIES AFTER DARK

  • reviewed 02/2014

    PAUL RODGERS
    THE ROYAL SESSIONS

  • reviewed 04/2014

    BRUCE MATTHEWS
    So Far...

  • reviewed 09/2015

    Albert Cummings
    Someone Like You

  • reviewed 03/2015

    Georgie Bonds
    Stepping Into Time

Compiled by the WYCE Journalism Club

The opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.