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I spend much of my time researching bands from all over
the world. Here in the US, there seem to be more excellent
blues/rock bands coming out of New England and California than any
other area, though certainly every part of the country is well
represented in the genre. Add to the list of impressive New England
area bands the name of the Syracuse, NY based band Cousin Jake.
Cousin Jake is an old fashioned blues based power trio, a format
which never seems to grow old with me or a lot of other folks for
that matter. They employ one of my favorite recipes for a band:
nasty toned wah wah drenched guitar, hard driving rhythm, strong
earthy vocals, and good |
original material. "Upstate Boogie" is a fairly unadorned
recording, recorded raw and live in the studio which allows it to
generate a good deal of energy. The band is sort of an electric
boogie band, in the great tradition of bands like Savoy Brown,
Foghat, ZZ Top, etc. though I would not actually say that they
sound like the aforementioned artists. Dave Cook is a powerful
electric and slide guitarist who has perfected the art of evil
tone, Johnny More adds hard driving bass and vocals with Chuck
Erler's pulse pounding drums completing this most successful
equation.
The recording features 6 original studio tracks and
smoldering live versions of "The National Anthem" and a "Peter
Gunn/Purple Haze" medley. While the latter two tracks are most
admirable, I preferred their studio tracks as I found their
original material to be both well written and well performed with
lots of power and energy. All the original tracks are rock solid
and the CD is enjoyable from start to finish. This is definitely a
recording you will want to play loudly in your car on the way to
work.
"Upstate Boogie" and another very enjoyable earlier
recording "Rock & Roll That Relates" are available from the
band's official web site at www.cousinjake.com . I am looking
forward to hearing many more excellent recordings in the future
from these guys.
Tom Branson
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