The Matthew Skoller Band
These Kind Of Blues
Reviews of These Kind of Blues!
from Leading Blues Publications
With These Kind of Blues!, harpist and vocalist Matthew Skoller offers up tasty and authentic Chicago blues. His songs possess a touch of class and a welcome social conscience too often absent from a genre that often relies on references to a long-gone past. That's not to say Skoller isn't heavily influenced by that past; his warm, raspy vocal calls to mind the late Ray Charles, and his authoritative harmonica playing is rooted deeply in the inflections of Junior Wells and James Cotton. "Handful of People" is a classic minor-key Chicago blues and a clear and biting criticism of U.S. foreign policy: "There's a handful of people/Tellin' the whole world how to live." But there's no heavy-handedness here, no moralistic posturing. And Skoller's harp simply wails. Joining him are Lurrie Bell and Larry Skoller on guitar, Sidney James Wingfield on keyboards, Willie "Vamp" Samuels on bass, and Kenny Smith on drums. The guitarists work well together, never stepping on toes, and Wingfield's organ and piano give just the right push. Songs that could come off trite or pedestrian in the hands of other artists are fun and soulful here, a fact exemplified by a shuffle called "Wired World," where the scratch and whistle of a dial-up computer modem is soon joined by Skoller's commanding harmonica playing. With references to Enron's illegal dealings and the intrusions of modern technology - not to mention a superior control of the blues - Skoller and company deliver Chicago-style tunes worth repeated listenings.
-- Chip O'Brien, Blues Revue, June/July 2005
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Singer and harmonica player Matthew Skoller will be a familiar name to many through his work with the likes of Koko Taylor, John Primer, Big Daddy Kinsey and many others since he settled in Chicago in 1987; and he and his drummer Kenny Smith have worked on recent Delmark releases. Organist and pianist Sydney James Wingfield was a long-time accomplice of Luther Allison, and guitarist Lurrie Bell should need no introduction. The line-up is rounded out by Larry Skoller on guitar and bassist Willie 'Vamp' Samuels, with occasional guests popping up - most effectively Johnny Iguana supplying some Otis Spann styled piano licks to one number. That last statement should alert many readers to the fact that this, Matthew's fourth album under his own name, is by and large a wonderfully backward looking Chicago blues CD, drawing its inspiration in the main from the sound of the West Side in the late fifties to the early seventies - even the borrowed (one of only three such) title track, from Junior Parker, fits right in with this approach. Matthew Skoller's harp playing is economical and effective rather than flashy for the sake of it, and it frequently brings Rice Miller and a little less often, Walter Horton or Snooky Pryor, to mind - no bad thing in my book! There are some excellent slow blues performances, and 'Let The World Come To You', with its gospel-ish backing vocals, seems to draw on Muddy's 'Going Home' for its inspiration. Jimmy Reed's 'Where Can You Be' is also an excellent evocation of its author, dispensing with the bass and opting for the vintage two guitar and drums backing instead - and incidentally, the guitar playing of Lurrie Bell is an absolute delight throughout the CD. Sorry though, did I say 'backward looking' earlier? OK, the Alligator styled, rock inflected opener and the pounding funk of 'Stolen Thunder' may not be classed as contemporary anywhere else except in the blues world, but that would be to overlook the topical references of much of the material - the technophobia (or is it just common sense?) of 'Wired World', and 'Handful Of People', which examines how America is seen by the rest of the world - and of course the highly effective hip-hop remix of the latter track has J.A.Q. rapping over the backing track and creating a totally contemporary and highly charged performance. After all, it is only a few months since the rapper Nas and his father Olu Dara graced the pop charts with a hip-hop/ blues collaboration. Yes, I was extremely impressed with this set, though a little less so with the fact that Matthew has had to put this out himself - why? Anyway, it is well worth making the effort to track this down.
-- Norman Darwen, Blues & Rhythm, (U.K.)
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(English translation of Soul Bag review)
These Kind of Blues! ****1/2 (of 5)Friend Matthew Skoller continues his always brilliant and interesting journey. He won’t mind my saying right off that he owes this to one of the most accomplished Chicago blues bands: his brother Larry and Lurrie Bell on guitar, Sid Wingfield on keyboard, and finally the impeccable combined rhythm of Vamp Samuels (bass) and Kenny Smith (drums). A dream group, or, as they say on the other side of the Atlantic, a dream team.
The ensemble produces a cd that is fresh, varied, and very rich. One senses a conceptual and reflective approach, served by excellent modern and intelligent texts which are a change from current productions. They juggle themes: listen to how they handle fear of self (Ghosts in your closet); disillusion (Handful of people); derision (Wired world); exacerbated jealousy (Down at your buryin’). And these are only a few examples. Everyone can enjoy the texts because the lyrics are transcribed in the booklet.
Another great strength of this cd are the inventions that explore new territory without betraying the essence of the original music (precisely what Bernard Allison is incapable of doing, see above). Here, the cd surges between taut, disquieting and evolving blues (Handful of people, Down at your buryin’), a slightly churchy title highlighted by beautiful back ground vocals (Let the world come to you), a washed away beach superbly evoked with vocal (off) effects (Stolen Thunder), a jumping homage to Larry’s little daughter (Julia), and even a reprise of Jimmy Reed which is perfectly in the spirit (Where can you be). As to the remixed version in a hip-hop vein of Handful of people, it throws you off at first, but you get into it in the process of listening: a kind of exercise impossible on stage, but that can be tied together in the studio, this one transforms into an elegant success.
With every listening, the cd reveals new surprises. In a word, these guys know how to do it all! Without going into too much detail, for we begin to know them well, we will say of the leader that his vocal assurance becomes better and better wed to his supple and expressive harmonica playing. Lurrie Bell remains very wise, articulating a few solos in his particular style, a bit halting, (Let the world come to you, Where can you be). Rhythm and keyboard adapt to each other marvelously, allowing the soloists to assume many different directions. There remains Larry Skoller who must be considered as an exceptional guitarist: take only his chorus in Down at your buryin’; it could wrench sobs from a piece of wood. An exemplary cd, and.......exploratory!
Soul Bag (France)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"This release has a huge impact on its first play it fairly drips with all the best in Chicago Blues -- grooves, beat, strong lyrics, musicianship and urban grind."
-- Blues Matters (U.K.)
BluesWax Rating: 8 out of 10Chicago Blues Updated and Done Proud
by James Walker
Matthew Skoller is one of today's top harmonica players clearly influenced by artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson. He's a good singer who can be a gritty vocalist. He is an even better songwriter, taking Blues traditions into modern times with contemporary themes beyond the sexuality and heartbreak of too many Blues songs. And, everyone can enjoy the lyrics because they are thankfully transcribed in the liner notes booklet.The opening track, "Get Paid," reminds one of funky '70s songs, with tongue-in-cheek lyrics ("It seems more honest/To be mugged out in the street/Than jacked-up by Enron and SBC.") Dig the harmony on the chorus and the cash-register ring at the end of the song.
"Handful of People" is so good it should have been the title track. Not only is the guitar refrain one of the catchiest that you'll hear, but Skoller's harmonica and Sidney James Wingfield's Hammond organ are explosive here. This song also has the most thought-provoking message ("You keep tearing things down/So you can build them back up again/Now you're starting to wonder/Why this land, this rich land ain't got no friends.")
As for the Rap remix of this song at the end of the album, it's actually decent Rap - not Rap full of pointless obscenities and incomprehensible, mumbled lyrics.
"Let the World Come to You"—Not only is this song relaxing, it's about relaxing. The most beautiful harmonies on the album are in this song and if your anxiety hasn't been completely quelled by the end, listen to it again and it's gone! It's a song about cooling off and meditating, but it's not "out there" in a transcendental-yoga kind of sense. It's down-to-earth. This is the track to listen to after a hectic day at work, if you've got writer's block, or if you're stuck in rush-hour traffic. This is the best slow-Blues song on the CD next to "Handful of People."
"Wired World" - remember the cash-register ring at the end of "Get Paid"? Skoller puts the most irritating sounds of modern technology to its best use here - jingling telephones, push-button dialing, even the static and "boingety-boings" of the Internet dialing up. What's going to be the next gadget in the Digital Age? Here's Skoller's prediction: "The next thing they'll be dealin'/Brain-implant telephone!"
"Julia" - this tender love song with its beautiful harmonies is actually a loving tribute to his toddler niece. Grab your sweetheart for a medium-tempo dance. Appreciate Wingfield's piano and Peaches Stanton's washboard backbeat here. This catchy tune really puts the "jewel" in "Julia."
"Where Can You Be" - Blues songs that use numbers in their refrains, like "Sweet Home Chicago" and "Kokomo Blues" have always been popular. This song's ever-increasing references to time ("Every sixty seconds of a minute/Every sixty minutes of an hour"), let you feel Skoller's desperation in waiting for his absent lover just as keenly as his vocals do. His cover of Jimmy Reed's classic isn't a retread, but rather a renewal.
For slow-burning Blues, James Cotton's vicious "Down at Your Buryin'," burns hottest. Brother Larry Skoller's exceptional guitar work could make a stone mountain feel pangs of emotion!
James Walker is a contributing editor at BluesWax
Copyright Visionation, Ltd 2005.
"Are white collar crime, the ravages of outsourcing and the war in Iraq the stuff of good blues songs? ... Skoller, who has a poet’s love of the language that’s occasionally reminiscent of Dylan, marshals just the right mixture of irony, dark humor and a sense of the absurd to pull it off. "Get Paid," the opening track, is a refreshingly unromantic look at the economic facts of life (maybe the best since Pink Floyd’s "Money") that reminds us that even "Ghandi and Mama Theresa . . . gotta get paid." "Handful of People" hints at the dark forces loose in the world ("They got a fist full of gimme/And a heart full of never give"), while "Wired World" is a wonderful send-up of the Internet-and-cell-phone culture.Skoller is very well served by his lead guitarist, Chicago recluse Lurrie Bell, who spends most of the album hunkered down in the lower register. The son of famed harp man Carey Bell, he contributes unconditional support to the leader while soloing with his usual concise approach.
-- David (Guitar Senior) Cudaback, Play Blues Guitar
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At first blush, this is just another Chicago-based blues record which, by nature of where it's from, is better than most others. That's not simply due to geography but any band that hails from Chicago has their sights set a little higher - or they'd be eaten alive. It doesn't hurt that Skoller (on harp and vocals) is backed by Chi-town veterans like Lurrie Bell on guitar and keyboard veteran Sydney Wingfield. His harp, in concert with his skilled comrades, finds its proper footing and wails with the power and precision of Little Walter - check out his blistering workout on "Handful or People" or James Cotton's "Down At Your Burying'". Eight of the 11 tracks are impressively-penned originals, demonstrating yet another side to Skoller's blues pedigree. Yet one of these, "Let The World Come To You", is one of the best tracks you will hear this year and the biggest clue as to Skoller's true talent. Here, Skoller's vocals simmer at their most soulful while back-up vocalists send this track into heavenly heights. Otherwise, his voice offers up grit or raspy textures as he leans on his harp to sell the sweetest notes. An understated record that grows on you like sun on a cloudy day.- Eric Thom, Exclaim! (Canada)
English Translation:
Matthew Skoller is known and appreciated for his harmonica playing, in which he combines the esthetics of Jr. Wells, Sonny Boy Williamson and Walter Horton. His own style is filled with energy, lyricism, melodics and technique.This is his fourth release, and it shows his own, very personal and vision of urban blues of the 21st century. He's a very good composer. His lyrics go far beyond man/woman relationships, delivering maturity and wisdom, containing passion and indispensable expression coming from the author's heart.
Skoller is accompanied by excellent Chicago musicians. The rhythm section is: Vamp Samuels (bass) and Kenny Smith (dr), with Sidney Wingfield on keyboards. Guitars are played by Skoller's brother Larry, and one of the greatest masters of this instrument in the city of Chicago - Lurrie Bell. Bell's solos ornament "Let The World Come Come To You" and Cotton's "Down At Your Buryin'."
Skoller's own playing in "Ghost In Your Closet" is very hot-tempered. And his solo in "Handful Of People" sent a shiver down my spine! A very interesting CD for all Chicago blues lovers. This music is fresh and modern, but its creator knows history and tradition. Superb!
-- Piotr Gwizdala (Poland)
(English Translation)
Matthew Skoller and his band were one of the highlights at the Lucerne Blues Festival in 2004. His new CD proves why. The group from Chicago has deep roots in the electric blues of the Windy City, but also allows "modern" elements to shine through. Skoller impresses with his raw, black voice and with Junior Wells Harp influences. The excellent guitar work comes from brother Larry Skoller and also from Lurrie Bell. Skoller is perfectly comfortable at any tempo, which is demonstrated in the Slow Blues tune "Handful of People". "Let the World Come to You" shows gospel influences, "Stolen Thunder" rocks, while Sidney James Wingfield's barrelhouse-piano almost makes "Julia" come off as a country track. Skoller shows his extreme independence also in his texts. Politically alert, verses like "it seems more honest/ to be mugged out on the street/ than to be jacked-up by Enron" don't belong to the typical blues fare. Along these lines "Handful of People" is also played in a Hip-Hop-Blues-Version: " a handful of people/tellin' the whole world how to live". Matthew Skoller on the other hand is showing the world, what today's Chicago-Blues should sound like.Concerto (Germany)
