antimusic.com: The Blues: Savoy Brown-Albert Castiglia- Peter Parcek Review

Savoy Brown-Albert Castiglia- Peter Parcek

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Savoy Brown - Witchy Feelin'
Blues rock fans who were around in the early '70s probably can still recall the sinister looking cover graphics of Savoy Brown's 1972 vinyl release Hellbound Train and many may have displayed the art in a prominent place in their homes. Those treasured album covers likely disappeared long ago but the band, currently a trio and still led by founding member Kim Simmonds, is still riding the train some 50-odd years into their career. And that ride remains a great one for fans too. Witchy Feelin' opens with Simmonds burning up the fret board on "Why Did You Hoodoo Me" where his stinging guitar licks are accompanied by equally sharp comments about a high maintenance lover, "I didn't know a hurricane was runnin' wild deep in your veins." Simmonds' vocal tones often carry a sense of foreboding here, with the swampy funk of "Livin' on the Bayou," the tale of lost love that plays out in "I Can't Stop the Blues" and the slow and steamy "Witchy Feelin'" all carrying heavy doses of impending trouble. Fans of the band's early work will especially enjoy "Thunder, Lightning & Rain" where Kim's playing harkens back to the psychedelic era, but all 11 cuts are totally in the groove. The band is rounded out by bass man Pat DeSalvo and drummer Garnet Grimm; Simmonds wrote and produced the record himself. Get it here.

Albert Castiglia - Up All Night
In opening cut "Hoodoo on Me" Castiglia sings about an experience with a woman who ended up being just as evil as she was enticing and he takes his emotions out on his guitar (with help from guest and songwriter Mike Zito) reeling off a couple of solos that, well let's just say that if riffs could kill, his ex better duck and run. Castiglia fans expect the guitar pyrotechnics and they won't be disappointed here; "95 South" is a fast-moving slide guitar romp featuring Sonny Landreth, "I Been up All Night" ventures into Hendrix territory and the sing-along of "Chase Her Around the House" features playing that is as hot and bothered as the man Castiglia portrays in the song who has been away from his baby too long. There's even some fine acoustic picking on set closer "You Got Me to That Place," the album's least raucous moment. Get it here.

Peter Parcek - Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven
Parcek opens the record with his take on one-time Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green's "World Keep on Turning," a cut that originally appeared on the Mac's 1968 self-titled release. The singer and guitarist goes even further back than that with his dirge-like cover of the Blind Lemon Jefferson chestnut "See That My Grave is Kept Clean;" Parcek's voice is heavy with the weight of a weary man in both songs. There are a couple other covers here but Parcek has penned most of the album, including the sprightly instrumental "Pat Hare" which features a harmonica solo from Mickey Raphael, the haunting "Every Drop of Rain," the fast-shuffling "Mississippi Suitcase," also an instrumental, and the rather amusing "Things Fall Apart" where Parcek reflects on how a man's body, and therefore relationships, don't last forever. Additional guests include Spooner Oldham, Luther Dickinson and the McCrary Sisters. Get it here.

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