1. Eddie’s Gospel Groove
2. Bobby’s Bop
3. Blues For The West Side
4. I Am With You
5. Katrina Blues
6. Wolf Dance
7. Kay My Dear
8. Blues For The Homeless
9. Beautiful Child
10. Blues For Otis Rush
11. New Gospel Tune
Total time: 1:18:15
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Hope Radio
Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters
Naked Jaybird
"Mr. Earl” gets down on another all-instrumental effort (a tradition begun with 1994’s “Language of the Soul”), recorded live in the studio before an audience over two days at Wellspring Sound in Acton, Mass. All the tracks are original except for “Blues for the West Side,” a 1966 single by saxophonist Eddie Shaw that boasted Magic Sam on guitar.
Because health problems prevent the onetime Roomful of Blues guitarist from touring, this is the next best thing. The flawless performance is exquisitely recorded, but the real star is the tone: Guitar slingers capable of playing as clean as this can be counted on one hand, and half of them are dead.
“Eddie’s Gospel Groove” sounds a little like early Santana (mostly because of Dave Limina’s excellent Hammond B-3 work), but after a nearly two-minute intro, the refrain leaves no doubt about the groove being gospel. The midpoint change-up, “Katrina Blues,” offers an acoustic break. “Wolf Dance” pays homage to Howlin’ Wolf guitarist Hubert Sumlin’s “Smokestack Lightning” riff. Then it’s back to slow blues with “Kay My Dear” and “Blues for the Homeless.” Earl tears it up with “Blues for Otis Rush,” before taking the album out on a hopeful note with the piano-centric “New Gospel Tune.” 
external links
artist's link
amazon.com
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