Classic soul and rhythm & blues with first-rate musicianship, a contemporary twist, and one of the best singers you'll ever hear.

12 MP3 Songs
BLUES: Blues Vocals, URBAN/R&B: Soul



Details:
Lansing, Michigan-based Root Doctor recently made an excellent showing on the Living Blues radio charts with this record, and deservedly so: Been A Long Time Coming is a beautifully executed project, from the performances to the repertoire and production. Balancing traditional blues with soul and even prewar country blues material (Greg Nagy's John Hammondâinspired reading of Willie Brown's Mississippi Blues), Root Doctor emerges here as the consummate working band, worthy of any festival or club audiences' attention.

Freddie Cunningham is an authoritative blues singer whose voice wavers and perforates like a hard-nosed version of Bobby Bland. This is delightfully apparent during straight soul numbers like the Brook Benton hit Rainy Night In Georgia and a powerhouse read-through of Leo Graham's Turning Point, a strong composition made popular in 1975 by Tyrone Davis. On the latter track, as with most of the R&B material, the Sofa King Horns form a brass stronghold as robust as any performing traditional soul today.

Memorable original songs bookend the album, and the first two tracks are at once instrumentally savvy and lyrically inventive. Me And My Wife shuffles through a blues that celebrates marriage (rather than being heartbroken by it), and Michigan Roads cites new and unlikely blues highways over sly funk.

EH, Living Blues Magazine, June/July 2006


Veteran Lansing, Michigan band Root Doctor ply contemporary electric blues and soul-blues: funky on "Michigan Roads," shuffling on "Me and My Wife," a little soulful on "My Foolish Pride," and downright Sam Cook-meets-'70's- R&B on "Been A Long Time Coming," among the originals, with fine covers of Willie Brown's "Mississippi Blues," Tony Joe White's "Rainy Night In Georgia," Johnnie Taylor's "Last Two Dollars," and Tyrone Davis' "Turning Point." The soulful slant to the set is testimony to the presence of the Sofa King Horns, Freddie Cunningham's powerfully lithe baritone, and the Doctor's refusal to submit to blues-rock pressures. Thumbs up on the the release of Been a Long Time Coming (Big O 2046)

Blues Revue Aug/Sep 2006



Their's is a good sound. Blues on the cusp of funky jazz, with plenty of soul on the side. The vocals (including the harmonies) and the individual players (listen for the B-3) make the arrangements so likable. At times this could be a "bluesed up" take on Motown -a little Stax anyone? Their home base of Lansing, Michigan is just 90 miles from the Motor City (the same distance that Key West is from Cuba), but Root Doctor could just as easily be from the Bay area, East St. Louis or Memphis.

"Michigan Roads" (track 2) is a geography lesson for a state that has known better days. It was once a musican-friendly mecca for migrants with auto industy ambitions from the Delta and other points South. Where it's headed now is anybody's guess. But talent still clings to the terrain.

Top notch singing and playing make this album a contender, and the liner notes are an asset. Root Doctor is Freddie Cunningham (on lead vocals), James Williams (on bass guitar and backing vocals), Jim Alfredson (on Hammond organ, keys, and lead vocals on the title track), Greg Nagy (on guitar, backing vocals, and lead vocals on "Mississippi Blues"), and Matt Hayes on drums. The Sofa King Horns-all four of them-are flanked by three additional trombones, is that impressive or what?

High Points include the guitar work on "Me and My Wife" and "Michigan Roads", the Memphis-like groove that infects, "Love Bones" and "The Turning Point", and two fine covers-- "Respect Yourself" and "Rainy Night in Georgia", brim with soul. Been A Long Time Coming belongs on your Christmas in July shopping list.

George P. Seedorf
Big City Rhythm and Blues, June and July 2006


My first encounter with Root Doctor was infectious, the band dancing its way into my head. For three days I listened to the album; then I started listening again from the beginning. Root Doctor took me on a journey from their Michigan base to the Mississippi Delta, for a shuffle down the street of Chicago and even on a jaunt through Georgia, conjuring images and memories I am sure are not mine - but while submerged in the experience I am unable to decipher my reality from that of the songs. Root Doctor continually mixes it up from track to track, proving the flexibility of both the band and the genre.

The vocal stylings of Freddie Cunningham were a surprise, meaty and delicious from start to finish. Moved along by James Williams on bass and vocals, and Matt Hayes on drums, the rhythms provide a perfect place for Greg Nagy (guitar, vocals) and Jim Alfredson (Hammond B3, keyboards, vocals) to evolve and complete the sound. Fun, energetic, and soulful, their music is a promise to rhythm and blues that what is past is as close as the present: traditional does not have to be complacent.

Pip McKay - Elmore Magazine, May 2006



The engaging blues repertoire of Root Doctor includes originals and covers. Eons of music experience displayed here, plus ear-pleasing soul and R&B textures.

John Sinkovecs, Grand Rapids Press

Just what every good doctor should order: a solid, tasty and balanced program of well-sung blues and R&B originals and covers, fueled by guitar, organ and horns. The enthusiastic response BEEN A LONG TIME COMING has received is well deserved!

Dick Shurman, Producer and Historian

for more please visit www.rootdoctorband.com