MP3 The Mercy Brothers - Strange Adventure (+ 7 bonus tracks) Import

R&B, rockabilly, rural blues, city blues and a firm set of lungs. a collection of roots songs based in the tradition of acoustic blues and mountain music with a nod to the past but firmly in the present.

17 MP3 Songs
BLUES: Rockin' Blues, ROCK: Rockabilly



Details:
Hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, The Mercy Brothers are vocalist extraordinaire Barrence Whitfield and guitarist/producer/songwriter Michael Dinallo.

Barrence Whitfield, the soul man/blues shouter/country singer well known from Barrence Whitfield and the Savages, has been called, ââ¦the owner of one incredible pair of lungs and limitless energy and enthusiasm for his musicâ by John Dougan, in the All Music Guide. Besides touring the world over with the Savages, Barrence has made two critically acclaimed records with Tom Russell, worked with Jim Dickinson, and has a track on the Warner Brothers album from Where I Stand: the Black Experience in Country Music released in 1998. Barrenceâs track on the set is a cover of Merle Haggard's Irma Jackson.

Michael Dinallo, the former bandleader/guitarist for the Radio Kings, is one Bostonâs most sought after producer and guitar players. Michael has become known as the man behind the artist: âDinallo is that rare self-effacing guitarist who eschews the spotlightâ said Bill Dahl in Living Blues and âThanks to Michael Dinalloâs dynamic production...the sound [Alastair Moockâs âLet it Goâ album] is shot through with rugged clarityâ wrote Dan Gewertz in the Boston Herald. Two of his more notable and recent records include William Hutâs Days To Remember and Alastair Moockâs Let It Go, both released on CoraZong Records. Michael has also worked with Mark Erelli, Dave Howard, Tim Gearan, Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish, Little Milton, and Jerry Portnoy amongst others.

The collaboration that led to the formation of The Mercy Brothers has its roots in a 1995 New Years' Eve show at the now defunct House of Blues in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Barrence Whitfield & the Savages were co-headlining a show with The Radio Kings. Barrence and Michael shared a drink backstage, which was the start of a friendship that lasts to this day. Several years later the Savages needed a guitar player and Michael seemed the perfect choice for that job. As the band continued to play shows throughout the USA and Europe, they started to experiment with a more acoustic, country-blues oriented sound cantered around Dinalloâs acoustic guitar and Whitfieldâs soulful voice. This was the seed that sprout into The Mercy Brothers. Barrence and Michael initially used the name Hillbilly Voodoo, a reference to Whitfieldâs first album with Tom Russell, but to establish their own identity, free of past associations, that soon became The Mercy Brothers. Whilst Barrence Whitfieldâs charisma and unique voice unquestionably serve as the bandâs centrepiece, the musical brain behind the operation is songwriter, guitarist and producer Michael Dinallo. The Mercy Brothers added a secret weapon to their already substantial musical armoury with Vidar Busk. They brought Busk on board for a well-received European tour and quickly learned the extent of his European fame. The chemistry with Busk felt so right that Whitfield and Dinallo imported him to the U.S. for the recording of Strange Adventure.

Produced by Michael Dinallo and Sean Carberry, Strange Adventure draws together a wide range of musical influences. It is a collection of roots songs based in the tradition of acoustic blues and mountain music with a nod to the past but firmly in the present. Travel and change are a constant theme running through the songs on Strange Adventure written primarily by Michael Dinallo. The influences are many but in the words of Bill Dahl(Living Blues) ... (Dinallo writes) twangy songs that are intriguing amalgams of blues, rock, and country, stubbornly defying convenient idiomatic labelling. Thereâs a nod to Reverend Gary Davisâs gospel-inspired blues with Down That Road and a continuation of the Carter Family or Woody Guthrie tradition of travel/work songs in I Believe Iâll Make a Change and Working On the Line. Also included are two traditional songs; the blues Broke Down Engine and chain gang song Another Man Done Gone. The lone cover tune, Night Train to Memphis, is a song that country music pioneer Roy Acuff first recorded in 1942. The ballad The New Year Blues was co-written with Boston musician Tim Gearan. The swampy Stay Away From My Door recalls the Excello Records sound. The runaway rumbling of Misery Train and the mountain-blues Mr. Johnson round out the album.

At their best on muted blues originals like "Mr. Johnson" and "'The New Year Blues," Massachusettsâ The Mercy Brothers exhibit a freshness and rural verve that's quite exhilarating. Wide-open vocalist Barrence Whitfield powerfully plunges into songs such as Blind Willie McTell's "Broke Down Engine" and an animated "Night Train to Memphis" with an agility and exuberance matched only by the band's visceral support. Recommended. [Gary von Tersch, Sing Out! The Folk Song Magazine]

The CoraZong version of Strange Adventure includes seven never before released tracks. Six recorded live at Muddy Waters in Oslo, Norway and one studio demo