| Al
"Coffee" McDaniel (http://www.almcdaniel.com)
has been around. You can hear it in the miles
on his voice, in the various moods of his
guitar playing. This is a man who has experienced
life and continues to do so regardless of
the emotional rocky roads that he has traveled
through.
On
the first CD of this two-disc set, McDaniel
has the blues. His heart battered and bruised,
McDaniel lets the raw emotions pour through
his guitar playing. Whether it's pining
for some female flesh on the title track
("It's the leg that makes the shoe,"
McDaniel confesses with palpable desire)
or dissing somebody who stabbed him in the
back, McDaniel commands his guitar with
wild passion and authority. Probably the
finest moment on CD 1 is "Baby Please
Don't Go," a lovelorn lament that aches
with profound hurt.
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| The
next CD reveals an almost entirely different
person. Leaving the bitterness and anger of
the blues behind him, McDaniel settles down
for some nighttime nookie. Yes, folks, this
is for the ladies. McDaniel conjures memories
of Marvin Gaye and Luther Vandross at their
sweatiest. This Soul Man knows how to work
it, especially on "The Love of a Woman,"
which has a sultry slow-dancing tempo that
could've been a backseat soundtrack in the
'70s. With
17 tracks in all of prime blues and smoking
soul, this is among the year's finest bargains.
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| Author:
Adam Harrington |
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