Omar Coleman & Westside Soul CD
This is the third album from Chicago blues vocalist and harp player Omar Coleman. The two prior releases are found on legendary Delmark Records and features the same lineup. This album focuses on west side favorites and originals by Coleman and his band leader Pete Galanis (guitar), who also serves as producer to the album. A fat layer of funk permeates the album throughout, with soul numbers and blues from opposing corners of the spectrum lay the blanket of American music across the room that is Westside Soul. The album starts off running with the funky upbeat number "Sweet Little Woman", and is immediately followed by an up-tempo rendition of the Ray Charles classic "Let's Go Get Stoned". "Let The Babies Live", a powerhouse groove number with some blistering guitar licks, provides social commentary on Chicago and National headlines, while "Jody Got Your Girl and Gone" brings back images of the early 70's with that heavy funk number. "I Let A Good Girl Go" is a dead-on cover of the Syl Johnson classic, while "Good Provider" proves Coleman is nothing short of a soul artist himself who may be known more as a bluesman. Originals: "Rotten Old Lady" and "Someone's There When I'm Not Home" with Rufus Thomas cover "Give Me the Green Light" add the up-tempo funky soul and blues numbers to the pot of westside soul stew the band has cookin'. Powerhouse blues number "Going Down" that was popularized by Freddie King, gives the original a run for its money, and may be the only cover of that song that has done so over the past 40+ years. Poignantly, the haunting "Whisper to a Moan" rounds out the album as the finale in this soon to be classic album.
Omar Coleman - Vocals, harp
Guitar - Pete Galanis - guitar
Neal O'hara - Hammond organ, Steinway grand piano, Rhodes electric piano
Ari Seder - bass guitar
Marty Binder - drums
Omar Coleman brings his band from the west side of Chicago to forge one of the best blues or soul resurrection albums in recent recollection, maybe longer. Omar Coleman & Westside Soul have joined the list of resurgence in soul and blues artists with the likes of Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and Gary Clark Jr. There is definitely a funkiness to the album, not an overproduced product of drum machines and industrial noises, but the sound of an ultra-tight band that demonstrates its capabilities through its wide range of music influences. However, a cohesive sound is produced and the album delivers what albums used to deliver, a definitive sound for the band and its voice Omar Coleman.
- Sweet Little Woman listen
- Let's Go Get Stoned listen
- Let the Babies Live listen
- Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone listen
- I Let A Good Girl Go listen
- Rotten Old Lady listen
- Good Provider listen
- Somebody's There When I'm Not Home listen
- Give Me the Green Light listen
- Going Down listen
- Whisper To a Moan listen
Released Janutary 2017