Erick Hovey - Prairie Dance Music

Here is the latest offering from Fort Dodge Iowa’s Erick Hovey titled Prairie Dance Music. Erick is a 5^th generation farmer who obviously didn’t spend all his time in the fields. He offers some great sounds and excellent songwriting here. This cd should appeal to a wide range of audiences from the soft rock to diehard blues fan. Erick is a very skilled singer/songwriter as is evidenced by the selection of tracks he wrote for this cd. He opens with Blues And Love, a mild blues rock tune I found to be a well written song with a rhythm that sticks with you. He picks up the pace slightly on Gonna Tell, a shuffle at a medium fast tempo. He takes us Down The River Of Love next. This is another shuffle with a soft blues rock sound featuring some nice keyboards in the breaks. Fool Like Me follows and is a swingin’ number with great lyrics and guitar. Next he serves up a neat song titled Fatalistic Blues. This is another swinging song about all the things the doctors say are bad for us. Turn Up The Sky follows and is a great tune. My personal favorite is next in Devil In My Pocket, A super tune that speaks of the difficulty in doing the right thing. She’s Alright is next and is a nice swinging song about his love. Bondo Mondo follows and is a very entertaining song lyrically as well as musically. I enjoy the creativity shown here as rusted out cars are not the normal blues song subjects. Mamma’s Little Baby follows and is a cool slow swinging shuffle. Food is next and is a fast paced number with funny lyrics and great organ playing. He closes out the offering with Love Me Baby, a song with great lyrics and rhythm. This cd offers a collection of an even dozen songs all perfect for dancing without a dud in the bunch.

Visit Erick Hovey on the web at: www.erickhovey.com

Try Prairie Dance Music here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UG7KCFXS

Pete "Big Dog" Fetters - Deep

Here is a truly great offering from Detroit artist Pete “Big Dog” Fetters titled Deep. This is some of the best acoustic slide playing to be founds anywhere. Pete has several impressive accomplishments to his credit. He was the winner of the 2006 Detroit Blues Society Blues Challenge and represented Detoit in the International Blues Challenge.

Pete has had a 20 year career playing throughout the Midwest and Canada. He has opened for the likes of Leon Russell, B.B. King and Delbert McClinton.

Pete brings us some of the best acoustic blues outside the Mississippi Delta. He opens the cd with Who’s That Knockin’. A great blues tune that sounds like it came straight out of the delta itself. He shows great skill on slide guitar and leave the impression he is playing an elastic guitar the slides are so smooth. Next is Cornfield Cadillac, a neat trucking song with a taste of Pete’s harp skills as well. When I Turn 85 follows and is a well written tune with song cute tongue in cheek lyrics. One of my personal favorites is next in The Blue Highway. This song has great lyrics, a memorable melody and great slide as in every song on this cd. Midnight Walkin’ Blues is next, and is a song we would expect from the likes of Robert Johnson if he were still with us. Does Your Mama Know follows and has a truly great slide intro. It is clear that Pete was heavily influenced by the great delta bluesmen of old. Midnight Train opens with a great bit of harp and slide into. I could see this as a song Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee song as the style fits what they often did. This is a great feat for one man alone. If I Can’t is next and is a slightly different approach. I enjoy his guitar mimicking his lyrics. I Won’t Tell follows and is a straight ahead slide shuffle. I liked how he livened up a simple shuffle with his great slide work. Like You Do Follows and is another in the true delta tradition. He closes the cd with the only cover song included, a nice rendition of the old standard Oh, Suzanna.

This was a great and entertaining listen from start to finish. It is worthy of any blues lover’s collection.

Visit Pete “Big Dog” Fetters on the web at: www.petebigdog.com

Try Deep here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=D33K7WGL