Chris Daniels and the Kings are a Colorado-based band working hard to keep proper old school blues and soul sounds alive. The band has been in business since 1984 and the line for this album is Chris Daniels, vocals, electric, acoustic, slide and synth guitars; Freddi Gowdy, vocals; Steve Ivey, drums; John Thornburg, bass and vocals; Colin “Bones” Jones, guitars; Bob Rebholz, alto sax and flute; Darryl “Doody“ Abrahamson, trumpet and vocals; Darren Kramer, trombone. While there are guest cameos from Christian Teele, percussion; Mark Oblinger and Linda Lawson, vocals with Robert Johnson and Kenny Andrus; Sam Bush, mandolin and fiddle; Hazel Miller, vocals; Tom Capek, B3 and keyboards; Steve Conn, accordion, B3; and Sonny Landreth, slide guitar. Yep, a big, big band and that’s obvious from the opening track – the lively, old school jump blues of ‘Jump (When My Baby Says)’. The track is enlivened by some country fiddle playing from the aforementioned Sam Bush– thus old school- yes, but expect a few surprises too.
The album’s overall sonic template is an amalgam of brassy blues and southern soul, though, as we’ve said, there’s the odd surprise and a few exceptions. ‘Everybody’s A Millionaire’ is perhaps the most obvious “soul” track – a touch of Tower of Power here while ‘I Like Funky Music’ and ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’ speak for themselves.
Elsewhere the acoustic-led ‘Stealing’ Candy’ channels a country vibe while ‘Under Pressure’ is probably a touch too rocky for the soul and blues crowd but it brings variety to an album that many enthusiasts of the genres feel are all too rare these days.
(BB) 3/5
