The
Phantom Blues Band
Blues For Breakfast
Little Village Foundation
|
The Phantom Blues Band
got their start backing Taj Mahal, who gave them
their name in the early ’90s. The band, which
included Tony Braunagel (drums), Johnny Lee
Schell (guitar/vocals), Larry Fulcher
(bass/vocals), Joe Sublett (saxophone), Darrell
Leonard (trumpet), and Mike Finnigan
(keyboards/vocals) helped the blues veteran earn
five Grammy nominations, winning two.
The band released their first album, Out Of The
Shadows, in 2006 and released three more albums through 2020, with
Les Lovitt replacing Leonard on trumpet along the way. Sadly, Finnigan
was stricken with cancer in 2020 and passed away last August, but the
band recruited Jim Pugh to play keyboards
They recently released a new album, Blues For
Breakfast (Little Village Foundation), paying tribute to the late
Finnigan. The album features a dozen songs with Fulcher and Schell
sharing lead vocals on most cuts, and guest appearances from Ruthie
Foster (background vocals), Tony Chin (rhythm guitar), Beth Styne
(background vocals), Bonnie Raitt (vocals), Curtis Salgado
(harmonica/vocals), and Finnigan’s son Kelly (organ).
The festivities begin with a rousing take on the Stax
classic “I Take What I Want,” with Fulcher and Schell exchanging and
sharing vocal leads in the Sam & Dave tradition. Fulcher sings the funky
“Get Involved,” originally written and recorded by George Soulé for FAME
in the early '70s, encouraging listeners to not just sit back and let
things happen in the world. Schell takes the mic for a rollicking read
of Muddy Waters’ “She’s Into Something,” while Fulcher sings a
reggae-based version of Curtis Mayfield’s “Move On Up,” with support
from Schell and Ruthie Foster on backing vocals.
Finnigan, to whom the album is dedicated, actually makes
a appearance on vocals and organ on “OK, I Admit It,” a nice parting
shot from the late keyboardist extraordinaire. Fulcher and Schell share
vocals on the soulful slow burner “Still Be Friends,” before Bonnie
Raitt joins Schell for a couple of verses on a cool cover of Freddie
King’s “Country Boy.” Singer/harpman Curtis Salgado sits in for a
smoldering version of Sam Cooke’s “Laughin’ and Clownin’” and Ike
Turner’s “I Know You Don’t Love Me” (featuring Kelly Finnigan on organ)
a couple of tracks later.
Jimmy McCracklin’s swaggering West Coast blues “Stepping
Up In Class” gets a first-rate treatment from Schell and the band
(especially Sublett’s sax and Schell’s guitar solos), while Fulcher
turns in a marvelous vocal on Little Milton’s “That’s What Love Will
Make You Do” (nice to see the late Mr. Campbell’s catalog getting so
much love these days). The band really rips into Waters’ “Stuff You
Gotta Watch,” with Pugh leading the way on driving barrelhouse piano.
The Phantom Blues Band has backed just about everybody
who’s anybody on the blues scene for the past quarter century or so,
either as a unit or individually, but they are definitely an awesome
band to be reckoned with on their own as well. Blues For Breakfast
is a powerhouse effort from this fine group. and I’m pretty sure that
the late Mr. Finnigan is smiling down on these guys from that great
music hall in the sky.
--- Graham Clarke