James Armstrong
Blues At The Border
Catfood
Records
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It’s been 11 years since James Armstrong’s
last release, an eternity in the music business.
When he burst onto the scene in the mid ’90s with
his debut recording for Hightone Records, he seemed
destined to be the “next big thing,” but they don’t
call this music the blues for nothing. Armstrong
barely survived a robbery in 1997, in which he was
nearly stabbed to death and his son was nearly
killed. The stabbing affected his guitar playing and
he compensated by learning to play slide guitar, but
his songwriting and vocal talents were unscathed as
he went on to record two fine subsequent albums for
Hightone in 1998 and 2000.
Eleven years later, Armstrong is now with Catfood
Records, and his latest release, Blues At The
Border, shows that his absence has been our
loss. He’s still writing some impressive tunes. The
humorous title track examines the difficulties
musicians face traveling by air and overseas and was
co-written with Armstrong by his girlfriend, Madonna
Hamel, who lives in Canada. He also penned a few
more conventional blues titles, including “Nothing
Left To Say” and “Devil’s Candy.” “Young Man With
The Blues” is a moving tribute to his father, a jazz
musician who raised Armstrong as a single parent and
gave him his love for music.
Armstrong also covers a pair of tunes from Dave
Steen (“High Maintenance Woman,” featuring a cameo
from Hamel, and “Good Man, Bad Thing.”), along with
a trio of songs from Catfood’s all-around man, bass
player/producer Bob Trenchard (the cool blues
shuffle, “Long Black Car,” “Somebody Got To Pay,”
co-written by Sandy Carroll, and “Baby Can You Hear
Me,” co-written by Kay Kay Greenwade). “Everything
Good To Ya,” was originally done by Armstrong’s
mentor, the late Sam “Bluzman” Taylor, whose
signature “Weeeellll,” is sampled at the beginning
of the song.
Three of the tracks were produced by Trenchard and
Armstrong at Catfood’s homebase in Texas, while the
remainder was produced in New York by guitarist
Michael Ross. Both sessions update Armstrong’s sound
considerably from his previous release, easing him
toward more of a soul setting than before. That
works perfectly fine. It’s great to have James
Armstrong recording again and even better that he’s
still growing and evolving as a musician. Don’t let
this one pass you by.
--- Graham Clarke