You guys are a DREAM BAND!!!
I listened to this CD last night with total focus and I was BLOWN AWAY!! Many attempt to fuse Blues and Rock but almost all fail … you guys have such an honest, urgent, raw, powerhouse sound that it literally lifted me off my chair and had me yelling " YEAH!! That’s it!! They’ve got it!! ".
There are Good, Excellent and Hall of Fame levels … you guys are right in the top 10%, we’re putting it on our Influential Top 100 CD’s chart !
The ‘proof-is-in-the-pudding’ and the Sound quality is primo with totally clear-as-a-bell crispness and the mix on every single song is perfect. Blue Plate Special has been around for over 30 years and at one time included Studebaker John, who has since become major Chicago Blues figure. The band now is Ron Michaels (a.k.a. Ron Parizek) on vocals, bass and keyboards, Harry Binford on guitar and Kevin Johnston on drums. Binford is a wonderfully inventive and mature guitarist with an unending supply of sounds and tricks. Great tone too! Kevin Johnston already has a big rep. in Chicago as one of the finest young drummers on the circuit.
But, the final winning ingredient is Michaels’ voice. Vocals are always, it seems, the weak link with Caucasian Blues bands, but Blue Plate Special has an Ace-up-their-sleeve with a singer who sounds like he comes from the Shreveport, Louisiana Club scene. Grit, and plenty of it, defines Michaels’ singing style and it’s a natural sounding (as opposed to forced and imitating) easy on the ears, roar that would be just right for the din of a crowded roadhouse.
So, what these guys have done is meld very impressive individual talents together with a unique signature sound that could be described as Hard-Drivin’ Blues with a dose of nasty funkiness. (Just right for any Biker Bash in Sturgis!)
In a perfect Music World, Blue Plate Special would be hailed as Exceptional and they’d be on the road 300-plus nights a year and Festival-Headliners. We can always hope that the Music Scene straightens itself out and starts embracing Talent and Soulfulness again, but in the meantime, the folks in Illinois are getting their Blues Rocked every weekend!
“Hard Enuff” opens this CD with a bang. Harry’s wah-wah is deadly and Ron really roars out the verses – any and all Guitar freaks will go ape-shit over this track and it’ll also grab your tush and have you dancing. “Can You Dig It” is proof of Michaels’ song-writing mastery and this should be a Hit on the Shag Market as ‘feets-can’t-stay-still’. It’s a Boogie a’ la Canned Heat, fused with hard-driving’ guitar work that proves beyond a doubt that Harry Binford is a monster in the mold of Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. Stunning! “Workin’ On Love” is a slower, hip-grinding, wah-wah heavy number that one can picture strippers getting down with.
This band is a Power House and they should be ruling both Rock and Blues scenes. “Rocket In Your Pocket” is another goodtime up-tempo dance floor crammer. Kevin Johnston is like a freight train on those drums. How often do you hear an album that’s a Blast to listen to? This is a riotous party from start to finish.
I never heard their first 2 CDs but “Can You Dig It!!” is one of the finest discs I’ve heard in the last decade. “She’s Got My Number” is a Funk-Blues that shows off more of Harry’s wah-wah magic and Johnston even gives us a tasty little drum solo. Nice! Harry is also a master at laying down the perfect rhythm guitar tracks and I’m sure Don Griffin had some input in that respect, but perhaps Binford doesn’t even need advice? “I Like It Like That” is not the Chris Kenner tune, despite what it says on the jacket. It’s more of a hard-drivin’ straight-forward Blues featuring Mark Zelepugas on harp. It’s a raucous bar-room anthem with a jubilant chorus that definitely causes audience participation.
“Don’t Lose The Spirit” is dedicated to the people of New Orleans and, of course, no one’s more connected to New Orleans in a Spiritual sense than Musicians the World over. “Have A Little Faith”, the John Hiatt masterpiece, is delivered in fine fashion with Michaels’ piano and organ work giving superlative texture on top of Johnston’s drumming. I hope John Hiatt has heard this version of his song. It’s heavenly.
Well, every time I’ve listened to “Can You Dig It!!” I get more and more convinced that Blue Plate Special needs to be ranked in the TOP 5 of Blues and Rock bands in North America. Very, very few bands still have that so-important connection to what it’s supposed to be about. When I hear this album, it rekindles my fires and the belief that Music Has The Power To Change The World for The Better. 5 Big Bottles for a perfect example of what Blue Rock (or Hard-Rockin’ Blues…) should sound like. May this CD get to the ears of millions, and if anyone you know complains about the crap music of 2007, just play “Can You Dig It!!” for them.
…A. Grigg / Editor – Real Blues Magazine
