TOOTS LORRAINE Make It Easy
Greaseland Records
Toots (Tyra Dant) Lorraine and The Traffic are from and continue to reside in the Jacksonville, Florida area. The music they focus upon with such obvious delight and relish, is straight down the line blues, with particular attention being paid and displayed to the sounds and flavours of classic Chicago and West Coast club blues also, in their music are delightful and highly satisfying reminders of the likes of Otis Rush, Magic Sam, Freddie King and T-Bone Walker. Helping Toots to create this very pleasant and highly absorbing collection of twelve numbers are; Chad Dant (husband of Toots) guitar, Lorenzo Farrell; Piano and organ, Mike Phillips; bass, June Core; drums and percussion with guests; Aki Kumar on harmonica with Chris “Kid” Andersen; popping up on guitar, bass and piano; in fact the album was recorded at his Greaseland studios in California.
The lazy, wheezy harmonica on the opener Make It Easy, combines with an amiable shoulder shufflin’ percussion that merges seductively with Toots’ tantalizing vocal mixture of late night crooner and blues shouter, this easily entices you into the groove. Big Mama Thornton’s Let Your Tears Fall Baby, allows Toots to really let her hair down with this seriously rolling and tumbling foot tapper, while Get Back To Lovin’, is a slowburner that contains splendid vocals backed by twisting, turning guitar and bubbling, percolating organ. Hindsight, is another aching, pain filled piano and vocal slowburner. On Howlin’ Wolf’s Built For Comfort, Toots sticks with the original lyrics and enjoyably blasts them out with rollicking, romping and stomping support from the band, This footloose feeling is continued with Big Joe Turner’s Low Down Dog which amply displays that the band know how to have a good time.
Highly Impressive!
BRIAN HARMAN
