Brotherhood
Grant Lyle
Independent
1998
10 tracks
Grant Lyle dares to be different. Most Ontario blues bands pump out a hard-rocking electric blues that recalls artists like Muddy Waters or B. B. King or the rock artists influenced by them. Lyle's band tends more toward a cowboy boogie shuffle that might have come out of the old Sun Records studios. The resulting blues with a rockabilly edge is a quirky and refreshing rarity on the Ontario blues scene.
Perhaps the best example of the old country-blues feel on this release is a McKinley Morganfield song. With the band playing a medium tempo shuffle behind it, "Can't Be Satisfied" feels less like Muddy Waters than it does songs like "Jackson" by Lee Hazlewood. Even Lyle's guitar style on this song, while clearly blues guitar, sounds like it belongs in a country blues band. There are even bits where Lyle's parts could have as easily been played on a pedal steel guitar.
"Just a Stranger" is like taking your blues with a shot of "Tequila" in the mix. Lyle's vocal is pure blues, but, with the possible exception of Lyle's cool blues guitar solos, the song has more the type of rocking latin rhythm epitomized by The Champs' 1959 release.
Four of the songs on Brotherhood are written by Lyle, "Shufflin'" on his own and "Walkin Away," "Cryin' Wolf," and "Reflection" in collaboration with members of his band. On listening to these songs, it becomes pretty apparent that the country music influence in this band comes from its leader.
Of these four songs, "Cryin' Wolf" (cowritten with bassist Steve Brammer) is a pretty standard blues of the type you might expect to hear any Ontario blues band perform. The music is straight ahead with a driving rhythm. Lyle's guitar style is pure blues with some interesting but not out of the ordinary pedal effects thrown in. His vocal evokes the blues as we might have heard them on any pop-rock blues release some thirty-plus years ago.
In similar fashion, "Walkin' Away" (cowritten with Brammer and drummer Steve Woods) is a solid rhythm-based blues number. In this one, the influence of the rhythm section as writers is clearly felt. The drums and bass carry the song as they walk the listener through Lyle's smooth guitar and vocals. About the only country music element observable is Lyle's guitar solo, which has the same edginess as the old blues-inspired rockabilly riffs.
"Shufflin" is a whole 'nuther story. An instrumental showcase for Lyle's guitar playing, this song is reminiscent of Bill Doggett's "Honky Tonk" and Arthur Smith's "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" and the many country and rockabilly songs influenced by them. "Shufflin'" is a solid up-tempo rockabilly shuffle that's sure to get the audience jiving on the dance floor.
I was especially taken with the only other instrumental number on Brotherhood. "Reflection" (cowritten with Woods) is a cool jazzy blues number that reminds me most of "Deep Feeling" released by Chuck Berry in 1957 or perhaps Fleetwood Mac's "Albatross" released a dozen years later. The mood is quiet, even understated: round-toned guitar over pulled-back drums and bass with cymbals carrying most of the rhythm. This song makes a wonderful closer for the set.
Taken as a whole, Brotherhood is a blues album. Blues classics like "Ain't Nobody's Business" and "All Your Love" set much of the overall tone for the set. At its core, though, Grant Lyle's roots seem to be set not in the electric blues aped by so many of his contemporaries but in a long line of country-blues artists stretching back as far as Jimmie Rodgers. The result is a contemporary sound that reaches back and mines a largely untouched treasure trove of great blues stylings.
While Brotherhood contains some solid blues performances, what distinguishes it is the number of elements added to the mix which, while blues-influenced, are not strictly "the blues" as many in today's audience would perceive the blues. The distinctive fusion of blues and country sounds in Lyle's release is a welcome breath of fresh air which may broaden the musical horizons of many bar-blues fans, in Ontario or elsewhere, who hear his music.
Discover everything you ever wanted to know about Grant Lyle and his music at GrantLyle.com.
|
Since about February 14, 2004 |
While you're here, please take the time to check out our sponsors below and on other pages.
Got a new or recent release you would like reviewed?
Click here 
for more information.
|
on Sound Bytes' Free-For-All Links page... Click Here.
Designed by The Communication Centre (R. D. MacKenzie Associates,
Kingston, Ontario K7K 6T9)
This web site, all pages, original content & images copyright © 1997-2002 R. D. MacKenzie.
Some web site functions developed and provided by Bravenet Web Services.
Review written: October 18, 2002
Page modified: February 14, 2004
Proudly Canadian
Send mail to the Sound Bytes Webmaster
if you have questions or comments about this web site.