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CD REVIEW: Blue Larry Blue - Analog Guy
Blue Larry Blue delivers fun, catchy blues in an accessible style similar to Robert Cray, Delbert McClinton, and Bonnie Raitt. Larry Sandlin is also a slick guitar player, leading a tight back-to-basics band.
“Ain’t Got You” and “Better Be Better” are funky and just a shade more rhythm-and-bluesy than a lot of contemporary country hits – the resonator guitar in both is a nifty touch.
The title cut is lyrically goofy but fun, with great swooping bass runs from Ron DeLaVega. DeLaVega and drummer Dave Spak are solid anchors throughout the disc – the pulsing “She Loves My Money” and the Muddy Waters tune “I Can’t Be Satisfied” are two of their showcases.
The other cover versions are top-notch, too. “I’m A Ram” is a cooking Al Green number. Larry leans into the vocal, fires off some stinging leads, and Al Gamble delivers trusty Memphis-style B3 organ. Then comes a uniquely groovy and jazzy take on Paul McCartney’s “Blackbird.”
“Crawlin’ King Snake,” the John Lee Hooker staple, is dripping with mystery. Larry’s version is stylish, and his guitar work is layered for maximum bayou effect. If the vocal was just a tad smokier, this would be darn near perfect.
“Blessed Be the Blues” is a fine gospel-ish closer. On his other originals, Larry’s lyrics are tongue-in-cheek, but “Blessed” is bittersweet and pretty. It’s a classy touch – the lone ballad on a spirited album.
- Chip Withrow - The Muses Muse
Discography
Analog Guy - 2007
Big Blue World - 2000
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Bio
The tones in that first Harmony-Stella guitar have carried Larry Sandlin from jamming with the records of his youth to sharing the stage with the likes of Preston Shannon and the Gamble Brothers Band on Beale Street.
Larry’s influences include The Allman Brothers, Steve Miller, and The Band, but it was the song styles of Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters that helped create “Blue Larry Blue.”
Although born and now back in Nashville, Tennessee, Larry has followed his music from the western skies of Phoenix, Arizona to the southern spokes of Atlanta, GA and Memphis, TN.
Whether it’s with his ’54 Gibson LG-1, Fender Eric Clapton Strat, or metal-bodied Dobro Resonator, Larry performs as a solo act as well as fronting his own roadhouse blues band. Larry has played a variety of college and corporate events, marquee blues clubs like BB King’s and special concerts like Target House at St. Jude’s Hospital and The Zoo Rendezvous for the Memphis Zoo Society. Blue Larry Blue has even been featured in a book, the novel Company Confidential, by Tom McCrory.
Blue Larry Blue has recorded two CD’s to date: 2000’s “Big Blue World” and the brand new CD, “Analog Guy. “Big Blue World” includes ten original blues tunes with a stellar band, including the piano and organ sounds of the great Reese Wynans. “Analog Guy” is a return to his rootsy- roadhouse sound. His new power trio performs six new originals and four creative covers, inspired by his musical heroes.
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