Marshall Lawrence

“…. In places he reminded me strongly of some of the late-sixties acoustic practitioners of the U.K. blues scene; at other times he is akin to Catfish Keith at his best…. Those who appreciate the current acoustic blues revivalists should enjoy it….” - Blues & Rhythm magazine (U.K)

“…. Few artists can match Marshall Lawrence’s solo acoustic presentation. A gifted translation of Delta blues expression, played with the tenacity of fidgety bluegrass and a lyrical folk fervor, Blues Intervention should cement Lawrence’s reputation as a neo-Delta visionary…. “

"… Man can Lawrence play... "




- Living Blues

“.... Marshall belongs to the group of artists such as Taj Mahal, Roy Bookbinder and Corey Harris who just like Marshall knows how to put new life into the old traditional Delta Blues style with an injection of raw energy and boundless enthusiasm ...

" ... a good hour of first rate sliding blues….. a very authentic blues sound….” - Rootstime magazine

“…. hear promising acoustic music from Canada on the new album Blues Intervention by guitarist Marshall Lawrence …. “

“… ....Lawrence makes good use of his resonators and traditional acoustic guitars …. “

“…. “If I had a Nickel” and “Your Woman Quit You” have it going on lyrically and melodically … the rowdy Son House inspired “Once Loved a Cowgirl” is the pick of the bunch …"
- Blues Revue Magazine

"…. he knew his way around a resonator guitar and could deliver the folk/blues as well as any other white boy... Lawrence is on the money …. He has a dandy way of taking you someplace out of the mainstream without being precious …" - Chris Spector, Midwest Record, Lake Zurich, IL., Volume 34/Number 50

"Marshall Lawrence has taken the influences and styles of the masters of the past and written fresh, topical material that is in keeping with his storyteller persona. "Blues Intervention" is a very entertaining listen from a bluesman steeped in a time-honored tradition!"
- Nashville Blues Society

“Fantastic blues from this technician that has doctored the blues to perfection”

“ For those of you that love the sound of resonator guitar blues, this album will make you a patient of Lawrence”
- The Tannehill Trader (Tuscaloosa, AL)

"… Blues Intervention, from start to finish, is 13 tracks of pure delight ..."

"... Blues Intervention is a brilliant mix of storytelling and traditional blues…"

"... well-crafted songs and exquisite resophonic guitar …"

- Phil Harries - Penguin Eggs – Tenth Anniversary Issue, Summer 2010

"Blues Intervention" is Marshall's best release to date and I have no doubt that it will be receiving plenty of accolades from the full spectrum of the blues industry and is the finest Canadian acoustic blues release this year, a ongoing status that I believe will follow this album throughout its remainder ..."

"... Giving "Blues Intervention", my Highest Recommendation with a Solid 5***** Rating, was perhaps the easiest decision I have made this year and one that I knew this Album was headed for, shortly after I started listening to it.” - John Vermilyea (Blues Underground Network)

"... Blues Intervention is a dynamic set of acoustic blues, one of the best sets I’ve heard this year. It’s loaded with great original songs and some extraordinary fretwork. Acoustic blues fans longing for the next great record need worry no more. “The Doctor of the Blues” has the cure for what ails you ..." - Blues Bytes - Graham Clarke

New work coming from Canadian singer, song-writer, poet, guitar player and bohemian... Marshall Lawrence. This time he brings us a new beautiful well done acoustic work, including ten own compositions, plus a traditional song, another coming from Tommy Johnson and a Robert Johnson’s song version. Backed by his guitars, mandolin, banjo and jug, plus the valuable help of Sherman 'Tank' Doucette on harmonica and Russell Jackson on bass, this 'Doctor of the Blues', as he is known in many music circles he usually moves around, he performs on steady personal way his poetry and blues, filling everything with a subtle feeling, full of harmonic beautiful sounds and a deep passionate touch that gradually wrap us in his mysterious and sometimes bucolic dreaming world, along a beautiful album that has emotionally captivated me. GREAT. - La Hora Del Blues - Vicente P. Zumel

"... Blues Intervention is an album I would definitely recommend even if you have never given the blues a chance before. I am glad I was given the chance to listen and review this great musical creation. Blues Intervention is fun, deep, meaningful, imaginative, camp in places and yes, bluesy. The music is constructed professionally and ....Marshall....'s vocals are flawless. He is easy to listen to and a pleasure, as is the entire Blues Intervention album.
I say, go give Blues Intervention a listen because you will not be sorry...."
- Hadyn Thomas

"... Lawrence is becoming one of the cornerstones of this genre, filling the entire spectrum that can deliver the blues industry in that country...."

"...Lawrence.... gives us a solid acoustic work … "

"... A very dynamic album, with great interplay between the musicians, with a soundscape that blends the modern and traditional, through those guitars dobro and steel body, performed on the American continent but still the taste of the Mississippi Delta...."
- DIEGO LUIS MARTÍNEZ of Historias Del Blues.

".... Lawrence doesn’t try to be anybody but himself. In a world full of Clapton wannabes embarrassing themselves by doing what amounts to blackface, that’s genuinely refreshing....." - Lucid Culture (NYC)

He's a native of Edmonton, Alberta but plays the bottleneck guitar as if he grew up in the Mississippi delta. Lawrence penned 9 of the 13 songs on this CD, and they stand up with his covers of Tommy Johnson and Willie McTell. Light touches of mandolin and banjo and his use of space on this CD give The Morning After a fresh sound to acoustic blues.


- GLT Blues Radio, Illinois USA

Marshall Lawrence
(The Morning After) (Independent)

Back in 2003, Edmonton’s self-professed Doctor of the Blues, Marshall Lawrence, defined his “acid blues” sound on Where’s the Party. Combining funk, rock and soul, the album was replete with horn section, backup singers and a full band that showcased Lawrence’s penchant for high-energy live shows.
For his sophomore release, the good doctor has mellowed a bit, focused his intent and released a thoughtful homage to his friendship with the harmonica great John Miner Wilds. Lawrence couples his beautiful resonator guitar sound with powerful harmonica solos— thanks to both Wilds and Sherman (Tank) Doucette, making (the morning after) a far superior album to his debut five years ago.
The lyrics are still a little mundane at times, running the gamut of the blues themes of lost love, whiskey, rain and freight trains, but the tasteful arrangements and the quality of the playing makes up for any commonplace lyrical content. Hopefully (the morning after) speaks to a musical path Lawrence will continue to follow.
–By Kenna Burima - Penguin Eggs Magazine

THE MORNING AFTER
Marshall Lawrence
Independent
7.5-out-of-10
All right folks, The Morning After is not the first Marshall Lawrence CD I have reviewed, but it is the best, and that is always a good thing in the sense you hope a musician gets better as they progress in their career.
I have to tell you, this is a very impressive edition of Delta style blues out of this Edmonton musician.
The lead cut Freight Train reminds me stylistically, and even vocally of David Essig, and believe me that is very high praise since Essig is one of my all-time favourites.
The guitar work on Blue Sky is Fallin' also reminds of another Canadian stand out, that being none other than Big Dave McLean. Again that's pretty high praise.
Now before you start thinking Marshall simply copies other performers, that is not the case. This guy doesn't need to copy anyone. He plays a darned fine guitar, adding mandolin, banjo and even kazoo on occasion on this disk. He also has a distinctive voice for the blues which generally sets him apart too.
That said, Lawrence does have aspects of this CD which remind of the best, because he is climbing up the ranks of Canadian blues with this CD.
Back to Lawrence's voice for a second. Most often blues singers are at their best when their voices have a certain amount of gravel to them. It suits the genre.
Lawrence is different there. His voice is smoother, in a sense more mainstream, and that really gives this set of Delta blues a different 'feel', and that is not a bad thing either.
The disk has variety, from the faster-paced Shake It, a Lawrence original that while stylistically strong, is maybe the weakest cut in the sense his individual style suits the blues that are slower and more heartfelt.
Lawrence is in his zone with the more traditional efforts, even those he has written, such as Catfish Blues, and the aforementioned Freight Train.
This CD certainly takes Lawrence another step in his career, and is well worth grabbing if you like Delta blues served up acoustic and hot.
Check it out at www.doctorblues.com
-- CALVIN DANIELS

-- Review first appeared in Yorkton This Week newspaper Sept. 16, 2009 - Yorkton, SK. Canada - Calvin Daniels in Yorkton This Week

"You can write books on playing and singing the blues, you can also find more opinions on this genre than half of the rest put together. This guy has got both the technical skills and the heart for this music, blues lovers will not be disappointed." - Beehive Candy Podcast

“The cover of the album says it all - three gorgeous reso-guitars, a treat
for both eyes and ears. The sound of your guitar is crisp and hard hitting
and when you play slide it sounds so good. Technical skills are important
but feeling is essential, you have both of those qualities…. Together with interesting original songs and very
good sound/production quality "The Morning After" should easily please
deep blues fans. I like it!” - "Przemek Draheim, Polish Blues Radio Host, www.blues.pl/draheim"

“I was very, very impressed…. This is a very good album” - Keith Castleberry, The "L.A." Blues Cruse, WNSI 105.9 FM, Atmore, Alabama

"Played 3 cuts yesterday and the phones went bonkers!!

Keep up the great work that you do!!" - Mike Flowers, Producer, Mystic Mile, KZUM 89.3 FM Lincoln, Nebraska

The Morning After receives a top notch review and the coveted “Cri du Coeur” (Cry of the Heart)from Bernard Boyat


"Just the photograph of the superb guitars (there must be a National in the trio) on the back cover makes you want to buy the CD because one tells oneself that with such instruments one can only make good music. And, a listen confirms that impression. Marshall makes sparse Rockin' Country blues of prime quality (especially Freight train and Shake it), marked by a pause in the middle with the slow Mockingbird Blues and Long Time Gone, and another with Gotta Change Our Ways just before a beautiful conclusion with Light Rain Blues, with a hint of Chuck Berry, and Ida Mae. If his previous CD's are of the same caliber, I regret not having discovered him earlier. Bernard Boyat." - The Morning After Review by Bernard Boyat in Le Cri du Coyote Number 107

Marshall Lawrence is a fine acoustic guitarist and blues singer from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. "The Morning After" is his second release, following the 2003 cd "Where's The Party?" Here he continues that successful formula: fiery slices of delta-flavored acoustic slide guitar with just enough backing to fill out the sound. Lawrence is backed by Russell Jackson on bass and the combined harmonica talents of John Wilds and Sherman "Tank" Doucette. These are the last tracks John Wilds recorded--he died during these sessions. Wilds' mastery of the harp is evident here, but Doucette does a fine job of filling his shoes.

Lawrence writes nine of the 13 tracks here, and on the originals he gets the tone exactly right--they fit among a fine set of covers, including Blind Willie McTell's "Blue Sky Is Fallin'," Tommy Johnson's "Bye Bye Blues," Charlie Patton's "Moon Goin' Down," and Taj Mahal's "Light Rain Blues." The Tommy Johnson track is easily the highlight of the disc, with an infectious joy--like his take of Big Bill Broonzy's "Key To The Highway" on "Where's The Party?" Lawrence uses his guitar and absolutely reinterprets the classic number in a new way. It's still delta-style country blues, but new. In fact, I think Lawrence is following in the footsteps of some very important artists like Bernie Pearl and Corey Harris and Taj Mahal in the way that he is at once historical musicologist and contemporary interpreter.

This is a fine disc and shows the growth of an emerging artist. "Where's The Party?" was a good debut, but this one is even better. I look forward to Lawrence's next steps. You can buy this cd at http://www.doctorblues.com - Sunday Night Blues Project

"Marshall is completely devoted to his music and he is able to stir up a deep interest to discover the legacy of low down Mississippi blues. A faithful respectful work performed by a doctor who has got his graduation thanks to a non stop listening of great blues masters. I can say he will awaken interest of all ‘back porch blues’ lovers."




- VICENTE P. ZUMEL La Hora Del Blues - Spain

".... Among thirteen songs on the disc three are classic pieces, the rest are well-written originals. Traditional-sounding, enjoyable release ..." - Przemek Draheim - Blues DJ - Poland

"This is what I call a "Super Bad Blues Man" this CD has some of the best blues I haven't heard for such a long time. It has pure originality, creativity, and loaded with talent - Indie Lady A - WSF Radio