Nick+moss

Many so-called blues releases are actually filled with bluesy R&B, soul, pop, and rock. There is no such stylistic confusion in Sadie Mae from Nick Moss & the Flip Tops. The music is no-nonsense blues, played with spirit, drive, and swing. Most of the selections are concise, getting their message across and not overstaying their welcome. By varying tempos and moods plus including occasional instrumentals, the quintet performs enjoyable and memorable music, with an emphasis on cooking straight-ahead grooves. Lead voices are Nick Moss on guitar and vocals, harmonica player Gerry Hunot, and pianist Bob Welsh (doubling on organ), but the tight yet loose rhythm section is not to be overlooked either. This is a fun set, well worthy of several listens.

Modern day Chicago blues warriors present 14 original songs inspired by the electrifying blues sounds of 1940s through 1960s, and performed with taste, sly humor and pure joy. From locomotive shuffles to deep, slow blues, Moss shines with a Willie Dixon-like ability to write and sing the blues’ honest truth. “An incendiary brew…fiery fretwork and wailing harmonica…soulful, playful and exuberant.”

Nick Moss has produced excellent, true-to-form electric blues with his backup band the Flip Tops. Here he is the leader and frontman all the way, even though longtime bandmates like drummer Bob Carter, second guitarist Gerry Hundt, and keyboardist John Kattke are still supporting him. The focus for Moss on this, his eighth album, is different in ways that hearken back to late-'60s rock with current-day side bars. A more than adequate singer and guitarist, Moss is stretching his repertoire on this collection of old favorites and newer tunes with a funky beat, and in some instances, fusing both elements. Baby boomers will love hearing a riff-driven version of Cream's "Politician," with Pete Brown's poignant lyrics just as relevant today as when they were written…

Time Ain’t Free finds an inspired Nick Moss extending his creative streak, offering an intelligent, updated take on ’70s rock and R&B, marked by daring arrangements and surprising juxtapositions. The set encompasses Muscle Shoals sweetness, stormy postmodern boogie, greasy roadhouse R&B, soul-tinged rock, and gospel-inflected ballads, all filtered through Moss’ deep-blue lens. Distinct, honest, and intense — a blend of traditional blues and progressive, jam-oriented blues rock. Face-melting guitar solos that rise above the crowded field of pretenders, and a versatile band that brilliantly delivers unparalleled improvisational jams to packed houses night after night, city after city.

The first time the Nick Moss Band recorded a full album with harpist Dennis Gruenling went so well, the gang decided to reconvene for a second set just a year later. Like many sequels, 2019's Lucky Guy! doesn't offer surprises, but it could be argued that The High Cost of Low Living didn't exactly shock either. That was by design. Moss and Gruenling make it their mission to keep the greasy sound of Chicago blues alive, and while they're traditionalists, they're not stuck in the past. Lucky Guy! makes that plain by heavily relying on originals – Moss wrote 11 of the tunes, with Gruenling delivering a matching pair for good measure – that let the band show both a bawdy sense of humor and a big heart.

Playing guitar for Chicago blues heavyweights like Jimmy Rogers (not to be confused with old-time country singer Jimmie Rodgers) and Jimmy Dawkins looks good on a resume, but it wouldn't mean as much if Nick Moss hadn't learned a lot from those experiences. Obviously, Rogers and Dawkins taught him well – very well, in fact. Although Count Your Blessings was recorded in late 2002 and early 2003, this CD has no problem capturing the spirit of electric Chicago blues in the '50s and '60s. Moss' performances aren't slick; the singer/guitarist's tough, rugged, gritty approach recalls the glory days of Chess Records, and sometimes brings to mind Magic Sam (who recorded for Delmark, not Chess, but was heavily influenced by the Chess sound).