Where I The Mighty

For ten years, San Francisco’s I the Mighty has been going strong. While maintaining the same lineup, the group has managed to carve out a niche within the saturated post-hardcore, alternative rock scene distinctly their own. Highly influenced from genre-bending bands like Coheed and Cambria, I the mighty have always shown the same fearlessness with every release. Whether it is a ballad or a fiercely fast paced guitar driven song, the group sounds equally at home. With the release of their third LP, Where The Mind Wants To Go / Where You Let It Go, I the Mighty show no signs of slowing.

Sweet Dreams is the second release for Telarc by modern soul singer Mighty Sam McClain. On these 13 tracks, McClain delivers a powerful mix of originals and covers similar to one of his greatest influences, Bobby "Blue" Bland. Recording at the legendary Bearsville Studio in Woodstock, NY, McClain utlized his regular band of Kevin Belz (guitar), Bruce Katz (piano), Barry Seelen (Hammond B-3), Tim Ingles (bass), and Jim Arnold (drums) along with the addition of the Mighty Horns on several cuts, giving the album an extra funky edge.

When Hurricane Katrina struck, Milton "Alabama Slim" Frazier and his cousin Little Freddie King made it out of New Orleans with their lives but not much else. The story of their encounter with the storm is related in the two versions of the Mighty Flood that bookend this disc's dozen selections and give it its name.
Slim, who takes the vocals on all but two tracks, comes by his nickname honestly- he was born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama and stands almost seven feet tall. As harrowing as his account of Katrina is, it gains power from its understated delivery (like John Lee Hooker's Tupelo, on which it was modeled). Slim also employs the device of updating an old blues theme by transforming "Tin Pan Alley" into "Crack Alley"…

Rod Piazza began his career in the mid-'60s as a Young Turk who, like plenty of young rockers of the day, was putting his own stamp on the blues. Almost 50 years on, Piazza is a seasoned veteran who is still paying homage to the vintage sounds that first turned his head around, and on his 15th solo album, 2014's Emergency Situation, Piazza is still showing what he's learned over the years from the masters. Piazza's powerful, overdriven sound, clearly modeled on Little Walter and George "Harmonica" Smith, is as distinctive as ever, and the most exciting moments here are the ones where Piazza cuts loose and wails with his band, blowing gale-force solos on numbers like "Neighbor, Neighbor" and "Colored Salt"…