antimusic.com: The Blues: The James Montgomery Blues Band Review

The James Montgomery Blues Band

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Legendary in his own right, blues harpist Montgomery has been a member of the Johnny Winter Band, recorded with Kid Rock, toured with superstars like Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith and Gregg Allman, and jammed on stage with fellow blues legends BB King, James Cotton, John Lee Hooker and countless others.

Montgomery's long, fruitful career has been highly influenced by the late Paul Butterfield, a harmonica master that Montgomery first saw play some 50-years ago, and here he offers a set composed mostly of songs associated with Butterfield.

Highlights include "Blues With a Feeling" where Montgomery's lived-in voice shares the spotlight not only with his own harp playing but with a guitar inferno lit by George McCann, a rocking take on Elmore James' "Shake Your Moneymaker" and an almost psychobilly rave-up of the classic "Mystery Train." Guest players include Mark Naftalin, the original keyboards player with Butterfield's band.

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