Phil Swindle Art of Soul (Featuring Jimmy Hall) (Synesthesia) Every once in a very
blue moon a CD comes along that grabs you by
the short hairs the minute the music begins. Such is the case with guitar slinger Phil Swin- dle’s new opus, Art of Soul. Swindle, born and raised in the hit record capitol of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the guitarist/songwriter de- livers ten new songs that feature Wet Willie front man (and Jeff Beck vocalist) Jimmy Hall on lead vocals, harmonica and sax. Hall is considered by many the greatest singer to ever front a southern rock band, and the sweet southern soul simply oozes from his pores.
Besides Hall, Swindle enlists drum-
mer/songwriter Derek Hess, perhaps best known for his excellent work as a member of the Rossington Collins Band and bassist Tim Lindsey, a former member of Lynyrd Skynyrd currently playing with Molly Hatchet. Timmy is a true southern treasure, and one of our finest bassists. The CD also features Malaco Horns arranger & trumpeter Dr. Leland Ko- rnegay, tenor saxophonist, Rick "Hurricane" Johnson, Hammond B3 organist and key- boardist/songwriter Barry Rapp, formerly of the Henry Paul Band, bassist Tommy Gilstrap, pianists Gary Ross and Steve Perez, and veteran Capricorn Records percussionist Woody Pernell. It’s a stellar group of musicians to be
sure, and they create the perfect environment for Swindle to display his songwriting and guitar skills. Nowhere are those guitar skills more prominent than on the funky instru- mental “Badlands,” which finds Swindle trad- ing riffs with Jimmy Hall’s harmonica. So nice. There’s also the Santana-esque instru- mental “Miami Peach,” clocking in at over 11 minutes, and the short but sweet closing acoustic number “Dopyera.” And then there
are the Jimmy Hall vocal numbers, like the upbeat and soulful pop rock of “Every Cloud,” the r&b road song “Say What You Say” and the nostalgic beauty of “Time Out,” in which Swindle reminisces about youth, climbing trees and leaping from limb to limb - “We sang with free birds, and we knew them all by name/And said if we let go we’d fly.” It’s a beautiful song about a much simpler time, contrasted with the world today and the need to “take time out for ourselves.” All ten songs are among the best origi-
nal songs these old ears have heard all year. The album is filled with soul, love, poetry, beauty, grooves, and a whole lot of heart. This album is nothing short of a treasure.
-Michael Buffalo Smith
Foghat Live at the Belly Up (Foghat Records) Anyone of us of a
certain age no doubt re- members the first time they heard “Slow Ride” blasting out of their car
stereo system. It was a song that didn’t beg, but demanded to be turned up loud! And then we all went out to see the band on tour (I saw them at Greenville Memorial Audito- rium in Greenville, SC in 1973 with The Edgar Winter Group) and the next step was going to the local record store to buy the Fool for the City lp, and soon we all felt the need to re-live the great concert experience of Foghat so we bought Foghat Live. Speaking for my- self, I had that album on 8-track. LP and cas- sette. Yep. I liked it! Foghat was always an amazing band to
experience live and they still are. At long last, they have released a brand new live record, recorded in 2016 at the Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, California. The red-hot disc rocks from beginning to end, with a total of ten tracks, starting the set and ending with a
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