Artist: Misty Blues
Album: I’m Too Old For Games: A Live Tribute A Odetta
Release: 2024
Website: https://www.mistybluesband.com/
Misty Blues continues along the road of high quality releases at a breakneck pace with the latest live recording " I’m Too Old For Games: A Live Tribute A Odetta". It would take a real effort to find a band that works harder than this band to provide the audience with fresh music on what seems to be almost a quarterly basis. It is not only the pace of which they produce new albums, but the quality of them that is so impressive. This latest live set which is the second installment in a tribute to the great Odetta is certainly no exception. If anything, it may be their best work to date!
Misty Blues is clearly dialed into one another as musicians as well the interest of their audience. That is a balance that is never easy to achieve, but the joy that comes through the recording is contagious at every turn. Odetta is a steep order that Misty Blues seems to fill quite effortlessly. It is a wonderful thing to hear this band recorded in the live atmosphere making me wish I was there for the performances!
The first single Hold On simply put is special on every level. The power of Gina Coleman's vocal performance is difficult to put into words. When one is moving as much air as she is, beauty isn't always what comes across, however this cut is an exception. She is maintaining power and grace in the way that perhaps one would hear in opera. If there were a blues opera, this would be it. The brute force and subtleties are equally dispersed making for an extraordinary performance.
Jim Crow Blues is a smooth sizzle that is burning red hot on a low flame. Misty Blues is always an ensemble effort that distributes the spotlight generously amongst all the players and this track is a shining example of it. They are one of those bands that the sum is greater than its parts. A rare find, but always consistent in bands that have that special chemistry. Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band comes to mind. Not stylistically, but the chemical reaction of Bruce, Clarence, Little Steven and the rest. It is a gas and matches type reaction that cannot be manufactured, only discovered.
A mid tempo shuffle is always a soft spot for this writer and Weepin' Willow Blues scratches that itch perfectly. Another cut that everyone has space to shine and then seamlessly falls back into the mix to support the greater good, the song itself. This band approaches the music in a refined and mature manner but still has the bounce of young people just discovering the power of live music. They flow like a meticulously choreographed ballet, but are still in the moment where the dance and the dancer are no longer discernible. That space where movement and sound come together to create art.
I’m Too Old For Games: A Live Tribute A Odetta is an exceptional live recording of an exceptional group of musicians. As I have written in a previous review, nobody and I mean nobody sounds like Misty Blues. They are 100% committed to their sound and vision. It is a testament to what blues and roots music can be when executed without thought of imitation. When a band finds their own space there is truly nobody to compare it too. I imagine there have been thousands of great blues bands from all over the world in the last 75 years, but only a handful that truly have their own fingerprint that is unmistakable to even the most casual listeners. Misty Blues is one of them and this record is my favorite of their many quality releases.
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