''I Got Blues for Ya'' is an album by guitarist and singer

Michael Falzarano Michael Falzarano is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has been a professional musician since the 1970s, most notably in Hot Tuna, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Memphis Pilgrims, a Memphis-style rock and roll/blues b ...

, who is best known as a member of the

New Riders of the Purple Sage New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco in 1969 and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. The band is sometimes referred ...

and, before that,

Hot Tuna Hot Tuna is an American blues rock band formed in 1969 by former Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen (guitarist/vocals) and Jack Casady (bassist). Although it has always been a fluid aggregation, with musicians coming and going over the ...

. His first album in six years, it features Falzarano and his "extended family" of fellow musicians playing ten original

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

songs and two covers. It was released on the Hypnotation Records label, distributed by Woodstock Records, on July 22, 2014.

Recording

On his website, Michael Falzarano wrote that he wanted to get back to his blues roots and make an album that sounded like a late '60s / early '70s blues rock record. Most of the tracks were recorded without overdubs, and some of them were recorded in one take, "to catch the true energy and spirit of a song."

Critical reception

In ''

Relix ''Relix'', originally and occasionally later ''Dead Relix'', is a magazine that focuses on live and improvisational music. The magazine was launched in 1974 as a handmade newsletter devoted to connecting people who recorded Grateful Dead concert ...

'', Brian Robbins wrote, "Guitarist/vocalist Michael Falzarano has always brought out the best in the players around him, including stints as Jorma Kaukonen’s wingman in Hot Tuna and his present-day role as psychedelicized rhythm cop in the New Riders. When Falzarano’s name is on the label—as it is for his new solo album ''I Got Blues for Ya''—things aren’t any different. A revolving cast of talent (including Crowmatix’ Professor Louie, Kane Daily and Kerry Kearney) assist Falzarano in bluesy greasiness." On Fab Radio, Fabrizio Poggi said, "A fantastic album by Michael Falzarano, famous for his work with Hot Tuna and the New Riders of the Purple Sage. Recorded with different combinations of musicians, all excellent, the CD features twelve tracks of electric blues, with nuances of Southern blues, electro-acoustic folk blues, rock 'n' roll, and much more."

Track listing

All songs written by Michael Falzarano, except "

Death Don't Have No Mercy "Death Don't Have No Mercy" is a song by the American gospel blues singer-guitarist Blind Gary Davis. It was first recorded on August 24, 1960, for the album ''Harlem Street Singer'' (1960), released by Prestige Records' Bluesville label durin ...

" by

Reverend Gary Davis Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis (born Gary D. Davis, April 30, 1896 – May 5, 1972), was a blues and gospel singer who was also proficient on the banjo, guitar and harmonica. Born in Laurens, South Carolina and blind since infancy ...

and "

Let's Work Together "Let's Stick Together" is a blues-based rhythm and blues song written by Wilbert Harrison. In 1962, Fury Records released it as a single. Harrison further developed the song and in 1969, Sue Records issued it as a two-part single titled "Let's W ...

" by

Wilbert Harrison Wilbert Huntington Harrison (January 5, 1929 – October 26, 1994) was an American rhythm and blues singer, pianist, guitarist and harmonica player. Biography Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Harrison had a Billboard #1 record in 1959 with ...

. #"The Night King Curtis Died" – 4:12 #"I Got Blues for Ya" – 5:14 #"I Never Think About You" – 5:29 #"Snake Box Boogie" – 7:45 #"Big Fish" – 3:59 #"We Got a Party Going On" – 4:43 #"Good Good Lovin'" – 4:06 #"Crossroads Avenue" – 6:53 #"The Devil's Gone Fishin'" – 4:54 #"Death Don't Have No Mercy" – 7:57 – recorded live at

Brooklyn Bowl Brooklyn Bowl is a music venue, bowling alley and restaurant in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Founded in 2009, it is located in the former Hecla Iron Works Building at 61 Wythe Avenue. It is known for its high-tech green co ...

#"Trouble" – 3:34 #"Let's Work Together" – 3:25

Personnel

;Musicians *

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

*Peter Bennett – bass *Klyph Black – bass *Lisa Bouchelle – backup vocals *Gary Burke –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

*Frank Campbell – bass *Christian Cassan – drums *Frank Celenza – bass *Tom Circosta – acoustic guitar *

Vassar Clements Vassar Carlton Clements (April 25, 1928 – August 16, 2005) was an American jazz, swing, and bluegrass fiddler. Clements has been dubbed the Father of Hillbilly Jazz, an improvisational style that blends and borrows from swing, hot jazz, and ...

–

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

*Josh Colow –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

*Jason Crosby – fiddle *Kane Daily – lead guitar,

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

*Dave Diamond – drums *Harley Fine –

Farfisa organ Farfisa (Fabbriche Riunite di Fisarmoniche) is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professiona ...

*Jimmy Fleming –

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

*Ray Grappone – drums *Kerry Kearney – lead guitar, slide guitar *Johnny Markowski – drums *Chris Matheos – bass *Miss Marie – backup vocals,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

Barry Mitterhoff Barry Mitterhoff is a musician who plays mandolin. He is a former member of Skyline, Silk City, Bottle Hill, and Hot Tuna. Played with Peter Rowan, Tex Logan and Lamar Greer in The Green Grass Gringos. Mitterhoff is also known as a film score p ...

– mandolin *Mike Miz – acoustic guitar *Eileen Murphy – drums *

Professor Louie Aaron L. Hurwitz, known by the stage name Professor Louie, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer who is best known for producing three studio albums for The Band, as well as being the founder and producer for the Grammy ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

, backup vocals *

Pete Sears Peter Roy Sears (born 27 May 1948) is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than six decades, he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock o ...

– piano *John Marshall Smith –

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

*Alex P. Suter – backup vocals *Freeman White –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

*Charlie Wolfe –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

;Production *Produced by Michael Falzarano *Recording: Vicki Bell, Professor Louie, Danny Sheehan, Scarekrow *Mixing: Michael Falzarano, Dan Skye *Mastering: Jon Marshall Smith *Photography: Gina Guarnieri *Design: Kevin Morgan

References

{{Authority control Michael Falzarano albums 2014 albums