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Big Delta Omar & The Howlers Blind Pig, 2002
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Reviewed by Pamela L. Dow
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If you enjoy the sound of hard-driving, straight at you blues, chances are your gonna love Big Delta, the latest release from Omar and The Howlers. This popular band based out of Austin, Texas has, oddly enough, a larger fan-base in Europe, than in their native United States. The mass appeal accounting for record numbers of Europeans at sold-out concerts night after night, comes directly from the persona of Omar (Kent Dykes) himself. With each performance, Omar exemplifies the look, the sound and the feel of Southern blues. Dykes captivates the crowd with his gutsy, raw, growling vibrato as it resonates with complete power and clarity. Omar sings about the swamp, the gators and the Mississippi Delta where he was born. Thousands of loyal fans across the Atlantic can't get enough of that hard-driving, in your face, Southern blues sound that Omar and The Howlers deliver with pure passion. Their most recent album, Big Delta, is sweeping across the country like a storm surge, energizing blues fans from coast to coast, as well as overseas. Omar and The Howlers aren't new to the music scene. In fact, this hard working group has been recording and touring for almost two decades. Better known for their incredible live performances, Omar (Dykes) and his band concentrate primarily on the blues style of such legends as Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. They eventually blended sounds from these blues giants, together with the swamp/rock flavor of Fogerty's CCR, and created their own blues style with some familiar overtones. Big Delta is a shining example of this band's style of blues, a true showcase of some of their very best material. The album's original concept was a retrospective, sort of a "blast from the past" of selections of the band's earlier material. Instead, producer Max Crace changed the direction and tone and the album evolved into a 12-track representation of Delta blues from the Mississippi region, envisioned by Omar himself. The Howlers are considered to be some of the best musicians in the business. The Howlers are Roscoe Beck on bass, Malcome "Papa Mali" Welbourne on guitar, electric sitar and dobro and split duty on drums going between, B.E. "Frosty" Smith and Terry Bozzio. Dykes is out in front with his "take charge" vocal strength and looming stage presence and it all combines to make Omar and The Howlers one powerful blues band. Big Delta squarely connects with the hard-driving blues sound of the South. The pulsating beat begins on the opening number, "Linin' Track," a traditional field worker's song covered by blues legend Leadbelly. The raw, electric blues sound continues with the driving beat and snarly vocals on "Monkey Land." Next is "Muddy Springs Road" a tune that continues with heavy drums and some excellent slide work. "Life Without You," the fourth track, has a smoother feel with lots of emotion carried by Omar's expressive vocals. This is one of my favorite tracks. It's followed by "Bad Seed," more of that harder sound, with plenty of deep emotion. The remaining tracks give the listener vivid imagery of life on the Mississippi Delta, through the eyes of Omar himself. Each continues with the same electric blues format, a couple of standout tracks are "Pushin' Fire," "Mystery Walk," and another of my favorites, "Low Down Dirty Blues." While I question the addition of Mountain's signature song, "Mississippi Queen" in this mix, there isn't a weak track on this recording. While I enjoy Omar's version of "Mississippi Queen" my issue is more about their reasoning for placing it on the album at all. In keeping with the producer's concept "Mississippi Queen" is not a Delta Blues tune and, in my opinion, is totally out of place here. I imagine it's presence on Big Delta was due to the lyrics about Vicksburg, Jackson and Omar's personal knowledge of the state. I still don't see that as reason for making it a part of the package. Other than that one track, this latest album is a great electric blues recording, worth checking into. Big Delta is well produced, balancing the raw,
gutsy, in-your-face sound with a smooth, slick Southern
feel. Blues fans everywhere will enjoy the mix, especially
those enthusiasts who love hard-driving, no frills, straight
ahead blues. | October 2002 |
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