9BN-Shine Ghost Town Blues Band

07 October 2019
By David McCabe

SHINE
Ghost Town Blues Band

Photo of all the members of the Ghost Town Blues Band
One of the most important lessons taught to me by one of my high school teachers was that everything you do in your life more than once should be improved upon each subsequent time you do it. Although I am not a musician, I have always thought that most songwriters, if not all, will write some of their material about their own learning experiences as they mature, and hopefully the writing matures along with them. Obviously, Ghost Town Blues Band has applied the former to their live shows, music and lyric writing, their individual craft, and their albums. The writing more than satisfies the latter. Their latest album, “Shine”, is their best by a long shot. I especially like the way some of the songs seem to be self-reflective with respect to the writer(s), and give us a little bit of insight into his thoughts.

The lineup for this, the fifth recording from Ghost Town Blues Band is:
Matt Isbell - vocals, guitar, cigarbox guitar, silverware chestguitar, harmonica
Taylor Orr - guitar, vocals
Kevin Houston - sax, vocals
Suavo Jones - trombone, trumpet, vocals
Matt Karner - bass, vocals
Andrew McNeill - drums, percussion, vocals
Cedric Taylor - Hammond B3, piano, vocals

With guests:
Paul DesLauriers & Annika Chambers - Additional Vocals on “Shine”
Ilana ‘Katz’ Katz - Violin on “Hey There Lucinda”

It is obvious from the first notes of the first song that this one is different from their previous studio albums. The usual lead singer, Matt Isbell, takes a break and we get to hear Taylor Orr, singing lead vocals on “Running Out of Time”, and nailing it. A mid-tempo bluesy number, the tune musically has great slide and horn parts, and to me, after hearing the whole album now, was the perfect song to start the album with. Let’s hope we hear Taylor sing again in the future.
The second song, “Soda Pop”, has Matt back on lead vocals, singing about “shaking his soda until it pops”, and with that I will leave it to the imagination of the reader. A short catchy tune, with some solid music behind it. 

The next track is the title song, “Shine” with guests Paul DesLauriers and Annika Chambers on vocals. They have been playing this live for quite a while already, this is their refined studio version, with great backing vocals Paul and Annika added to the mix.

If I had heard the first minute or so of “Lying To Yourself” without vocals, I would have guessed it was Tedeschi Trucks. It has that southern Blues/Folk/Jazz/Jam Band feel to it, and the fine musicianship that is required to make that work is there as well. The guitars and keys are especially nice.

The guitar and piano figure prominently in the opening of the next song, “Giving It All Away”, this time making me think of The Allman Brothers for about a minute. This song is also one they have been playing live already, and is just as good here as it is live, including the trombone solo from Suavo. At a little over 8 minutes, this is the longest song of the album, showcasing the band as a whole.
This band is legendary for their live performances, and most fans at live shows will want to hear “I Get High” because of the great guitar interaction, and also for the part where Suavo shows off his hip-hop skills by rapping a verse or three. I predict that the much slower “Dirty” is going to become that tune now. Swamp Blues with great guitar sounds, perfect backbeat with bass and drums, and some great rapping when you least expect it. “I’m the director of my life, but I ain’t trying to make a scene”.

“High Again” highlights Matt’s vocals with guitars and horns, and the resulting sound is excellent. Nice keyboard solo in there too from Cedric.

Next up is one of the songs that lets us see a bit into the writer, and how much respect and admiration and love he had for his parents, and their upbringing of him, “My Father’s Son”. The lyrics are especially good, with the music filling in very nicely. One of my favorites on the album.

“Evangelie” is a nice melody with Matt’s raspy voice being used to perfection to tell the story. This one reminded me a bit of Dr John, and that New Orleans sound.

Once again we hear Taylor singing on “Carry Me Home”, a slow ballad love song with great horns and guitar. As I said, it will be nice hearing Taylor sing once in a while.

More guitar highlights on “Heading Nowhere Fast”, with good vocals, and some nice interludes for solos.

Another song with some insight to the writer is the last song on the album, “Hey There Lucinda”, is a song to Matt Isbell’s daughter, Lucinda, lamenting about how fast she is growing up, and how much he is missing it when the band is on the road. I imagine when she is older, this will become precious to her.
Overall, this band has come a long way since I first saw them a few years ago. In the past, when selling CDs for the artists as a volunteer with the Montreal Blues Society, I have been asked which CD to buy if the buyer could buy only one. I always recommended their live album, “Backstage Pass”, since it was released, because if they liked the show, they would like that. From now on, it will be “Shine”, because it is so musically good.
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