Paul Gabriel
"Man of Many Blues"
PaulGabriel.net
Amazon.com
CD review by Roger Zee (11/11/20)
The Blues doesn't just stand for "Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad." No, we're talkin' all kinds of straight-from-the-heart emotions! I so dig Paul Gabriel's slow, jelly roll, laconic Creole drawl and crawl through the Blues as he slip slides through the glimmering twilight. Six years after the release of his first solo record, "What's the Chance?" on Shining Stone Records (2013), he drops the triumphant follow-up, "Man of Many Blues" (2019) on Smoke Ring Records. Here, he Soul shines through his modified '59 re-issue Gibson Les Paul Burst Brothers model and 60's Blackface Super Reverb amp, the last one Fender ever made. Cherished working tools he's used so many times on gigs we've played together.
Following my usual routine, I listen to the CD when I first wake up and feed my cat, Zoe and two parakeets, Eli and Nyssa. Continue playing it while I shower and do my Yoga/Pilades workout. And finally, move the record into the living room where I work on all the bass lines. After all, it's important for me to get the tunes gig ready for when the world returns to pre-Pandemic normal!
Paul Gabriel first achieved musical success as a band member and sideman with artists such as Harry Chapin, Howard Eldridge (Blues Brothers), Mark Naftalin (Paul Butterfield), Castle, Blue in the Face, The Mojomatics, The Hoodoo Band, and superstar Michael Bolton. But lately, the spotlight's grown a mind of it's own and focuses solely on Mr. Paul Gabriel!
On this effort, Gabriel brings together a stellar group of old friends to give birth to his latest batch of tunes. They include producer and guitarist Duke Robillard; Scott Spray, Frank Davis, Paul Opalach (bass); Mark Texeira (drums); Sugar Ray Norcia (Harp); Bruce Bears, Lonnie Gasparini (keys); Howard Eldridge, Christine Ohlman (vocals); Mark Early, Doug James (sax).
The characters who inhabit Paul Gabriel's universe abide in a mostly easy-going cheaters paradise where men as a rule get scammed for money or love or both! But let's start off positive! On the opening track, "I Feel Good," Gabriel rolls into Memphis, TN swaying to a Rumba beat and immediately bumps into long-time pals. "Music in the air, Blues everywhere, you know I feel good." And then, there's the obligatory "Jam Band" instrumental, "Blues for Georgia," a relative of "328 Chauncy Street" from his previous record. Both tunes scream Allman Brothers. I keep hounding Gabriel to pitch them to Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Devon Allman, Duane Betts, and Larkin Poe. But who listens to me, LOL!
More good times follow. In the uptempo, humorous R&B tale, "Second Story Man," two burglars fall in love while doing their best to con each other! "Well we headed east, then we headed west. I figured she was playing me, you know that was my guess." "On That Train," a mid-tempo Soul pumper, our hero meets a woman who immediately burrows herself into his heart and mind. "I'm on that train that carries my love straight to your heart."
Money worms its way into most of these romantic struggles. The boisterous, hard charging, "No Finance, No Romance" says it right in the title. Even working two jobs, our man can't make enough dough to keep his lady happy. The sharp, jaunty stride of "Face Full of Frown" belies the message. "You know she spent all of my money, she spent every dime. I know what I'm talking about because it happens every time. She's gone. Yes she's gone downtown. And when she come back, baby, I got a face full of frown." On the slow rolling sea of "It Be That Way Sometime," Gabriel sings, "Well just like a ship headed out to sea. I watch my money just sail away. I remember a time when when that sun would shine. But that time turned turned all cloudy and gray."
And then there's the really sad songs. The breakout track, "Just a Bitterness, a minor descending Blues, reeks of despair, rot, and desperation. "Well I'm walking down Main Street though it's about five of three, and I'm looking for that someone that old town used to be. And I look in every window where she might be found, but they all say the same thing, she never came around." The title song finds Gabriel reading a biography of his musical hero. Despite all the man's trials, tribulations, and temptations, he stood steadfast as a "Man of Many Blues." The album ends with the rip-roaring Skynyrd-esque Rocker, "Dear John Letter." "Now much to my surprise when I pulled aside, I thought I saw someone I knew. As I got a little closer, there's no doubt in my mind. That someone I saw was you."
In a recent phone conversation with me, Gabriel gushed about working again with producer Duke Robillard, the man he claims squeezed, poked, and prodded every last ounce of creativity out of his vocals and guitars -- ideas he'd never have come up with alone. That's high praise. More like a mutual admiration society, LOL!
So happy to see Paul Gabriel create an enduring masterpiece late in the game! Can't wait to get back out there with him when the world returns from it's little "Twilight Zone" episode. Please support the artist by buying the CD instead of streaming the tracks. One <3
YouTube - Just a Bitterness - Paul Gabriel
©2020 Roger Zee
