Album Notes

Check out Michael's new one too: 'Black & White' Blue Eyed Blues getting airplay in Europe in France, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands as well. MuzikMan wrote a review - here's a bit of it: Michael Barclay brings his Blue Eyed Blues to the table this year. He plays some mean guitar licks and sounds like the prototypical bluesman, and at times he is so expressive and heavy he sounds like the old black blues players. Barclay offers up 16 solid tracks of spicy and red-hot blues-rock, the kind that starts a fire that never goes out. I mean this does not let up for second on the entire recording. The album has a great kickoff song that typifies the blues; “Give It To Me Straight” sings the blues about a lover gone astray. Then “A Diary of the Blues (All the Prayin' in the World)” is another sad but funny rocker, as the man singing, who happens to be Barclay (this is autobiographical by the way), laments about his wife divorcing him and his girlfriend leaving town. Sounds like the blues came pouring down on him in this instance because of his own doing, but there is always a guitar to pick up and a saloon around the corner to make it all go away, yes sir this is da blues. “Stinky” and “NY Blues” are great instrumental tracks that give you an opportunity to appreciate the well-honed chops of everyone in the band, not to take away their equal expertise on the vocal tracks of course. “NY Blues,” which features Barclay playing all the instruments on the track, is a slow cooker, with some funky up front bass and stinging guitar licks; it is surely one of the best cuts on the album but far too short-lived. There is something special about an all-instrumental number; it allows you to focus in on the music without having to think about anything else. These are just a few highlights of a CD jam-packed with them. © Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck (http://www.radiogetswild.com/MReviews/op=show/rid=125.html) Check out the bio info for the CD 'Soul Patch'for more background, or go to the website. Michael's career included gigs backing Randy Crawford, Chuck Berry, Norton Buffalo, Julian Lage and others. A reviewer named Rolf Olmstead, for a music website (sonomatunes), caught the record release show and wrote: After the openers the band went into familiar territory with the fast dance numbers "Red Headed Woman" and "I Refuse!" from their CD "Soul Patch". Warm now, the band moved to the new tunes from the new CD "Blue Eyed Blues". "Desperate Man", "Drown In My Own Tears", and "Give It To Me Straight" had a very tough autobiographical feel. ...The band piled on a bunch of new tunes during the second half of the first set and especially during the long second set. The house and dance floor was so jammed that I gave up dancing quickly and just enjoyed the band. Banana's organ was much more in front than it is some nights, and Joel Rudinow had one hot night ripping the piano for riffs and solos. Roger Volz had one of his hot nights, with some way out there alto solos. He and Jane Fossgreen on tenor had fun being a horn section. I like Roger's "You're a high maintenance woman, and I'm your maintenance man!" (Maintenance Man, by M. Barclay/R. Volz on Blue Eyed Blues) Michael pulled out his slide guitar and laid into the new one "Mama's Cadillac." This mock-innocent little tune sure does allow for some long burning tones. The slide riffs were really hot and Michael's slide playing has joined his well-known lead work in quality. Several times during the night his lead work went out into the stratosphere with Michael's advanced harmonic ideas really paying off." The high production value of this CD plus the array of special guests create a wonderful variety of tunes and performances.