Thunder in My Blues

Detroit bluesman Luther Badman Keith has released his second CD, Thunder in My Blues. Keith, who released his first CD in 1999, has hit the Detroit blues scene like a firestorm since he made his professional debut four years ago. He has won over legions of fans with a high-energy, no-holds barred performing style and his original and creative songwriting.

All of those skills are on display on Thunder in My Blues, the title track, and 12 other tunes on the new CD. A sampling six tracks of the CD can be reviewed belw.

Thunder in My Blues mixes blues, rock, soul and fnk in Keith's unique style, aided by the horn arrangements of James Payton, the powerful drumming of Milton Heavyfoot Austin, the dynamic bass playing of Darryl Lee and the sterling keyboard work of Jim David.

 

The CD was a labor of love by Keith, who was introduced to the blues by the late Luther Allison years ago. Keith had never thought of playing music until he saw a live Allison performance around 1980. He took up the guitar and later jammed with Allison. The song "Luther" was written for Allison, who died in 1997, and the CD is dedicated to his memory.

Keith, a professional journalist by training, wrote all the songs on the CD and helped write the tune Get Along with other band members.

The CD, Badman, features 13 all original songs and 68 minutes of rocking original music.

The songs are: (Click links to hear selected songs)
Badman, about how the Badman got his name;
Six String Man, a guitar player's ode to his guitar;
Get Along, a plea for peace around the world as we enter the year 2000;
Bluesman Gone to the Sky, a tribute to all the deceased blues players;
Personal Trainer, a funny ditty that takes off on the personal trainer craze;
Barbecue Baby, a slow blues double entendre tune;
Somebody, a 50s style ballad;
Don't You Want a Man, a rockin' tune;
Luther, written for Luther Allison;
Cooking in the Kitchen, penned for the Soup Kitchen Saloon, Detroit's Home of the Blues;
Make a Fuss Over Me, a country rock style tune;
The Blues Tell My Story, an appreciation of the history of the blues;
Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth, an acoustic guitar piece

The CD also features the talents of keyboard players Jim David and Billy Harris;
saxophonist James Payton, who arranged the horns; Mark Croft on trumpet and background singers Miata Keith and Diana Balsama.

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What the critics are saying about the Badman CD

"He definitely has his own style, a unique sound. The CD sort of keeps you on the edge of blues, funkadelic, Motown City-blues plus flavor, soul and even a detection of the Motown sound. The music is mainstream and definitely crossover material."
--- Carmen Carter, The Michigan Post

"The music is a mix of soul, hardcore and commercial blues. But with playful lyrics about such subjects as his handling of a childhood bully and a spicy love interest, along with notable guitar skills, Badman's sound is made fun and exciting for all."
--- City View Magazine, June 8

"... a set of well-crafted original songs."
--- Living Blues Magazine

"His style is somewhere between the Chambers Brothers and Screamin' Jay Hawkins. These songs are "in your face" proclamations of who he is and what he wants....... His unique shouting blues style sets him apart from other performers"
--- Wolfgang Spider, Blues Notes (Detroit Blues Society), October 1999

"Detroit bluesman Luther Keith didn't start playing guitar until he was past 30, but he took it on large fashion Badman (self-release) is a fast-paced batch of fun songs with high-energy vocals. Perhaps because he's a relatively new player, his tunes gleefully reject the staid blues box and simply groove.

Best Cut: "Barbecue Baby," a slow-dive blues highlighted by Keith's raw, moving leads.""
--- Blues Revue, October 1999

"... scorching guitarist with rich tenor vocal character"
--- Big City Blues Magazine

"Keith's blues will never bring you down. This is fun blues and you just have to share Luther's enthusiasm as he sings and plays guitar commendably on such tunes as Barbecue Baby, Get Along and Personal Trainer."
--- Steve Holsey, entertainment columnist, the Michigan Chronicle

"The self-produced Badman features 13 tracks of Keith's unique, heartfelt and frequently tongue-in-cheek originals (one composed with his band) along with some wonderful horn arrangements by Detroit sax man James Payton. It's a release to proud of. Check it out."
--- Wendy Case, music writer and critic for The Detroit News