Raphael Wressnig & Igor Prado – “The Soul Connection”& ”Captured Live” & – Deluxe Edition – 2 cd – Pepper Cake Records/Zyx – PEC 2014-2D

Album Review

Album: 
Raphael Wressnig & Igor Prado – “The Soul Connection”& ”Captured Live” & – Deluxe Edition – 2 cd – Pepper Cake Records/Zyx – PEC 2014-2D
Artist: 
Raphael Wressnig & Igor Prado
Record Label: 
Pepper Cake Records/Zyx
Date: 
07/10/2016
Reviewed by: 
Markus Hagner

Raphael Wressnig can be easily entitled an ingenious  Global Magician Hammond Player! He is permanently touring as often as possible with various musical mates on all continents and his last cd-opus was “Soul Gumbo” which he recorded in 2014 with jam friends like  Stanton Moore, Alex Schultz, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, George Porter Jr., Larry Garner, Jon Cleary, in the Music Shed Studios in New Orleans. He’s a permanent creative and hard-working guy. As he loves to travel his journey took him latest to cultural and musically miscellaneous Brazil to São Paulo to liaise with renowned guitarist Igor Prado. In 2016 here it is their new highlight masterpiece “The Soul Connection”!

“Trying To Live My Life Without You Baby” as opener is a soulful blues with a buckshot of Motown funk. You will immediately feel positive vibrations if your day has gone wrong and be motivated to dance with your beloved to feel good again after coming home. The guitar solos of Igor remind by style of the unforgettable King Of The Blues and his Lucille. Wee Willie Walker seduces by his sweet, lovingly lead-voice. Raphael provides by his key-solos a sweeping, harmonious sound-floor. “Young Girl” is a rockin’ Chicago blues and Hammond-Dervish Wressnig plays his big “TrickOr Treats”. The jam-duets of Igor and him are just stunning. As the cold winter nights are nearing “Suffering With The Blues” is a beautiful ballad to enjoy a joyful and loveable evening with your baby at a romantic warm place by candlelight. By “No-La-Fun-Ky” Raphael spices his blues-gumbo with some funk-jazz. A very experimental, groovy peak. “Turnip Greens” has a sixties flavor featuring dynamic rhythms, six-string therapies the Memphis vein and the lord of the keys explodes by his solos the wild style.  A culmination song where RW continues the legacy of heavenly Jon Lord. “My Love Is” has a sing-along west-coast flair. The musicals bosses prove how diversified their virtuoso play-grounds can be by “The Face Slap Swing Nr. 5“. A jazzy swingin’ blues reminding of the good ole’ Al Capone times. “Don’t Cry No More” is a hooky stomper the ”Let The Good Times Stroll” tradition. Bourbon meets Beale Street and the parties conglomerate the hellish hot ceremonies style. By “Don’t Cry Me No More” & “Heartbreak” Wee Willie’s voice, Igor’s guitar-artistry and Raphael’s organ-sorcery is a proverbial jam-firework. Mister Walker is hell of a stunning, powerful singer! “Why Don T You Haul Off And Love Me One More Time” is the grand final blues’n roll southern-hymn. The legacy of “When The Saints Go Marching In” continues…

Raphael Wressnig & Igor Prado a starry, virtuoso ”Soul Connection”

Pls. click on the photo above to listen to “Song-Teasers”

Track-List:

Trying To Live My Life Without You Baby (With Wee Willie Walker & Sax Gordon)

Young Girl

Suffering With The Blues (With Wee Willie Walker)

Turning Point (With David Hudson)

No-La-Fun-Ky

Home At Last (With Wee Willie Walker & Sax Gordon)

Turnip Greens

My Love Is, (With Wee Willie Walker & Rodrigo Mantovani)

The Face Slap Swing Nr. 5

Grazing In The Grass (With Sax Gordon)

Don T Cry No More (With Leon Beal & Sax Gordon)

Heartbreak (With Wee Willie Walker & Sax Gordon)

Why Don T You Haul Off And Love Me One More Time

As gift for his 20 year stage-jubilee and on top for this deluxe-edition there is the second cd “Captured Live”. If you witnessed the organ-wizardry of Raphael as member of the Deitra Farr band on 19 of July 2014 at Blues Peer & and later this memorable night as special jam guest of famous  headliner Los Lobos you know what “Hot-Deal” blues’n roller he is. Together they blew the roof off the tent. This manifests how highly recognized his Hammond artistry is*****

The cd starts by the two instrumentals “Slivovitz for Joe” and “Soul-Jazz-Shuffle”. Maestro Wressnig  manages to hoodoo from the very first tunes by his organic groove-mix of blues with a buckshot of  funk. By the fourth track “All That I’ve Got” Lady Farr contributes some soul-blues with gospel-elements in the spirit of the Blues Brothers and James Brown. Raphael plays some relaxed, sensitive solos the Latino music style by the consecutive “Wichita Lineman”. By “Soulful Strut” he takes us on a city trip to the Crescent City. He serves a spicy gumbo in the proverbial by his mix of funk-blues with jazzy flavoring and even some rap-ingredients by his short canto. If Carlos Santana is seeking once for a new organ-sorcerer he should visit one of Raphael’s shows and listen to “Banana Boogaloo”. By his fiery extravagance solos he sets his Hammond on fire and he would be definitely employed by enthusiasm. The cd is concluded by “It’s Your Thing” with bluesy groves the “Windy City” style.

Raphael Wressnig – The Hotter Than Hell Warlock live on the Hammond!

Track-List:

Intro

Slivovitz For Joe

Soul-Jazz Shuffle

All That I Ve Got

Wichita Lineman

Mustard Greens

Soulful Strut

A Change Is Gonna Come

Banana Boogaloo

It’s Your Thing