Shakin' Woods - The Blues Proper Sessions Vol. 2 EP (2021) [CD Rip]

The Blues Proper Sessions Vol. 2, the second installment of Shakin' Woods three-EP Blues trilogy, sees the band digging deep into their hardcore blues roots with four songs steeped in tradition yet still thoroughly current. Singer/guitarist Rich Russman kicks it off with "Enemy," an original that nods heavily to the lineage from the three Kings to Clapton. "For this EP I wanted all the guys in the band to choose something," Russman says. "I brought the original and asked everyone to choose covers. There's such a rich tradition of covers in the blues world, but that tradition is also about respect. You start digging back, researching, finding out who your idols looked to. Van Halen and KISS led me to Clapton and Hendrix, and that led me back to the three Kings, Muddy, Robert Johnson, that whole generation of players who laid the groundwork for everything we play today." Slide and keyboard player Austin Day takes over the vocals for a sizzling take on "Dust My Broom," injecting Elmore James 'timeless feel with an Allman Brothers groove. Russman amps up Peter Green's "Long Grey Mare, "adding a smoky, Chicago tint to the proceedings. Drummer Paul Dudley, who formed the band with Russman, rounds out The Blues Proper Sessions by excavating a haunting blues core from Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain," rebuilding the song into something entirely new while retaining it's unmistakeable original feel. Although Shakin' Woods is a quartet, Grammy-nominated harmonica player Rob Paparozzi assumes the position of "Fifth Beatle" on this EP, brilliantly accenting all four songs and reinforcing the true blues grooves within them. "At the end of the day," Russman notes, "everything we do revolves around the blues."