Black Cat Bones - Troublemaker (2024) [CD Rip]

Formed in 2004 Black Cat Bones is a five-piece rockin’ Blues band with original compositions. “Troublemaker” is the band’s fifth studio album and first since 2019’s “Tattered And Torn”. Their name is derived from Muddy Water’s “I Got My Mojo Working” and the phrase “I got a black cat bone”. They are based out of Tucson, Arizona and play festivals and clubs at venues throughout the Southwest, and on the East Coast.

Six songs are by the primary songwriter Charles Pitts, the first four and the last two; two more are from Charles and guitarist Richard Rivera, one from Charles and bassist Jeff Daniels, one from Rivera, and another from Daniels. The lead track “Bad Enough” kicks off the album with Pitts singing “when the truth is bad enough”.

Pitts’ is a great vocalist. On “Jekyll and Hyde”, and throughout the recording the two guitar attack has Rivera sharing the guitar chores with “Kid” Dynamite a.k.a. Devan, “she can change her mind without warning”. On the title track “Troublemaker”, Pitts sings “she makes a grown man cry…cause you’re a troublemaker”.

On “Junkie” the Hammond organ is played by Mark “Doc” Holiday. “I’m a junkie baby I’m a victim of your sweet love, I got a monkey on my back…I’m addicted to your love”. “Act Like You Don’t Care” sports the two guitar attack with the great rhythm section of bassist Daniels, and drummer Greenberg. “Soul to Save” has an effective tempo change, the song starts slow, kicks into overdrive, and later slows down “shaken hands with the devil, everyday…no one understands what I’m going through, stand too close to me and you’ll have no soul to save”. Producer Billy Yates takes a guitar solo.

“Come On Down” features Mike “Johnny Guitar” Blommer taking the first solo and then playing rhythm. “If your man is away, don’t just sit there all alone…have another sip of wine and come on down”. On “Yesterday’s Gone” beautifully sung by Pitts “If I could turn back time, back to the day when you were mine…but I know in my soul yesterday’s gone”. “What I Should”, “never do what I oughta do only do what I should…I got a girl on the other side of town, I know you want to kick me free”.

“Playing Games With Words”, “she the woman walking…just playing games with words trying to make a friend…trying to last another day, you gotta watch what you say, when your playing games with words”. Like all the songs “Anything Can Happen” is another song about a fragile relationship.

“Troublemaker” is a highly entertaining, all original, album from a really rockin’ Blues band. ~Richard Ludmerer