By
East Side Slim
Monster
Mike Welch – Just Like It Is
BGB Records/VizzTone Label Group, 2007
Mike Welch, from the American
Northeast, has been on the international blues scene
for 15 years, yet the man is only 28-29 years old!
Dubbed “Monster Mike” by Dan Ackroyd
at the opening of the 1st House of Blues club some
15 years ago, Mike has seen his career move through
three distinct phases already, from young teen phenom
in the mid 1990s, to in-demand session guitarist,
to a deep, soulful solo artist whose early promise
had been fully realized with the release of “Just
Like It Is”. Welch met Bob Margolin that same
night at the House of Blues opening, and surprised
Bob with his asking to be shown some of the deepest
nuances of Muddy Water’s playing style –
all at only 13 year of age. Mike gained his love
of blues early, being influenced by listening to
his father’s record collection at a very young
age. Welch was playing guitar by age 8 and participating
in blues jams by the age of 11. He was bitten early
and deeply by this music that we all care so much
about. One of Mike’s most noted influences
is Ronnie Earl (a great choice for an influence!),
and I also hear Duke Robillard influences, as well
as some of the gritty Texas players. It’s
all good!
Monster Mike has appeared
on releases from such noted artists as Sugar Ray
Norcia, Johnny Winter, Nick Moss and Shemekia Copeland,
as well as lesser-known artists (at least to the
general public) such as Tom Hambridge (Susan Tedeschi),
Brian Templeton (ex Radio Kings), Ottomatic Slim
and Chicago Bob Nelson. Mike has also released a
slew of his own albums (at least 6 now, with his
1st CD being released when he was just 16), each
one showing his growth as a musician and vocalist.
Speaking of his vocals, Mike’s singing has
become very soulful as he’s aged (although
he’s still only around 28!). To my ears his
voice sounds very similar in tone/texture (but not
in histrionics) to that of Jack Bruce during Bruce’s
years with Cream. Something of note in the liner
notes to this CD is the fact that Mike chose to
list his performing vocals 1st, with his guitar
playing listed 2nd.
The
Songs: (All songs by Mike Welch except
where noted)
1.
She Makes Time: This song kicks the CD
off in fine style. It’s got the feel of one
of Jack Bruce’s old Cream tunes, but deeper,
or more soulful. Let’s call it a soulful rave-up
with stinging guitars lines. I like this song –
a lot!
2.
Please: OK, things just got funky. You’ve
got a bed of B3, a really funky bass line, STINGING
single note guitar and a great vocal attack. You
know, I thought that first song was great, and then
this one comes along…shoot, they’re
both great!
3.
My Baby Loves Me: It’s time to slow
things down a bit, moving into slow blues territory.
Monster Mike’s voice comes to the front here,
and frankly, I think he did a fine job. He sings
with passion, dynamics and soul, all three being
good things in my “book”. If you’re
thinking that his guitar work won’t be featured
here, rest assured that it is – in spades!
The Ronnie Earl influences show up here, the type
of things he was playing with his ‘80s version
of the Broadcasters.
4.
Don’t Expect Me To Cry: This tune
moves along with a rumba feel, reminding me of the
sort of tune I’ve come to admire from Mark
DuFresne (Roomful’s previous vocalist –
check out his solo work). The piano is featured
heavily, with a “Mary Ann”-ish piano
line running through the song. If you can sit still
while listening to this song you better go ahead
and call the doctor right now, ‘cause you
must be dead!
5.
Keep On Walking: This is the 1st song on
this CD to even approach a shuffle, although it’s
really closer to the swinging shuffle variant that
you heard from Roomful of Blues during Sugar Ray’s
days with the band. There’s lots of piano,
the bass player drives the tune forcefully (with
that ‘70s Fab T-Bird-style bass sound –
thank you Keith Ferguson!) and Mike continues to
sting you with his guitar work. It sounds like there’s
a whole swarm of stingers in this tune.
6.
I’m Gonna Move To Another Country:
You can hear Mike’s love of Albert King on
this song, especially in the intro. He just tears
it up, eventually bringing the entire band back
down when the 1st verse kicks in. The song really
reminds me of one of Otis Rush’s slow blues:
lot’s of dynamics and passionate, anguished
vocals, along with stinging guitars lines (I know
you’re all tired of reading stinging, but
it almost perfectly describes Mike’s playing
style on this album.)
7.
Sticky Whiskey: This is the only instrumental
track included on the CD. Think Ronnie Earl playing
Texas gritty, maybe channeling Stevie Ray, and you’ll
have a pretty good idea of what it sounds like.
It’s got big bends, cool rhythm lines, and
a great bottom end. Speaking of great bottom ends…oh,
wait, that’s an entirely different subject…back
to the music.
8.
A Perfect World: This song has a late night,
jazzy feel, and Mike’s guitar work sounds
like it’s straight out of Chicago’s
West Side circa 1960 – shades of Buddy Guy
and Otis Rush.
9.
Now That You’re Gone: This tune is
very cool, and sounds like what you’d get
if you crossed Duke Robillard-era Roomful with early
Fabulous Thunderbirds. It swings, but it’s
also tough as nails. This is a great tune!
10.
I’m Not A Stupid Man: This song swings
along nicely in the Northeast swingin’ blues
tradition – in the manner of bands such as
Roomful, The Broadcasters and The Bluetones. You
really hear the influences of Ronnie Earl and Duke
Robillard throughout this record, but Monster Mike
is in no way slavish to these influences as he is
ultimately his own man on guitar.
11. Love That Burns: (Green / Adams)
This is a nice slow blues – a perfect change
of pace after the last couple of hard swinging tunes.
This is the 1st of only 2 covers songs on the CD.
This song was written by Peter Green and Cliff Adams
during Green’s years with Fleetwood Mac in
the late ‘60s. It 1st appeared on Mac’s
second LP, “Mr. Wonderful”, in 1968
but didn’t appear in America until 1969 on
the “English Rose” LP. (my thanks to
Allmusic.com)
12.
Move Along: “Move Along” shuffles
along nicely, and is one of the few, if not the
only, true shuffles on this CD. It has clever lyrics
concerning how the protagonist in the song just
may be a lot better off down the road now that his
antagonistic woman has decided to leave him. You
can’t sit still when listening to the music;
your head will be bobbing and your feet will be
tapping (your back end might be bouncing too, if
you bother to get up!)
13.
I Got A Strange Feeling: (Dixon / Perkins)
This tune is might be better known to a lot of you
as “When Your Left Eye Jumps”. It’s
the 2nd cover tune on the CD, and is a great, deep,
West Side slow blues. Buddy Guy sang the original
version of this song, so Mike picked a tough singer
and guitar player to live up to. While he didn’t
quite match Buddy’s vocal intensity (who could?),
his guitar work is right there. Mike really is that
good, and that deep. By the way, the song was written
by Willie Dixon and Al Perkins and was recorded
by Buddy back in December of 1960 for Chess Records.
However, the song wasn’t released to the public
until 1974 on the Chess LP “I Was Walkin’
Through the Woods.” (Information from the
liner notes to the CD “Buddy Guy – The
Complete Chess Studio Recordings”.) The Chess
family never did know what to do with Buddy Guy…what
a shame.
The
Verdict:
Monster Mike should not be thought of as one of
“those young guitar slingers” anymore,
but as a mature, deep bluesMAN who is passionate
about his chosen life’s work, and whose love
for the music shines vibrantly through his music.
If you enjoy the music of Ronnie Earl, Duke Robillard,
Roomful of Blues, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Sugar Ray
(Norcia) & The Bluetones you will enjoy this
CD immensely.
The band members that Welch
assembled for the recording of this album are some
of the American Northeast’s best players,
many spending time playing with Ronnie Earl and
Sugar Ray Norcia. Give a shout-out to Anthony Geraci
on keys, Brad Hallen on basses and Mark Teixeira
on drums.
This
CD is excellent from start to finish, and we as a
blues community can hopefully look forward to decades
of incredible music coming from the hands and voice
of Mr. Mike Welch. Do yourself a favor and pick up
a copy of Monster Mike Welch’s “Just Like
It Is”. Now it’s time for the STLBluesometer
rating. This is a good one, so I’m giving it
a SOLID 4.5 rating. Great job Monster Mike!
Lee
Howland, aka
"East Side Slim"
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