Anthony Geraci And The Boston Blues All-

Fifty Shades Of Blue

2015-11-05

Anthony Geraci is a piano player who has played with virtually everyone of note in the modern blues world including Muddy Waters, Big Joe Turner, J.B. Hutto, Otis Rush, Jimmy Rogers and dozens of others. As a long-time presence in Sugar Ray and the Bluetones (he helped found the band 35 years ago) Geraci has called upon his band mates to back him on this effort which is fronted by “A” list vocalists including Sugar Ray, Darrell Nulisch, Michelle “Evil Gal” Willson and Toni Lynn Washington. The results do not stray far from in “day job” in the Bluetones with solid blues grooves and Sugar Ray contributing vocals and harmonica on six of the tracks. That said, Geraci proves himself to be as adept with the pen as with his piano as he wrote all 13 cuts included here which range from the Chicago blues groove of "Heard That Tutwiler Whistle Blow" to the Charles Brown style balladry of "Don’t Keep Me Waiting", the shuffle groove of "The Blues Never Sleeps", the country rock of "Too Late for Coffee" and the saucy roots rock of "If You Want to Get to Heaven" which features not only Willson’s all-knowing vocals but some stinging guitar work from Monster Mike Welch. While most piano players getting the marquee listing on a disc would feature themselves at the expense of the rest of the band Geraci’s long time stint as a sideman has him playing that role for the bulk of this disc although he does take some extended solos on "Diamonds and Pearls" and the instrumentals "In the Quicksand Again" and "Blues For David Maxwell", the latter of which is an homage to that beloved but recently departed piano wizard. Smitty

review by Mark