Buddy
Blue
Pretend It's Okay
Pretend
It's Okay (Clarence Records) lifts Southern California's
Buddy Blue to a new level of musicianship. Achieving a perfect
blend of blues and rockabilly perhaps best dubbed "bluesabilly,"
Buddy Blue takes his listeners through a range of tempos,
from raucous guitar riffs to smooth, soulful jazz licks.
The
album opens with the heavy rockin' blues number "When Merrill
Pitched a Boogie," which sings the praises of country-boogie
piano thumper Merrill Moore. The title track, "Pretend It's
Okay," a Buddy Blue original, is a hilarious shuffle-bass
ditty that covers a range of personal dilemmas, from your
girlfriend smelling of cologne you don't own to the decline
of neighborhoods. Blue even touches on the state of our nation's
politics, with lyrics like: A presidential 'lection, Republican
erection/They went ahead and stole it and everybody knows
it/And pretends it's okay/then they feel better that way.
"Papa
Needs Poon-Tang" and "Goldmine" are fast rockabilly tracks
that will get your feet a movin'. Meanwhile, the hillbilly
jug and mouth harp number "The Year of Jubilo" will strangely
make you want to take up square dancing. The track segues
into a rocking blues rendition of Ian Anderson's "My Sunday
Feeling." There's also a tribute to Screamin' Jay Hawkins,
who was rumored to have fathered dozens of children in his
lifetime, with the song "57 Kids."
Pretend
It's Okay deftly captures Buddy Blue's sense of humor
and boasts strong vocals, great musicianship and powerful
arrangements. If you pick up this CDwhich I highly recommendlisten
for the hidden Popeye track.
Smilin' Buddha Joe
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