There are a great many Blues bands around but very few that make you look up from your beer and dig what they are laying down. Blues People really do. Not because what they are doing is anything new or radical but because they have a spark and a real sense of soul and groove that sets them apart from the rest.
BLUES People is a NY/NJ blues band featuring Kelton Cooper (vocals/guitar), Mike Griot (bass), Ron Thompson (keys) and Gene Lake (drums). Collectively they have more than 40 years playing sessions and touring with the likes of Sue Foley, Josh Smith, Kool & the Gang, Ruf’s Blues Caravan, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Bo Diddley Jr, Michael Hill’s Blues Mob plus a great many more. Cooper & Griot were friends and competitors in the NJ scene 40 years back and it took Gene Lake to get the two together in a new projects for Cooper that became BLUES People.
From the very opening of ‘Amnesia’ there is very little question of the skills of the four or of their dedication to Soul tinged Blues. Coopers guitar lines are strong and complex and Thompson’s keys give a thick and deep texture to the music – along with a superb solo. Griot and Lake anchor the song with simple yet precise playing, creating a dark funk behind the music. It’s a great way to open the album.
The title track is funky and lively, right in line with the rest of the album’s deep groove.
Eight excellent tracks, including ‘Hey Joe Revisited’ – a reworking for the George Floyd generation.
