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Midnite Ride
Reviews
Kenne Cramer
is a modern day electric guitar slinging soulful blues player
who's helping to keep something real alive. This killer
guitarist's midnight ride is down the indigo highway without a
doubt. The album shakes and shimmies with the traditional sounds
of Kansas City, New Orleans,Texas, Chicago, The Mississippi
delta and anywhere else that true blues have been nurtured and
maintained. His fully realized, sometimes economical, other
times flashy, always appropriate guitar work is the feature of
this fine CD. "Cannonball" Cramer draws from jazz, soul,
rock, funk, and of course the blues. Put this on and take a cool
cruisin' road trip with Kenne without ever leaving the house.
The supporting players include; keyboard giant Johnny Neel
(Allman Brothers, Dickie Betts), sax man Dennis Taylor
(Duke Robillard, Grooveyard), Junior Markham on harmonica
and super drummer Chip Abernathy. This baby has some
smell on it. I mean that in a good way. –Jess
Marich, Shake Magazine, May 2005
Kenne Cramer
is not your typical front man. He's rather unassuming and almost
shy, and he can write songs. Cramer plays all around Nashville
and is considered a top guitar player for lots of the stars in
town. The level of musicianship is good, as is Cramer's guitar
playing. He achieves a West Coast kind of groove on some tunes
and it feels like he is at home there. Another good thing about
this album is that it features Johnny Neel (Govt. Mule,
Allman Brothers) on keyboards. Dig "Christine" for some
great piano and guitar. "Sweet on Me" is clever. This CD is rife
with good arrangements by Neel, but Kenne Cramer doesn't take a
back seat to any of this. His guitar work is amazing, as on
"Cannonball Jumps Again.
"Midnite Ride" is another jump tune that swings around a bunch
of horns and some great guitar. I like a guy that can play that
Coast stuff and still retain his roots. This is a cat that plays
very nice guitar and has the stuff it takes to get a band rollin'.
This album is not especially considerate of his real abilities,
but he's too great a guitar player to ignore.
(C) 2004, Gary W.
Miller (Published by Blueswax)
Kenne "Cannonball"
Cramer – Midnite Ride
Ribo Records
RR-19521
Kenne "Cannonball"
Cramer’s ‘Midnite Ride’ takes the listener on a hugely enjoyable
musical odyssey through American roots music, ranging from the
blues infused rock’n’roll of ‘Good Lovin’ (Is Hard To Find)’,
with it’s wailing harp, rocking piano (Neel again) and hard
riffing sax (Dennis Taylor), though the rockabilly flavoured
‘Honey Pie’ with it’s jangling piano and steel guitar, to the
Chet Atkins’ styled musical snippet of ‘Fight Song’.
In between, Cramer,
who has a natural rock’n’roll vocal style crosses Jerry Lee
Lewis with Chuck Berry on the wildly rocking ‘Christine; lays
down some mellow late-night grooves, replete with rolling piano
and baying sax on ‘Sweet On Me’; conjures up the image of T-Bone
on the 50’s big band styled R&B of the hot swinging ‘Cannonball
Jumps Again’; while infusing ‘Blues In The Morning’ with traces
of "Hi-Heel Sneakers’ and "I Like Bread And Butter’ plied by
Neel’s hard rocking piano and Cramer’s Duane Eddy inflected
blues guitar.
Cramer’s Delta
styled slide on ‘Black Widow’, the jumping title track with it’s
swinging fat toned guitar and cool jazzy B3, and the Jimmy
McCracklin / rockabilly hybrid ‘I Don’t Know’ are further
delights on this fine set. (www.cdbaby.com/kennecramer).
Words 666
Ratings 8/9/8
Mick Rainsford
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