April / May 1998 Real Blues Magazine
Maple Blues Review
April 98
B.C. (Brian Cleve) Read is from The Prairies and My Tunes,
his debut on his own BlueBudda label, is a fine, mostly acoustic blues album.
Although he does play guitar, the emphasis on My Tunes is on singing and
songwriting. Fortunately, he has a fine blues voice and writes good songs.
Described as “whiskey-soaked” and “husky” it is placed by producer Ken Whiteley
in settings from Chicago to the Piedmont with Rev. Gary Davis being a very
important influence. The songwriting is by Read or by Read with members of the
recording band and I hope you get a chance to hear them on your favourite radio
show. The band
is Brent Burlingham, drums; George Tennant, bass; Doug
Scarrow, electric guitar and Dwayne Harder, keyboards. Brent Parkin guests on
one song and Johnny V contributes slide guitar to two others. Ken, not
surprisingly, fills out the sound with guitar, mandolin, piano and assorted
percussion. Read plays National Slide guitar, acoustic and electric guitars
mandolin and harmonica. BlueBudda Records can be reached at 306-241-8178 or
email: info@bcread.com
T.B.S. Maple Blues Issue April 98
Staff Writer
Vol 1 No 3 Blues Scene Quarterly
Vol 2 No 1 Blues Scene Quarterly
By: Al Handa/ Delta Snake Daily
Blues News
July 1998
B.C. Read: My Tunes (Bluebudda)
Brian "B.C." Read is a multi-instrumentalist and singer
from
Saskatoon, in Canada. His sound is an eclectic mix of swing,
hard
core Chicago, folk and Delta Blues. His gruff voice has
the same quality
that the Band had in their vocals, and the
set comes off a very Bluesy
"Music From Big Pink." A very
pleasant and likable set of music.
In this outing, he is accompanied by over a dozen
musicians,
including Brent Burlingham, George Tennent, Doug Scarrow,
Sheldon Corbett, Dwayne Harder, Sharion Metheson, Terry Long,
S. Kelly
Read, Brent Parkin, Johnny V, and Ken Whiteley. This
variety gives him an
almost unlimited palette of sounds to
work from.
Read starts things off with and uptempo Blues called
"Believe Me,"
and an even funkier one, "New Thing." Some hard-edged Delta
Slide
opens the "The Job," a Delta Blues, leading into the folk ballad,
"Love To Keep Me Warm."
"Starts All Over Again, a folky Blues, that one can only
compare
to an outfit like the Band, or maybe Jesse Winchester comes next,
followed by a Blues rocker called "Working On You." Read then
does some
more Delta Blues slide that transitions into a great
rocker, "Big Car," then
breaks into some rhumba-Blues in "Tough
As She Can Be."
A country-flavored "Unconditional" leads to the acoustic
Blues of
"Blues in Paradise," another rocker, and then a folk Blues called
"Two Faced Man." The CD ends with a fine ballad, and a very nice
fingerpicking number called "Thats My Tune."
Considering the eclectic line-up of supporting musicians,
one could
have expected a record that went all over the place and had no
aesthetic core. However, Read is clearly a true unifier, an
artistic
presence that has a clear direction and sense of soul.
Each song shows the
strong imprint of his personality, and all
of the varied elements seem like
colors on a single palette, and
not a series of wild jams that happen to
have the same singer.
A very worthwhile set of music from someone who has a
long career
ahead of him.
Produced by Ken Whiteley and B.C. Read
Bluebudda Music and Records
Box 21035 2105
8th St E.
Saskatoon, Sask.
S7H 5N9
Phone: (306) 241-8178
Email
Web: http://www.bcread.com/
I ask you to support these publications. They do a great job of
supporting the blues in Canada from coast to coast.