The Mike
Lucci Band – All In Good Time (Independent)
A big hit on the Virginia / Washington, DC blues
scene since their inception in 2008, Mike Lucci and his band play a bright,
vibrant form of Chicago blues. With a trio of vocalists, Shelly Thiss, Ron
Winston (guitar and vocals) and Rick Manson (harmonica and vocals), they can
handle upbeat floor-fillers, slinky sideways R&B shuffles and soulful,
sultry, slow numbers without missing a beat.
As with all blues artists, and especially so with
contemporary acts, they’ve honed their sound and style playing live, getting a
feel for what works and what doesn’t, and writing and playing songs that suit
themselves and their audience. Often transferring all that hard work into a
studio setting, usually with time and financial constraints adding to the
pressure, the results rarely match expectations. Fortunately that’s not the
case here. “All In Good Time” is animated and feisty; everyone in the band
seems on top form, and the album flows like an album should.
They begin with “My Babe”,
with Manson and Winston combining beautifully, and the cleanliness of the
production brings to mind the classic Yardbirds’ recordings of the late ‘60s.
Thiss steps up to take lead for the first time on her self-penned “Take Me”, and it’s a sassy performance, with the band
doing everything they can to keep up with the young vocalist. She’s just as
good when she slows things down on the old Chubby Newsome / Irma Thomas
chestnut “Hip Shakin Mama”.
Perhaps they’re at their most impressive on their “Hit the Road Jack / 16 Tons / Baby Please Don't Go”
medley. The musicianship is lithe and nimble, the rhythm section providing rock
steady support to the soloists, and the singers step up and impress through a
series of call and response lines and some genuinely striking vocal interplay.
Tony S.
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