There’s a new blues trio in town and they’re playing it old school. It’s the Supersonic Blues Machine and they just released their debut album “West of Flushing, South of Frisco.” It’s everything you’d expect from a blues band, plus a whole lot more. The players are Kenny Aronoff on drums, Fabrizio Grossi on bass, and lead singer/guitarist Lance Lopez. That’s not all though. The band brought some friends to the recording sessions for this debut masterpiece. Billy Gibbons, Warren Haynes, Eric Gales, Robben Ford, Chris Duarte and Walter Trout all made guest appearances.
The southern fried blues rock sound of “Miracle Man” opens the gate to a flood of melodic hooks blended with a variety of blues based styles like bluegrass, country, honky-tonk, funk and of course, good old-fashioned rock and roll.
The unmistakable voice of Billy Gibbons puts “Runnning Whiskey” at the top of my list of tracks on the album. “Whiskey Time” is a bonus featuring an extended ending of the song. “Bone Bucket Blues” has a finger snapping intro with howling guitar parts and a baritone chorus. “That’s My Way” combines raspy vocals with a funky beat and genuine sentiment.
The wailing guitar solo intro lending to an organ and gospel-like chorus in “Ain’t No Love” will certainly have you swaying to the beat. Although the song was originally performed by Bobby “Blue” Bland, SBM owns it on this version. The album closes with a song called “Whatchagonnado.” It’s another funky tune filled with emotion and top-notch musicianship. A story unfolds in each song on this album and well placed blue note bending serves as punctuation. Blues is known as the music of life experiences and with this trio, it’s supersonic.
So if you ask me “Whatchagonnado?”… I suggest cha check out SBM!
