Anthony Geraci has really come into his own the last few years with his layered, sophisticated blues albums. This keyboard player, usually with Sugar Ray And The Bluetones, is a brilliant songwriter and composer as well as an A list musician in the greater-Boston/New England blues scene. What he offers here on Why Did You Have To Go helps boost blues music to a higher level and offers everyone something to adore as well as be inspired by. He’s not in this alone, though. He’s got many of New England’s brightest talents along for this jaunty, joyful ride. Monster Mike Welch, Michelle Willson, Dennis Brennan, and many others are aboard.
Title track “Why Did You Have To Go” is a slow grooving Chicago blues. Focused on loss, guest vocalist Sugar Ray Norica drawls the sorrow with classy expression, bringing up the emotions from a deep place and making the listener feel it. A guitar line whistles prettily through as a horn section cushions the sorrow in warm waves of brass. Geraci keeps his piano in its perspective place in this song, letting the others have their chance to add to the impact of this emotive piece while flavoring in it something special.
“Don’t The Grass Look Greener” jumps into up tempo mode with classy flair. Geraci’s keyboards are boiling up a good broth of soulfulness. A guitar line asserts itself with stinging resonance. Then, special guest Sugarray Rayford provides another blues belter, a powerful vocal that carries this tune with a mighty howl.
“Fly On The Wall” has a touch of the old fashioned barrelhouse piano boogie. Geraci’s lively tinkling of his keys gives this blues tune its own place in history. A lead guitar asserts itself with a buzzing melody and that makes this tune feel further layered in old time textures. Listeners will like this one for how it stomps forward with a wide array of instrumentation that augments well the Willie J. Laws vocal approach, a smooth, soulful croon that glides over flinty piano work.
Mr. Sugarray Rayford returns to the microphone to croon the dark sorrow of “Angelina, Angelina.” Norcia belts it out with such a raw, husky voice that it dives the message home with undeniable emotion. He makes his point with force as Geraci taps out a moody piano line, the kind in which every note seems to draw the listener further into the song’s world of sadness. Monster Mike Welch has own way with the melodic line, his guitar slithering his notes around in a way that makes it feel like all this heartbreak has nowhere left to go. The dwell of emotions is stunning here.
Gordon Beadle’s saxophone and Doug Woolverton’s trumpet power the brassy, up-tempo “Long Way Home.” It’s nice to hear how those two horns load this tune up with their vibrant sound. Sung by Rayford, it has that wide, all encompassing blues feeling and Geraci’s piano boogie fits like a glove to the rhythm section, making this song hop and bop while coloring it with his snappy notes.
Michelle “Evil Gal” Willson blesses “Two Steps Away From The Blues” with her sultry, whispery, and perfect voice. Ms. Willson simply caresses this song like a white velvet glove running along a tabletop and with a lot of class as well. Beneath that voice is a spread of tasteful piano touches and a wide swirl of gentle organ soul. One can almost picture someone putting a cape around Ms. Wilson’s shoulders as she finishes up this tuneful wonder. Her voice is so sexy here that any man listening would want to bring her to Paris in the springtime.
“Time’s Running Out” Reunites Geraci with his Sugar Ray And The Bluetones along with storied guitarist Ronnie Earl thrown in for good measure, and Earl is good in every measure of this song. He keeps it nicely understated through most of this before pressing out a brittle, high pitched piece of beauty, each note tickling the ear with its elegant touch. The other guys are good here too. Norcia’s laidback approach makes this feel more portent as his band mates play a piano bar groove, mellow and classy. Speaking of class, Norica blows a smooth, spiral of mellow harmonica notes that lets this one walk away with a regal bearing.
Willie J. Laws, with the soulful beauty he is known for, croons the quiet blues “Baptized In The River Yazoo.” It takes a vocalist like Laws to reach the spiritual depth of this tune while maintaining a richness of vocal notes to stand alongside meaningful rivulets of piano notes. It might be a good idea for Laws and Geraci expand on this approach with an acoustic duo project.
Boston music scene idol Dennis Brennan graces “Too Many Bad Decisions” in this suggestive send up of love. Brennan’s massages the lyrics with his svelte rasp, a light drawl that drips with cool. Luckily, there are players like Geraci, Monster Mike Welch, Michael “Mudcat” Ward, and Marty Richards beneath his vocal that can juxtapose his natural vocal touch with an old time piano bar vibe.
Ms. Willson returns for a duet with the one and only Brian Templeton on “What About Me.” This bluesy torch song finds Willson applying her fine croon in small but potent waves of rich feeling. Templeton responds with a depth of soul as he sprawls his vocal over a sublime backing band. Welch’s pretty lead guitar line just kisses the soundscape while these two serious vocalists color and caresses this dandy with their unique timbres and talents.
Geraci rocks things up a bit with “Hand You Your Walking Shoes,” an Chicago blues piece that could also go over well with fans of 1950s rock and roll. Geraci’s piano jive requires him to tap out a lively, rollicking mood. Over that groove plays out a Welch guitar line and Dennis Brennan’s sly rasp. This tune is pure barrelhouse fun, each player and its singer adding plenty of punch to its rhythms, tone, and color.
“My Last Goodbye” finds Geraci, Welch, Norica, Earl, and the others playing light touches of notes, keeping this slow burner tender and kind. Geraci’s tinkling matches Earl’s picking, both nudging soulful feeling and sorrow out of their instruments. Norcia is one of those singers who bring a heaviness of vocal and a heaviness of purpose. He keeps this one full of that just below the surface powder keg of emotion that could erupt like a volcano if these blues players had a mind to release it all at once. Instead, each blows, picks, tinkles, or sticks just a hint of what is going on with this song and their tasteful restraint makes it good to the last drop.
Geraci and his friends close out with “A Minor, Affair.” This sparkling instrumental features Kid Ramos on lead guitar; Troy Gonyea on Rhythm guitar; Willie J. Campbell on bass; Jimi Bott on drums; Gordon Beadle on sax; and Doug Woolverton on trumpet. There is not a dull moment in this wave of flowing music. The horns and piano roll on into a heavenly place. The rhythm section men keep this bopping and hopping. Inject some fine guitar lines from Ramos and we have a winsome chunk of music.
Recorded at Keep The Edge Studio in Quincy, Massachusetts with engineer Keith Asack, Geraci offers a fine, classy work of good blues. Chicago blues, West coast blues, Texas blues, and jazzy blues are all on the menu in this big picture CD. With sophisticated layering of voices and instruments, incorporating multiple genres, and manufacturing plenty of personality in each piece, Geraci gives his listeners plenty to feast upon as they spend hours of repeated listening to this Why Did You Have To Go master work.
