NEW CDS FROM THE HOLMES BROTHERS AND COCO MONTOYA SET FOR JANUARY 16, 2007 RELEASE
ALLIGATOR PREPARES DOUBLE RELEASE
Alligator Records has set a January 16 release date for new CDs from gospel/soul/blues masters The Holmes Brothers (Wendell Holmes, Sherman Holmes, and Popsy Dixon) and legendary guitarist/vocalist Coco Montoya. STATE OF GRACE is The Holmes Brothers third Alligator Release, and it features their spine-tingling harmonies, boundless energy and telepathic musicianship on a set of stellar originals and well-chosen covers. Little Feat’s Paul Barrere produced DIRTY DEAL, Montoya’s third Alligator CD. On DIRTY DEAL, Montoya -- a close friend and protégé of the late Albert Collins as well as a ten-year veteran of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers -- plays and sings some of his fiercest music yet.
STATE OF GRACE was produced by Craig Street (Norah Jones, John Legend, Cassandra Wilson) who also produced the Holmes Brothers’ previous CD, Simple Truths. Noted for their ability to transform songs by legendary writers from The Beatles to Tom Waits to Bob Marley, The Holmes Brothers push that tradition even farther on STATE OF GRACE. They expertly reinvent songs by writers as diverse as John Fogerty (Bad Moon Rising), Cheap Trick (I Want You To Want Me), Hank Williams, Sr. (I Can’t Help It If I’m Still In Love With You), Nick Lowe (What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love And Understanding?), George Jones (Ain’t It Funny What A Fool Will Do), and Lyle Lovett (God Will, If I Had A Boat), delivering versions that need to be heard to be believed.
For the first time, several of The Holmes Brothers’ star friends add talents to the sessions. Levon Helm, drummer/vocalist from The Band, joined by his daughter Amy Helm, makes his first vocal recording since recovering from throat cancer with a heartfelt lead on I’ve Just Seen The Rock Of Ages. On the Hank Williams classic I Can’t Help It If I’m Still In Love With You Wendell trades verses with Rosanne Cash in a mesmerizing performance. And old friend Joan Osborne (who has been touring as a vocalist with The Dead and Phil Lesh & Friends) steps out on a bluesy, storefront church version of Those Memories Of You. The Holmes Brothers interplay of their voices with their guests’ is simple, musical magic.
As incredible as they are as interpreters (OffBeat calls them “the best interpretive group working today”), The Holmes Brothers are equally talented songwriters. Exceptional originals Gasoline Drawers, Smiling Face Hiding A Weeping Heart, Close The Door and Standing In The Need Of Love showcase the same true-life stories, depth of feeling, heartbreak and humor found in the timeless songs they choose to cover. With one foot firmly planted in the secular world, The Holmes Brothers layer their songs with rich gospel harmonies and alternately rough-edged and tender vocals, producing what is undoubtedly their richest and most fully realized album.
With their deeply soulful singing, spine-tingling harmonies and unsurpassed musicianship. Billboard declares, “It seems like The Holmes Brothers get more assured and exciting with each passing year. The Holmes Brothers remain a musical force unto themselves.” Their non-stop touring brings this force from concert halls to roadhouse bars, leaving their fervent fans in a state of ecstatic joy.
On DIRTY DEAL, Coco Montoya, along with his road-tested, red-hot touring band, uses blues as a blasting off point for his emotional, soulful music. With his icy-hot guitar playing and his passionate, unaffected vocals, he attacks each of the 11 songs with deep feeling and ferocious energy. Montoya’s friends, Little Feat members Paul Barerre, Kenny Gradney, Richie Hayward and Bill Payne, add their unique talents to the mix as well. Produced by Barrere and engineer Roger Cole, every song on DIRTY DEAL—the rockers as well as the ballads—burns from start to finish. Montoya brings all the unbridled force of his acclaimed live shows into the studio for a foot-stomping, guitar-fueled ride. DIRTY DEAL is Montoya’s rawest, most stripped-down and impassioned recording to date.
Montoya first met Barerre and Little Feat at a blues festival and instantly hit it off. According to Barerre, “Coco’s playing was inspirational to me, great tone and attitude.” The band invited Montoya to their annual Feat Festival in Jamaica two years in a row. “Our fans took to him like butter on bread,” recalls Barerre. “He fit in so well with the band that I knew I had to produce him. I really wanted to get that live feel from him on a recording, and that’s just what we did. He rips the guitar solos, and his voice is as strong as three-day-old coffee.”
Averaging over 150 tour dates a year, Montoya continues to pack clubs and theaters around the world. He has played major festivals, including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, The Chicago Blues Festival, The San Francisco Blues Festival and Canada’s International Jazz Festival. It’s no coincidence that publications from The Philadelphia Daily News to Blues Revue to Living Blues to The Village Voice all rank Coco among the best guitarists and singers on the blues scene. “Montoya is at the forefront of the contemporary blues world,” declared Guitar World. “He is one of the truly gifted blues artists of his generation,” said Living Blues. With DIRTY DEAL and continued non-stop touring, Coco Montoya continues to share his gift with his legion of admirers all over the world.
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