CHAINSAW DUPONT
Bourbon Street Breakdown (Blues Warrior)
Reviewed by Eric Steiner

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Chainsaw Dupont's Bourbon Street Breakdown is a worthy follow-up to his 2003 Lake St. Lullaby: An Unfinished Blues Opera. Bourbon Street Breakdown showcases a strong blues musician who is equally at home playing Chicago (Southside or Westside) or Big Easy-influenced blues. He's added accordion (Guy Lawrence), horns (John McGahan on trombone, Nick Drozdoff on trumpet, Mike Finerty on sax and clarinet) and electric violin (Inna Morris Melnikov), and the results bridge the best of both blues worlds. "You Think Too Much" and "Six Dollar Ticket" are songs that are right at home on Rue Bourbon, and the cheery mix of clarinet, horns and late-night Crescent City barroom feel of "Give An Inch" is a perfect backdrop for Peaches Station's star turn on vocals. Peaches is one of Chicago's "Leading Ladies of the Blues," and is a regular at Sopro Productions' Easter and Thanksgiving Blues Revues, but don't wait 'til the next holiday to catch this talented and diverse vocalist. Bourbon St. Breakdown is very different from Lake St. Lullaby: An Unfinished Blues Opera: these two releases highlight Chainsaw Dupont's command of the blues, but more importantly, it shows that he's up for taking calculated musical risks. There's a lot of urban blues on this CD, but I like the way Chainsaw leads us down to New Orleans and dabbles close to jazz on "Last Chance Lounge."

There are many surprises on Bourbon St. Breakdown, including some unlisted cuts, and producers Steve Pasek and Arlo Alexis have raised the bar by having an information-rich Enhanced CD to introduce Chainsaw Dupont to a wider audience. It's well worth a click to www.chainsawdupont.com.

Track List:

The Long Weekend * You Think Too Much * Five Foot Two * N.O. * Six Dollar Ticket * Give An Inch * Workingman's Roulette * C'Mon Cat * Doubletime Blues * Seventeen * Last Chance Lounge * Nobody's Fool * That Train * Unlisted Number

[Pick this up at CDBaby.]

© 2005 - Eric Steiner