Todd Wolfe Band -Live 3.4.11

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The Todd Wolfe Band

Live

American Home Entertainment CD and DVD

BluesWax Rating: 8

Blues That Rocks

Todd Wolfe toured with Sheryl Crow from 1993 until 1998. This is his seventh solo recording. On his last Bluesleaf Records LP, Stripped Down At The Bang Palace, Wolfe gave us a “live” set of mostly blues covers. His guitar and especially his passionate vocals were impressive.

On this new “live” set, Wolfe concentrates on his own songs. Like early Tab Benoit, he is unafraid to rework his compositions, always reinventing them along the way.

This is an exciting blues-rock set. The Todd Wolfe Band reminds me of the bands of the 1960s and ’70s. On the opening track, “Ready For Love,” and again on “Crowded in My Soul” reprised from Wolfe’s Delaware Crossing CD, the band produces an infectious sound similar to Cream. “Cold Black Night” is a deep blues, while “Beg Forgiveness” has the band in a delicious groove. The fourteen-minute “Shame” opens with a New Orleans beat and completes their set.

This CD and DVD were recorded at McCool’s Art Place in Quakerstown, Pennsylvania. The band includes Wolfe on guitars and lead vocal, bassist Suavek Zaniesienko, and Roger Voss on drums. What’s impressive is the collective energy they create. This is even more evident on the DVD as the visuals add a lot to the presentation. Seven additional songs and footage from a German blues festival are also included on the DVD.

Surprisingly, they do not do any covers on this new album, but if you like your blues with rock, this all-original set will not disappoint you.

Richard Ludmerer is contributing editor to BluesWax and can be reached by commenting below.