Track Listing
- Scratch Me Back
- Big Boss Man
- Blues Magic
- Bound For Memphis
- Make Sweet Love 2 U
- I Play The Blues For You
- Can't You See What You're Doing To ME
- Do You Believe In Love
- All About The Girl
- Last Night
- Killing Floor
- Black Cat Boogie
EB Rating - 5.0
- Javier Vargas
guitar
- Bobby Alexander
vocals
- David Lads Sanchez
keyboards
- Fran Montero
bass
- Jota Marsan
drums
- Larry McCray
Guest on 6, 7 & 11
- Sugar Blue
Guest on 5, 7 & 9
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Ever since I first heard Vargas Blues Band's 1995 release,
"Texas Tango", I knew this band could play some serious blues. "Texas Tango", like most of this band's recordings,
features a mixture of blues, rock, pop, ballads, & latino flavored music. Every time I've popped in a Vargas CD over
the past couple of years, the same thought always crossed my mind, "this band is damn good, if they would only
put out an all blues CD... it would be awesome". Well, "Last Night" answers that call, and indeed, it is awesome.
The depth of this band's talent is impressive. Guitarist and bandleader Javier Vargas plays
with gobs of emotion and passion. He can play with with speed and ferocity, but doesn't always rely on this
style of play to get his point across. Vocalist Bobby Alexander has a powerful, rock solid voice. The rhythm
section is also first rate and right on the money. This band is not lacking in any category of musicianship.
The material on this CD was recorded during a special performance at
Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago. Blues guitarist Larry McCray
and harp man Sugar Blue make guest appearances on several songs.
"Last Night" is all business... no latin ballads, no pop, no rock. Just staight ahead Chicago style blues and blues-rock
from start to finish. McCray and Vargas square off and trade licks a few times, and the boys really get it on.
Six of the twelve songs are Vargas originals, the rest are covers of blues classics. There isn't
a bad song in the bunch, and the CD maintains a high level of energy from start to finish. Forced to pick a favorite
or two from this solid set I'd have to go with the instrumental "All About The Girl", in which Javier really lights
it up. I also really enjoy McCray's redition of "Killing Floor". Various covers of this song have not typically
been among my favorites, but Larry does a super nice job with the vocals, and he also gives the song a good workout
instrumentally. In fact, McCray gives very solid performances in all of his guest spots.
Included with the music CD is a DVD video of yet more performances from Legends.
Unfortunately, the DVD is in PAL format, so I have not yet been able to view it. I've heard there is software that will allow
you to play PAL format DVD's in a PC DVD player. I'll have to work on that. If you are already a Vargas fan, you will,
without question, want to own this CD. If you have not yet heard their music, this is the CD you want to get.
"Last Night" has only recently been released, and there is unfortunately very little info on this CD at their
website. I don't even know yet how much the CD/DVD combo will cost,
or if it can be purchased without the DVD. If you'd like more info on ordering a copy of the CD I suggest emailing them at
the email address found on the Contacts page at their site. When new information becomes available, I'll update this page.
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