Lil ‘A’ and the Allnighters: Special Project

This is probably one of the most faithful contemporary recordings of classic jump blues and 12 bar blues rock n roll from the 50s-60s sound I’ve come across. Inspired by the harmonica greats like little Walter and William Clarke, this album packs a punch. Fronted by Alex ‘Lil A’ Woodson, this record simply rocks. He is supported by Joe Conde and Anthony Contreras sharing guitar duties, AJ Martel on drums and Norm Gonzales lays the foundation on the bass guitar.

 Each member serves the music and settles right in to tight grooves and boogies all night long with some of the most tasteful guitar playing your find in the genre today and a healthy dose of gritty blues harp. The bass is solid and groovy and the slick back beats, shuffles and marching New Orleans style drumming is not to be ignored either.

Low Down Dog by Smiley Lewis Kicks off with a strong blues harp and heads right into some good old fashioned 12 bar blues rock. It’s definitely for a more mature audience who appreciates the bygone era of music and reflects a musical purity that seems lost on a lot of modern music.

Then into Mellow Down Easy by Walter Jacobs is a similar vein, jumping swinging blues with superb blues harp played on top.

Off the Wall is another Little Walter tune, written for the blues Harp. It’s a classic instrumental blues and it’s executed with terrific authority and understanding. The breaks are all spot on and the backbeat is in the pocket.

Aint Gonna Do It is another Smiley Lewis song and its very jazzy number that picks it up with a solid beat and carries it throughout the song

Chicken Shack is an Amos Milburn tune. This one is right at home in a juke joint in Memphis. It brings to mind hot nights, good booze and great times.

It closes out with A.C. Boogie penned by the groups own Anthony Contreras; it’s a great little boogie woogie number that is smoking throughout.

I’ll say this, you are hard pressed to find a better 50s rock n blues band than Lil A & the Allnighters. They are tight, and have a dedication to the classic blues that really kicked off the Chess Records era of the genre in a terrific fashion and a great Homage to great players and songwriters. The boys have crafted a mighty strong blues record here so If you are a hardcore blues fanatic, you should add this lil gem to your collection.