Brother to the Blues

• Artist: Tab Benoit/Billy Joe Shaver/Jim Lauderdale
• Rating:
• Release Date: April 25, 2006
• Genre: Blues

Review

Tab Benoit has been doing his brand of bayou-fed blues-rock for some time now, and while it is tempting to call Brother to the Blues a departure, it is really only a subtle one, straying as it does to the country side of things, but again, only a little bit, and there is probably little-to-no-chance that Benoit will turn into a hat act with a big belt buckle anytime soon. True, he covers Hank Williams here ("I Heard That Lonesome Whistle," with some vocal help from Jim Lauderdale), a touchstone for country if ever there was one, but he also pulls off a passable version of Sam Cooke's soulful "Bring It on Home to Me," takes a North Mississippi country blues approach on "Moon Coming Over the Hill" (featuring some cool Cajun fiddle from Waylon Thibodeaux), and ratchets into familiar swamp rock territory with the hard-charging opener "Pack It Up," and the impressive, wry "Why Are People Like That?," before tying everything together with the set ender, "Can't Do One More Two-Step," which somehow manages to be swampy, rocky, country, and bayou blues all in one package, as well as giving Benoit plenty of room to trade guitar runs with Thibodeaux's fiddle slides. But there is a little bit of a change going on here -- if you listen closely you can hear string band-style banjo on several tracks -- and one wonders what Benoit has in mind for his next step down the road. There are a thousand ways to the river, as they say, but in the bayou the river is everywhere at once. There's a little bit of that feel here. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Pack It Up	Gonzalez Chandler	Tab Benoit, Louisiana's Leroux	(3:53)
Bring It on Home to Me	Sam Cooke	Tab Benoit, Louisiana's Douxrag	(5:13)
Brother to the Blues		Tab Benoit, Louisiana's Leroux	(4:04)
Why Are People Like That?		Tab Benoit, Louisiana's Leroux	(3:01)
I'm on Your Side	Jim Lauderdale	Tab Benoit, Louisiana's Leroux	(2:44)
I Heard That Lonesome Whistle		Tab Benoit, Louisiana's Leroux	(4:26)
If You Love Me Like You Say	Little Johnny Taylor	Tab Benoit, Louisiana's Leroux	(5:49)
Comin' on Strong	Billy Joe Shaver	Tab Benoit, Louisiana's Leroux	(3:26)
So High	Tab Benoit	Tab Benoit, Louisiana's Leroux	(4:56)
Grace's Song	Jim Lauderdale	Tab Benoit, Louisiana's Leroux	(4:01)
Moon Coming Over the Hill (Lyrics)	Tab Benoit	Tab Benoit, Louisiana's Leroux	(3:10)
Somehow (Lyrics)	Tab Benoit	Tab Benoit, Louisiana's Leroux	(5:56)
Can't Do One More Two-Step	Jeff Pollard	Tab Benoit, Louisiana's Leroux	(4:22)

Credits

Nelson Blanchard (Group Member), Waylon Thibodeaux (Guest Appearance), David Peters (Vocals (Background)), Leon Medica (Vocals (Background)), Lincoln Clapp (Mastering), Tony Haselden (Vocals (Background)), Billy Joe Shaver (Vocals), Tony Haselden (Group Member), Tab Benoit (Performer), Waylon Thibodeaux (Fiddle), David Peters (Drums), David Farrell (Engineer), Tab Benoit (Producer), Anilda Carrasquillo (Design), David Peters (Percussion), Tab Benoit (Guitar), Robert Woods (Executive Producer), Billy Joe Shaver (Guest Appearance), Tab Benoit (Pedal Steel), Leon Medica (Bass), Lincoln Clapp (Mixing), David Peters (Group Member), Jim Lauderdale (Guest Appearance), Tab Benoit (Vocals), Leon Medica (Group Member), Nelson Blanchard (Piano), Tony Haselden (Guitar), Nelson Blanchard (Vocals (Background)), Rueben Williams (Associate Producer), Nelson Blanchard (Wurlitzer), Randy Labbe (Producer), Jim Lauderdale (Vocals), Nelson Blanchard (Organ (Hammond)), Tony Haselden (Banjo), Rueben Williams (Management)

Blues Brother