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From The Commercial Appeal, April 27, 2002
Memphis, Tennessee
10 lbs. of hum
The Gamble Brothers Band
Self-released
The Gamble Brothers Band has chops to spare. Great players one and all, the guitar-less quartet - organist/vocalist Al Gamble, drumming brother Chad Gamble, sax player Art Edmaiston and bassist Will Lowrimore - displays a finesse that will recall the smoothly hip records of Steely Dan. That's not the only '70s act the pop/jazz/R&B-blending Gambles idolize. Bring 'Em Back suggests the Doobie Brothers had they been fronted by Dr. John instead of Michael McDonald, while a cover of Marvin Gaye's Baby Don't You Do It is clearly indebted to the Band's version. Other tracks go for a Crescent City vibe, such as Don't Turn Your Burner Down (co-written by Edmaiston with Keith Sykes) and the Lee Dorsey classic Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On).
Al Gamble's strong singing comes off like a cross between the aforementioned Night Tripper, Van Morrison and Boz Scaggs (quite the compliment), while Edmaiston turns up his melodious sax fills as if he's spent a lifetime transcribing Hank Crawford and Rahsaan Roland Kirk solos (and you know that's a compliment). Plus, these guys are too smart not to tout their Memphis heritage, which they do on a fabulous reinvention of the Staple Singers' Stax number City in the Sky. And with Sykes co-producing at his Woodshed studio, this record sounds as good as it deserves.
Red Hot is a review column of local and regional recordings. Send CDs to Bill Ellis, The Commercial Appeal, 495 Union Ave., Memphis, Tenn. 38103.
Copyright, 2002, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. Used here with
permission. No additional reproduction or distribution of this article in
any form is permitted without the written approval of The Commercial Appeal
(http://www.gomemphis.com).
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