Tracklist:
01. Steamin'
02. Big Blue Car
03. I'm in Trouble
04. King of the Blues
05. Jesus Loves Me (Baby Why Don't You)
06. Can't Look Love in the Eye
07. Cadillac Woman
08. 4th of July
09. You Lit the Fire
10. Not Fade Away
11. Where You Stand With Me
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Scott Ellison - Steamin']
Personnel:Scott Ellison - Slide Guitar, Guitar, Clapping, Vocals
Kenny Lee Lewis - Guitar, Producer, Drum Programming, Bass, Vocals, Engineer
Preston Smith - Harmonica
Ronnie Floyd - Piano, Vocals (Background), Horn Arrangements, Organ (Hammond)
Tom Canning - Organ (Hammond)
William D. "Smitty" Smith - Organ (Hammond)
David Tanner - Organ (Hammond)
Terry Lupton - Keyboards, Clapping, Piano, Horn Samples, Vocals (Background)
Lou Johnson - Keyboards
Dukes of Soul Horns - Horn
Vine Street Horns - Horn
William Bickelhaupt - Horn Arrangements
Paul Roper - Bass
Armando Compean - Bass
Steve Crane - Bass
Steve LeGassick - Bass, Engineer, Keyboards
Dave Hunt - Drums
Paul Daniel - Drums
Rick Shlosser - Drums, Shaker, Clapping
Bobby Davis - Vocals (Background)
Linda Jackson - Vocals (Background)
Julia Dawson - Vocals (Background)
Diane Lewis - Vocals (Background)
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Scott Ellison: Steamin' (JSE CD 21201) The cover art of this album cover depicts a coffee pot blowing off steam while sitting atop of a guitar. This image gives the listener a pretty apt description of what to expect music-wise on the album, plenty of aggressive, in your face blues-rock guitar. Liner notes for the recording are sketchy, but I assume that Scott Ellison is a singer/guitarist from Tulsa, Oklahoma despite the fact that the album was recorded in California. The album is co-produced by Ellison who also co-wrote all the songs on the album except for one. The album kicks off with "Steamin" which is a mid tempo shuffle reminiscent of SRV's "Pride and Joy."
On this tune along with some of the other harder rocking tunes, Ellison calls to mind the music of Chris Duarte or Corey Stevens. Ellison turns up the intensity by firing off sustained guitar passages on the slow blues tune "I'm In Trouble." Ellison also gets my award for the best song title of the year with "Jesus Loves Me (Baby Why Don't You)," a swinging Texas shuffle featuring more of Ellison's hot guitar work. Ellison also whips out the slide as he burns a hole through the Buddy Holly classic "Not Fade Away."
The best tune of the bunch is a relaxed funky tune called "Big Blue Car" which contains a great hook and shows that Ellison could have the crossover potential of an artist like Jeff Healey. Overall, this is a well-written and produced independent album from a young artist who should continue to grow and develop. Ellison has written some really fine songs that should help distinguish him from the rest of the artists in the crowded blues-rock arena.
Barry T. Gober [/spoyler]===============================================================
