BILLY T BAND
RECKONING
BIG H RECORDS
RECKONING–SHAME SHAME–ON YOUR OWN–SAD MAN–ONE OF THESE DAYS–GONE–IT AIN’T RIGHT–LOVE IS GONNA GET YOU–TROUBLE–I’VE BEEN A FOOL
Billy T (Troiani) was born and raised in NYC, and moved to Oslo, Norway, in 1997, where he led the house band at the iconic Muddy Waters Blues Club located in that city. During those years, Billy T and the band backed some of the most renowned names in the blues genre’ that traveled thru Norway, including the likes of Nappy Brown, Mitch Kashmar, and a host of others. His fourth album, entitled “Reckoning,” is a veritable cornucopia of classic blues, soul, and R & B sounds.
Clever use of a string section gives that vintage sound to the leadoff cut. When a love affair hits the skids and is “no longer about me and you,” then “there’s gonna be a Reckoning.” Ian Johannessen’s slide guitar is at the epicenter of Billy’s vocal read on a tale of perseverance, “you gotta walk that lonely highway On Your Own,” while the story of a relationship reaching the breaking point is “One Of These Days, you’re gonna miss me!” It begins as a quiet, acoustic affair, before the electric instrumentation kicks in mid-song. He closes the set with a killer ballad, driven by Haakon Hoeye’s organ, which gives the pleading vocal of “I’ve Been A Fool” a sanctified, testifyin,’ Percy Sledge vibe.
Our favorite was easy. Billy and the fellows get their Curtis Mayfield groove on, with the socially-conscious lyrics of the wah-wah-driven story of something we all know–“them that’s got, they get more/them that don’t, they stay poor,” and “It Ain’t Right.”
With his spot-on nods toward classic Stax and Philly soul/blues, Billy T and the band speaks to our hearts, minds, and souls with “Reckoning.” Two big thumbs up for this one!! Until next time….Sheryl and Don Crow.
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