Zac Harmon review…July 27, 2019…

ZAC HARMON

MISSISSIPPI BAR B Q

CATFOOD RECORDS  CFR 028

GYPSY ROAD–SO COLD–SMOKE AND MIRRORS–MISSISSIPPI BAR BQ–DESPERATE LOVE–HONEY PLEEZE–MAKE A DOLLAR OUT OF FIFTEEN CENTS–SUNDAY MORNING AFTER SATURDAY NIGHT–LORD SAVE ME FROM L A–SINCE YOU BEEN GONE–KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR

We’ve been fans of Zac Harmon since that night in January of 2004 when he won the IBC’s in Memphis, sponsored by the SoCal Blues Society.  Zac got his start, tho, in his hometown of Jackson, MS, playing alongside the likes of Z. Z. Hill and Dorothy Moore as a teen.  At 21, he made that move to Cali to write music for TV commercials, and to write R & B-oriented songs that would be recorded by The Whispers, The O’Jays, and other popular groups of the day.  Zac always believed, tho, that his true calling was the blues of his homeland, and has teamed with Catfood Records to release his latest, and, perhaps, most powerful, set to date, “Mississippi Bar BQ.”  Herein, he’s backed by Bob Trenchard and The Rays, the “house band,” if you will, of Catfood Records. Add in producer Jim Gaines, and the ten originals, all written wholly or in part by Zac,, and this is a sweet blues ride, indeed.

One of our favorites was the sweet, summery, Southern-soul salute to breaking out the dominoes and a deck of cards, throwing some ribs on the grill with some collard greens for an old-school “Mississippi Bar BQ!”  Zac revisits classic Stax-era soul with “So Cold,” when “a love worth more than silver and gold” goes sour.  Some killer, Lucille-ish guitar drives a shout-out to B. B. with “Sunday Morning After Saturday Night,” as our two lovers just can’t seem to get a thing right!  Our other favorite used a fuzzed-out, repetitive guitar riff as our hero preaches the Gospel according to Zacariah with a tale of hard times in the country today, where you sho’ nuff just cannot “Make A Dollar Out Of Fifteen Cents!”

Zac Harmon relished working with Jim Gaines on “Mississippi Bar BQ.”  Add in the excellent backing of The Rays and Zac’s spot-on, topical material, and this one will be your go-to album of the summer!  Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow, The Nashville Blues And Roots Alliance.