CEK & THE STOMPERS - MR RED (album review)

Gulf Coast Records

Cek Franceschetti leads this Italian based traditional blues band who play a good selection of mainly acoustic based music, while deep rooted in the Blues, they do incorporate some Jug Band and Rock n Roll influences into their sound. The title song is a dedication to the great late American Bluesman Louisiana Red. It is an excellent up-tempo song with guitarist Luca Manenti switching to an electric guitar on this track, Cek handles the vocals and plays a Resonator guitar, which he does with plenty of skill and enthusiasm. These guitars have a distinctive sound and for me are under used by Blues bands, so it is good to see its usage on this album. All but one of the thirteen tracks has been written by Cek and Luca which allows for some uniformity across the album. The remaining band members are Andrea Corvaglia on Harmonica, Fredrica Zanotti on Standing Percus sion and Upright Bass player Pietro Ettore Gozzini. The only cover is JJ Cale’s Thirteen Days which is fitting as there are definitely some “Cale” influences across this album, particu larly on the song Once Upon A Time In The South, where Cek creates a “breathless” sound to his vocals on is an excellent original album on which the band have created a very distinctive sound for themselves, drawing on traditional Blues Roots and then applying a twist resulting in a dark and captivating sound that grabs your attention, the song Breaking Deal is the standout track and one that emphasises their sound perfectly. With an American label behind them this album could be a very successful release.

ADRIAN BLACKLEE