Steve Thorpe

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BLUES: Steve Thorpe - Live, Down and Dirty

It was if I laid back in my easy chair, closed my eyes and dreamed I was hearing Joe Cocker and Jimi Hendrix melded together to form one hell of an album. Commercially all the songs would have to be edited for radio but this is a total blues album and you sure get your monies worth. This is some fine musicianship and great renditions. My favorite tracks are The Thrill Is Gone, Dust My Broom and Everyday I Have the Blues, on which that Bass player is astonishing! Great vocals by Steve and the piano player is one of the best I've heard in some time. Bob Gallo
- Cash Box Magazine

Steve Thorpe
"Live, Down and Dirty"
(Recorded at Lou's Blues & Dirty Harry's)
BY PETER "BLEWZZMAN" LAURO, © AUGUST, 2006
So you're a world class national touring Bluesman and you're about to embark on a tour of the Southeastern United States. In need of a second guitar player, who can sing his ass off, who ya' gonna call? Well if your name is SMOKEY WILSON, GREGG ALLMAN, BIG BILL MORGANFIELD or SPENCER DAVIS, you're most likely gonna call STEVE THORPE. And that's exactly who these blues greats call. When cats like that know you've got it, it's no wonder that the STEVE THORPE BLUES ORCHESTRA is one of the most sought after bands in the state of Florida.
"LIVE, DOWN AND DIRTY", could not have been more perfectly named. Recorded live at LOU'S BLUES & DIRTY HARRY'S, two hot venues with rockin' audiences, this disc contains twelve very low down and dirty blues tracks. STEVE THORPE would have it no other way.
The nucleus of the BLUES ORCHESTRA is the formidable foursome of STEVE THORPE on guitar, slide guitar and vocals; his son NATHAN THORPE on bass; KENNY CLARKE on piano, synthesizer, and organ; and TOM BAYES on drums. Additionally, appearing on two tracks are DENIS LAAK on drums; DAVID PASTORIUS on bass; J. J. MARTIN on sax; and ROY BRANHAM on harmonica.
Wasting absolutely no time, the BLUES ORCHESTRA goes from zero to kick ass as soon as the introduction is over. The disc opens with a fiery hot version of "DUST MY BROOM / BOOT HILL". The smoke from this seven minute sizzler may very well set off the detectors. STEVE'S slide guitar is second to none and the SRV fans in the audience will be delighted with the very reminiscent vocals. KENNY gets a great assist here with some truly flamboyant keyboarding.
NATHAN & TOM get in on some of the very hot action in very funky versions of "I JUST WANT ATINY BIT" & "NEVER MAKE A MOVE TOO SOON". Although there are some excellent vocals, and several nice piano and guitar accents throughout, the rhythm section takes charge on these two.
B. B. fans will be loving the "SWEET LITTLE ANGEL / HOW BLUE CAN YOU GET" medley. This is real, unadulterated, low down and dirty blues at it's very finest. The feeling STEVE puts into this one, added to a voice that was made to sing songs like this, make this one of the discs numerous highlights.
Having a penchant for turning songs into a jam, it's no surprise that STEVE'S version of "LITTLE WING" is nearly 10 minutes long. It's also no surprise that the song was done to perfection. KENNY'S synthesizer, J. J's sax and STEVE'S Hendrix like play all highlight this track.
THE BLUES ORCHESTRA'S version of "THEY CALL IT STORMY MONDAY" rocks. On this unique interpretation, the whole band is locked into a real tight groove and it's an all out jam done at triple the tempo of any version I've ever heard of this song.
Other tracks, magnificently done but not mentioned, include "THE THRILL IS GONE", "FLOWER GIRL" (original), "EVERDAY I HAVE THE BLUES", "KEY TO THE HIGHWAY", "YOUNG FASHION WAYS" and "HURRICANE GRAYS" (original).
"LIVE, DOWN AND DIRTY", containing nearly seventy five minutes of some of the best blues music you'll ever hear, is a disc the Blewzzman feels every blues lover will enjoy. Grab yourself a copy soon.

- Mary 4 Music.com