Joe Galea Band - Midnight In New Orleans

Just arrived is Joe Galea’s Midnight In New Orleans cd. I enjoyed this cd very much as He covers some great tunes. From the first track this cd lets you know why Joe Galea has been invited to play all over the place. This includes his time spent entertaining troops in Viet Nam. In fact Joe was among the last to leave at the fall of Saigon.

This recording shows him to be not only a veteran musician but a master of the style. He opens with a cover of the Denise LaSalle tune Wild Thing (all night long). Next is a great tune I wasn’t familiar with called Ain’t Got No Home penned by C. Henry. A very danceable number to get you moving. He then launches into a Joe Galea / Robert Davie original called Wash My Hands. Nice shuffle tune with lots of brass treatment. He then moves to a cover of Delbert Mc Clinton’s Why Me. Joe really does a great job on these shuffle type songs, but he is no slouch on the faster stuff either. He launches into a Jules Taub/ Rosco Gordon number called No More Doggin and gives us a great rendition in true Galea style. We next find him slowing it down a bit for Who’s Fooling Who. Next we hear his rendition of Stay With Me by Pierre Lacocque. This song has a bit of a zydeco feel to it and he does a great job. Next is a great cover of the Willie Dixon song I’m Ready. He next does a cover of Blue Monday by A. Domino and does this great tune justice as not many do. Joe speeds it up and gives us a very interesting rendition of Sonny Landreth’s Congo Square. Another shuffle number follows as the title track Midnight In New Orleans. This song made me wonder if he wasn’t a New Orleans native who transplanted to Australia. This cover is that good. He next takes us thru Steve Cropper’s 6345789 and gives it a mixture of blues and soul for a new sounding old song. He closes the cd with a great cover of Stagger Lee. So many people do a good cover of this song that is gets old. This one is refreshing from the piano intro right thru the entire number.

I understand why he has been so popular in Australia. He is a class act. I look forward to his pending US tour in the summer of 2007. I am sure he will delight the fans here as much as those he plays to at home.

More from Joe Galea is available at: http://www.joegaleaband.com/

Get Midnight In New Orleans here:

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