Today is Howling Wolf’s 103rd birthday and in celebration Tomas Doncker is releasing a six song EP and it is terrific. One original, “Shook Down” by Doncker and Award winning Poet Yusef Komunyakaa , one instrumental by Doncker band harp player David Barnes “Blind Melon Morpheus (missed the train)” and four covers from the great bluesman’s catalog.
The EP is the wonderfully named This Is The Tomas Doncker Band’s Howling Wold EP* We Hope He Likes It. The four Wolf tracks are the best vocal performance I have yet to hear from Doncker, the rasp is authoritative and on “Back Door Man” sexy as hell. “Spoonful” is definitive in ways Cream never attempted and the original “Shook Down” is a simple, harp based blues of quiet intensity.
The liner notes read:
“Diablo Love” is a fantastical love story featuring live music that re-imagines songs made famous by American Blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, Howlin’ Wolf along with original compositions by Tomás Doncker. This production provides audiences with a masterful live soundtrack of Blues/Soul music and sets the stage for a dynamic theatrical performance about love,lost souls,and the fiery pits of hell…
The Tomás Doncker Band’s 5 song “Howlin’ Wolf” EP contains tracks that will be featured in the show (and to be performed by the Tomás Doncker Band at NYC SummerStage in August 2013). This new E.P. also contains an Original Composition “Shook Down” which Tomás co-wrote with Pulitzer-Prize winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa.
credits
released 10 June 2013
CD: The Tomas Doncker Band’s Howlin’ Wolf E.P.
Release date:6/10/13
Members/Instruments:
Tomas Doncker-Vocals,Guitar
David Barnes-Harmonica,Vocals
Nick Rolfe-Organ,Keyboards, Vocals
James Dellatacoma-Guitar
Josh David-Bass, Vocals
Damon Duewhite-Drums, Vocals
Production:
Produced by Tomas Doncker & James Dellatacoma for True Groove”
Though a lot of this shouldn’t be news to you.
The EP is really wonderful, it does so little to all the covers we have heard over the years and decades but it has the thrill of the new. It is as if Doncker hasn’t re-thought the songs but rather, is hearing them himself for the first time. There is a freshness here that is really great: Tomas stamps himself on them, plays the bastard out of them, but retains complete fidelity to the original concept. Listen to Doncker sing “Knock, knock, knock, on your front door” on “Evil”. He is scary and good and scary good!
The band themselves are a muscular tough ass bunch. But they simmer rather than rock the way they do on …Slight Return. It is an intense pressure, it is deep down in the blues. Guitarist James Dellatacoma added thrills all the way through “Back Door Man” and Hendrix inspired frills all over “Spoonful” and David Barnes harp floats on top and sinks below everything that isn’t moving. This is an inspirational sound, it’s like they are the greatest rock and roll band in the world.
Grade: A
Buy it here: