Steve Howell - Since I Saw You Last - Out Of The Past Music 2010

Living in Texas and Louisiana the majority of his life has allowed for a great wealth of experiences to influence Howell's music, and those influences can't help but escape onto disc with Steve Howell's latest release, Since I Saw You Last. Blues, Country, Folk, R&B, and more meld into a wonderful sound on the album's dozen tracks. Perhaps most interesting about Howell, though is that in addition to being a great musician...he's really a wonderful historian of American music.

It all starts with the chugging "Downtown Blues," by Frank Stokes, which features a great bouncy bassline by Joe Osborn, and a sweet mandolin chiming out above Howell's vocals. That mandolin pops up across many of the songs on Since I Saw You Last, and is played by Howell's friend Arnie Cottrell, whom Howell befriended while in the Navy. The British Cottrell and Howell first teamed up in South Wales in the 1970's, and have remained friends since.

"Acadian Lullaby" is a country tune written by another of Howell's amigos, Jim Mize, and details the tale of a Lousiana woman striking out across the border into Texas to see what she could get into there. "Red Cadillac & Black Mustache" follows, originally cut by Sun Records' Warren Smith. Howell and company did a great job with the cover, adding a dose of twang to this early Rock 'N' Roll tune. I really enjoyed Chris Michaels electric guitar solo, as well.

Howell continues his journey through the American musical landscape by rocking his version of "Farmer John," a song originally written by Don Harris and Dewey Terry (Don & Dewey) and probably best remembered as a hit for the 1960's garage band The Premiers, who took the song to #19 in 1964. Cottrell shifts over to slide guitar here, and it sounds fantastic.

Howell gets back to the Blues with Mance Lipscomb's "Charlie James," a tune heavy on Howell's terrific fingerpicking style, and backed by Cottrell's mandolin, Osborn's bass, and some great percussion provided here with just cymbals. The slow "I Won't Cry" is classic R&B done up with Howell's signature acoustic sound, bathed in some fantastic guitar and percussion layers. Howell digs into classic R&B again on Since I Saw You Last with "Since I Fell For You," a song arranged light and low with soft vocals from Steve Howell.

"Wild About My Lovin'" is a cool, traditional with a heavy bassline and great lyrics. "I don't need no sugar in my tea//The gal I'm lovin' sweet enough for me." "Easy Rider Blues" is a tune from the Blind Lemon Jefferson songbook. In the liner notes for Since I Saw You Last, Howell explains to those unfamiliar about the legend of Lemon. It's a cool little bonus to the album, as Howell's notes on all of the songs give you a small explanation either where they came from, or why they were selected for this record.

Howell rigs in during this stretch of the album, rattling off the almost funky "Easy Rider Blues," a fiendish version of John Lee Hooker's "Crawlin King Snake," and Howell's fun take on Taj Mahal's "Little Red Hen." Since I Saw You Last wraps up with Gus Kahn's "Ready For the River," a song aptly named, due to it's light, drifting sound.

Since I Saw You Last is a wonderful journey through American Roots music of the last 80-plus years, and Steve Howell and company do a wonderful job of staying true to what they set out to do with the record. It's so easy for artists to get scared in the midst of a project and take a song or album that they wanted to do in the old style, and put some sort of modern spin on it to make it more commercial, or make it appeal to a broader cross-section of listeners. Luckily for us, there are artists out there like Steve Howell who intentionally set out to bring the music that has always been a part of his life to the rest of us, while keeping with the traditions of the past.

Standout Tracks: "Crawlin' King Snake," "Farmer John," and "Wild About My Lovin'"

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