2017 – Malaco Records
By Phillip Smith; Apr 22, 2017
Records like Knock A Hole In It from gospel-musician-turned-bluesman Castro Coleman, aka Mr. Sipp , “The Mississippi Blues Child”, are far and few in-between. Coleman, winner of the 2014 International Blues Challenge and Gibson Guitarist Award in Memphis, Tennessee pours his soul into his craft, both as a songwriter and performer. This album features a dozen original tunes and one fabulously superb cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing” which runs nearly eight and half minutes long and segues right into a sweet guitar instrumental of “Star-Spangled Banner” which brings it to a close.
I absolutely dig the funky raw groove woven into the title-track, “Knock A Hole In It”. The energy running through this song is stunning and electric. This one surely goes down as my favorite song of the year. Terrific vocals and smoking hot guitar from Coleman along with a searing performance from organist Carrol McLaughlin make “Bad Feeling” another stand-out song. Coleman certainly does not mess around when it comes to dishing out serious blues. From the slow, smoldering “Strings Attached” to the heel-stomping house-rockin’ “Juke Joint”, his artistry shines through.
I have a feeling Knock a Hole In It will be at the top of my list for a quite a long time. It’s definitely a good time.
This review was originally posted April 22, 2017 on my personal blog at phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com