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		CHRIS JAMES AND PATRICK RYNN Stop And Think About It Earwig CD 4957
	Lead guitarist/vocalist Chris James and bassist Patrick Rynn are not household names, but they have played with all the major blues stars over the past 18 years. Neither James nor Rynn can explain their unordinary musical affinity. The two, who did not hit it off when they first met each other, began their well-suited partnership in 1990 when both were in Chicago for the first time. After a few months, they found themselves in Sam Lay’s band. The gig would last for five years, and during that time they recorded several CDs with Lay. Later, they would regularly support Rob Stone and Jody Williams. Since 2005, they have been members of Bob Corritore’s Rhythm Room All Stars, who are the house band of Corritore’s Phoenix, Arizona club. Thirteen guests, including Lay, accompany them on their 53-minute debut disc, which was recorded in October 2006 and January 2007 except for a single track from 2004. From the moment you put this CD on, you are taken back to post war Chicago when blues was a healing music and clubs were a neighborhood community. Mister Coffee draws an analogy between women and java. The witty lyrics include (“Keep you up in the morning/Keep you up at night/Grind so fine”), but they, and the melody, are repeated too many times. The title track contains perceptive lyrics (“What’s wrong with people these days”). Someone To Love Me contains a hypnotizing rhythm that forces you to lose interest in time and your surroundings. James’ vocal styling has an uncanny resemblance to Junior Wells. This is most obvious on the exhilarating I’d Like To Write A Letter. One of the first blues songs that James learned the words to was Confessin’ The Blues so it was important for him to put it on this CD. Rynn’s world was changed when he spontaneously purchased an Elmore James cassette tape. Thus it’s not surprising to find numerous Elmore James songs on the CD. The duo recorded four of the influential, yet distorted-sounding, guitarist’s songs for this disc, and each one rocks. The stomping, yet danceable, Got To Move and My Kind Of Woman is blues music that’s played to start a party. Early One Morning features Chris James’ wicked slide guitar and David Maxwell’s powerhouse piano. Hawaiian Boogie is a fun instrumental that sounds like Shake Your Money Maker. Julien Brunetaud’s piano contains less razzmatazz than Maxwell’s, but it sounds fancier. Throughout, Bob Corritore’s hip phrasing on harp contains a vintage sound. James and Rynn have a knack for writing and performing songs as if they were living in the glory years of ’50s Chicago blues. This disc reinforces why post-war Chicago blues music was such a discovery. Truth be told, the CD allows you to experience what you likely missed in the ’50s. However, there is nothing revolutionary about the music for those who are already cognizant about Chicago blues. Halfway through the 12 songs, you won’t hear anything different or new on the remainder of the CD. Its traditional blues played the old school way. That combined with performing too many covers – there are seven – may limit their appeal to a subset of blues listeners. Still, the disc proves that sidemen can successfully step to the front. Tim Holek A similar version of this review appeared in Living Blues Magazine issue 199 February 2009. Review copyright © by Tim Holek, all rights reserved. Copy, duplication or download prohibited without written permission.