MICHAEL BARCLAY's Career IN THE BLUESSome history follows:
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A Brief Bio:
Michael worked with Chuck Berry in the late sixties on the east coast and also recorded at Electric Lady Studios for Michael Jeffries (Hendrix manager). In the seventies, after moving west, Michael joined Banana (Lowell Levinger), keyboardist for the Youngbloods, in his band. Michael worked as a side man with jazz singer, Randy Crawford ("Street Life"). In addition to gigs at major venues, her band also opened for Ronnie Laws, Herbie Hancock, Eddie Harris, Stanley Turentine and other jazz luminaries. For two years, Michael worked with the late San Francisco organist, Merl Saunders with stints behind singing acts like Hodges, James, and Smith, and others including Randy Crawford. Michael performed and recorded with Bay area fusion group WBBH. Philip Elwood, in a San Francisco Examiner review of the WBBH record , wrote: "A beauty on the LP called 'Lover's Lullaby' features...Barclay on guitar. Barclay, an impressive front man and guitarist, also is an excellent singer." Michael composed the piece Elwood refers to. After gigs with Dorothy Morrison ("Oh happy day") in the notorious Marin jam band, Fast Company, and WBBH, Michael formed and recorded The MICHAEL BARCLAY BLUES BAND. Recently, Michael backed Julian Lage, Norton Buffalo, Nick Gravenites, Sarah Baker, Stu Blank and others. Somewhat recently and notably he backed Bo Diddley. He produced the most recent recordings of the late Pattie Santos (It's a Beautiful Day) as well as recordings of Roger Volz (Soul Fuse). Michael was a featured performer at the Russian River Blues Festival, on opening day; and at The Sonoma County Blues Festival, where the band was received very enthusiastically - thanks to Bill Bowker. This summer (2017) Michael will play The Plumas County Fair and The Sierra Valley Blues Festival. Michael is working on new recordings on which he plays all the instruments, including keys, bass, guitar, and also horns (trumpet and trombone), as well as programming Stylus RMX Drum tracks. The new record is co-produced by Midge Gannon, who also co-wrote tunes. Other tracks of original blues tunes will include: Tommy Miles on drums, Gordon Wilson on lead and slide guitar, and Tom van Rossem on bass.
A nice review of the album, Blue Eyed Blues follows:
A nice review of the album, Blue Eyed Blues follows:
REVIEW of "BLUE EYED BLUES":
© Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
MuzikMan wrote a review - here's a bit of it:
Michael Barclay brings his Blue Eyed Blues to the table this year. He plays some mean guitar licks and sounds like the prototypical bluesman, and at times he is so expressive and heavy he sounds like the old black blues players. Barclay offers up 16 solid tracks of spicy and red-hot blues-rock, the kind that starts a fire that never goes out. I mean this does not let up for second on the entire recording.
The album has a great kickoff song that typifies the blues; “Give It To Me Straight” sings the blues about a lover gone astray. Then “A Diary of the Blues (All the Prayin' in the World)” is another sad but funny rocker, as the man singing, who happens to be Barclay (this is autobiographical by the way), laments about his wife divorcing him and his girlfriend leaving town. Sounds like the blues came pouring down on him in this instance because of his own doing, but there is always a guitar to pick up and a saloon around the corner to make it all go away, yes sir this is da blues. “Stinky” and “NY Blues” are great instrumental tracks that give you an opportunity to appreciate the well-honed chops of everyone in the band, not to take away their equal expertise on the vocal tracks of course. “NY Blues,” which features Barclay playing all the instruments on the track, is a slow cooker, with some funky up front bass and stinging guitar licks; it is surely one of the best cuts on the album but far too short-lived. There is something special about an all-instrumental number; it allows you to focus in on the music without having to think about anything else. These are just a few highlights of a CD jam-packed with them.
© Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
© Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
MuzikMan wrote a review - here's a bit of it:
Michael Barclay brings his Blue Eyed Blues to the table this year. He plays some mean guitar licks and sounds like the prototypical bluesman, and at times he is so expressive and heavy he sounds like the old black blues players. Barclay offers up 16 solid tracks of spicy and red-hot blues-rock, the kind that starts a fire that never goes out. I mean this does not let up for second on the entire recording.
The album has a great kickoff song that typifies the blues; “Give It To Me Straight” sings the blues about a lover gone astray. Then “A Diary of the Blues (All the Prayin' in the World)” is another sad but funny rocker, as the man singing, who happens to be Barclay (this is autobiographical by the way), laments about his wife divorcing him and his girlfriend leaving town. Sounds like the blues came pouring down on him in this instance because of his own doing, but there is always a guitar to pick up and a saloon around the corner to make it all go away, yes sir this is da blues. “Stinky” and “NY Blues” are great instrumental tracks that give you an opportunity to appreciate the well-honed chops of everyone in the band, not to take away their equal expertise on the vocal tracks of course. “NY Blues,” which features Barclay playing all the instruments on the track, is a slow cooker, with some funky up front bass and stinging guitar licks; it is surely one of the best cuts on the album but far too short-lived. There is something special about an all-instrumental number; it allows you to focus in on the music without having to think about anything else. These are just a few highlights of a CD jam-packed with them.
© Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
