Search - Delta Moon :: Clear Blue Flame

THIS CD IS ON FIRE!

Margaret Adams | THE EXCEEDINGLY BEAUTIFUL PRAIRIES | 11/11/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD landed in my mailbox on Friday, the 13th of June and I played it all day, everyday, for about 6 weeks, gradually weanning myself to 3 or 4 listens daily; and 5 months later, I am STILL playing the hell out of this CD at home and in the car.



If you remember TOM GRAY/THE BRAINS, the 3rd song is meant for you.

Delta Moon re-establishes Gray's ownership of "Money Changes Everything" almost 30 years after THE BRAINS rocked the world with this now classic song. By the first chorus, I was up, and back on air guitar--playing slide this time around...

The newest version of $$$ sounds exceedingly fresh, and the fiddle is a brilliant touch. However, it is Tom's vocal performance that transcends time and place. To say the words drip with emotion (and irony) is an understatement. (See for yourself.)

Yeah, I still love the 45 (b/w "QUICK WITH YOUR LIP"--Gray Matter 1979), Cyndi's cover was 'great' (and a trip to the bank for Gray) but this recording is the sweetest version ever. (Scream for it live.)

And when I say Tom Gray OWNS this song, we're talking a hell of a lot more than the publishing rights. (See for yourself.)



"Money" isn't the only gem on this disc, songs like "Clear Blue Flame", "Cool Your Jets" and "Trouble In the Home" make this CD impossible to classify--but easy to enjoy.



Gray and Johnson are at their recorded best, which leads one to believe they must be TOO HOT TO HANDLE in concert. (See for yourself.)

With a collection of over 2000 CDs, I can honestly say I have NEVER heard anything like this. (See for yourself.)

Oh, yeah...and down the line, after you've annoyed the hell out of your neighbors and friends playing this CD non-stop, try random play for a special treat...You'll be hearing these songs in your head way into next year.

"

Clear Blue Flame

R. Smith | Viola, Iowa USA | 11/11/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Four albums onward, wether he likes it or not, Tom Gray is now the sole lead singer without any girl singers to help him along the way. The transformation from new wave to straight country rock blues is now complete and with a new version of Money Changes Everything it goes from new wave despair to remade country blues in a blink of a eye and it wouldn't sound out of place on the local country station. In fact it's more country than Rascal Flatts. The only cover on this album is a Mississippi Fred McDowell cover of You Done Told Everybody although Gray does a tribute song to Jesse May Hemphill.



Certainly Delta Moon's roots are more rooted in the swamp blues of McDowell and Hemphill more than they are than say, Creedence or even Skynyrd at this point. Listening to this you can't tell that almost thirty years ago that Gray was once part of The Brains, a band way ahead of their time but thanks to Cyndi Lauper managed to keep a footnote in rock history and let Tom Gray take up the steel guitar and into the blues. Even I can't believe that once upon a time Gray was part of the New Wave pop and roll. Certainly Money Changes Everything 2k7 remains the highlight of the album but there are other swamp rockers such as the title track and Blind Spot to keep one's attention span going. Even though Mark Johnson figures into this album, it is Gray that returns to the spotlight and even though Kris Markiton isn't around with her female vocal counterpoint, she's really not missed all that much (Gina Leigh was much better suited to the type of songs of DM). With Clear Blue Flame however, Gray, Johnson and company continue to go one foot deeper in the blues and we're all the better for it.

Grade A minus"

Delta Moon/Clear Blue Flame

Marine Dad | 02/17/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Wonderful CD. I'd heard the title song (on satellite radio, of course) and that was enough to make me purchase the CD. Hard to catagorize this band, but the slide guitar parts are enough to sell me. There's not a dud track on this album (yes, I'm old enough to call a CD an album)."