The Morning After (independent)
He's a native of Edmonton, Alberta but plays the bottleneck guitar as if he grew up in the Mississippi delta. Lawrence penned 9 of the 13 songs on this CD, and they stand up with his covers of Tommy Johnson and Willie McTell. Light touches of mandolin and banjo and his use of space on this CD give The Morning After a fresh sound to acoustic blues.
'It was about hooking up and having fun,' says blues veteran Marshall Lawrence
Local bluesman Marshall Lawrence didn't head into Homestead Recorders with what he considers "unreal expectations" earlier this year. Instead, the singer, songwriter and guitarist chose to head through the studio doors with a couple of respected veterans of the western Canadian blues scene and the belief that things would unfold in a manner that would likely please him. Those two musicians, Kelowna-based harmonica player Sherman Doucette and former B.B. King bassist Russell Jackson, who lives in Vancouver, served up exactly what Lawrence wanted.
Sadly, the disc also marked the final sessions for Lawrence's longtime friend, co-conspirator and harp player John Miner Wilds, who appears on the songs Keep on Walkin' and Gotta Change Our Ways. Wilds died as Lawrence was doing pre-production and laying down tracks two years ago.
Hung with the title The Morning After, Lawrence's latest 13-song set hones in on the sound the musician was looking for by invoking a rule of "less is more" and keeping the proceedings upbeat. "It was about hooking up and having fun. It took me a long time to learn to come at a session keeping those things in mind," says Lawrence, who is a psychologist by day, hence his nickname Dr. Blues.
The followup to the plugged-in-and-amplified Where's The Party album, The Morning After offers up exactly what the title suggests.
"It's sparse and acoustic. I wanted a more sensitive type of release," adds Lawrence, who tucked four covers of classic Tommy Johnson, Taj Mahal, Willie McTell, and Charlie Patton tunes into a slate of nine originals.
"The feedback has been really encouraging. Programmers at community and public stations from Scandanavian and European countries, Australia and the States have been playing it. We got a nice review from France, and the people at Living Blues magazine said they are going to print a review next issue," added Lawrence, who's excited about a potential "thumbs-up" from the granddaddy of American blues periodicals.
He will be gigging solo a bit more in November with his resonator guitars after spending most of the fall working with a couple of bluegrass and acoustic country-oriented groups, playing mandolin. It was not only a good time but "a great exercise in learning a lot about timing and rhythm."
"The Morning After" is a fine and pleasant album, very well played and sung and with good versions of songs by other artists as well as some very fine new songs from your own pen. I enjoy your work a lot and in fact I immediately started playing it in my radio show of American roots based music at Radio Voce Spazio”
The Morning After Review by Bernard Boyat in Le Cri du Coyote Number 107 (Music Magazine in France) where it received the coveted "Cry of the Heart" from reviewer Bernard Boyat
Just the photograph of the superb guitars (there must be a National in the trio) on the back cover makes you want to buy the CD because one tells oneself that with such instruments one can only make good music. And, a listen confirms that impression. Marshall makes sparse Rockin' Country blues of prime quality (especially Freight train and Shake it), marked by a pause in the middle with the slow Mockingbird Blues and Long Time Gone, and another with Gotta Change Our Ways just before a beautiful conclusion with Light Rain Blues, with a hint of Chuck Berry, and Ida Mae. If his previous CD's are of the same caliber, I regret not having discovered him earlier. Bernard Boyat.
"Played 3 cuts yesterday and the phones went bonkers!! Keep up the great work that you do!!"
“I was very, very impressed…. This is a very good album”
“The cover of the album says it all - three gorgeous reso-guitars, a treat
for both eyes and ears. The sound of your guitar is crisp and hard hitting
and when you play slide it sounds so good. Technical skills are important
but feeling is essential, you have both of those qualities…. Together with interesting original songs and very
good sound/production quality "The Morning After" should easily please
deep blues fans. I like it!”
Bill Henry has penned a new review of the Marshall Lawrence Band CD, Where's the Party. Here's a taste:
This is what I expect when the word "blues" is tossed out. This is not your usual top 40 attempt at a blues song. This is the real deal. The horns, backup singers and his surprise addition of the mandolin all make this project a gem. You never know what this guy will throw out. If you own it, enjoy. If you do not, wake up, smell the BBQ and order one ASAP.
"The guitar-playing is key to this record's appeal…… All in all, this record rocks and shows big promise….."
Interview with Jenny Feniak, Special Klondike Days Feature to the Edmonton Sun
Although the loud and brightly coloured midway is one of the Klondike Days biggest draws, organizers have always made sure there's more than enough entertainment to go around, and live music is a definite highlight. Aside from big-name acts such as Fefe Dobson and Loverboy, musicians from all walks are included and, for the second year, Alberta musicians have been given their own stage.
Starting at 1 p.m. today, ARIA (Alberta Recording Industry Association) musicians will show off their homegrown talents on Northlands' Bonanza Stage. ARIA is a non-profit organization fostering all aspects of Alberta's recording industry. This year, five acts from folk to hip-hop, blues and then some good ol' rock 'n' roll will be showcased.
But just because an artist is up and coming in the music world doesn't mean he's new to the game, and the Marshall Lawrence Band, performing at 3 p.m., is a prime example. These days, Marshall Lawrence is all about the blues, but it's been a long time coming. Born in a cottage in the woods near Flin Flon, Man., it was his move to Windsor, Ont., at the age of 10 and the city's close proximity to the soulful sounds of Detroit which sparked his passion for music. Lawrence picked up a guitar and struck out on the rock n' roll road, inspired by the likes of Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix.
"I did the rock thing, I did the punk thing, the funk thing and, y'know, for me it was just a progression.
"It's a passion about music and learning and I really needed, in my opinion, to learn all of those genres," explains Lawrence, who decided he'd chalked up enough experience and maturity to finally approach his favourite genre, the blues. "When you're playing blues, you need to be real. If you're singing about your wife leaving, well, you really need to know what a relationship is all about. You need to have had life experiences… to really put the emotion, to put the feeling, to put the healing aspects in your song."
Lawrence has been writing and recording music since the '70s, but his blues debut "Where's The Party?" was just released in April. All but two of the tracks are covers of the great bluesmen such as Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters, but the unreleased second half of this two-part project called The Morning After will be acoustic blues songs written by Lawrence himself.
Today, Lawrence and his band, featuring keyboardist Graham Guest and the well-known blues bassist Sam Cockrell, will be plugging and pumping out what he calls his acid blues, combining the rock and funk from his past. "[The show is] outdoors and it's live and I think they'll want more 'Where's The Party?' sort of thing, which is more upbeat.
It's more dance and fun—let's party—so we'll do a lot of the songs off that CD," says the man who's been coined the Doctor of the Blues.
