Bo Ramsey

Bo Ramsey - Fragile (2008)



Ramsey’s 2006 release, “Stranger Blues,” which was called “one of the finest albums of the year” by Blueswax, found him covering a collection of his favorite blues chestnuts drawn from the likes of Little Walter, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Elizabeth Cotton, Sonny Boy Williamson, and others. The record made the Des Moines Register’s “Best of 2006” list and Vintage Guitar magazine called it “a surprising delight” with “soul and grace.”
Born and raised in Burlington, Iowa, Robert Franklin ‘Bo’ Ramsey has played a prominent role in the development of the “Iowa Sound” – a unique blues/folk/rock hybrid. Once described as “Daniel Lanois of the Plains,” the multi-talented Ramsey has made a reputation as a producer and is also much in demand for his unique guitar tones.
Bo is known as the top session musician and is the lead guitarist in touring bands of high-profile national acts.
Bo has received widespread attention for his work with Greg Brown, Lucinda Williams, Jeffrey Foucalt, and Pieta Brown, among others. He has played guitar on ten of Greg Brown’s discs, and produced/co-produced a number of his records including the Grammy-nominated ‘Slant 6 Mind.’ The Lucinda connection began in the early 90s. Bo played on her Grammy-winning ‘Car Wheels On A Gravel Road,’ produced and played on her successful follow-up, the Grammy-nominated ‘Essence,’ and joined her band on tour for both records. As Lucinda put it, “Bo Ramsey drips cool.” For the past few years Bo has recorded and toured with singer/songwriter Pieta Brown, and most recently co-produced her latest record, ‘Remember The Sun.” While many songwriters look to others for production skills, Ramsey’s self-production talents serve to strengthen ‘Fragile,’ as he offers up his beautifully layered and carefully arranged originals.



Despite the title of his new album, Bo Ramsey’s guitar playing and songwriting are anything but fragile. Perhaps most widely recognized for his amazing guitar prowess on Lucinda William’s Grammy award-winning CD “Car Wheels On A Gravel Road,” as well as his work playing on and producing records for the preeminent singer/songwriter Greg Brown and rising star Pieta Brown, Bo Ramsey will release “Fragile” on April 8, 2008. This is his first new album of all original music in ten years and somewhat ironically, his strongest work to date. The album, Bo’s eleventh in his 30-year career, features 11 new songs all written or co-written by Ramsey, and finds him firmly at the forefront of a resurging Iowan musical renaissance, tastefully supported by world-class, Midwest-based musicians.
“Fragile” was recorded in 2007 at Minstrel Studio in Iowa City, Iowa and mixed at Mastermix Studios in Minneapolis. The album was co-produced by critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Pieta Brown (who also plays piano and keyboards on the record) and features, among others, drummer Steve Hayes (Greg Brown, Jeffrey Foucault), bassist Jon Penner (Junior Brown, Sue Foley), keyboardist Ricky Peterson (Prince, John Mayer, Stevie Nicks), and Bo’s son Benson Ramsey (The Pines) on keyboards.
“The title track ‘Fragile,’ reflects the artistic process,” remarks Ramsey. “We live in such a fragile time and need to remember that our lives are also fragile.”
Greg Brown says, “This collection of songs is a strong and shining testament to the journey my friend Bo has been on…is on…and will be on for a great long time.”



Tracklist:

01. Can’t Sleep
02. Tell Me Now
03. Away
04. Dreamland
05. Fragile
06. Burn It Down
07. In the Woods
08. Same For You
09. From Buffalo To Jericho
10. And I Wonder
11. I Don’t Know

Ripped @ 256 CBR





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Bo Ramsey - Stranger Blues(2006)



Stranger Blues, named after the Elmore James song, is a collection of a dozen traditional blues songs that have inspired Ramsey and influenced his own unique sound. Right from the opening song Ramsey opts for a laid-back sound and tight grooves, adding his smoky and hypnotic vocal phrasing and angular and precise guitar lines, and transforming many of these near worn-out gems into personal, modern expressions. His performances are wonderfully natural, articulate and effortless, and are enriched with deep understanding of genre roots and legacy.
Ramsey's cover of the traditional "Sitting On The Top Of The World," with a slow reading of the words that betray the vain title, highlights its painful irony. His reserved and economic vocal performance charges such seduction-anthems as Willie Dixon's "Crazy Mixed Up World" and Carl William Smith's "I Wanna Get Funky", a duet with Pieta Brown, with vibrant excitement. The instrumental cover of Elizabeth Cotten's "Freight Train" corresponds with Bill Frisell's experiences with country music, but sounds a bit more rootsy due to Greg Brown's banjo playing. Ramsey's guitar playing on the last song, the traditional gospel "Where The Sun Never Goes Down", defines how a modern day blues guitarist can bridge the legacy of Blind Willie Johnson, Ry Cooder, Jim Hall and Frisell into a vital and genuine performance. A blues masterpiece.~Robert Franklin Ramsey~


TrackList:

01. Stranger Blues (Elmore James)
02. Hate To See You Go (Walter Jacobs)
03. Sitting On Top Of The World (Traditional)
04. Jump, Baby, Jump (Jessie Mae Hemphill)
05. Crazy Mixed Up World (Willie Dixon)
06. Little Geneva (McKinley Morganfield)
07. You Got Me Dizzy (Jimmy Reed-Ewert Abner Jr.)
08. I Wanna Get Funky (Carl William Smith)
09. No Place To Go (Chester Burnett)
10. Unseeing Eye (Sonny Boy Williamson)
11. Freight Train (Elizabeth Cotten)
12. Where The Sun Never Goes Down (Traditional)

Ripped @ 320 CBR




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Bo Ramsey - In The Weeds (1997)

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Tracklist:

01 In The Weeds
02 Desert Flower
03 Precious
04 Everything Is Comin' Down
05 Big Bill
06 Sidetrack Lounge
07 King Of Clubs
09 Ain't It Hard
10 Forget You
11 Living In A Cornfield

75 MB - mp3 @ 224 kbps





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