On her stomping "Soulful Dress," Maria Muldaur sings that "I'll be at my best when I put on my soulful dress." Her enticing, smoky-voiced boast about how appealing she is in a certain figure-flattering garment is apt, for Steady Love is that garment, a potent, uplifting collection of thick-textured blues, gospel, and classic R&B with a Crescent City feel courtesy of stellar New Orleans players, in response to whom Muldaur rises to an exalted plane of feeling, finesse, and funkiness. Add faith to the alliterative litany, too, as her gritty testifying on the Rev. W.H. Brewster's timely, topical gospel shuffle "As An Eagle Stirreth In Her Nest" has spirtual magnitude Mavis Staples would envy. She practically dances in the pulpit on the roof-raising "Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirt Down," with an amen chorus seconding her preacherly importuning about self-respect, and enhances "Please Send Me Someone To Love," Percy Mayfield's classic blues ballad plea for tolerance, with a gritty, lowdown attack while updating the lyrics to address a multitude of contemporary woes. Sonically, Steady Love is a hot, roiling ensemble mix that complements the heat our gal brings. She wears her soulful dress well. (less)

Holger Petersen's Talking Music Book Launch

Where: People's Co-op Book Store, 1391 Commercial Dr.

When: Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Tickets: Free admission

Ain't it funny, as Willie Nelson once mused in one of his bluesier tunes, how time slips away. For Edmonton's Holger Petersen, it must be downright hilarious.

Petersen, an epic blues fan, has been hosting his Natch'l Blues show on Edmonton's gem of a radio station, CKUA, for 40 years now. He's also helmed the Saturday Night Blues show on CBC Radio for 25 years. Plus he's been running the top Canadian roots-music record label, Stony Plain, for 35 years.

And now Petersen has a book out and if you're a music fan, it's a page-turner. With introductions from Petersen, these are the transcripts from 19 of the thousands of interviews he's conducted over the years. Here you have Ike Turner talking about his "Rocket 88" and its effect on nascent rock 'n' roll, Long John Baldry and the start of the blues scene in London that would give us the so-called British Invasion and Bill Wyman who is exceedingly entertaining as he broadly disses Keith and Mick.

Jeff Healey's in here as is Alan Lomax, Mick Fleetwood, Sun Records' founder Sam Phillips - just tons. My favourite is probably the Ry Cooder piece but it's all really fun stuff. Fellow CKUA hosts Roy Forbes (Roy's Record Room) will play a few songs and Terry David Mulligan (Mulligan's Stew) will MC.

Halfway through the book, I started shaking my head at how tortuous it must have been for Petersen deciding on what to leave out.

"Oh, there were so many Stony Plain connections," he says. "Amos Garrett, for example. Ronnie Earl. Also, I could have done a lot more Chicago blues artists, Louisiana."

Sounds like the start of a series.

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Wow! On my first listen (and my opinion has never changed on repeated listens), this is the Duke Robillard I experienced in 1984 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, at B.C.B.S. R&B Picnic sitting with Billy Blough (aka Dr. Martini) of George Thorogood's band. We were in thralled, if that includes drinkin' all day. Although at that time I believe it was a three-piece power trio that had energy out the ass.

Well, this isn't a trio but it has the same ass-kickin' energy, with the addition of long-time band member Bruce Bears on keys and the amazing Sax Gordon on, what else, sax. In my opinion Gordon channels the spirit and Chi-town style of early J.T. (Big Boy) Brown's guttural bleats and squawks that put a big smile on your face.

The recording techniques draw from old-school, sparse mike placement and modern recording equipment that will give you an idea how the masters might sound today. Gut Bucket with Caviar!! Take that and how damn much younger Duke sounds vocally. So strong that I think Michael John discovered a long lost bottle of water from Juan Ponce De Leon's fountain!!

The songs Duke picks out are mostly ones he heard as a youth, you know, the ones that sent him in his initial gritty musical direction. Most are not songs that have become hits as covers over the years, but ones that deserve re-discovery, like the opening track, Guitar Slim's "Quicksand," which immediately gives you the idea of what Low Down and Tore Up promises. Sugar Boy Crawford's "Overboard," sung by drummer Mark Teixeira, makes an old chair dancer's foot tired of tappin'. Next up is Pee Wee Crayton's "Blues After Hours" to help you calm down. This was a big hit … before I was born … unlike Jimmy McCracklin's "It's Alright," that found me at five years old. My favorite (that I really identify with) is another Sugar Boy Crawford tune, "What's Wrong."

Simply put, Duke is a master at every style of guitar and on this one shows his early rough side with youthful abandonment. Put it on and turn it up!

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Just minutes into the bonus DVD included in Stony Plain Records' 35th anniversary double-disc collection, label founder Holger Petersen proclaims his fondness for the "realness" and the "rawness" of the blues. Petersen also loves the idea of the "characters" that give this music life. The artists that fill the 41 tracks on this collection exhibit all of the above. The quality of the label's signings over the years is impeccable, and the passion and workmanship each track contains is the reason Canada's premiere roots/blues label has lived 35 years to tell the tale.

This collection is comprehensive, with every facet of the label's history spoken for. Disc one features the label's best singer/songwriter type offerings, such as Steve Earle's mournful Civil War-inspired tale of "Ben McCulloch" from Earle's 1994 Train a Comin' disc, with its references to the protagonist passing into "the devil's infantry." Disc two features the label's more bluesy, jazz-leaning material, like label mainstay Duke Robillard, represented by the swingin' title track from his 2008 disc Stomp The Blues Tonight. The prolific Robillard is noted in the liners for not only recording with the label, but also producing and collaborating with other artists on the roster, notably including the New Guitar Summit with Jay Geils and Gerry Beaudoin (represented here by a cover of the Charlie Christian/Lionel Hampton-penned "Shivers").

A wealth of "extra" material is included, the highlight being an unreleased steamy, five song set from legendary slide master Robert Nighthawk recorded during a 1965 Toronto studio session. Nighthawk's final recordings offer his lascivious storytelling with references to moonshine flowing and the night "beginning to rock" in "I'm Gonna Murder My Baby." Exhaustive liner notes with colorful anecdotes and song/artist facts detail each track and complement the music as well as each artist's story.

Holger Petersen's self-described "kitchen table" record label serves as a reminder that the "little guys" can indeed make it when they put the music first. Forget any fanfare. Stony Plain's catalog speaks for itself.

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The Ottawa-based MonkeyJunk -- the title comes from a Son House truism that blues ain't "monkey junk" -- distinguishes itself with a nicely idiosyncratic, admirably conceived, fully accomplished approach, which among other things avoids the usual stale blues-rock gestures. I don't mean to imply that this isn't blues-rock. Rock, after all, is so integral to the blues vocabulary by now that except for acoustic folk-blues performers and a vanishingly small number of plugged-in outfits, it's a well-nigh inescapable element of the package.

Even so, MonkeyJunk, a trio, has no bass, which accounts for the initial confusion -- of a pleasant kind -- with which you'll likely greet the opening cut. The sound derives from various guitars electric and acoustic, harmonica, occasional organ and percussion. Throw in some humid swamp and some thumping funk, and put them in service of strong, noteworthy songwriting, and you have one exceptional modern blues band. To Behold is MonkeyJunk's second release, its first on the respected Stony Plain label out of Edmonton, Alberta, home to some of the continent's finest artists in blues, folk and jazz. Keep the name in mind. MonkeyJunk is destined to make its mark on the blues scene and possibly beyond.

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The title of this disc alludes to the age of the “Blues Boss”, but you'll have a hard time believing that Kenny Wayne is 67 years old after you hear this outstanding recording. Playing with the energy and enthusiasm of a younger man, Wayne romps through a bakers-dozen of original tunes that showcase his strength as a songwriter and his boogie style of piano playing. He has an engaging style of singing that conjures up memories of Charles Brown and Amos Milburn.

His backing band is lead by ace guitarist Duke Robillard, who also produced the project. The rest of the musicians are drawn primarily from the alumni list of Roomful of Blues – Mark Teixeira on drums, Doug James on baritone sax, Sax Gordon Beadle on tenor sax, Doug Woolverton on trumpet, Carl Querfurth on trombone and Brad Halle on bass. In addition to piano, Wayne adds some organ on several cuts.

The jaunty rhythm on “Searching For My Baby” makes it an easy choice for the opening track with Robillard's guitar offering strong support for Wayne's spirited piano solo. With the horns and organ filling in the space behind him, Wayne de-scribes his attempts to deal with life's travails on “Fantasy Meets Reality”. Robillard's guitar dominates the arrangement on “Devil Woman”, his penetrating licks contrasting nicely with Wayne's laid-back vocal. “Wild Turkey 101 Proof” is a good-natured drinking tune with Wayne and Robillard sharing the solo space.

Other highlights include the title cut, with Wayne offering a summary of his view of life and career - and “Don't Pretend”, a slow blues that gives Wayne ample space to show off his tremendous skills on piano. The relentless drive of “Heaven, Send Me An Angel” underscores the songwriter's plea for relief from an alcohol-fueled rage over the miseries of this world. “Bring Back the Love”is a ballad with the horns cushioning the leader's tender vocal. The band harks back to the days of house rent parties on “Rocking Boogie Party”, with Wayne laying down plenty of dazzling piano runs.

The band slips into a gospel vein on the instrumental closing number, “Give Thanks”. Wayne pounds away on the piano and adds swirling chords on the organ while Robillard picks out more tasty licks.

It is a fitting close, showing the depth of Wayne's musical experiences. There are some who have lamented the future of blues piano due to the recent passing of Pinetop Perkins. Not to worry – the tradition is safe in the capable hands of the Blues Boss. This one is a contender for best Blues recording of the year and should not be missed.

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