The B. Christopher Band

The B. Christopher Band
106 Miles To Chicago

Guitar One Records
By Peter “Blewzzman” Lauro © June 2024

Prelude 
Answering his own question of “Why record an album that is a tribute to a tribute band? – which appears on the album’s liner notes, B. Christopher’s answer is: “It is simply a record that I had to make as a personal marker to where I found rhythm and blues music. It was these songs that were my first stepping stone to the music of Elmore James, John Lee Hooker and Matt “Guitar” Murphy. The performances from The Blues Brothers soundtrack and live albums have had a lasting impact on me that has sustained for decades and I suspect will be there until the end”.

He even chose the title of the album from the classic Elwood line that states: “It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses”. To which Jake replies “Hit it!”.

Review
Although assembling a band as renowned as the members of The Blues Brothers Band would be tough, B. Christopher did one heck of a job trying. The maestros on this project include: the album’s producer and band leader B. Christopher on guitar; Eddie Testa on lead vocals; the legendary Anton Fig on drums; Nick Douglas on bass and backup vocals; Blues Music Award winner Bruce Katz on keys; Grammy Award winner Andy Snitzer on tenor and baritone sax; Ryan Keberle on trombone; original Blues Brother Band member Tom “Bones” Malone on baritone sax; Studebaker John on harmonica; and Sharlotte Gibson on backup vocals.

Things kick off with that classic drinking song whose title contains the words that many of us have uttered lots of times – “Hey Bartender”. Telling you nothing you don’t already know, the song is indeed a sing-a-long, dance floor filling smoker. With all the horns, including the Mississippi saxophone, in play; the keyboard wailing – as you might expect in a Floyd Dixon song; this rhythm on this one, led by heart thumpin’ beats from Anton (drums) and Nick (drums); is totally ablaze. With that all pumping them up, Eddie and B. are killing it on the vocals and lead guitar.

Just like the band did in the movie, not a beat was missed between the end of the last track and the start of this one – “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love” (B. Berns/S. Burke/J. Wexler). Also, not much has changed as well, it’s another full throttle performance by everyone involved. Having never heard of Eddie Testa before, I’ve got to tell you, he’s quickly making a fan of me. His vocals, along with the deep bass backups of Nick and the contrasting soprano style harmonies of Sharlotte, combine to make this one hell of a well sung song.

Why stop now, when you’re on a roll? This is the perfect spot to do a seven-minute ass kickin’ rendition of “Sweet Home Chicago” (R. Johnson). With the instrumentation on this disc, and the talented players on those instruments, it is so easy to sound redundant. So yes, this is another rhythm fueled smoker. Individual highlights feature Eddie making me shout “hell yes” every time he belts out the line ” C’mon baby, don’t you want to go…..”; ferocious drum work from Anton; barrelhouse piano runs from Bruce; sizzling tenor sax and trumpet leads from Andy and Tony, respectively; and some killer (sweet home) Chicago style blues licks from the boss man on guitar.

With it having won Henry Mancini an Emmy, two Grammys, and being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, “Peter Gunn” is most likely one of the best, and most recognizable TV theme songs of all time. From a sheer musical point of view, being an instrumental with nothing but masterful musicianship, it’s number one on my list. From the very aggressive opening rhythm beat, to the fierce horn section leads, to the rhythm guitar runs, the guys did this one justice by pretty much playing it note for note and sounding as good as the original version.

One of the album’s, and the movie’s as well, most energetic performance is “Gimmie Some Lovin” (S. and M. Windwood/S. Davis). Making Rolling Stones top 500 songs it was the Spencer Davis Group’s biggest hit and started off what would become a most amazing career for the then fifteen-year-old Stevie Windwood. Again, since this is a tribute album and making covers your own never comes into play, the guys did this – and every other track – justice by keeping it very real. With the whole band in a fierce jam mode behind him, Eddie, with strong backup from Sharlotte, puts on the album’s most compelling vocal presentation.

Other tracks on this excellent release by The B. Christopher Band include: “She Caught The Katy” by Taj Mahal, and a fabulous instrumental version of Otis Redding’s “I Can’t Turn You Loose”.

Should you like to find out more about the band, just go to – www.bchristopherband.com. Remember, wherever you go and whomever you speak with, please tell them their friend the Blewzzman sent you.

“The Blues Is My Passion And Therapy”