Reviews
BLUES REVUE MAGAZINE Apr/May 2008
When I first received Albert Storo and the Soul Hustlers "Gettin' Down And Nasty", I didn't think
there would be enough music here to do a feature spot on my show. How wrong was I on that?
Upon closer review, I found over 45 minutes of Texas fried houserockin' blues. Including a nearly
15 minute must play cover of Bobby Rush's "Chicken Heads". It's true the play list may look a little
short. But there's no shortage for the listeners when it comes to "Gettin' Down And Nasty" in the
blues.
Al Lundy / Highway Blues
KZUM 89.3 F.M.
Lincoln, Ne
Great release in the best Chicago and Texas traditions. I can hear Freddie King, and Otis Rush,
and Stevie Ray Vaughan. a CD that should find its fans over here in Europe.
I would like to offer it in my Catalog for my European audience.. I’ll take 60 copies.
Detlev Hoegen - Bear Family Records/Crosscut Records - Bremen, GERM
From Belgium..
" Gettin' Down & Nasty" Is the debut of the Texas guitarist Albert Storo. With Houston as his home
base.
In the openings song " That's Alright" we already hear directly, where Albert is, and what he's
doing, he’s reworked this song of Jimmy Rogers to the “seventies - sounding” Freddie King style
such as we that know, from the " Texas Cannonball" period. With the slow Chicago blues, Willie
Kent cover "All My Life" a lot of Otis Rush influences have jetted through my ears, and it is not all
singing and guitar playing that does Albert here, He also play the drums - and bass tracks are him
as well.
As a matter of fact, Albert was, long time drummer with, among others, Sherman Robinson, Bobby
Parker, W.C Clark and many other names with eminence. Of course as a Texas influenced blues
player, one could not stray away from the elements of a young styling of Stevie Ray Vaughan.
" Hipshakin' Woman" thus a number, which very much emotes work in Stevies style, up tempo
shuffle with much power it is.
The voice of Albert seems reminiscent on those of Popa Chubby, while on a couple other
numbers Albert sits there in what sounds to my ears as Hendrix, Stylistical in that raw intonation
which Jimi had at singing.
The funky " Sugar Sweet" go in advance to the slow live song " Chicken Heads" with intro that
seems to have walked away from " Voodoo Child" but just as later also 15 minutes lasting funk-
bluesfunk-blues funk-blues appear become, without kicking in the stereotype bluesrock down fall
of many of todays contemporary blue artists.
Only its own composition" Lovin You" leave appear that Albert will find also best its own style,
already are there many Stevie Ray detected influences, but also what Z.Z Hill type soul music.
in the songs styling.
And lastly, A strange number to finish, is the blues version of the Rogers and Hammerstein
composition, an instrumental of " My Favorite Things" from " The Sound or Music" , instrumental,
A Santana tinged version, but Storo succeeded. That is also the final conclusion for this short
debut of Albert Storo and his soul music Hustlers, a succeeding collection, in an extremely modern
way. A sound blues plate of this artist from Texas .
Freddie Celis - Rootstime Belgium Jan 08
Former "Professor Longhair" attorney & CEO of "Master Digital" in Covington, La had nothing but
praises for the CD as a whole, and is quoted as saying, "It’s a solid CD with strong performances,
and regarding "My Favorite Things" Coltrane would've approved, you should have no problem
selling this product to the masses"
Parker Dinkins - CEO of "Master Digital" in Covington, La
We’ve had a dark and rainy day and I just heard your music from your web-site and I felt in a a
much better mood. Sounds Great! I am interested to play your new cd in my radio-show
Blues und Folk.
Ursula Goretzky, - “Blues & Folk Radio”
Hamburg, Germany.
Albert Storo & The Soul Hustlers - do I need to tell you anything more. Albert is knockin' out
windows & kickin' in doors with his blasting cap style of blues guitar playing. A lot of energy from
this guy!!
“The Blues Scene” Houston Online review
Merry Christmas Albert! Man I loved your cd! Only complaint, not enough friggin' songs! If your
ever up this way (Maryland) let me know. It would be great to see you guys live.
Again Merry Christmas and happy new year keep makin' that nasty music.
Eric Knickerbocker - CD Baby Customer - MD
The material on this CD is unique- not typical of most blues artist's repertoire. And the guitar work
is impressive. More please!!
Vic - Satisfied CD Baby customer
When I first received Albert Storo and the Soul Hustlers "Gettin' Down And Nasty", I didn't think
there would be enough music here to do a feature spot on my show. How wrong was I on that?
Upon closer review, I found over 45 minutes of Texas fried houserockin' blues. Including a nearly
15 minute must play cover of Bobby Rush's "Chicken Heads". It's true the play list may look a little
short. But there's no shortage for the listeners when it comes to "Gettin' Down And Nasty" in the
blues.
Al Lundy / Highway Blues
KZUM 89.3 F.M.
Lincoln, Ne
Great release in the best Chicago and Texas traditions. I can hear Freddie King, and Otis Rush,
and Stevie Ray Vaughan. a CD that should find its fans over here in Europe.
I would like to offer it in my Catalog for my European audience.. I’ll take 60 copies.
Detlev Hoegen - Bear Family Records/Crosscut Records - Bremen, GERM
From Belgium..
" Gettin' Down & Nasty" Is the debut of the Texas guitarist Albert Storo. With Houston as his home
base.
In the openings song " That's Alright" we already hear directly, where Albert is, and what he's
doing, he’s reworked this song of Jimmy Rogers to the “seventies - sounding” Freddie King style
such as we that know, from the " Texas Cannonball" period. With the slow Chicago blues, Willie
Kent cover "All My Life" a lot of Otis Rush influences have jetted through my ears, and it is not all
singing and guitar playing that does Albert here, He also play the drums - and bass tracks are him
as well.
As a matter of fact, Albert was, long time drummer with, among others, Sherman Robinson, Bobby
Parker, W.C Clark and many other names with eminence. Of course as a Texas influenced blues
player, one could not stray away from the elements of a young styling of Stevie Ray Vaughan.
" Hipshakin' Woman" thus a number, which very much emotes work in Stevies style, up tempo
shuffle with much power it is.
The voice of Albert seems reminiscent on those of Popa Chubby, while on a couple other
numbers Albert sits there in what sounds to my ears as Hendrix, Stylistical in that raw intonation
which Jimi had at singing.
The funky " Sugar Sweet" go in advance to the slow live song " Chicken Heads" with intro that
seems to have walked away from " Voodoo Child" but just as later also 15 minutes lasting funk-
bluesfunk-blues funk-blues appear become, without kicking in the stereotype bluesrock down fall
of many of todays contemporary blue artists.
Only its own composition" Lovin You" leave appear that Albert will find also best its own style,
already are there many Stevie Ray detected influences, but also what Z.Z Hill type soul music.
in the songs styling.
And lastly, A strange number to finish, is the blues version of the Rogers and Hammerstein
composition, an instrumental of " My Favorite Things" from " The Sound or Music" , instrumental,
A Santana tinged version, but Storo succeeded. That is also the final conclusion for this short
debut of Albert Storo and his soul music Hustlers, a succeeding collection, in an extremely modern
way. A sound blues plate of this artist from Texas .
Freddie Celis - Rootstime Belgium Jan 08
Former "Professor Longhair" attorney & CEO of "Master Digital" in Covington, La had nothing but
praises for the CD as a whole, and is quoted as saying, "It’s a solid CD with strong performances,
and regarding "My Favorite Things" Coltrane would've approved, you should have no problem
selling this product to the masses"
Parker Dinkins - CEO of "Master Digital" in Covington, La
We’ve had a dark and rainy day and I just heard your music from your web-site and I felt in a a
much better mood. Sounds Great! I am interested to play your new cd in my radio-show
Blues und Folk.
Ursula Goretzky, - “Blues & Folk Radio”
Hamburg, Germany.
Albert Storo & The Soul Hustlers - do I need to tell you anything more. Albert is knockin' out
windows & kickin' in doors with his blasting cap style of blues guitar playing. A lot of energy from
this guy!!
“The Blues Scene” Houston Online review
Merry Christmas Albert! Man I loved your cd! Only complaint, not enough friggin' songs! If your
ever up this way (Maryland) let me know. It would be great to see you guys live.
Again Merry Christmas and happy new year keep makin' that nasty music.
Eric Knickerbocker - CD Baby Customer - MD
The material on this CD is unique- not typical of most blues artist's repertoire. And the guitar work
is impressive. More please!!
Vic - Satisfied CD Baby customer
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ALBERT STORO & THE SOUL HUSTLERS
Appreciate the difference between rocking
up the blues and playing rock music.
On the self-released “Gettin’ Down & Nasty,”
Storo and his crew apply Houston mojo to electric blues
standards “That’s Alright” (taken as an uptempo Texas
shuffle) and “Sugar Sweet”. Storo handles bass and
drums in addition to his eloquent James Wheeler- and
Otis Rush-influenced guitar on Willie Kents
“All My Life,” and he revs up Rogers & Hammersteins
“My Favorite Things” Texas-style. But “Chicken
Heads,” spiced with organ and clavinet by Steve Cecil,
is an excuse for a “Voodoo Chile” jam that, at more
than 14 minutes, is too much.
-Tom Hyslop
BLUES REVUE MAGAZINE Apr/May 2008
Appreciate the difference between rocking
up the blues and playing rock music.
On the self-released “Gettin’ Down & Nasty,”
Storo and his crew apply Houston mojo to electric blues
standards “That’s Alright” (taken as an uptempo Texas
shuffle) and “Sugar Sweet”. Storo handles bass and
drums in addition to his eloquent James Wheeler- and
Otis Rush-influenced guitar on Willie Kents
“All My Life,” and he revs up Rogers & Hammersteins
“My Favorite Things” Texas-style. But “Chicken
Heads,” spiced with organ and clavinet by Steve Cecil,
is an excuse for a “Voodoo Chile” jam that, at more
than 14 minutes, is too much.
-Tom Hyslop
BLUES REVUE MAGAZINE Apr/May 2008
Albert Storo & the Soul Hustlers - Getting’ Down & Nasty
BOSTON BLUES SOCIETY By Karen Nugent - VICE PRESIDENT
May 2008
There’s a warning on this disc that says “For Fullest Pleasure, Play At A Slightly
Louder Volume Than Normal.”
How true it is.
Houston-based Albert Storo has put out seven solid tracks of outstanding
electric blues – well, make that six tracks. The last song, his rearrangement of
“My Favorite Things” (yes, from The Sound of Music) isn’t exactly blues, but it’s
not Rogers and Hammerstein, either.
The disc, his first, is phenomenal.
From the opening “That’s Alright,” a much faster version than the Jimmy Rogers
classic, to the 14-minute funky “Chicken Heads” by Bobby Rush, my favorite song
on the record, there really isn’t one song you might opt to skip over.
It rocks – nearly all the songs are danceable – but is not what you’d call “blues
rock.” The album is raw, fresh and interesting, and minus those tired special
effects like distortion and wah-wah pedals. Storo describes his style as “rocked-
up blues.”
Storo, who does all the vocals and guitar playing, along with bass and drums on
one track, is obviously influenced by fellow Texan, Stevie Ray Vaughn. But he
also draws heavily from Otis Rush and Freddie King.
Willy Kent’s “All My Life,” a slow, smoky blues, showcases his guitar prowess.
The one original on the disc, Storo’s “Lovin’ You,” sticks to the pure blues sound
and reminds me of Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson, another of Storo’s influences.
For us stubborn purists, besides “That’s Alright,” Storo offers the snazzy
“Hipshakin’ Woman,” a fast-paced number. He puts a funky spin on “Sugar
Sweet,” a favorite of Muddy Waters, but the guitar solo is stupendous.
That brings us to “Chicken Heads,” a very long song with a Hendrix-like guitar
thing in the middle. The nearly 15 minute time span is OK with me, especially
when it took me most of the way home from work on a few late nights. The tune
was recorded live at the Sunset Bar and Grill in Houston, and you sure can
picture the bumpin’ and grinding that must have been going on.
I’m not quite sure why Storo picked “My Favorite Things” as the closing track It’s
rearranged as a jazz song, and, frankly, is much preferable to the original, in my
opinion.
Storo played drums earlier in his career, and worked with Bobby Parker, W.C.
Clark, and Trudy Lynn, among others, including Boston’s Brian Templeton and the
Radio Kings. He’s jammed with Albert Collins and Carey Bell, and has opened for
B.B. King.
The other band members on the disc are Chaz Nadege and Steve Cecil on
keyboards, Jessica Bucheit and Alfred Kennedy on bass, and Charlie San Miguel
and Mark McSwain on drums.
Let’s hope Storo brings his Texas-sauced Chicago blues up here soon.
BOSTON BLUES SOCIETY By Karen Nugent - VICE PRESIDENT
May 2008
There’s a warning on this disc that says “For Fullest Pleasure, Play At A Slightly
Louder Volume Than Normal.”
How true it is.
Houston-based Albert Storo has put out seven solid tracks of outstanding
electric blues – well, make that six tracks. The last song, his rearrangement of
“My Favorite Things” (yes, from The Sound of Music) isn’t exactly blues, but it’s
not Rogers and Hammerstein, either.
The disc, his first, is phenomenal.
From the opening “That’s Alright,” a much faster version than the Jimmy Rogers
classic, to the 14-minute funky “Chicken Heads” by Bobby Rush, my favorite song
on the record, there really isn’t one song you might opt to skip over.
It rocks – nearly all the songs are danceable – but is not what you’d call “blues
rock.” The album is raw, fresh and interesting, and minus those tired special
effects like distortion and wah-wah pedals. Storo describes his style as “rocked-
up blues.”
Storo, who does all the vocals and guitar playing, along with bass and drums on
one track, is obviously influenced by fellow Texan, Stevie Ray Vaughn. But he
also draws heavily from Otis Rush and Freddie King.
Willy Kent’s “All My Life,” a slow, smoky blues, showcases his guitar prowess.
The one original on the disc, Storo’s “Lovin’ You,” sticks to the pure blues sound
and reminds me of Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson, another of Storo’s influences.
For us stubborn purists, besides “That’s Alright,” Storo offers the snazzy
“Hipshakin’ Woman,” a fast-paced number. He puts a funky spin on “Sugar
Sweet,” a favorite of Muddy Waters, but the guitar solo is stupendous.
That brings us to “Chicken Heads,” a very long song with a Hendrix-like guitar
thing in the middle. The nearly 15 minute time span is OK with me, especially
when it took me most of the way home from work on a few late nights. The tune
was recorded live at the Sunset Bar and Grill in Houston, and you sure can
picture the bumpin’ and grinding that must have been going on.
I’m not quite sure why Storo picked “My Favorite Things” as the closing track It’s
rearranged as a jazz song, and, frankly, is much preferable to the original, in my
opinion.
Storo played drums earlier in his career, and worked with Bobby Parker, W.C.
Clark, and Trudy Lynn, among others, including Boston’s Brian Templeton and the
Radio Kings. He’s jammed with Albert Collins and Carey Bell, and has opened for
B.B. King.
The other band members on the disc are Chaz Nadege and Steve Cecil on
keyboards, Jessica Bucheit and Alfred Kennedy on bass, and Charlie San Miguel
and Mark McSwain on drums.
Let’s hope Storo brings his Texas-sauced Chicago blues up here soon.
FROM POLAND - Review by: Przemek Draheim
It was worth to wait as your album is so full of tasty guitar licks – this is the blues I
really like. Plus, it is easy to notice you were a drummer for a large part of your life –
rhythm patterns in your guitar playing are interesting and your solos are always in
the pocket with the groove. Many guitarists forget about those qualities so it is a
pleasure to hear you play. With a tight band behind your back you can really make
the party going – as evident on the boiling version of “Chicken Heads”
by Bobby Rush. Tasty!
Thank you again for sharing your music with me and my listeners, Albert. I am glad
this parcel was not stolen in the mail!
Keep in touch and best wishes,
Przemek Draheim
It was worth to wait as your album is so full of tasty guitar licks – this is the blues I
really like. Plus, it is easy to notice you were a drummer for a large part of your life –
rhythm patterns in your guitar playing are interesting and your solos are always in
the pocket with the groove. Many guitarists forget about those qualities so it is a
pleasure to hear you play. With a tight band behind your back you can really make
the party going – as evident on the boiling version of “Chicken Heads”
by Bobby Rush. Tasty!
Thank you again for sharing your music with me and my listeners, Albert. I am glad
this parcel was not stolen in the mail!
Keep in touch and best wishes,
Przemek Draheim