Reviewed: 16-June-2009

Review:

On Meet Me In My Daydream, Brother Magnum serves up a heavy dose of his easily identifiable funk-induced blues and slashing guitar throughout eleven songs - all of which he wrote, produced and arranged.  His penetrating, signature solos are pleasingly demonstrative and pump through his veins, literally exploding from his fingertips in flammable fashion.  His able-bodied vocals command your attention and can be compared favorably to Albert King.  Fans of Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, Lenny Kravitz, and Robert Cray will find delight in this effort as well.

Many blues artists live recordings far surpass their studio efforts -  there is something about performing in front of crowds that brings out the best in blues performers that somehow traditionally fails to translate well to the studio. Brother Magnum manages to bridge that gap - for a studio release many of the songs have a distinctive "live" feel.  This is a tribute to the arrangements and fine production on this effort as well as a testimony to his superb backing musicians.

Brother Magnum's classic "Have A Good Time" will erupt from your speakers like a hurtling fireball and is one of my all time blues favorites. His scorching guitar solo on "What I Need" is almost too short; it is so good you will wish he extended it a little longer, though a very Jimi Hendrix-like riff and vocal echo throughout the song is equally enjoyable.  I was half-expecting the good brother to segue into "Red House".  One could identify this song as psychedelic blues and be spot on.  It's a great song.

"Cocaine Sheila" has traditional blues roots and bemoans the addictive nature of an unattainable woman in a descriptive, horizontal bump-n-grind manner.  Brother Magnum's vocals are at the forefront of this number and the guitar is slightly understated, and it works well.  A unyielding saxophone solo at 1:50 into the song accentuates the message and gives it a white-hot attitude. "I Should Have Known" and "Mexico" have a shuffle feel to them, blending traditional blues and soul that is incongruous to any specific genre.  Both have a birth-of-rock-n-roll feel that is probably the best way to describe them. "Nee-Mo Money" and "Love Wrong Blues" provide wonderful examples of Brother Magnum's celebrated guitar-playing ability. To use a term that is often wrongly associated with heavy metal music, the man simply shreds.

Meet Me In My Daydream is a great addition to any blues lovers collection,  a great mix of up tempo funkified numbers, retro soul blues, roots rock, traditional blues and even a shuffle or two.  You can't re-invent the wheel but you can still make top of the line tires.  Brother Magnum has not invented a new genre of music but he's doing it as good as anyone ever has.

-- Michael Canter (SonicJive.com)

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Michael Canter

SONICJIVE.COM
FRIENDS. MUSIC. LIFE.

-Don Blaze- Emerging Music Webzine

AllI can say is wow! Blues Harp Master John Popper jammed with Brother Magnum tonight at The Speakeasy. John was spotted in the audience and was asked to come up and jam. Popper played on "Bad Apple", which is a song from the new Brother Magnum CD "Still paying dues, still playing blues". All present were astonished at Popper's amazing tone and control. Magnum finished the jam with his own interpretation. "Damn, someone kill me now. I've seen the promised land!"