Blues, funk, soul, and to foundation of of rock. They all came from basically the same place back in the ast century, though along the way they diverged. The roots movement among younger musicians has been revisiting and revising a lot of venerable styles. And it's good to see third- or fourth-generation players not only taking up such sounds with a degree of authenticity but also messing around with them in a way that does keep the spirit of the music. This week, we have the latest recording by a Texas-based performer who mixes blues, rock, funk and soul in a way that sounds thoroughly appealing, to the point of often being a downwright fun album, yet does not lose sight of the traditions. He is Hamilton Loomis, and his new CD, his fifth, is called Ain't Just Temporary.

Hamilton Loomis was born and raised in Galveston, Texas. He came from a musical family, with his parents performing in a doo-wop band. He joined the family group at age 14, being a multi-instrumentalist on piano, guitar, bass and harmonica. His first instrument was drums, which he started on at age five. He continues to play all of those on his new recording. One of the biggest events of his formative days was meeting Bo Diddley at age 16, asking for his autograph, and somehow ending up playing on stage that night with the blues and rock pioneer. They became friends, and Bo Diddley puts in a guest appearance on Loomis' new CD. Some of his other mentors at an early age include the late Johnny Copeland, Clarence Gatemouth Brown and Albert Collins. Loomis made his debut recording in 1994, made a series of independent releases, before signing to the nationally distributed Blind Pig blues label which in 2003 released Kickin' It, which we featured on this review series at the time. Loomis then described his music as "blues outside the box." The new CD continues the mix of blues, funk, soul, rock and more contemporary elements like drum loops, along with clever lyric writing, great musicianship and infectious grooves. Loomis pays tribute to James Brown in his liner notes, and he has cited Prince as also being one of his influences, and you can hear a little of both at times on Ain't Just Temporary.

While his last CD featured more of a regular band, with some overdubbing on Loomis' part, several tracks on this CD feature Loomis playing all the instruments himself. Not exactly in keeping with the spontaneous spirit of the blues, but he manages to keep it funky. Though drums are his first instrument, there are some tracks that feature a guest drummer, and they definitely profit from it. Nevertheless, this is an impressive example of a multitrack solo recording that sounds like a real band.

Besides Bo Diddley, the guests on the CD include drummers Trevor Root and Scott Key, plus Vince Palumbo on saxes, and bass player Danny Belltran

Leading off is a tune that more or less epitomizes Loomis' style. Best Worst Day combines clever lyrics with a great groove, in this case, a kind of New Orleans funk. Trevor Root's drumming keeps it funky, Vince Palumbo plays the saxophones, but the rest is all Hamilton Loomis himself. <<>>

A bit more toward 70s soul is a song Loomis co-wrote called Legendary. Again, Loomis' lyrics run toward the lighthearted, with memorable turns of phrase. <<>>

A song called Good Enough combines echoes of Memphis soul with bits of drum loops for an occasional taste of the 21st Century. <<>>

The track featuring Bo Diddley is You Got to Wait, which was co-written by Loomis and Bo Diddley. The rock legend contributes some guitar, as well as his vocals, and adds much to the song. <<>>

One of the highlights of the album is Slow Lover, which is actually a cover tune. Unlike most of the rest of the CD, it features essentially a whole band with Danny Beltran and Trevor Root on the bass and drums, Palumbo on sax, and even a guest lead guitarist, Scott Free. The cohesiveness of a band playing, rather than someone layering the parts one by one, is evident with the particularly infectious groove. <<>>

While most of the tracks are upbeat and generally quite danceable, Loomis does include something that approaches being a ballad. Love Again is an appealing soul-influenced love song. This is one of those tracks on which Loomis plays all the instruments. <<>>

Loomis makes the best of a bout of writer's block one of the CD's most lyrically whimsical songs. My Pen complains about the writing instrument not providing any inspiration to a songwriter. And the result is rather inspired. <<>>

The CD ends with another amusing track, Bow Wow, which is another cover song, that features guest appearances by a couple of dogs, who with some clever editing can be funky as well. <<>>

I observed four years ago when Loomis' last album came out that there were likely to be blues purists who might look down their noses at his music, with it not being traditional blues. In defense of what he does, Loomis called his music "blues out the box" at the time. His new CD a similar amalgam of styles, but as before, they are all well-handled. Loomis is particularly likable vocalist, and his guitar work is outstanding. He also plays more harmonica on the new CD than last time around, and also proves his ability on that instrument. From a technical standpoint, Ain't Just Temporary is impressive at just how well the tracks constructed by Loomis' multiply overdubbing himself, came out, maintaining a great groove.

Our grade for sound quality is an "A." The overall mix is clean, almost intimate-sounding. But there are some leaps into some hip-hop style drum loops and occasionally intentionally-distorted vocals, but they are effectively used as accents, and not as the main sound. Loomis himself, along with Texas-based engineer Steve Ames recorded and mixed the CD.

Blues, funk, soul and rock -- the four meet again with a lot of class on Hamilton Loomis' new album. Loomis is a younger musician who can mix things up, but he also has a thorough understanding and appreciation for the paints on his musical canvass. All that, and with a sense of good fun.

(c) Copyright 2007 George D. Graham. All rights reseved.
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