BURTON GAAR
Mighty Long RoadCD Review
BY SONNY BOY LEEStraight out of New Orleans comes well-traveled Cajun bluesman Burton Gaar with Mighty Long Road, his latest collection of all original songs. Born in Baton Rouge, Gaar defines himself as "Louisiana proud," and in a previous incarnation as Burton Gaar & the Mudcats, championed his home state with the release of a Cajun, blues and zydeco true-to-his-roots CD entitled Still Singing the Blues.
At age 16, Gaar played bass for a short stint with Slim Harpo, who became a major influence, and in the ‘60s, Gaar gigged with the hot R&B band, the Boogie Kings. He also worked with Percy Sledge and Rockin’ Sidney’s band. Mighty Long Road is dedicated to the memory of Sidney Simien, who Gaar holds up as his hero.
Even though the CD cover pictures Gaar holding a Danelectro guitar, the liner notes only credit him with "vocals, all tracks." So, it’s not clear whether he’s playing guitar on it or not. Three other really fine guitar players who collaborated on the project are listed, however, so I guess it’s not that important.
Gaar jumps right into the groove with the lead-off track, "Bad Motor Scooter." The song gets into the slot and smokes. A really fine harp solo by Nashville session player, Texas native Tim Gonzalez, puts on the finishing touch midway into the song. One of my favorite cuts is "Somebody Broke My Lock" because it is a great example of steamy New Orleans funk blues. Gaar also calls this one of his "pet songs."
Another great song on the CD is "Willingly," a soul ballad that takes you back to the good old days of Louisiana R&B in the ‘60s. You can almost feel the steam coming off the dance floor.
The entire CD was recorded at Randy Coleman’s studio in Nashville. Coleman, incidentally, played bass on all the tracks, sang backup, and engineered and mixed the entire album — an accomplishment that deserves and needs to be mentioned here.
Dubbed "One of Louisiana’s hidden treasures" by Blues Gazette, Gaar has also received praise from no less than Chubby Carrier, Carl Weathersby and Charlie Musselwhite. Mighty Long Road is pure pleasure. Gaar’s vocal work is outstanding, as is his songwriting, and the band cooks. Nothing more needs to be said. Surf to Red Hot Records to buy it.
A review of Gaar’s 1997 release, One Hundred Pounds of Trouble, which was recorded in Holland and landed in the top five on international charts, along with a fine sample cut and information on purchasing the CD, can be found at an avid fan's Geocities web site.
