CD Review: Orleans to London - Jimmy McIntosh

by Rick Landers

Orleans to London

McIntosh and crew kick start the album with a Harley growl on “Biker Babe” before breaking into some turgid catch and release bass and percussion work. The group settles in hard, keeping the tune meaner than barbed wire, while Jimmy stinks it up with some nasty “in your face” riffs. Tough and untamed like a lady well-seasoned on a shovelhead, "Biker Babe" is as cool as the wind and as hard core as a sun bleached Big Mama tattoo.

“It Was A Virus” is a lean straightforward rhythm and blues piece that showcases a great vocal that's well grounded with just enough rasp to keep it real, along with a some doubled-up guitar work by McIntosh and Wood who rock it.

Turning on the funk burners again on “Mama Funk”, Uptown All Stars drummer “Mean” Willie Green, percussionist Cyril Neville and ex-Four Tops bassist Rochon Westmoreland keep “Mama” swaggerin', while McIntosh rolls out some sweet undercurrents and not a few riffs dug deep.

Some urbane funkadelic double-stops mixing it up with some searing lead work – Jeff Beck? – create some tension on “G-Spot” in all the right places. All the boys move the tune off-center, never quite missing the beat, but keeping it edgy. Each player runs hot within their own inner world without going self-indulgent on us.

“Woody” offers up a sensual musical landscape with Jimmy pulling off some nice bends and vibrato, before he tenderizes the piece with a gaggle of fuzz drenched chords and muted compression before displaying a bit of speed up the fret board.

Jimmy McIntosh and crew can’t help but do what they do best as they get in to “A.K.A. Papa Funk” that gives Green a little space to smack the skins and the rest of them hot spots to show off their musical talents. Nothing goes adrift here. It’s a straight shot funk-rock fusion piece from beginning to its abrupt end.

Well, why not a Stones’ tune? “Slave”, a Jagger-Richards composition gets down and dirty with Ronnie Wood on baritone guitar and sax player Phil Wigfall who transitions the piece into the punchy guitar driven ”Fifty Five”.

Quieting things down, “Rogent” starts with a slow gnarly guitar melody that any guitar player would love to wrap his fingers around. It’s grit and sugar, all spastically intertwined by McIntosh, Wood and Beck and kept warm by Tom Warrington’s acoustic bass. Liner notes never mention Jeff Beck, but Jeff's fans will readily recognize the "Hot Rod" guitar credit on two songs have to be "The Man" who loves tricked out street machines.

Hendrix’s “Third Stone from the Sun” rushes forward ala Carlos Santana style before those inimitable notes from Jimi ring out. McIntosh is having fun with this one, pulling out the stops with his whammy bar while he nosedives and wrestles it and somehow keeps the tune melodic throughout. I’ll take Jimi’s original most of the time, but this one’s very cool and worth pulling out when you need a bit of a shake and a rattle.

McIntosh and the guys say g’bye with a sweet traditional arrangement called “The Minstral Boy”. It seems out of character for this hot funky group, but I suppose it’s their way of heading out and letting us down easy.

Related Links
Jimmy McIntosh
Neville Brothers
Jeff Beck

CD Title: Orleans to London
Label: Arizona Club Records
Producer: Jimmy McIntosh
Release date: To be released March 20, 2007

Orleans to London Track Listing
1. Biker Babe
2. It Was A Virus
3. Mama Funk
4. G-Spot
5. Woody
6. A.K.A. Papa Funk
7. Slave
8. Fifty Five
9. Rogent
10. Third Stone From The Sun
11. The Minstral Boy