It's sad many good CDs don't get distributed worldwide. Unfortunately, it's essentially a pop culture we're living in these days, especially in the US. For particular genre music, such as blues, jazz, folk, classical, etc., if you want it bad enough you sometimes have to go out of your way to get it. Nonetheless, that extra effort can be rewarding, because good stuff is out there just waiting to be found. Fortunately, for passionate listeners, there are record companies still distributing the good stuff that isn't backed and pushed by millions of dollars, such as Europe's DixieFrog in this case. Ironically enough, the music that's hard to find is often the most authentic and most passionate music out there. It's raw and rudimentary, yet ingenious and resourceful. It's supported by its history and its roots more than by big money, primarily because musicians, not corporations, create it. The music is real.

Cryin' Hey!, the newest release from Boston favorite, Monster Mike Welch, is one of those gems. If you crave gritty and unrefined garage style blues, this will put a smile on your face for days. Monster Mike does some of the most electrifying and soulful guitar work of his career. It's the record he has wanted to make for years. He pulls out all the stops, exposing all of his blues influences. His style is often indicative of Muddy Waters, Hubert Sumlin, Freddie King, and Magic Sam; you can pick out traces of Ronnie Earl and Duke Robillard, a little Stevie Ray as well. Mike has traces of all the blues greats imbedded in him anyway, as he's a true blues player, and has been since he first started playing at age eight.

Fans of the Monster Mike Welch Band in the past, and blues fans in general, will find Cryin' Hey! a refreshing treat, as the band cuts loose in a traditional Chicago blues style. Lovers of those wailing, crying guitar solos within cool slow blues numbers can rejoice. There are at least four of them on this CD, all done with taste and style. His voice isn't bad either. It's grittiness matches the rawness of the sessions, most of which were done in one take. The songs have that spontaneous air about them, that Magic Sam ambiance.

The tone of Mike's blue Stratocaster through a Victoria Deluxe is deliciously raw and downright bluesy. Also making up this fine vintage sounding Monster Mike Welch Band are legendary bassist and guitarist Nick Moss (playing guitar); Anthony Geraci on piano, who also played with Sugar Ray & the Bluetones, and Ronnie Earl, among others; Michael 'Mudcat' Ward on bass, who also played with Hubert Sumlin, Sugar Ray & the Bluetones, Ronnie Earl, and others; and the fabulous Warren Grant on drums.

The CD is dedicated to Mike's wife Jeannette and son Joaquin, the two things more precious to him than his blues.

Cryin Hey!
1. All The Love In The World

2. Cryin' Hey!

3. A Thrill To Be Alive

4. Joaquin Riley

5. My Father's Son

6. They Call Me Monster Mike

7. Everybody

8. One Of Those Days

9. This High, High Cost Of Leaving

10. Searching For An Angel

11. Give Me Time

12. Just Like A Fool

13. My Daily Wish

All songs by Mike Welch, Leroy and the Beast Music, BMI, administered by Bug Music - except 'This High, High Cost Of Leaving', by Michael Ward, Trajet Music, BMI; and 'My Daily Wish' by Robert Lockwood, Jr., Anne Lockwood Publishing, BMI.

Links
Monster Mike Welch
Cryin' Hey! on Bluesweb