RELEASED
July 10th 2007
$17.95 plus $3 S&H
About "Dope Slap Soup"
This is the year Randy McAllister was the only other artist to be nominated
in three international categories for Australia's Blue Star Awards along with Eric Clapton. Randy's 8th album "Dope Slap Soup" contain some of his most exciting work to date. Most of the songs are written and arranged by Randy with tracks 2 and 7 written by Mike Morgan and track 1 arranged by Matt Woodburn and Randy McAllister.
Get ready to love this album. Great songs with original stories, rich vocals and harmonica by Randy McAllister. The guitar solos will amaze you by Matt Woodburn, Mike Morgan, Mitchell Smithey and Todd Blalock. Playing an inspired
Bass the legendary Sonny Collie. On B-3 and Piano Mike Hanna and Tim Allexander. Drums were exceptional with Chuck
"Popcorn" Louden, Danny Cochran and Randy McAllister taking a turn. Randy's background vocalists were Benita
Arterberry-Burns and Angie McWhirter.
Reviews
"When I first saw the title of Randy McAllister's latest effort, "Dope Slap Soup", I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But upon listening through the entire CD a second time, I realized I had been handed a big, thick slice of great Texas blues and roots music. McAllister has surrounded himself with a host of fine musicians on this recording and their playing is uniformly excellent throughout the disc. Even though McAllister is a fine harp player, his playing doesn't dominate this record. Instead he lets his very soulful vocals, top notch song-writing from his own pen and that of fellow Texan Mike Morgan, and the aforementioned fine studio band carry the music along on a rousing trip through Texas. Do yourself a favor and give this disc a thorough listen, and you'll be very pleasantly surprised. I will be spinning this one for a long time to come." -
Brett Fleming, WEVL, Memphis
Reviews
"Texas bluesman Randy McAllister's latest release, Dope Slap Soup (Reaction Records), features more of his innovative songwriting and is in more of a soul bag than his earlier releases. McAllister has always been hard to pigeonhole because he's comfortable playing not only blues, but soul, rock, and even country. While probably giving record stores a headache as far as where to file his recordings, it's a good thing for fans, since he's more than capable in each genre.
The general feel of the album is more Memphis than Texas with cuts like "When I Get Back Home," and "Close Your Eyes," which have a definite Stax Record feel to them. Actually, "When I Get Back Home" was written by guitarist Mike Morgan, as was the equally soul-drenched "I Have To Set You Free." However, there's hard-rocking blues as well with "The Girl Ain't Right" and "Blame Yourself," and a country flavor to "Hardheaded."
There are also a few of those story songs McAllister does so well, with "Baptist Church Van," "$127.00 Sandwich," and "Can't Pick Your Relatives." The closing track, "Steady Decline," is a genre-buster that features blues-rock guitar, a soulful B-3, gospelly backing female vocals, and inspirational lyrics. However you categorize it, you'll love it.
This is another fine effort from McAllister, who is as appealing a singer and harmonica player as he is a composer. He gets strong support from Morgan, Matt Woodburn, Mitchell Smiley, and Todd Blalock on guitars, Chuck "Popcorn" Louden and Danny Cochran on drums, Sonny Collie on bass, Mike Hanna and Tim Alexander on keyboards, and Benita Arterberry-Burns and Angie McWhirter on backing vocals. This is powerful stuff, wherever you file it.
- Blues Bytes
Reviews
Readers, welcome to Dope Slap, Texas. No, it's not a place you can find, even with MapQuest, but it's a place we'll wager that everyone has been thru at least once. Texas-born Randy McAllister, a singer-songwriter extraordinaire who has been compared to John Hiatt and Delbert McClinton, brings us his latest collection on Reaction Records, "Dope Slap Soup."
Randy's characters are people we can all identify with, or who will make you say "I know someone like that." His songs are humorous, and, at the same time, thought-provoking, as, through his writing, he also addresses topical subjects such as the plight of the homeless and violence in today's society, along with more "everyday" offerings such as the care and feeding of relationships.
Randy has a soulfully-distinctive vocal style, reminiscent of fellow Texan Doyle Bramhall, and is quite the harp-meister as well, as is evident on the raucous tale of why it is a bummer sometimes because "you can pick your friends, but you Can't Pick Your Relatives." And, he goes to many great lengths to raise the cash to "get back to Texas in a U-Haul truck" in "Baptist Church Van." Matt Woodburn adds some tasty slide on this one, too. More harp and slide courtesy of Mike Morgan drives the story of a man glad to have his so-called "friend" steal his lover, because, plain and simple, "The Girl Ain't Right!"
Our favorite, tho, was a song about something that we can all relate to. Absent-mindedness concerning one's checkbook might just cause you to end up eating a "$127.00 Sandwich and a bag of Fritos!"
Randy McAllister could easily be identified as "the thinking man's songwriter" with this larest release. So, clear your head, kick back and order yourself a big bowl of "Dope Slap Soup" and.......ENJOY!!! Until next time....
Sheryl and Don Crow - MusicCityBlues.com
"Dope Slap Soup", say what? See Randy McAllister for an explanation. That's the name of his new CD and it is really good. Not flashy, rip up the tent Jason Ricci, Hendrix stuff, just fine nod your head and get into it blues. This is Randy's 8th CD. As a 5th generation Texan, and starting out on his daddy's drum set, he has moved on to harp, guitar, and songwriting. I really like this CD. A fine Christmas stocking stuffer to help you get through the winter. Well, get you through most anything really. Or certainly help out. Excellent harp player too. My favorite cut is $127.00 Sandwich. Yea, things can go that wrong. I can see how it happens. It just cracks me up, and you can see it coming. Yea, he's been out there. Sorry buddy, but you are a better blues man for it. His slide work is excellent, his heart is in the right place, his vocals are smooth as his slide. Throw in a couple of back up singers on a few cuts, and well "The Girl Ain't Right." Yea, we seen that too. This just ain't straight blues, here not the 12 bar stuff, and an occasional Texan twang that sounds great. There are 12 cuts on the CD. Randy mixes blues, country, some rock, harp, into......well a great soup. Earlier in 2007 he was nominated as Best Instrumentalist - Harmonica in Australia, Best International Vocalist – Male, and Best International Solo Artist. Why believe me? Go listen for yourself. Every song is good, no weak cuts. Merry Christmas. One love, your friend.......
Blue Barry Faust - Smoky Mountain Blues Society
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RANDY McALLISTER
"Dope Slap Soup"
12 NEW TITLES
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