Send "Tab Benoit " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 The conventional wisdom concerning Tab Benoit is that early in his career he had a tendency to try too hard, to play too many notes, to wring too much oomph from his Louisiana electric blues. Whether one agrees with that or not, it’s tough to see anyone making that criticism of his newest record. Medicine is a smart, slick album full of strong tunes and impeccable playing, tied together with Benoit’s rich voice. Benoit’s career spans 20 years, stretching all the way back to his 1992 debut Nice and Warm and numerous albums for Justice Records and Telarc. Success has been inconsistent, though, despite his powerful singing and skillful playing. Medicine brings aboard guest guitarist Anders Osborne, who also coproduced the album and cowrote many of the songs. Benoit and Anders enjoy a successful chemistry, serving up a varied but energetic mix of tunes that are always polished and occasionally outstanding. One criticism that could be leveled at this record is it leads off with its strongest song. “Medicine” opens in a welter of guitar squealing, boot-stomping rhythms and Benoit’s gruff voice, which sounds more like Lonnie Mack than anything I’ve heard in years. In fact the Mack comparison is unavoidable, from the soulful-white-guy delivery to the bumblebee-in-a-mason-jar guitar solos of “Come and Get It” and “A Whole Lotta Soul.” (If you’ve never listened to Mack’s 1990 live album, Attack of the Killer V, do yourself a favor and go listen. Now.) At nearly six minutes, “Medicine” is also the longest song on the record, and the rest of the tunes can’t quite measure up....full text |
| Blindedbysound |
| Grammy-winner Tab Benoit's Medicine is a sturdy contemporary blues collection imbued with traditional country and Americana elements, particularly those recalling Benoit's native Louisiana. Benoit drafted fellow Louisianan Anders Osborne (American Patchwork) to co-produce, co-write, and add backing vocals and rhythm guitar. The title track opens the record and is built on a foundation of a stomping rhythm and stinging guitar leads. In addition to the overtones of addiction, Benoit uses the theme of finding healing in the music. Sometimes the best cure for the blues is the blues. Things slow down on "Sundown" and "A Whole Lotta Soul," giving the set diversity in sound and tempo. The pace is slowed on "Sundown" but Benoit isn't taking it easy, delivering a fiery vocal. Ivan Neville's organ work and some fuzzed bass are the backbone of "Soul," with another strong vocal from Benoit. Michael Doucet's fiddle work adds texture to the country waltz/blues hybrid "Long, Lonely Bayou." Benoit's twang works well on this acoustic cut but it is Doucet's mournful fiddle that takes center stage. "Can't You See" is more classic country than blues and Doucet is again key to that, although Benoit and Osborne's guitar are heavily accented with that country sound. There is a simple, uncluttered sound to the arrangements and sound that gives the more standard blues-based songs a live feel. "In It To Win It" feels stage ready right now, the kind of song Benoit and his band could extend as a showcase for some spirited soloing. "Can't You See" feels like something done in one take; you can almost see and hear people standing around smiling and clapping along. It may have all been captured in a studio with expensive equipment but it doesn't feel ponderous or labored. Medicine shows Benoit finding freedom within the formula and his longtime listeners should find the cure for what ails them....full text |
| Blues |
| Since he released his debut album back in 1992, Tab Benoit has been working furiously in both the studio and out on the road, churning out the dark-hued, thick-as-gravy blues licks at a rate rarely seen from anybody, let alone one of his generation. At 44 years old, Benoit is just entering his peak as a musician, as evidenced by Medicine, his first album in nearly four years. Tab Benoit's Medicine The many fine musicians Benoit has worked with throughout his career have lovingly showcased his fantastic guitar chops and songwriting skills, but the band assembled for Medicine takes the cake. Adding a second guitarist and co-writer with the talent of Anders Osborne was a cool enough move for this project. The rest of the line-up is a who’s who of Louisiana roots music: bassist Corey Duplechin plays with Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band; Hammond B-3 player Ivan Neville is the son of the great Aaron Neville, the leader of his own inventive conglomeration Dumstaphunk, and has played as a side-man with everyone from Paula Abdul to the Rolling Stones; drummer Brady Blade has worked with Emmylou Harris, Buddy & Julie Miller, and the Dave Matthews Band; and fiddler Michael Doucet is the leader of the premiere Cajun revivalists Beausoleil. Benoit and Osborne co-wrote seven of the album’s eleven songs, including the album opener and title cut, “Medicine.” There is no easing into this record. Instead, Benoit kicks right into a primal swamp blues riff, and practically burns his throat growling, “It’s so good when medicine hits my vein /just one time and I ain’t never been the same.” Benoit and Osborne each tear up the fretboard on this tough, harsh look at the world of an addict. The lyrics capture the suffering, yet the music captures the rush of the drugs. It’s not an easy pro or anti-drug song, but a powerful and compelling one, to be sure....full text |
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