Little Axe - Bought for a Dollar, Sold for a Dime

  by Lisa Torem

published: 8 / 5 / 2010

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Review

Little Axe, AKA Skip McDonald is from Dayton, Ohio. His musical beginnings included performing jazz, doo-wop and gospel and, as a teenager, he relocated to New York with friends, forming a band entitled the Entertainers. After joining Wood Brass and Steel in 1973 he joined the house band for Sugarhill Records performing guitar on ‘The Message’ by Grandmother Flash and for the Furious Five. In the 90's, while working in the much acclaimed Tackhead, he officially began performing under the stage name Little Axe and enjoyed a steady career as a recording blues artist. In his third and most recent release ‘Bought for a Dollar, Sold for a Dime’ Little Axe sharpens up some sublime, straight-forward music, heavily swathed in blues, but generously sprinkled with a few addtional options. ‘Guide My Feet’ opens and is drenched with velvety vocals.‘Soul of a Man’ has, at its heart, a well-executed delivery that is tinged with bittersweet overtones. ‘Grinning’ has a superb feel reminiscent of what we imagine those early juke joint performances embroiled. ‘Take a Stroll’ is spiked with wailing blues harp and dancing guitar riffs. ‘Hands Off’, a 12 bar blues floods emotion and ‘Can’t Sleep’ is, well, as descriptive of that phenomenon as any song can be. “Sometimes I have a heartache/Sometimes I ache all over,” Little Axe wails. ‘Hammerhead’ has a hypnotic legato feel and the gospel-polished hook “I’m gonna raise up my hammerhead,” is life-affirming. ‘Can’t Stop Walking Yet’ has a retro ‘Superfly’ vibe and another trad blues piece ‘Hear Me Cry’ possesses an undeniable ache. ‘Return’ embarks on a more orchestrated path, while ‘When The Sun Goes Down’ pays tribute to R & B balladry. It’s encouraging to hear these wonderful songs that evoke such emotion and pay such respect for a much-loved genre. ‘Bought for a Dollar, Sold for a Dime’ cuts to the heart. Little Axe is a big deal.

Track Listing:-

1 Guide My Feet
2 Soul of a Man
3 Grinning
4 Take a Stroll
5 Hands Off
6 Can’t Sleep
7 Hammerhead
8 Can’t Stop Walking Yet
9 Hear Me Cry
10 Too Late
11 Another Friend Gone
12 Tell Me Why
13 Return
14 When the Sun Goes Down

Label Links:-

https://realworldrecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/realworldreco
https://twitter.com/realworldrec
http://realworldrecords.tumblr.com/
http://realworldrecords.tumblr.com/