Jimmy Warren Band

No More Promises

 Electro Glide Records

by Steve "Fly" Klein

There had been a buzz about a hot blues guitar player living just outside Chicago. A good friend of mine heard him play about a year ago and has been raving about him ever since. Now I have his new CD in my hands.

 My buddy is right, Jimmy Warren is very good indeed. While Warren's playing echoes a few classic players such as the Kings (B.B. and Albert) and modern pickers like Billy Gibbons, Mark Knopfler and Amos Garrett, he stands as a unique guitarist with a talent for laying down a silky riff as well as a spicy solo.

The CD opens with "Watermelon Money," one of my favorite tracks. It has all the elements of a great blues song; Warren plays some excellent guitar here and the band chips in with brilliant support. On the instrumental "Darker Shades of Gray" Warren is in a Jimi state of mind, paying homage to Hendrix while adding his own satisfying light touches. Anna Ulrich contributes background vocals to two of the album’s tracks. Her voice provides a nice female accompaniment to Jimmy's heartfelt vows on the smooth "I'm Gonna Love You" and the title track, "No More Promises". Guesting on one song is the stellar slide guitarist, Bob Margolin. He takes a stinging solo on the otherwise steady rolling "It Ain't Fair".

In what seems to be the norm these days, Warren sings all the lead vocals, plays the keyboards and drums, besides playing lead guitar on all the tracks. The other players in the band deserve mention; notable is the bass playing of Mike Boyle and John DiGregorio does a fine job backing up Warren playing rhythm guitar, usually an uncelebrated role. The band’s drummer, Charles Price, isn't heard on this CD. Lyrics for Warren's 12 original songs are in the country and/or blues vein of topics: workin' for the man, out of work and down on my luck, and love gone bad. One gets the impression that Warren lived these songs by the conviction in his voice when he sings them.

Jimmy Warren is quite a talented guitarist and a good vocalist, and the band is nice and tight here. The recording is decent, but the disc could have benefited from an experienced outside producer. After listening to this album, I did some searching on the internet and discovered a 2009 recording of Warren and the band called Live At Last. It seems to do a better job at capturing the excitement and soul of the band. Do yourself a favor and check out this live recording to see the potential of this powerhouse quartet. Or better yet, go see the Jimmy Warren Band perform live.

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