RICK SIMCOX & THE TONEQUESTERS

Treat You Baby

 By Dawn O’Keefe Williams

Rick Simcox, a talented new face on the blues scene, has released an independent CD titled Treat You Baby and what a treat it is!  This CD touts a variety of blues styles, with great lyrics as well as some instrumentals and a nicely done version of "Good Morning Schoolgirl". The songs for the most part are upbeat, making you want to get up and grab a partner to boogie.  However, the last song on the CD, "Delta Thing" has a moody, gritty feel. That's the blues!

Aside from the fact that on this CD, Rick shows he is an accomplished guitarist and songwriter, he also surrounded himself with two of the most important things to make a great CD:  experienced, well-known musicians and quality recording and mastering with skilled engineers.  He then put the icing on the cake with an attractive CD package.  It's simple, yet eye catching.

Rick's band the ToneQuesters includes some of Chicago's most important performers and side men on this CD. Recording artist and producer, Dave Specter plays guitar on two tracks, "Ironic Twist" and "Piece of Work" lending his distinctive precision and sound. Guitarist Felix Reyes (Felix & The Cats) plays on six cuts.  This CD also features three Chicago drummers who have a rich history backing well known artists both live and in the studio: Kenny Smith (son of Willie "Big Eyes" Smith), Marty Binder and Merle Perkins (Merle Perkins & The Percolators).

Some songs were recorded at Delmark Records with Steve Wagner engineering. Other songs were recorded live by Mike Menke.  Clearly these engineers are craftsmen as the sound quality, which is the most important element in any CD, is impeccable.  The mastering connects the live and studio recordings without a hitch.  You really do not notice any difference in sound quality. 

Treat You Baby is definitely worth listening to. 

The band performs regularly in Oak Park’s Dragon Lounge at the Sushi House. You can find Rick and the band’s performance schedule and the CD (available for downloads on iTunes) at: http://web.me.com/rstqs/Rick_Simcox/Welcome.html

Also available at the Jazz Record Mart:

http://www.jazzmart.com/

Blues woman Dawn O'Keefe Williams is a singer/songwriter and bandleader from the Chicago area. She is best known for her song “Stone Cold Fool” which won a Billboard award.