Reviews of the Grease to Gravy album

Terry Hanck – Grease To Gravy – Little Village #LVF 1071 – Wholly Satisfyingly Diverse Musical Tapestry Unfurls
Now, here is something to get very, very excited about! This 12-cut musical excursion by Terry Hanck is Grease To Gravy, indeed! Seven originals and five choice covers of this quality in this day and age rarely, rarely deliver such an overall enthralling listening experience!

Hanck is a masterful saxophone artisan, one whose efforts on the instrument just drip with exquisite tonal attributes. He never, ever overplays, but idyllically constructs passages that only enhance the backbone of the song being presented. His solos are simply tasty and riveting at once!

Hanck’s vocals are a sensation to be experienced for his appreciable proficiency to relay the sentiment at the core of each tune. Clear with superb phrasing, Hanck’s singing conveys both strength and vivacity. No matter the tune’s subject matter and related emotional depth, Hanck utilizes his God-given voice to its greatest effect.

A more pleasingly diverse 12-cut song selection has not crossed this blogger’s desk in a very long time. Let alone Hanck’s incredibly formidable originals, the covers found here by the likes of Wilson Pickett, Albert King, St. Louis Jimmy Oden, Chris Kenner, and Ray Charles are not slavish imitations; no, they all stand high upon the perch of Hanck’s oh-so-appealing interpretations.

Hanck is mightily supported by a cast of musical partners who obviously bought-in hook-line-and-sinker to his highly-targeted musical visions, including Kid Andersen and Johnny Cat Soubrand on guitar, Jim Pugh on keyboards, and Jon Otis and June Core on drums, among others. The appearances of boogie-woogie king Mitch Woods on one selection, Lisa Leuschner Andersen on backing vocals on two cuts, and JP Soars guitar on a couple of songs are of special note. But, all involved brilliantly shine!

New Orleans swagger, soul’s reflections, blues’ lamentations, rock-n-roll drive, and jazzy sway; yes, they are all superlatively found here!

This may very well be Hanck’s finest outing ever. Period.

Yet again, “bravo” to Little Village for its continued support of artists whose work may otherwise not be discovered.

All will want this phenomenal assemblage in their collections. It’s that incredibly enjoyable!"

-- Curt's Blues - Blues. Only. Spoken. Here CURT'S BLUES!

"I just finished listening to Terry's new CD "Grease To Gravy" and, I'll tell you what, I think it's the best, most fun, movin' and groovin' CD I've listened to in the past 12 months. Please congratulate Terry & all the folks who helped him make this happen. (Loved the instrumentation & the backup vocals as well.) Look out Blues Music Awards - this CD is what I call a Crown Jewel!"

-- Peg Nagel, The Wild Irish Rose, KAFM, Grand Junction, CO

Hail yes! Had to listen to Grease to Gravy twice in headphones to decide on four tracks for this feature. So much going on in here: period-precise dynamics/tempos/timbres forged in tones time forgot surrounding Terry's quality vocals and fine saxophone work -- a variety of rhythm approaches augmented by some imported tracks from opposite coast players -- and fine guitar from Johnny Cat Soubrand who knows not only the tones and phrases, but has mastered playing just behind the beat enough to lubricate the grooves when he solos.

Several things in the ensemble kept my attention: Jim Pugh's organ locked into the pre-Jimmy Smith era stops and vibratos and adding tons of splash in ten-knuckle chords when he chooses. Kid Anderson playing a Fender Precision Bass that sounds like it still has the factory sponge muffler under the bridge end of the strings, emulating the decay that Leo Fender hoped would seduce string bassists into making the switch (pretty sure James Jamerson had the same). Yet the bass clef does not get all Kid's attention: his contemporary slide solo on "If a Politician Was a Doctor" is inflection perfectly expressed.

"Going Way Back Home Tonight" assembles two components I'm not used to experiencing in the same unit: New Orleans commercial-style foundational rock 'n roll, driven by a quarter-note snare drum pattern straight out of Motown (Stevie Wonder's Uptight comes to mind). It works.

"Run Run Baby" has me arguing with myself over who is most influencing the guitar work by Soubrand: Gatemouth Brown or Johnny Guitar Watson? Importing drums and rhythm guitar from Fort Lauderdale may seem like a non-necessity given Greaseland's talent pool, but damned if they don't rattle the second line loose on "If a Politician Was a Doctor" (which gets my vote for Editorial Blues of the Year to date).

But each track belongs to Terry. Though he is generous with the arrangement space offered to various soloists, he never enters a song aboard his tenor without polishing the entire proceeding. Yet he never gives us wall-to-wall reedwork, stepping in and out masterfully in a way that makes the ear wait in anticipation for his contribution. While he has the standard range as well as full command of the false-fingering stratosphere (his exit solo on "Goin' Way Back Home Tonight" orbits on held notes well above the ozone layer), he doesn't make that feature de rigueur. Taste -- and tone to burn -- are the hallmarks of Hanck horn work. Just when you think you've heard the range of his influences melded into personal expression, "Run Run Baby" brings the ghost of Willis "Gator" Jackson sauntering in with Ruth Brown on one arm ready to take on all contenders atop the nearest bar. All this -- and yet Terry Hanck sings like he never needed an instrument to express himself. Spotless intonation in whichever register he cruises lets him resist being style-stuck: gritty blues and satin soul enwrap his lyrics as demanded."

-- Dave Gallaher, Talkin' the Blues with Microwave Dave, WLRH FM / WJAB FM, Huntsville, AL