Sherman Robertson

Sherman Robertson
"...one of the most important artists in blues".

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SHERMAN ROBERTSON - FREE REALAUDIOS & MP3
Sherman Robertson & BluesMove – "Guitar Man - Live"

Sherman Robertson's CD "Guitar Man - Live" is now available to order for the reduced cost of £9.99 for a limited period during Christmas 2009. Guitar Man - Live" was recorded live at the Kwadendamme Blues Festival on May 14th 2005 by Mark Nijssen. Click below for Realaudios from this album and a promo MP3 from the same set but which didn't quite make the album.

Out of Sight Out of Mind - Lo-Fi | Hi-Fi

Make it Rain - Lo-Fi | Hi-Fi

Home of the Blues - Lo-Fi | Hi-Fi

TuneTribe are now providing the MP3 downloads for Movinmusic beginning with the very latest Sherman Robertson and BluesMove CD "Guitar Man - Live". If you're into MP3 downloads then check out the link below by clicking on the logo:

Sherman Robertson & BluesMove on this CD:

Sherman Robertson - guitar & vocals
"Jools" Grudgings - keyboard & vocals
John Moloney - bass & vocals
Mike Hellier - drums

CD Track Listings:

1. Out of Sight Out of Mind 4.00
2. Long Way from Home 7.21
3. Guitar Man 6.02
4. Dust My Broom (Voodoo Dust) 9.59
5. Home of the Blues 4.43
6. Linda Lou 7.31
7. Make it Rain 5.50
8. Tin Pan Alley 11.30

Victim of Circumstance MP3 - Promo MP3 from the same Kwadendamme set but not on the finished album. Download and enjoy! File size = 6.84 Mb’s

 


Next three Realaudio tracks recorded from the 1998 Sherman Robertson album "Going Back Home" featuring Sherman Robertson (guitar, vocals), Bill Payne (piano), Richie Hayward (drums), Bob Glaub (bass) and Joe Sublett (tenor sax on selected tracks). Recorded by Michael C. Ross at Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood USA, produced by Joe Harley. The copyright in all recordings is owned by the Sherman Robertson. © 1998 Sherman Robertson, all rights reserved.

"Guitar Man"
Lo-Fi | Hi-Fi
"Fall in Love"
Lo-Fi | Hi-Fi
"Me, My Guitar and the Blues"
Lo-Fi | Hi-Fi

Click here for the "Me, My Guitar and the Blues" MP3 (6 Mb's)

Sherman Robertson & BluesMove CD Guitar Man - Live

ORDER GUITAR MAN - LIVE

Order "Guitar Man - Live" - price £9.99 including p&p for all orders.  All cheque payments must be made in £'s sterling. Send a cheque payable to Movinmusic to:

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Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 3YD

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Sherman Robertson CD Going Back Home

Order Going Back Home

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"GUITAR MAN - LIVE" REVIEWS

Should it ever be necessary to look for a guitar hero to step into Buddy Guy's shoes then Sherman Robertson could be the very man. Like Buddy, he was born in Louisiana and has spent years playing hard, paying his musical dues before becoming a known name on the scene. Strong of voice and in full possession of a ferocious guitar technique, Sherman summons a similar intensity to that of Mr Guy. His full-on performance is superbly captured on his latest album "Guitar Man - Live" recorded at a Dutch festival in May 2005. Backed by the British trio BluesMove, who do a really superb job, Sherman claims the stage and struts his stuff like a man possessed. A hot album that definitely marks a high spot in this impressive artist's career.

Dave Peabody - fRoots magazine Spring 06


"Fine concert set of LouTex, an amalgam of Louisiana Cajun and Texas Blues.

As a teenager Robertson toured with Bobby Bland, then spent a couple of years with Clifton Chenier, before hitting a wider audience as a guest on Paul Simon's Graceland. Guitar Man, which documents his crowd-pleasing activities at a Belgian blues festival, proves that the man from Houston has lost none of his verve and enthusiasm over the years. Working with British band BluesMove, he's at his best on soul struts like Ray Sharpe's Linda Lou, delivering endlessly inventive guitar lines over keyboardist Jools Grudgings' organ backdrops. But Robertson is not all about sheer exuberance. He has an expressive voice and wrings every ounce of emotion out of such heart-tugs as Make it Rain. Blues as solid as they come."

Fred Dellar - Mojo Magazine May 2006


One thing becomes apparent very early on in Guitar Man, that Texan Sherman Robertson is a born blues man. They come as natural to him as mother's milk and he was probably introduced to both around the same time. Mind you it's just as well that the man who played on Paul Simon's Graceland is on top form because any dip would see him overrun by his 'backing band' the UK's Blues Move.

Calling Blues Move a backing band is a bit like saying Sinatra could carry a tune. There's a reason why Robertson, Steve Arvey, Jonathan Kalb etc. etc. choose to tour with the band, not only are Mike Hellier, Julian Grudgings and John Moloney quality musicians in their own right, they are experienced enough to make the 'star' sound good.

If anyone ever tells you that music isn't competitive, sit them down and play Linda Lou. During the instrumental break, the competition isn't just fierce it's brutal as Robertson and Grudgings slug it out like two old-time pugs, waiting to see who flinches first, neither does and it makes for some fiery, god-fearing blues.

Robertson's pedigree is undoubted and he doesn't just give everything he's got, he sucks an appreciative audience dry as well. With a voice pitched several decibels above a devilish scream, he gives classics like Dust My Broom a good kicking, in the nicest possible sense of course.

Sherman Robertson is a singer/songwriter/guitarist in the truest possible sense, worth his place for each of the talents and the near 10 minute Dust My Broom and 11-and-a-half minutes of Tin Pan Alley - which provides the grandstand finish and allows for a little well-deserved band showboating - pass in the blink of an eye.

But it is the friction between the swampy, earthy US blues of Robertson and the more jazz oriented UK variety that provides the spark that ignites this performance at Kwadandamme Blues Festival in Holland and it provides a challenge that an old blues hand like Sherman Robertson can't resist. Make It Rain appears to be an oasis of calm between the frenetic magic of Linda Lou and Tin Pan Alley but appearances are deceptive. On it, as with the whole of Guitar Man, the passion level never drops below red hot.

Restraint and understatement may not come naturally to Sherman Robertson the performer but the Dutch audience certainly wasn't complaining as he, and his willing partners in crime, toyed with them as a cat does a mouse. Stretching them taut, only to release them a little before reeling them in once more. If it wasn't such fun it would be cruel but that's the blues gospel according to Sherman Robertson.

Michael Mee


The Independent - “Always a compelling live performer, Robertson’s new album offers a glimpse of what the soulful singer with stinging guitar licks can deliver on stage”.
Shades of Blues Website - "Guitar Man" is probably the best live blues album you will get to hear in 2006!
Classic Rock Society - Robertson is an amazing guitarist and a man with a passionate and meaningful blues voice. The slow Hammond organ accompanied passages are soulful while the Texas blues man drains his guitar of all its emotion. Superb!
Guitar Magazine (5 page feature) “Sherman plays Texas blues soaked in zydeco and r’n’b, all performed with the fire & intensity of a true rocker.
Blues In Britain - “This is really a great set, tough and impassioned – a first rate comeback”.
Sunday Life (Belfast) “Quality defines this live album”
Burton Mail “The Audience lap it up - Great Fun”
Blues in the South - “Don’t miss this. An hour of wonderful, exciting & beautifully performed music”.
Blue Art Journal -“Sherman combines the best qualities of old & new, buy this CD.
Nottingham Post “This should send a tingle up the spine of any blues lover”. This CD is in the list of end of year top 5 albums.
Surrey Advertiser - “A real showman, a great musician, fine singer, and a pretty handy songwriter too”.
Whats On - “This album catches Sherman & the band at their very best”.
Americana UK - “Bluesman Robertson is a purveyor of classic blues in a style akin to an earthier Robert Cray, only with a whole lot more soul”.
Blues Matters - “Sherman can sure play that thing and Bluesmove are just one of the best backing bands in the country”.
Net Rhythms - “Sherman Robertson, a current blues guitarist that can quite rightly be classed as premier division”.
Play It Louder - “A big helping of soul and rock in his set, and his guitar playing was sweet, mellow and subtle”.
Rock of the North website “Sherman is a stalwart of the blues and amongst the very best of the exponents of this genre”.


Robertson has an interesting track record and spent several years in the 1980s out on the road with Clifton Chenier. This background, including a tenure with Rockin' Dopsie as well as Chenier, is clearly where Robertson fully developed his highly rhythmic playing, which he combines with electrifying solos, especially in a live setting. He himself has said that "I focus on the good time, upbeat blues. Playing with zydeco bands all that time, everybody was always dancing. The guys I learned from were all playing dance music. When zydeco blues comes to town, you can't sit still. Yet people have this concept of blues as depressing. I say forget your problems, I play dance music."

When he did eventually strike out on his own, he produced the excellent "I'm A Man" on the Atlantic/Code Blue label which the Shades site always thought was one of the best blues albums of the 1990s.

Many pundits have however always argued that to get Sherman Robertson at his best you have to see and hear him live - which brings us to this release from the Movinmusic label. Teaming up with BlueMove (Julian Grudgings, John Moloney and Mike Heller), Robertson has produced a very fine illustration of the excitement and power of his live performance. Recorded in Holland in 2005, the album showcases both his own compositions and a judicious range of covers.

All the Robertson trademarks are there - soulful vocals, excellent guitar work (great band by the way), delivered with a passion and sense of enjoyment that will be familiar to anyone who has ever seen the man live. Particular highlights for the Shades site are Sherman's take on Chris Youlden's 'Out Of Sight Out Of Mind', Ray Sharpe's 'Linda Lou' and the album's closer 'Tin Pan Alley'.

The Shades site is still waiting for a new studio CD that truly showcases the range and breadth of Robertson's talents - someone once described Sherman as 'one part zydeco, one part swamp blues, one part electric blues and one part classic rhythm & blues'. We're looking forward to an album that genuinely encapsulates all the facets of the man's playing, singing and writing. This live release, whilst very fine, doesn't really accomplish that - like many live albums, it suffers a little from the extended jams that work better when you are in the audience rather than sat at home listening to the CD. But as an example of his funky groove, fiery guitar playing and soulful vocals, it's going to be difficult to beat. So while we wait and hope for that studio CD to come along, "Guitar Man" is probably the best live blues album you will get to hear in 2006!

Peter Dean from Shades of Blues Website.


After some splendid but little heard vinyl excursions in the eighties and his long apprenticeship as sideman for the likes of Clifton Chenier, Sherman Robertson burst onto the UK and European live circuits in the early nineties. He received pretty universal acclaim for some stunning personal appearances and his well-received Indigo CD, ‘I’m Your Man’, and I even briefly held a personal (but naïve and futile) hope that Clapton’s Blues Nights, which did so much to boost or revitalise the careers of Guy, Collins, Johnson and even Cray, might then have been used as a vehicle for wider exposure for some of the New Generation, like him and Larry Garner.

Since then, Sherman has recorded decent albums for Atlantic (‘Here And Now’, 1996) and Audioquest (‘Going Back Home’, 2001), both of which are said to have been commercially successful, gaining glowing praise from the likes of Living Blues and Blues Revue, though neither set led to any major breakthrough deal – and I swear I have never seen either in the shops and he remains almost criminally under-recorded. The worst thing about those years however was his virtual and mystifying disappearance from the concert and club circuits and we have been much the poorer for his absence.

Happily he is now back on the festival road and his UK agency Movinmusic has nipped in to fill at least a small gap with a good solid, no nonsense slice of what he is currently purveying. Caught with his regular and highly competent Euro-accompanists BluesMove, at the 2005 Kwadenamme Blues Festival in Holland, this shows he has lost none of his power as a soulful singer and inventive guitarist, capable of both delicacy and blistering power. If you have seen him since his re-emergence, here is a fine and typical memento. If not, it depends on your personal take on live sets, as there are only eight songs, some fairly long and with only a couple of Sherman originals. Despite this, there is little or no meandering and the longest track, Curtis Jones’ ‘Tin Pan Alley’, is wonderful and the initially off-putting 11:30 timing just flies by.

Pete Feenstra’s fulsome notes conclude with the statement that this ‘isn’t so much a comeback album as a timely rekindling of the fire of a talent that has still so much to offer’. I couldn’t put that any better so I won’t try. It will be wasted, though, if no one follows it up with some good studio time and gets him a few more new songs. ‘Your Man’ has still got it in abundance, if someone will just pick up the baton.

Brian Smith in Blues and Rhythm Magazine


Sherman Robertson has spent the last three years with his European tour band, Blues Move honing his new songs and re-establishing himself as a potent force in the world of blues. This album, recorded live at the Kwadendamme Blues Festival reminds us of the talent that was first spotted by Clifton Chenier and that contributed to Paul Simon's massive Graceland album. They open with Out Of Sight Out Of Mind and Sherman's smokey vocal immediately grabs you. It's a funky R&B start and Julian Grudgings organ work compliments Sherman's vocal perfectly. Long Way From Home is literally electric. Robertson's stinging guitar on the introduction, and in the main solo, is outstanding. They play this at breakneck speed and there's so much energy about the music with Mike Hellier on drums pounding like a steam train. There's plenty of audience participation, especially on the shake, rattle and roll chorus.

The title track is the second, and final, self-penned song (Long Way From Home being the other) and this has a strong riff running through it. Dust My Broom Sherman style follows in the form of Dust My Broom (Voodoo Dust). Attributed to Robert Johnson, this is nothing like the original. There's a stunning guitar solo introduction that leads into ten minutes of scorching electric blues that matches anything currently on offer. Home Of The Blues is a funky offering and allows Sherman to show off all his facets. The highlight of the album (a very difficult choice) is Linda Lou which is an explosive Texas blues played by a master of his craft. He is in the same class as Buddy Guy and Albert Collins and he unleashes a guitar solo to die for. Technically brilliant, he plays from the heart and that's a winning combination in anyone's book.

He does play some slow ones every now and then and Make It Rain is one of those. Having said that, he still can't help himself and turns on the full power before finishing on another slow one, Tin Pan Alley. This is eleven and a half minutes of sheer joy. He manages to summon up the energy and power of two guitarists and retains the quality of his vocal throughout.

Sherman Robertson is one of a number of current blues guitarists that can quite rightly be classed as premier division.

David Blue at Net Rhythms


It’s been a long time coming. First of all Sherman disappeared from the Euro live scene for a good number of years, and secondly aside from a limited release cd for Audioquest, he has kept fans waiting for the best part of a decade. And then suddenly he is back, touring every corner of the globe, and then finally releasing the live album, which tells it like it is.

“Guitar Man” doesn’t so much break new ground as rake over some coals, and reignite the spark of one of the blues scene’s most enamoured performers. And it is the last point that is the most important aspect of the whole project. For this former Paul Simon and Zydeco playing guitar man, who was moulded in the mid 90’s to become the new Robert Cray, has gone back to his roots.

Sure excellent songs like the Chris Youlden composed “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” still remains a live set staple, as does the show stopping “Make It Rain”, but on the extended closing “Tin Pan Alley” and the title track, Sherman toughens up, kicks his band hard, and does what he always wanted to do, play with fire in his belly an stoke up a crowd. To that end “Guitar Man – Live” is everything long time Sherman fans have waited for.

Pete Feenstra


In 2003, I had the honour to meet for the first time blues giant Sherman Robertson (from Beaux Bridge, Louisiana) during the German Gaildorf Bluesfest. It was an overwhelming experience. Almost three years later after going to several of his concerts I am very proud to be one his faithful fans. Sherman had already three CD’s out: "I'm The Man" ('94), "Here And Now" ('96) and 'Going Back Home' ('98). So it was a long wait before a new album came out, much too long if you ask me. But now there is "Guitar man - live", recorded during the last edition (14 May 2005) of the Kwadendamme Blues festival in the Netherlands. On this album he is accompanied by his usual tour band (in Europe that is) Bluesmove, originating from the UK. It is fair to say that "Jools" Grudgings (keyboard, vocals), John Moloney (bass, vocals) as well as drummer Mike Hellier are thoroughly crafted and very professional musicians. dynamics, enthusiasm and especially a lot of passion are at the core of Sherman's music. His warm, splendid soulful voice and his excellent guitar playing complete the picture. It starts out with the funky 'Out of Sight Out of Mind' which immediately offers a taste of his talent as a blues artist. Heavenly beautiful are two own compositions: the explosive 'Long Way From home' which is a full seven minutes blues delight and the funky 'Guitar Man' which features his capacities as a blues guitarist. Simply splendid! His covers are excellent too: 'Tin Pan Alley ' (Curtis Jones) is an eleven minutes lasting show case of gripping guitar playing. And the slow blues 'Make It Rain' contains a good deal of soul. Sherman Robertson (also called "the new kid from the old school") has released another great album!

Bob at Bobtje Blues


Sherman Robertson is a rockin’ blues guitar vocalist and is no stranger to Rock of the North. Sherman is a stalwart of the blues and amongst the very best of the exponents of this genre.

This CD was recorded at The Kwadandamme Blues Festival on the 14th May 2005, and unusually for a live album, is note perfect but with a live feel and with none of the disadvantages usually found on this type of recording…bum notes etc!

The album starts up with cheers from the crowd, and Sherman and Blues Move’s grooving funky blues playing Chris Youlden’s Out of Sight Out of Mind. The bass riff and spine-tingling Korg CX-3 chord fills get the feet tapping and Sherman’s soulful vocals take a medium tempo canter to the finish. A good song and with some nice snare hits.

The second track is Sherman’s own composition and is quite a fast tempo with a guitar sound reminding me of the late great Albert Collins. Entitled Long Way From Home, it’s real mover with subtle wah-wah sounds and fast moving guitar passages. The rhythm section work hard on this song and Julian Grudgings’ piano helps things along nicely. Choruses of “We’re Gonna Shake, Rattle and Roll” put you in the mood to have fun and your foot never stops tapping.

Another SR composition is the superb Guitar Man . It’s six minutes of great guitar, Sherman’s attacking phrases, and Julian Grudgings’ omni-present Hammond/Leslie emulations with chords which have the hairs standing up at the back of your neck! Fabulous sounds, everything you need in a rockin’ blues song, including the funky rhythm section of John Maloney on Fender Precision Bass and Mike Hellier on a well played DW drum kit.

The puzzlingly named Dust My Broom (Voodoo Dust) sounds nothing at all like Elmore James played it, but this is a great version, albeit still being a 12 bar shuffle in the key of E. This is a more potent and menacing sounding groove. The guitar, like all the other tracks is superb, Sherman is a great blues guitar player. The tempo and levels slow down about two thirds of the way through for Sherman to chant his blues before the solo kicks in again , much to my delight, it’s a great interpretation of this classic.

The David Steen/Colin James composition Home of the Blues hears more of this brilliant combo and I must say I have become a great fan of Julian Grudgings keyboard skills. Nice song.

I’d describe the song Linda Lou as having a Chicago blues rhythm as I can almost hear Buddy Guy grooving to this. It’s a quick pace and the bass and drums never miss a beat. There’s a really nice Hammond style keyboard break in the middle of this song and the obligatory guitar break sounds great with a nicely toned Stratocaster. I’d like to be at a concert to see this played live in front of me, it’s a great song and one which makes me so envious of Sherman’s guitar playing skills.

A down and dirty “real blues” in the key of E minor entitled Make It Rain has all the ingredients needed to contort the faces of any wannabe blues guitarist. With a repeating riff, Sherman’s soulfully delivered vocals, gut wrenching blues organ, and with a perfect rhythm section, this blues is utterly wonderful, a sublime indulgence for human beings with a claim to any kind of soul . We recommend this to be taken three times a day after meals. This blues makes you feel so good, it should be available on prescription!

Curtis Jones Tin Pan Alley has a Muddy Waters styled riff introduction as Sherman’s guitar takes us through a wah tinged passage and the rhythm section play a solid medium-slow 12 bar groove. Sherman’s vocals have a similar attack to his guitar phrases, “ They call it Tin Pan Alley” he sings, This song is another of those perfect blues songs, with the groove beneath the guitar. Relentlessly ploughing through the 12 golden bars, the feeling of the rhythm section is bedrock for Sherman’s fluent Stratocaster meanderings. The song like the previous one slows and quietens before the luxurious organ cushion and the superbly toned guitar takes us to journey’s end in great style and so enjoyably.

If you’d like comparisons, then I would say Sherman has many contemporaries, with perhaps Albert Collins, Bernard Allison, Carl Weathersby and perhaps a pinch of Walter Trout is in the recipe that makes up Sherman Robertson. He’s been around for a long time but on this CD he sounds as fresh as a daisy. With the backing of Blues Move, he can do no wrong.

This CD comes with our highest recommendation, you will love it, the residents in this household certainly do!

Steve Lally - Rock of the North


SHERMAN ROBERTSON - VIDEOS

Below is video footage of Sherman Robertson and BluesMove in Wendelstein, Germany shot on the 3rd May 06.

** Click here for Booking Information **

 
 

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