Cole Prior Stevens latest CD; Cole is a bluesman, and his new offering, Slide-ville, is a joy. Cole does with a slide the same thing Bill Clinton does with an audience of women … pleases and seduces, and leaves ‘em wanting more. Cole’s managed to pack a good deal of contemporary emotion into this album … lusty, celebratory, mournful — the Dirty Little War cut, about the soul-price our soldiers pay, is particularly potent and Blues Is My Religion comes straight from the heart. Cole has been a long time reader of Waves, he’s “one of ours” — if you love blues, you’ll love Slide-ville
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Your going to enjoy the blues with his own original twist. Great deal for a great cd, thanks to Cole and cd baby. Highly recommended
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I listen to Slide-ville, daily.  Every day is a new day, I always turn it off with another favorite song in mind and it keeps me going throughout the day.  I now find myself humming to the lyrics.  Cannot wait for the next CD adventure.
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Let me begin with how I came to know Cole’s music. It was one of those blind forays on CD-Baby, and the title caught me "Out Of The Blue". I ordered it, and was totally "flabbergasted" at how good the music was, and how well written, produced, and recorded the entire album was. I immediately emailed Cole, and have enjoyed many a good quip with him over the past few years.

OK, now to business. "Slide-Ville", is honestly the flip side of "Out Of The Blue". Instead of the acoustic licks I have come to know and appreciate so much, this is an offering of electric slide blues. The word “flabbergasted” comes up again…..I had no idea Cole was such a great slide guitar player! Well, I’m here to tell everyone, he can smoke the strings on just about anything he lays his hands on; and he does….all throughout this album.

An interesting part of this all, is the fact that there’s almost no drum tracks to be found on the album. I know, I said "interesting"- but that’s because omitting that customary part of the music opens your ears to just how wonderful the guitar work is… and I can’t say it enough, the guitar work on this album will drag you off into places your imagination rarely has the opportunity to go. Close your eyes, and the music and lyrics easily come to life in each song. Cole, and his band mate for 28 years, Mike Butler, do a fabulous job all through the album.

Lyrically, this is such a great listen. Each of the 11 tracks is an original, and you can tell Cole has not only a great sense of the world around him, but he has a unique character and great sense of humor. I can’t listen to Land Of Plenty without about falling out of my chair! There’s a lot of Cole’s life threaded in the lyrics, and if you listen folks, this is what blues is all about… telling the story, while keeping your feet and hips moving without your realization that it’s even happening.

Cole is also a socially conscious man, and that shows in "Willy Peter Blues", and "Dirty Little War". I’m glad he wrote and recorded both, as they are spot-on to current events, and will still be a legacy long after our presence in Iraq is simply pages in a history book. That, folks, is daring, considering the fragility of the Blues industry, and I think it’s great to see someone, regardless of genre, have the courage to get it done.

Let me pick on one more song before I wrap this up. "County Boy" is one of my favorites. This is a self portrait of Cole’s life, and again, this is what the Blues is all about. It has a little country flair to it, and although Cole probably won't admit it, this is a solid Blues tune… just because it says Country in the title, don’t let it fool you!

You can find Cole and his music on myspace, at www.myspace.com/colepriorstevens. Blues, is the backbone of Rock and Country, and Slide-Ville, to me, is one of those albums destined to be the backbone of electric slide blues. If you really enjoy great Blues…… "Slide-Ville" is a must have for your collection!
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