Album Notes

Harmonotone Records’ “Black Diamonds” is the first studio release from Kim Field and the Mighty Titans of Tone, a powerful West Coast-based rhythm and blues quartet. “Black Diamonds” brims with the qualities that have generated the Titans a large fan following and appearances at several major music festivals—Field’s smoky voice and big-as-all-outdoors harmonica tone, the brilliant guitar of Eric Daw, a powerful and versatile rhythm section comprised of ace bassist Brady Millard-Kish and standout drummer/vocalist Billy Spaulding, and a compelling body of original music that doesn’t just pay homage to American roots music but offers up its own contributions to that venerable genre.

The Mighty Titans of Tone are firmly rooted in the blues, and several of the 14 original numbers on “Black Diamonds”—notably the atmospheric “She’ll Bury You (In The Hole She Dug For Me),” the hard-driving “He’s Got A Gun,” the loping shuffle “Ninety Miles of Open Road,” and the title tune, a minor-key slow blues—show the band to be modern masters of that style. Field’s instrumental “Heavy Breathing” is a virtuoso workout from a topflight harmonica player with nearly thirty years of reed-ripping experience. But what sets the Titans apart from other roots combos is their ability to move confidently between a host of styles, from soul ballads (“So Dark in Here”) to Memphis-tinged raveups (“The Language of Love” and “The Thrill”) to Cajun two-steps (“Dis Pas Ca”) to classic 6/8 shuffles (“My Heart Is Still My Own”). Most notably, two tracks on “Black Diamonds”—“I’ve Got Your Secret” and “The Snake Sheds Its Skin”—demonstrate that the Titans have carved out a special niche for themselves with their ability to create spectacularly moody and hypnotic tales of heartache and treachery. An added bonus on “Black Diamonds” is the soulful piano and organ work on four tunes by former Frank Zappa sideman Jeff Simmons (a.k.a. Little Bobby Sumpner).

“Black Diamonds” is a stunning studio debut and the harbinger of much more to come from Kim Field and the Mighty Titans of Tone.