The Chicago Kingsnakes have been playing the blues since 1983 and, in that time, have gone from being a local sensation to an internationally touring music machine that has released many records and played literally countless shows. The band was formed by James ‘Ang’ Anderson, a guitarist and vocalist of the first order who has played with Albert King, Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Junior Wells, Lefty Dizz and Koko Taylor. The other members of the group (Nelson Keaton on harmonica and vocals, Gus Gotsis on drums and vocals, Mike Bailey on bass and vocals, and guest bassist/vocalist on about half the tracks Ron Berry) have equally impressive backgrounds and have worked with notables like Cash McCall, Big Daddy Kinsey, Jimmy Witherspoon, and other well-known blues artists. Blue Mosaic is the bands’ newest recording and the title refers to the patchwork of musical influences the members cut their teeth on, from straight-up Chicago blues to the R&B of Al Green, Booker T & The MG’s, James Brown, and Curtis Mayfield. Those influences are proudly on display on Blue Mosaic, combined with the ‘Snakes’ own unique vision of the blues 
                Right off the bat, The Kingsnakes have two big things going for them on this album that a great many blues bands just don’t do enough of, at least to this reviewer. The first is original songwriting. Blue Mosaic is made of entirely original songs, 12 of them, to be exact. There are no covers, remakes, remixes, or anything else like that on this album. Nope, this is 100% original music and it really speaks to the creativity of the band. It’s nice to hear songs we haven’t heard before, quite honestly. Also, writing original songs in any roots music style is not as easy as it may seem and requires a great grasp of the elements of the style at hand and the skill to turn those elements on their ear one more time and come up with something new and interesting all over again. The second thing is background vocals. These ‘Snakes can sing harmony and it really brings the tunes here to life. So many blues records feature one powerhouse vocalist doing their thing while the band plays and, while that’s cool, it really catches the listener when those harmonies kick in and add a new and cool texture to the music. Songs like ‘Take Your Time”, “Blues Gone Uptown”, and “Stop, Drop, And Roll” demonstrate both of these elements to great effect and are standouts.
                The Chicago Kingsnakes, while a veteran outfit, are in a good position to take this music into the future. The members of the group have clearly learned the lessons of blues masters past and are taking those lessons, mixing them with their own inherent creative energy, and creating the new blues, the blues of tomorrow. Blues music needs to stay relevant and vital in the lives of the fans; other bands would do well to follow the approach used here and create their own material and sound. Blue Mosaic is already on my short list of favorite reviews of the year and is a whole lot of fun. I can’t wait to see the band run this stuff down live.  Meet me at their next show.
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Written: Feb 10 '12,  Kevin Bligh, Epinions.com
A testament to what good blues music is all about.

The Bottom Line: The Chicago Kingsnakes have shown that blues music can be exciting and invigorating to listen to and more and more people should dive into the genre.
Back in the day, rapper Warren G. had a moving statement that went, “The blues have always been American, as American as apple pie, but the question is why. Why are the blues so at home right here? The answer is America provided the atmosphere.” And perhaps behind what might be deemed a simple rap lyric there is actually something quite powerful. Blues music is really a powerful American genre of music that is dynamic, powerful and beautiful when it is performed well. 

The Chicago Kingsnakes have been putting out amazing blues music for nearly the past 30 years and their latest release entitled Blue Mosaic is no different. 

The Kingsnakes describe that the intent of their new release is to both pay homage to the blues of the past and also show that blues is not a dying breed of music and that it is sure to carry on into the future. The album is a well rounded and expertly performed album that emphasizes what good blues music is all about and leaves the listener with nothing short of a sheer appreciation for blues music. 

The Chicago Kingsnakes are comprised of James “Ang” Anderson (guitar and vocals), Nelson Keaton (harmonica and vocals), Gus Gotsis (drums and vocals) and Mike Bailey (bass and vocals). 

The album starts off with a rather smooth track entitled Take Your Time which is appropriately named since the slower pace really allows for the music of The Chicago Kingsnakes to work its way into your musical ear. There is an initial glimpse into the vocals of the band however shortly thereafter there is a really impressive glimpse into the instrumental sounds that the band can put out. The instrumentation is a pleasant musical glue that holds together the track well and from a performance perspective is performed with precision, clarity and unique sounds that are inventive and developed nicely. 

The best track on the album is So Cold in Chicago. Having been to The Windy City and since this band hails from Chicago, it seems as though this track would be the ideal song to warm up inside a cozy little pub with a pint of Goose Island beer in hand. With the lyrics singing about the cold winter air wrapping itself around Chicago, if you called Chicago home this would be the quintessential song to have playing around the house as a snow storm entered the city and the cold winter winds were whipping off of Lake Michigan. There is a nice hometown feel to the track and The Chicago Kingsnakes prove on this track why they are consistently dubbed one of Chicago’s top blues bands. 

Lefty is another great track that really focuses on those rich blues sounds that make blues music what it is. With some repetitive lyrics paired up side by side to guitar sounds that are wide ranging and descend and ascend just about as quickly as one can imagine there is a real symbiotic sound at work on this track. The foot-tapping and head-bobbing effect that blues music should have upon a listener comes out strongly on this track and there is a remarkable guitar rift at the end that really shakes things up nicely. 

The Chicago Kingsnakes have been a fixture upon the Chicago music scene for nearly three decades and their most recent release Blue Mosaic is a testament to why they have stayed musically relevant for so long. Blues music is often times not the most popular genre of music out there but this is likely due in large to the fact that people are hesitant to give it a shot. With an album like Blue Mosaic, The Chicago Kingsnakes have shown that blues music can be exciting and invigorating to listen to and more and more people should dive into the genre. 

Blue Mosaic is on the MusicKing Records label. The album was produced by James P. Anderson and was recorded at The Spot Studio.
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First  September 2011.  year, through the publishing house MusicKing Records released the album Blue free sale Mosaic great blues band, The Chicago Kingsnakes.  Thanks alfi and omega band, James "Ang" Anderson and his interest in what I do, all together we have an opportunity to learn more about the band that creates and operates more than 28 years, and this new album there, or carry, No. 10 . 

 Always with great enthusiasm that promote this already built and the great bands who have been behind a remarkable artistic, who are behind great albums, countless concerts, festivals were done, and small club gigs, because there are actually more difficult and abrasive craft.  For those who do not know, The Chicago Kingsnakes are: 

 James 'Ang' Anderson-guitar & vocals 
 Keaton Nelson - harp & vocals 
 Gus Gotsis - drums & vocals 
 Mike Bailey - bass & vocals 

 with 
 Ron Berry - Bass & Vocals (1,4,5,7,8,9 & 10) 

 Since the foundation of the band's 1983rd  to 2011.  year, and last studio album, Blue Mosaic was largely constant development with very little turbulence and delays, which is a rarity for such a long-lasting bands.  However, thanks to James "Ang" Anderson, The Chicago Kingsnakes had expressed their development path, playing with really great musicians, the legendary Junior Wells and Jimmy Witherspoon to glossy Bythera Smith.  All this clearly indicates that the band tends to that of musical expression which many prefer the title "21st century blues."  However, the blues and such, or musical expression is an integral part of what the blues was, is and will certainly be.  Such a formulation of musical expression conclusively determines all the expressive power of the blues and such, it simply comes and overwhelms your being. 
 Guided by this idea, The Chicago Kingsnakes for their label MusicKing Records recorded ten albums and, of course, they had to wheedle anyone or make compromises that would not have wanted.  It's expensive, it's complicated, but there you are your own person, the record as to how you hear and you just want to make it sound.  This is a great advantage, it is really a great thing, therefore, is deeply committed to their own and what you love.  No, not longer, here's how it turned out.  The Chicago Blues Kingsnakesa to express, typical, and the surprising Chicago blues.  Him and hear the slow, but quick and fierce from the opening theme, Take Your Time, through playful Uptown Blues Gone, Lefty and soothing So Cold in Chicago.  However, to understand any other song on the album are by no means inferior or less attractive, indeed. The Hip Gip, Mary Jane (acoustic & electric), Come Back Home, Sick And Tired Tell The Truth, Stop Drop and Roll (My Baby - Little Walter) and You Do not Want My Lovin 'worth of our attention. 
 Ultimately it is expected from this band that played with the vast majority of us all famous and legendary blues musicians, from Buddy Guy and Albert King to Sona Seals, James Cotton, and Koko Taylor. 

 I really do not have too much information to Croatia people familiar with the work and activities of this band, I personally listened to several songs from this album that I have to admit it and write, has opened a new page in my relationship to the blues.  What is important is that you can never hear anything or have it all.  You may have only a small fraction, and only when you start to collect small and new frgmente for your mosaic, every day you open up new and new pieces that will make your mosaic to do even better, sounding more and more luxurious.  Well, that's the crux of the story. 

 RECOMMENDATION: 
 Dear ones 'bluzoljupci' - 'blues lovers' every day is a treasure, every new day brings a new fragment, brings an entirely new, brighter and more beautiful piece that is just waiting to be laid out in this wonderful mosaic of blues music.  This is what can not be bought, it is actually the miraculous gift that we get the albums, or materials such as this excellent album Blue Mosaic The Chicago Kingsnakes.  EXCELLENT! 
SoundGuardian. com   Croatia
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Kuningaskäärmeille 
kymppi täyteen
10.1.2012
The Chicago Kingsnakesin kymmenes levy "Blue Mosaic" ei ole aivan napakymppi, mutta melko lähelle taulun keskustaa Tuulisen kaupungin harmoniset matelijat tähtäävät.

The Chicago Kingsnakes on orkesteri, joka vannoo kotikaupungilleen ominaisen bluesin nimeen. Bändi, jonka aikajana venyy pian 30 vuoteen, pullautti ulos omalla Music King Records -levymerkillään kiekon "Blue Mosaic" viime syksynä. Pitkäsoitto on Kuningaskäärmeiden kymmenes.

Mies The Chicago Kingsnakesin takana on James Anderson. Anderson (tunnetaan lempinimillä "Jim" ja "Ang") muistaa lämmöllä pienen Suomenkin. Hän soitti Järvenpäässä Byther Smithin joukoissa kesällä 1992. "Esiintyminen Puistobluesissa on yksi musiikkiurani kohokohdista", Anderson kertoo 
Blues-Finland.comille.

Andersonilla on vahva blues-miehen tausta, onhan hän Chicagon rajuna tunnetun South Siden kasvatti. Kotinurkillaan hän oli tekemisissä Chicagon isojen nimien kanssa ja päätyi ennen pitkää legendaarisen Little Miltonin bändiin. The Chicago Kingsnakes ja Byther Smith löysivät toisensa 90-luvun alussa; heidän yhteislevytyksistään merkittävin on "I'm a Mad Man" (1993). Monet pitävät albumia Smithin uran parhaana.

Kukaan on tuskin puulla päähän lyöty, kun selviää, että The Chicago Kingsnakesin "Blue Mosaic" -levyllä pääosassa on perustavanlaatuinen Chicago-blues. Mukaan on toki haettu monipuolisuuttakin. "Musiikki kuvastaa paitsi bluesin juuria myös vaikutteita rhythm 'n bluesista. Koko nykykokoonpano on kasvanut bluesin tahdissa, mutta olemme aina kuunnelleet myös Curtis Mayfieldin ja James Brownin kaltaisia artisteja", Anderson huomauttaa.

Mies puhuu asiaa. Kahdentoista kappaleen levy olisikin ollut hölmö rakentaa pelkästään perusbluesin varaan. Soul-ainesta on tarjolla "Tell the Truth" 
-kappaleella. "Blues Gone Uptown" puolestaan edustaa bluesin jump-osastoa. Ero jazziin on yhtä olematon kuin merkityksetönkin. Anderson laulaa: "Well, they call it jazz, sure as you're born"! "Hip the Gip" -instrumentaali vastaa levyn funkaavimmasta menosta.
Laulutyöskentely erottaa The Chicago Kingsnakesin useimmista muista saman tyylin bändeistä. Kaikki levyllä esiintyvät viisi muusikkoa ovat äänessä. Solistina toimii Anderson, ja muu nelikko hoitaa harmoniat. Parhaimmillaan kokonaisuus on raikkaalla avausbiisillä "Take Your Time" ja hölkällä "Stop, Drop and Roll".

Perusblueseista parhaiten toimivat "Take Your Time", tukevasti polkeva "Sick and Tired" ja hienon, tremolosoundilla äänitetyn kitaran komistama "Come Back Home".

"Lefty" on levyn 'pakollinen' Elmore James -tyylin ränttätänttä. "You Don't Want My Lovin'" taas on ties-kuinka-mones kopio Otis Rushin kuolemattomasta 
kappaleesta "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)".

"Blue Mosaic" -levylle on keksitty jännittävä lopetus. Kuullaan kappale "Mary Jane" ensin akustisena pohdiskeluna ja heti perään sähköisenä revittelynä. Biisipari toimii oivasti, varsinkin kun Andersonin laulusoundi on purkitettu sähköversiolle albumin muita kappaleita raaempana.

Yhtyeen koko nelikko (entinen vakiobasisti Ron Berry on nyt vierailevassa roolissa) esittäytyy vankkana. Komppiosasto – basisti Mike Bailey ja rumpali Gus Gotsis – ei jätä mitään sattuman varaan. Nelson Keatonin huuliharppu on alati läsnä, mutta osaa ottaa tarpeen mukaan myös sivuroolin. Andersonin kitara soi verevästi, ilman hienouksia. Laulajana hän ei valloita maailmaa.

The Chicago Kingsnakesin tuorein levy on mannaa niille, joille instrumenttiakrobatia ja pitkälle tuotetut teokset eivät maistu. Kappaleet (kaikki 
Andersonin originaaleja, bravo!) on äänitetty autenttisen tuntuisella olohuonesoundilla. Soittajat eivät rehentele, vaan soittavat konstailematta omalla 
tavallaan. Yllätyksettömyys vaivaa paikoittain, joten aivan nimen mukaista mosaiikkia albumi ei sentään ole. Kappaleissa on kuitenkin jokseenkin riittävästi kirjoa. Mukava kokonaisuus rehellisen Chicago-tyypin bluesin ystäville.

PASI TUOMINEN  Blues-Finland.com
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