Shake-It-Sugar Records announces release of Murali Coryell CD "Made In Texas" Available Worldwide!
CD Review by Bill Bentley for Bentley's Bandstand: Murali Coryell, Made in Texas. Time to blow down the doors with a rippin’ and runnin’ take on Texas music and then some. Murali Coryell has been drilling for oil in central Texas’ music fields for a few years, and he most definitely hits a gusher this go-round. Enlisting drummer Ernie Durawa, straight out of San Antonio, was a wise call, and along the way they’re joined by bassist Speedy Sparks, keyboard guru Augie Meyers and a host of other Lone Star Staters. Opening with “Herman Wright,” which also features father Larry Coryell on guitar sets fire to the album. From there the songs twist and turn and include Doug Sahm’s “I Got it Bad,” Luther “Snake Boy” Johnson’s “Woman Don’t Lie,” Bobby Bland’s “I Pity the Fool,” Paul Oscher’s “Satan’s Woman,” Meyers’ “All I Ever Needed” and, yes, Jimmy Webb’s “Wichita Lineman,” along with five Murali Coryell originals. Everything feels like it was inspired by an outdoor dance floor with a Texas sky full of stars, which means the music burns and yearns and always shoots for the moon. Coryell is a deeply soulful singer along with being one of the finest electric guitarists playing anywhere. Mostly blues-based, he’s also capable of reaching out into the cosmos when needed, always zeroing in on emotional bell-ringers to show his stuff. All the way down to artist Kerry Awn’s album cover painting, this music feels like a total celebration of everything Texas has to offer, and a sound that runs from El Paso to Port Arthur, Wichita Falls to Laredo and wherever musical freedom reigns supreme. Bluebonnets and beyond.