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Gamble Brothers Band Back To The Bottom from Playgrounds Magazine: July 2004 By Curtis Lynch If Steely Dan had honed their chops in Memphis instead of California, if they had traded in their clever, cold irony for humid pop hooks, if Becker and Fagen had BBQ sauce pumping in their veins instead of slightly chilled white zinfandel, then there may have never been a need for the Gamble Brothers. Lucky for us there’s room for both. more... Gamble Brothers Band 4 Stars Back to the Bottom from Car Audio & Electronics: May 2004 By John Raju If the music business cared more about great music than greater profits then the Gamble Brothers Band would already be getting the big-time attention they deserve. These guys out of Memphis, the home of soul and much more, are top-shelf musicians whose collection of funky soulful rock is a welcome change from the straw-stuffed material that dominates pop charts. The material on this CD has a broad appeal with terrific hooks and memorable riffs. Keyboardist/vocalist Al Gamble and brother Chad have created a potent formula for a hybrid genre of music that reminds you of how much fun you can have just sitting around listening to tunes. If I have any complaint it's that some of the songs are constructed so tightly that they sometimes seemed abbreviated. Gamble Brothers Band 4 Stars Back to the Bottom from Paste Magazine: February/March 2004 By Brian Baker GBB's sophomore album rings with the sweet soul shimmer of Booker T & the MG's and shuffles with the funky Naw'lins syncopation of The Meters. Back to the Bottom is an infectious set of rump-shaking, roof-raising soul jams that are equally reliant on the band's jazz and blues chops. Great songwriting talent gives their originals the distinctive air of classics-in-waiting (particularly the legend roll call of "Land of Soul," the slamming "Tiki Bar"), and their funky reinventions of Gary Wright's "Love is Alive" and Randy Newman's "Little Criminals" are transcendent. Without a guitar in sight, the Gamble Brothers Band rocks to a slippery beat that incorporates any number of Southern music traditions. Putting Memphis Back on the Map: The Gamble Brothers Band Reintroduce Soulsville, U.S.A. to its Musical Past from An Honest Tune, November 2003 By Tom Speed Midway through the sophomore release from the Memphis based Gamble Brothers Band, during a song called "Land of Soul," keyboardist and vocalist Al Gamble sings: "I hear the voices calling out to me/Otis, Rufus and Booker T." It's a great line, one that follows another great one "Hernando De Soto, did you know/You were breaking ground in the Land of Soul." But it didn't necessarily need saying. On the nine tracks preceding "Land of Soul," those voices reveal themselves over and over, not so much calling out as being channeled. And The Gamble Brothers Band may be the first group of musicians in a long, long time to recognize the City's storied past, embrace it, and infuse it with fresh and vital energy. more... The Gamble Brothers Band's Bottom-Heavy Musical Gumbo. from The Memphis Flyer, October 17, 2003 by Chris Herrington The Gamble Brothers Band is on a roll. Earlier this year, the local four-piece took home over $35,000 in prizes by beating out 1,200 other bands in the Billboard-sponsored Independent Musicians World Series in Nashville. And now they've followed up their strong debut, last year's 10 Lbs of Hum, with the even more impressive Back to the Bottom (Archer Records; A-). more... Classy Flack Closes 'Garden'. Trenyce, Gambles Add Local Flair from The Commercial Appeal, September 20, 2003 By Bill Ellis The weather was gorgeous and so was the music Friday at the Memphis Botanic Garden's final Live at the Garden concert. Singing legend Roberta Flack ended the summer series before some 3,300 people, and a classier closer couldn't have been had. Performing a mix of hits, covers and newer tunes, Flack was no prisoner to her past (though the soundman made her diaphanous voice at times a prisoner to the microphone - she has such a delicate delivery that one had to strain at times to hear her nuanced way with a tune).. more... Gamble Brothers' Latest is a Safe Bet from The Commercial Appeal, September 6, 2003 By Bill Ellis As if 2002 debut "10 Lbs. of Hum" wasn't impressive enough, The Gamble Brothers Band follows with another winner, "Back to the Bottom" (in stores Tuesday). Made with Ross Rice (and this just may be his best effort yet in the producer's chair), the sophomore record further hones what already seemed a near-perfect sound on the act's debut. This instrumentally ferocious jazz-rock quartet - a Bluff City-meets-N'awlins hybrid - is so musically mature, in fact, it refuses to lapse into any "jam band" syndrome whereby endless riffing passes for a song. The band's daunting chops never fail to serve the written material, a wise path. And it's the topnotch originals herein that you'll remember most, from the great opener Record Store - a more-than-worthy nod to influence Steely Dan and as close to a "hit" as they've penned thus far - the ska send-up Share, the funky Tiki Bar, and the hip instrumental highlight Escape Alley. Only a pleasant-enough arrangement of Gary Wright's '70s hit Love Is Alive seems unnecessary. Not so, however, with the disc's other cover, Randy Newman's Little Criminals, which just may have outdone the author's. The Gamble Brothers Band took top honors at Nashville's recent Independent Music World Series Southeast Showcase for a reason - they're amazing players, especially live. They've also made one of the year's amazing local discs in "Back to the Bottom." If this is their "Countdown to Ecstasy," I can hardly wait for their "Pretzel Logic." The Gamble Brothers Band opens for Roberta Flack on Sept. 19 at the Memphis Botanic Garden's Live at the Garden finale. Gamble Brothers Kept Industry Types on Their Toes from The Commercial Appeal, August 9, 2003 By Bill Ellis Anyone who has seen the Gamble Brothers Band in town knows they're one of the best live acts going. Now the nation is getting a taste. Congratulations are in order for the Memphis quartet, who won the Independent Music World Series Southeast Showcase finals in Nashville last week. They pick up $35,000 in music gear and prizes for their effort (go to discmakers.com/ imws for the official announcement). more... |
