Boogie Woogie Music

This is a terrific CD. Nearly all the cuts on it are original, and they're all good. For harp players like myself, this is an absolute bonanza. Simply put, Joe Ferguson is as good as they get folks, bar none. He has a distictive, rapid fire, incredibly creative style, like nothing you've ever heard before. I could practice ten hours a day for the rest of my life and never approach this guy's talent. The great ones are born that way, and the rest of us can only be thankful they're here for us to hear. Marci Linn also stands out with a great big, gutsy blues voice. She is superb and the rest of the band are all polished pros. I have nearly a hundred harmonica-based blues CD's and this one is in my top 3, along with Musselwhite and Junior Wells offerings. Frankly, to my ear, Joe Ferguson is the most distinctive, most gifted of the 3. If you like blues harmonica, you can't do any better than this CD. If only they would cut another...

Loaded Dice has been playing around Michigan since the early 1990's featuring core players Mark Scherwin on guitar, Tom Duffield on piano and Joe Ferguson on harmonica. Add in Bill Wilson on bass, Mark Coulson on drums and singer Marci Linn and you've got yourself one heck of a good-time Blues band.

This recording features 100% solid Blues in the urban, electric mode. Most of the songs on this CD were written by the band members with some outstanding covers thrown in for good measure. Their Version of the Rolling Stones "Wild Horses" is especially noteworty. The musicianship is outstanding throughout the album. The individual players stand out without overcrowding each other. Joe Ferguson's harmonica playing shows that he has really studied the master players of the instrument, developing a few cool tricks of his own.

This is definitely one group to catch live if you can and worth getting this CD if you can't.