Curtis Salgado — “Fine By Me” — Little Village
Curtis Salgado has been one of my favorite performers for a bunch of years now. I’ve seen him on blues cruises and at festivals, and he never fails to deliver honest, soulful music that seems to come from deep inside him, where the spirit of his music lives.
Now, on his brand-new album, “Fine By Me,” Salgado is once again delivering a palette of songs that reflect his musical sensibilities — which indeed run wide and deep. But sometimes the artist says it best, and here’s how Salgado describes this session in the album notes:
“Hello Music Lover, What you are holding in your hand is my latest batch of songs. When I write a song, it is made from all the musical influences that I grew up with, so it’s American music. Gospel is the mothership, and the rest of it follows: blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, funk, soul, rock ‘n’ roll. I love and respect ALL of it. The music on this recording was created with the help of my friends and musicians. I admire them all greatly and I am blessed to have them in my life. The heart of my life is music; it has the power to break through the daily absurdities of our world.”
Now I really like what he says there at the end, how music has the “power to break through the absurdities of the world.” And that can definitely make those absurdities a little easier to deal with, if only for a little while. “Fine By Me” reflects that, with nine of eleven songs that bear Salgado’s name, and two sturdy covers that share those sensibilities.
As if to demonstrate his musical eclecticism right from the start, Salgado opens the session with the whimsical “My Girl’s A Nut,” with its near-country twang and loping rhythm. A kicky horn section brings in “Better Things to Lie About,” with its clever lyrical wordplay and sizzling Salgado harp work, plus vocals that step up and out front.
“I’m Gonna Forget About You,” the first cover, is classic O.V. Wright soul. Salgado and Robert Cray reprise their 1980 hookup on Cray’s first album with Salgado backup vocals. This time Salgado takes the lead, while Cray adds guitar and harmonizing vocals. It’s a soul brothers’ tour de force. It’s damn good, too!
The title track pushes out with a tough rocking backbeat and a lyric built around a Salgado dream about having lunch with Jackie Onassis. It’s another magical tale from Salgado’s seemingly endless lyrical wizardry. “Niki Hoeky” is another cover, a lighthearted Cajun-flavored rocker with more clever wordplay and Salgado’s falsetto getting a workout.
Salgado’s original gospel-styled “Hear the Lonely Hearts” is richly backed by the powerful harmonies and call and response of The Sons of the Soul Revivers (brothers James, Walter, and Dwayne Morgan), standouts on many other Little Village albums. “Safe At Home” touts the virtues of being — safe at home after worldly travels.
“The Big Chagrin” shuffles in on a New Orleans beat with a hearty dose of honky-tonk piano, blazing horns and Salgado harp. “The Only Way Out” tries out a little Latin rhythm, and “Cheap Stuff” is an unusual riff on thrift.
The two final cuts both feature stinging guitar by Anson Funderburgh. “You Give The Blues A Bad Name” is down-home blues that showcases Salgado’s wickedly soulful vocals, wrapped around a deep-blue, scorching guitar break. “Under New Management” is a rugged blues shuffle with more Funderburgh fun.
The album was recorded at eight different studios, with what seems like a cast of thousands joining in (complete list of musicians below). The result is a superb Salgado production (he produced), and great listening for the rest of us not invited to all those studios.
It’s hard to imagine that anyone in the blues listening world has not heard of Curtis Salgado. If you have, this is must-hear music. If you haven’t, it’s even more important that you must hear this delightful cornucopia of his music.
I first heard Curtis sing this song on the 2017 Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, where it was an instant hit. It’s an example of how he can masterfully mine a gem of a song from a simple premise. It’s titled “The Greatest Wish,” or as it came to be known on that cruise, “the dog song.”
From the album: “You Give the Blues a Bad Name”
Tracks and many, many credits:
1. My Girl’s A Nut Charles Seluzicki, Curtis Salgado (ASCAP), David Duncan (BMI)
Jimi Bott – Drums Keith Brush – Acoustic Bass Alan Hager – Guitar Curtis Salgado – Vocals & Harmonica
2. Better Things To Lie About Curtis Salgado (ASCAP), Gary Nicholson (ASCAP)
Derek “D’Mar” Martin – Drums Endre Tarczy – Bass Kid Andersen – Guitar & Keyboards Joe McCarthy – Trumpet Lars Campbell – Trombone Tim Bryson – Tenor & Baritone Sax Curtis Salgado – Vocals & Harmonica
3. I’m Gonna Forget About You: O. V. Wright (BMI)
Jim Pugh – B3 & Piano Derek “D’Mar” Martin – Drums Jerry Jemmott – Bass Kid Andersen – Guitar Robert Cray – Guitar & Vocals Curtis Salgado – Vocals
4. Fine By Me Curtis Salgado (ASCAP), George Marinelli (BMI)
Derek “D’Mar” Martin – Drums Endre Tarczy – Bass George Marinelli – Guitar Kid Andersen – Guitar & Keyboards Lisa Leuschner – BG Vocals Curtis Salgado – Vocals
5. Niki Hoeky James Ford (BMI), Lolly Vegas (BMI), Pat Vegas (BMI)
Paul Revelli – Drums Endre Tarczy – Bass Kid Andersen – Guitar & Keyboards Lisa Leuschner – BG Vocal Joe McCarthy – Trumpet Tim Bryson – Tenor & Baritone Sax Curtis Salgado – Vocals
6. Hear the Lonely Hearts Curtis Salgado (ASCAP)
Rome Yamilov – Guitar, Kid Andersen – Acoustic Bass The Sons of The Soul Revivers – James Morgan, Vocals Walter Morgan – Vocals Dwayne Morgan – Vocals Curtis Salgado – Vocals
7. Safe At Home Curtis Salgado (ASCAP), Fred Trujillo (ASCAP) Hershel Yatovitz (BMI)
Alby Allen Paul Revelli – Drums Hershel Yatovitz – Slide Guitar & Bass Kid Andersen – Guitar & Keyboards Lisa Leuschner – BG Vocals Curtis Salgado – Vocals
8. The Big Chagrin Terry Wilson (BMI), Curtis Salgado (ASCAP)
Snuffy Walden – Guitar Billy Watts – Guitar Terry Wilson – Bass Jeff Paris – Piano Tony Braunagel – Drums Joe McCarthy – Trumpet Lars Campbell – Trombone Tim Bryson – Tenor & Baritone Sax Teresa James – BG Vocals Terry Wilson – BG Vocals Curtis Salgado – Vocals & Harmonica
9. The Only Way Out Curtis Salgado (ASCAP), Joshua Huff (ASCAP), Ben Rice (ASCAP) Andy Worley – Drums Ben Rice – Guitars Fred Trujillo – Bass Galen Clark – Piano & B3 Lindsay Reynolds – BG Vocals Curtis Salgado – Vocals
10. Cheap Stuff Curtis Salgado (ASCAP), Hershel Yatovitz (BMI), Alby Alan
Nick Otis – Drums Hershel Yatovitz – Lead Guitar & Bass Jim Pugh – B3 & Keyboards Kid Andersen – Rhythm Guitar & Bass Lisa Leuschner – BG Vocals Curtis Salgado – Vocals & Harmonica
11. You Give the Blues A Bad Name Curtis Salgado (ASCAP), Terry Wilson (BMI) Billy Watts – Guitar Anson Funderburgh – Guitar Terry Wilson – Bass Loren Gold – Piano Tony Braunagel – Drums Joe McCarthy – Trumpet Lars Campbell – Trombone Tim Bryson – Tenor & Baritone Sax Curtis Salgado – Vocals
12. Under New Management Dave Duncan (BMI), Curtis Salgado (ASCAP)
Studios & Engineers Falcon Recording Studios – Portland, OR
(Dennis Carter, Engineer) Tracks 8, 11, 12 Greaseland USA, San Jose, CA
(Kid Andersen, Engineer) Tracks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 Jesi-Lu Studios, Canyon Country CA
(Terry Wilson, Engineer) Tracks 8, 11, 12 Purple Palace, Portland, OR
(Hershel Yatovitz, Engineer) Tracks 7, 10 Roseleaf, Studios, Portland, OR
(Jimi Bott – Engineer) Track 1 Sound Design, Santa Barbara, CA
(Dom Camardella, Engineer) Track 3 Taylor Made Studios, Los Angeles CA
(George Landress, Engineer) Tracks 8, 11, 12Topaz Studios, Portland OR
(Andy Worley, Engineer) Track 9
Blues Roadhouse 