The New England area has produced a number of brilliant guitarists since Duke Robillard founded Roomful Of Blues back in ’67. You got Ronnie Earl, Peter Ward, even Southern gentlemen-by-way-of-New England, Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin and Ted Drozdowski. You can add Peter Poirier to that list, with his most excellent set of vintage jump and R & B tunes, “Empty Arms.” It is, literally, an excursion into what an old-school-styled rhythm-and-blues band would have been versed in during the mid-to-late-Fifties. Adding to the vibe and authenticity are some of New England’s most recognizable backing musicians, including Matt McCabe, Mark Teixeira, Mark Earley, and Brad Hallen.
Peter’s guitar lines are fluid, and his tone is fat, and one can hear a myriad of influences, from B. B. to Freddie, Albert Collins, T-Bone Walker, and even the Duke. He opens with the cool, loping vibe of B. B.’s “Bad Luck is falling, what can a poor boy do?” He steps into a sweet country-blues groove for Sleepy John Estes’ and Hammie Nixon’s “Someday Baby,” with Matt getting in some fine piano licks. “And Like That,” another B. B. tune, follows a fired-up rhumba pattern , while Ike Turner’s consummate drinkin’ song, “I’m Tore Up,” served as one of our favorites.
The set closes with our other favorite. Rockin’ another rhumba-fried groove, Peter and the fellows channel their inner Freddie King on the classic instrumental, “Heads Up!”
If you’ve ever lain in your bed at night with your transistor radio under your pillow tuned in to late-nite on WLAC outta Nashville, as have I, then you know what Peter Poirier and “Empty Arms” is all about! It’s a return to those halcyon days when great R & B ruled the airwaves! Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow, The Nashville Blues And Roots Alliance.
