VizzTone Label Group announces the fourth collaboration album for John Primer and Bob Corritore, Crawlin’ Kingsnake. John and Bob have always had the Chicago spark. It was evident on their first release together in 2013, and on each release since. But this particular album feels like a new height has been achieved.
There is a simultaneous, rocking forcefulness, while also exhibiting an uninhibited, gliding easiness. This album also features arguably the best possible A-team for Chicago blues! With Bob Stroger on the bass, Jimi Primetime Smith on second Guitar, Anthony Geraci on the
piano, and Wes Starr on drums, this band sounds like the Muddy Waters band of decades ago.
Both Primer and Corritore appear at the top of their game with Primer recently inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, as well as numerous award wins, and a Grammy nomination. Likewise, Corritore has been actively hitting the European festival circuit, released five critically acclaimed albums in 2023, was the subject of numerous articles and received numerous nominations, and a number of wins. But all of that is secondary to what happens in the studio and what you have in your hand is a powerful straight-ahead album of sacred Chicago blues done by two artists who have devoted their entire lives to the purity of the blues.
John Primer and Bob Corritore’s version of “Crawlin’ Kingsnake” breathes new life into this blues classic, reaching deep into the tradition while at the same time offers a vibrant fresh energy infusion while also providing a launching pad for great solos from John and Bob. But the true star of this song is John Primer’s Mississippi-drenched vocals.
