JIM ALLCHIN - PRIME BLUESLabel: Artisanship Music
Marathon Village 1200 Clinton Street #227
Nashville
This old proverb 'strike while the iron is hot' quickly comes to mind when reviewing the new
album “Prime Blues” from pacific Northwest guitar man, Jim Allchin. For it clearly alludes to the
imagery of the blacksmith at his forge; if he delays shaping the iron when it is hot and pliable the
metal soon cools and hardens, and the opportunity is lost. Allchin astutely heeded this council
while hard on the heels of his critically-acclaimed and chart-topping 2017 album “Decisions” and
continued running with its winning formula.
In spring of 2018 he returned to the vaunted Blackbird Studios in Nashville to collaborate again
with Grammy-winning producer, songwriter and drummer Tom Hambridge and his team. To kick
up the flavor a notch the duo invited special guests Mike Zito, Bobby Rush and The Memphis
Horns to add their special sauce to the recipe. The result is a savory collection of 14 amazing
new tracks that dig deeper into the blues and prove the notion that indeed “lightning can strike
twice.”
A growling guitar riff and a horn-drenched blues rocker ‘Give it Up’ opens the set of “Prime Blues”
with Allchin encouraging us all to find our inner truth. Kevin McKendree spares with Allchin on the
Hammond B3 on the greasy blues ‘Devil Don’t Sleep.’ The crew then heads down to the bayou to
sing the praises of an enchanting Cajun queen for the swampy ‘Voodoo Doll,’ and keep the
groove sexy with enticing rocker ‘Snuggle Up.’ Allchin flat out rips on the full tilt instrumental
‘Jimmy’s Boogie,’ and the horns return for the sweet Memphis-styled love song ‘Summer Sunrise.’
Mike Zito steps up to the mic for the Texarkana stomp ‘Enough Is Enough’ that features another
gritty solo from Allchin and fiery honkytonk piano from McKendree. Bob Britt from the Delbert
McClinton band sits in on the swinging autobiography ‘Found The Blues’ that has Allchin detailing
how “music blew his muse” and most likely saved his life.
The full force of The Memphis Horns and a six-piece Nashville band are brought to bear on the
bump and grind blues ‘Two Bad Dreams’ to complement the paramount personality that is Bobby
Rush. Next Allchin picks up his acoustic guitar for the old-time tale of hard luck and trouble ‘Pawn
Shop Man,’ before shredding more hot leads on the sizzling Chicago blues shuffle ‘Lost My Mind.’
The soul-searching track ‘Up To Destiny’ mixes thought-provoking lyrics with pop music
sensibilities on an arrangement that has a bit of Santana-like appeal. The patented double shuffle
from Hambridge creates an authentic motif for Allchin’s tongue-in-cheek dig at our obsession
with cell phones on witty ‘Tech Blues.’ The final track ‘Logoff’ serves as a clever double entendre,
with the bluesy groove serving notice to the end of bad love and the poetic finale of the grand
adventure that is the album “Prime Blues.” Once again, we are blessed to have Jim Allchin share
with us his quest for universal truths and superb guitar tone on what could prove to be his
crowning achievement.
Critically Acclaimed Blues-Rock Guitarist, Songwriter and Vocalist Jim Allchin
Announces Prime Blues, His Newest LP, for Release September 21, 2018
Produced by Grammy and Blues Music Award Winner Tom Hambridge and featuring a team of veteran studio
and touring professionals including special guests Bobby Rush and Mike Zito
Jim Allchin, the American blues-rock guitarist, philanthropist, and a former software executive, is releasing his
fourth widely distributed contemporary blues album: Prime Blues, produced by Producer and Grammy®,
ASCAP and Blues Music Award winner Tom Hambridge, whose production credits include: Buddy Guy, Marcia
Ball, Susan Tedeschi and James Cotton, among many others.
Prime Blues features 14 new tracks performed by an all-star group of musicians including: bassist Glenn Worf,
rhythm guitarists Rob McNelley, Bob Britt and Kenny Greenberg, keyboardist Kevin McKendree, drummer
Tom Hambridge, vocalist Mycle Wastman, The Memphis Horns and special guest vocalists Grammy-winner
Bobby Rush, and Blues Award winner Mike Zito.
Hambridge stated: "I’m so very proud of this major step forward in Jim’s journey as a Bluesman. We had an
absolute blast co-writing some of the songs, planning and recording Prime Blues and we’re anxious for blues
fans around the globe to hear these incredible tunes and performances."
Featured in Apple Music and receiving wide critical acclaim, Allchin’s last LP, Decisions, topped Contemporary
Blues and Blues Rock charts for months and was named a Top 20 Blues Rock Album of 2017 by the venerable
Roots Music Report. The LP registered nearly 1 million plays on Spotify.
TRACK LIST
GIVE IT UP 4:28
DEVIL DON’T SLEEP 3:12
VOODOO DOLL 3:51
SNUGGLE UP 3:18
JIMMY’S BOOGIE 2:51
SUMMER SUNRISE 4:50
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH 3:08
FOUND THE BLUES 3:18
TWO BAD DREAMS 5:03
PAWN SHOP MAN 2:54
LOST MY MIND 3:43
UP TO DESTINY 4:25
TECH BLUES 4:06
LOGOFF 3:09
www.JIMALLCHIN.COM
Publicity and PromotionBetsie Brown - Blind Raccoon | betsie@BlindRaccoon.com
