October 26, 2019 – If you’re an individual who remembers the time when the Blues was nothing more than a good person feeling bad, then Dancing InThe Belly Of The Beast will be the gem for you! Bushmaster Gary Brown is a good man that has made it his mission to inform the masses that bad feelings are unavoidable by everyday living in America. The disc opens up addressing the continual “shaking down” of people of color with “Profile”. It describes how law enforcement in the past and present go about doing less honorable work with people that they do not value. Brown continues with the theme of injustice with “A Song For Freddie Gray”; the 25 year old who lost his life due to unnecessary force while taken in custody. “Nowhere To Stand” speaks to the hopelessness that many Black people face daily simply because of no respect of life by police and black community. With “Forty Acres And A Mule” Brown reminds everyone of how broken promises will leave one wondering and wanting.
Browns’ singing is heartfelt and sung with a conviction that will provoke one to take notice what is missing from the formulaic Blues that’s played today. Dancing In The Belly Of The Beast serves as a testimony of How Brown conveys all that ills us on the platform of the Blues. Browns’ fret work is delivered with all of his influences in tow. You can hear Delta Blues, Jump Blues, Rocking Blues, Funky Smoking Blues playing throughout the disc. “The Blues” is a short strut telling the world what Brown has been doing since day one of his career. This disc will flame ones’ curiosity of why the world is the way it is. Not too far off the protest of folk tunes in the past; Dancing In The Belly Of The Beast will keep you engaged from beginning to end. The closer “Thing Back Home” is an apology for all that is wrong with America and how the chosen one is not part of the solution.
Bushmaster featuring Gary Brown serves an excellent balance of thought provoking tunes that have come straight from his soul. Total mind engaging Blues.