Steve Arvey & Pete Cornelius - Freerange
Review By Terry Clear of Blues Bytes - Edited By Brian Sidler

Chicago Bluesman Steve Arvey has just finished another very successful tour of Australia, and whilst there he took time out to record an album with Australian musician  Pete Cornelius  the result is the very entertaining Freerange (BGM). Of the 12 tracks included on the CD, Steve Arvey wrote seven of them, Pete Cornelius wrote one, Arvey long-time friend Kraig Kenning contributed one, one is a tradional blues ("When I Get Drunk") and the remaining track is an old Tommy Johnson number, "Big Road. The resulting mix is pretty intoxicating, with Steve Arvey's very distinctive voice providing some interesting vocals, accompanied by the vocal harmonies of Jim Reeves on a couple of tracks (no, not THAT Jim Reeves!!). The album opens with an Arvey song, Faith, a compelling, slow blues ballad that sounds as though it tells the story of part of  his life. Listening to this track, with some excellent rhythm section work by Phil Wilson on bass & Matt Neil on drums, just makes you want more. Another Arvey original, Something To Lose, follows, and it sounds as though it's a part two, follow up of Faith with more of his life unfolding through the track. The third track on this CD is written by Kraig Kenning, a long time associate of Steve Arvey.  Tthey produced a superb album together, Pass The Hat, in 1997. This is a slow, moody, ballad with some absolutely beautiful slide work on it  and the whole band sounds so relaxed. The next track is co-written by Steve Arvey & the Bibles own King Soloman, "Proverbs."  Pete Cornelius showcases here on dobro, and it really adds to this track giving it a totally different flavour. Pete also plays his dobro on the Tommy Johnson song Big Road a little later in the album. The traditional When I Get Drunk  brings us back up to speed, and Steve Arvey and the boys really make a good job of it. However, just when your feet are tapping nicely, the music slips back into slow and moody with another nice ballad, an Arvey original The Pain Is Gone.  Track 7, The Picture is, to my mind, very Australian in its feeling. It puts me in mind of songs by the Australian band Men At Work. I'm not really sure that it fits in with the rest of the tracks, but it's still good music, and worth listening to and maybe Steve's nod to the Australian musicians he's playing with. By the time we get to the Arvey-written Cabo Sunset, things are getting into a nice laid-back mood, and it carries on with Two Roads, a track written by Phil Manning. These two tracks are really excellent late night listening, full of feeling with some lovely instrumental breaks. This is a CD well worth getting your hands on it's well-written, well-played, and nicely different.