Reviews

Old Age & Treachery must be Canada's best kept blues secret ... Powerhouse blues delivered with style and attitude.

~~ Chris Matheos, jazz musician and president of Network Pacific Records, November, 2006 ~~

 

What a pleasure and an honor to be playing your music ... I hope I did it justice....

~~ Gino Cosentino, Chartmakers Music Productions, theatre pianist for Puss In Boots, January, 2005 ~~

 

Hi, Ron - Just wanted to say what a fabulous job you did with the music for Puss in Boots. ... Your musical contribution helped to make Puss our best panto yet!

~~ Hilary Bruhn, Theatre Now! writer/director, January, 2005 ~~

 

Ron Campbell graced Prince George blues fans with his one-man show last Thursday ... a tremendous crowd pleaser ... From fast-paced guitar licks to slow pleasant notes, I was overwhelmed with his unique talent.

His composition "Blinded By Need", captured the pain of a husband losing his wife.   Powerful lyrics like "She's so tired of the pain / She yearns to be free", left the audience in silence.   The crowd favorite, though, was was "Chick Flick", a blues tune about the dreaded trip to the movie store where arguments erupt over action films versus love stories.   "I'd rather be pepper-sprayed by a Mountie / Than sit through 'The Bridges Of Madison County'" was Campbell's rendition of the experience.

Campbell kept the audience involved ... through to the last note of a show that lasted over two hours and left the audience longing for more.

~~ Tarwinder Chahill, Prince George Citizen, May 2003 ~~ Buy the CD



PURE BLUES GUY... a solid selection of songs ...
"Chick Flick" is an instant classic. The piano-harp boogie on "Delivery Man" is ... instantly likeable. "Canadian Tune" is authentic blues guitar playing, however "God Watches Over You And Me" is the truest Delta song on the CD. It features ... inspiring slide guitar, moanin' and the required religious subject matter. In summary, the recording is a masterpiece of creative song writing and features some fertile Delta blues playing.

~~ Warren Dallin, Canadian Blues, December 2002 ~~Buy the CD



 


The songs all have an authentic oldtime blues feel, with raw vocals and great guitar and harmonica playing. "Don't Want No Chick Flick" is ... blues with a cutting Dobro and Willie Nelson-like vocals and hilarious lyrics. Old-time blues, the way it should be played: with love and passion.

~~ Peter Marinus, NL Groovemaster webzine, August 2002 ~~Buy the CD

 

Ron Campbell put on a great performance at the Lethbridge Folk Club - this man can put out the Delta Blues sound! ... a great, smooth show; the first half sitting down as one might expect of an old blues player hammering out the melodies on a shiny resonator guitar ... the second set standing up as Ron switched between 12 string and resonator guitar. An excellent mix of traditional songs, and originals done in the Delta style. This is a show blues fans should not miss.

~~ Sjoerd Schaafsma, Lethbridge Folk Club, July 2001 ~~Buy the CD

 

A SKINNY OLD WHITE MAN SINGS THE BLUES . . . A lifetime of music from rock to brass bands and beyond, and this skinny old white man settled on traditional Delta blues done with style, authenticity ... and a wink. Traditional tunes from the '20's and '30's like "Jimmie Rodgers' Last Blue Yodel" and "Got My Mojo Workin'" segue naturally in and out of Campbell's originals composed in the same vein. Enthusiasm, true communion with the rural blues spirits and a crisp "live" studio production make this an excellent blues record.

~~ Tom Schulte, Detroit Music, June 2001 ~~Buy the CD



 

... sings and plays like he was reared in the Mississippi Delta. There are fifteen songs on this CD, and they are all stellar. The most impressive ... is "John The Revelator." He uses the Dobro to its fullest potential, and the song just cooks. If you love the blues, ... you won't want to waste any time picking up this platter.

~~ Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck, May 2001 ~~Buy the CD

 

 

A downright gritty and great CD. His variety of songs is impressive, from Robert Johnson's "Phonograph Blues" to "Jimmie Rodgers' Last Blue Yodel", to Brownie McGhee's "Born With the Blues".  Snatch this one and dig your teeth into it.

~~ Dalton Roberts, Chatanooga Times-Free Press ~~Buy the CD

 

 Ron Campbell strikes an old-time blues pace on "A Skinny Old White Man Sings The Blues" ... stomping and shouting, strumming his resonator guitar and blasting harp riffs.  Good and mellow!

~~ Ed Ivey, Blues Revue Magazine, February 2000 ~~Buy the CD

 

An unbelievably fresh rendition of "Got my Mojo Workin" . . . real good stuff

~~ WITR-FM 89.7 Bad Dog Blues from Rochester, NY, August 1999 ~~Buy the CD