We Want Sounds! is on a roll! They started off the year with a stunning collection of funk which I had the absolute joy of reviewing a coupe of weeks ago, and now this!
Dixie Fever is a collaborative effort from guitarist Makoto Kubota, along with Takashi Onzo on bass, Yosuke Fujita on guitar/mandolin, Keni Inoue on lead guitar, Hiroki Komazawa on pedal steel guitar, and Kubota himself on guitar. The secret sauce in this album comes from co-producer Haruomi “Harry” Hosono, and this work, mixing American swamp funk, blues, music from the Hawaiian islands and their own local influences from Japan, was just a bit before his transformation to a techno-don of the seminal Yellow Magic Orchestra. Kubota is firmly in command here was mellow, slightly Beatlesque guitar playing and warm vocals befitting such music. Yet another gem. For a more in-depth review, we point you to a review published by The Vinyl Factory.
