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"This fun-loving Canadian five-piece weighs in with their first full-length
collection of blues and zydeco. Guitarist Travis Furlong leads Glamour Puss on the album's opener, the salacious
"Kitty Kitty",
which is punctuated by mean horn blasts and a stomping organ sound. The band creeps its way through fourteen slinky
originals -- Furlong and keyboard/accordion player Roger Cormier share most of the songwriting duties -- and a
gravely take on John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom";
while their cover sounds fine, my money is on hot-sounding originals like "Million-Air" and "You're Rich and I'm Poor". Another "don't miss" tune: the title track, which features mean acoustic
guitar picking courtesy of guest performers Michael Jerome Browne and Charlie A'Court."
-AL
Living Blues
May, 2004
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"...this is as good as modern Blues gets. With a blessed
absence of unending, masturbatory solos, an incredibly sweet-sounding production, lyrics that aren't too clever
to be cool, and musicianship to-die-for, this CD, Wire and Wood is a phenomenal and thrilling oasis of state-of-the-art Blues in the desert of the
genre's overdone mediocrity."
-P. Kellach Waddle
Blueswax
January 14, 2004
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"Glamour Puss's "Wire
& Wood" is quite possibly the most upbeat CD I have heard
in a long time. This Canadian 5 piece, consisting of Ron Dupuis (Drums / Vocals), Travis Furlong (Guitar / Vocals),
Paul Boudreau (Bass / Vocals), Roger Cormier (Keyboards / Accordian / Harmonica / Vocals), and Dan Rodgers (Sax
/ Vocals) are all extremely talented and run the gammet with a musical stew of Rock / Blues / Zydeco / and All-Around-Party
Band. Most would be confused by a CD that crams 15 songs of various styles into a CD running less then 53 minutes,
however Glamour Puss pull it off, and pull it off flawlessly."
-Brian Cohen (Founder)
Are You Blues
Autumn, 2003
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"...After listening to their latest CD release, "Wire & Wood", I have come to
two conclusions: Glamour Puss loves the blues and they love to party! There is a unique kind of irony on this CD
however. On the one hand the lyrics express difficult life situations like painful relationships, loneliness, misunderstandings,
disappointment, etc., elements that are essential to blues writing. On the other hand the majority of the music
supporting the lyrics is upbeat, electric, fun and even danceable."
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"Unexpected and somewhat bizarre, this blues / rock / zydeco / R &
B record is strong, strong, strong. The first great strength evident to the listener is the record's layered rhythm.
Double-time bass working closely with drums, a precise horn section and a fat-bottomed organ sound give the band,
in essence, three rhythm sections, so when one of the three distinct rhythm entities decides to drop out and explore
the front line world of lead every so often, it doesn't detract from the song's drive at all.
"Among the record's 15 tunes are numbers definitely emphasizing the separate musical genres performed by the
band, but few of the tunes are purely "blues," "zydeco," or whatever. Glamour Puss impressively
blends genres that often conflict in other hands. I can think of no musician friends with whom I would not happily
and enthusiastically share this release.
"The band sounds at different times like Huey Lewis & the News, Sam & Dave's backing act, the Edgar
Winter band or the Saturday Night Live orchestra. Altogether rewarding."
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"This is an exciting group ... I'll be very surprised if Glamour Puss
doesn't garner an award nomination of some sort in 2004."
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"... music of joyful self-expression ... dance music ... to take away
the blues."
-David Kidney
Green Man Review
September, 2003
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"Glamour Puss Wire &
Wood NorthernBlues NBM0018/Festival Album number four and proof positive
that this band deserves its new national status. Roaring out of the block with three straight rockers, they then
stay true to their New Brunswick roots with a blend of Cajun, French and acoustic blues originals. First time producer
Michael Jerome Browne has done a marvelous job with the recording and the performances, adding guitar, fiddle and
harmony vocals and generally taking things a step higher. The drive and spirit, though, belong to the long-standing
lineup of Ron Dupuis on drums & vocals, Travis Furlong on guitar & vocals, Paul Boudreau on bass &
vocals, Roger Cormier on keyboards & vocals and Don Rogers on sax & vocals. Phillipe Lucy & Roland
Bourgeois augment Rogers for a horn section throughout. Newcomer Charlie A'Court guests on acoustic guitar along
with Browne on "Wire & Wood",
Furlong's paean to his guitar. Cormier's "(Elle est) Dangereuse" has a most effective melody line and the list of 12-bar blues with French lyrics
is not a long one. John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" gets the Animals treatment, capturing every bit of the energy in that version.
"Maman Don't Play No Zydeco"
gives Browne's fiddle a workout in a Doug Kershaw-styled arrangement that get re-done at the end in French, a fifteenth
song on a fourteen song CD. Just before that though comes "Million-Air", another excellent Furlong song about some self-inflicted blues. All the songs
here could be called thinking-while-dancing music because the lyrics go far beyond the usual. Check out the first
page again for their dates here and make sure you get there early!"
-John Valenteyn
Toronto Blues Society
September, 2003
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"This is the fourth release & debut for NorthernBlues by Glamour
Puss, a Blues/R&B/Funk/Rock/Zydeco & swing outfit. The New Brunswick-based got together in 1994, and here
has come up with a varied repertoire of acoustic & electric tunes. Canada's acoustic Blues champion Michael
Jerome Browne is not only the CD's Producer, but plays kick-ass acoustic guitar on the title track, syncopated
fiddle on two tracks, rhythm guitar & some backing vocals. All the band's lyrics are included in the inlay
booklet along with John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom". Though the two Zydeco tracks employ the same tune their dance inducing rhythm
hypnotises your feet to tapping. I feel the funky opening track though a nice enough number it isn't really a track
to set things in motion. A couple of bouncier tracks I feel admonishes my last comment with first a heavy Peter
Gunn-styled guitar piece, followed by a stingingly toned guitar & buzzing B3 organ, that's vocally in a Jim
Morrison-esque kinda way. "You're Rich I'm Poor" is a jaunty acoustic cum electric frame; a wry black-comedy that lightens the
listener to take on board the first Zydeco tune that follows. The percussive title track skips along at a swift
canter in which Michael Jerome Browne totally steals the spotlight. "If
You Miss Me" mellows things right down in the form of a reflective
Blues/Soul lament. The album's swing number doesn't belt right out of the speakers at you, noodles along very tastily.
"Dangereuse"
is just that a French lyric with brooding saxophone-d menace and feed-backed guitar. "Six
Feet Down" with its music is fun attitude probably is the album's
flag-waver, while "Million-Air"
has that classic Chicago B.B. King influenced sound with a talkin' 'n' buildin' vocal. On the solo acoustic guitar
instrumental Travis Furlong lays a heavy bass line under string ringing lead that is an attention grabber. Glamour
Puss' "Wire & Wood"
is a thoroughly entertaining show on a colourful little disc."
-Billy Hutchinson
Blues Matters
August 28, 2003
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"A bunch of roadhouse Canucks well deserving of wider recognition here.
They've been cleaning up awards and recognition north of the border and it's impossible to see why there hasn't
been any rumblings here yet. This is a smoking, killer date that fuses all the indigenous styles ala blues, zydeco
and rock attitude. Wildly attention getting, this high octane performance is sure to grab your attention and turn
you into a believer spreading the word as well. Smoking stuff that won't be stopped."
-Chris Spector
Midwest Record Recap
August 28, 2003
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"Moncton's blues ambassadors are back with their fourth album, and it's
a cooker. On Wire & Wood,
Glamour Puss meld their various influences - blues, Acadie folk, zydeco - into a stew of New Orleans-flavoured
stomp. Guitarist Travis Furlong is in fine form, tearing up the fretboard on songs like "Don't
You Worry," and they go deep down in the bayou for "Maman Don't Play No Zydeco." Wire & Wood should continue to cement
the band's reputation across Canada. (3 out of 4 stars)"
-Dave Gauvin
Moncton Times & Transcript
August 13, 2003
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"...I still wasn't quite prepared for what awaited me on Wire & Wood, the band's first studio
album in four years and their initial offering for Fred Litwin's highly regarded NorthernBlues Music label. Wire & Wood is without question Glamour
Puss's finest offering to date, a career-making album from a band that has grown immeasurably in the seven years
since guitarist Travis Furlong, drummer Ron Dupuis, bass player Paul Boudreau, keyboard player/accordionist Roger
Cormier and sax player Don Rogers, all seasoned players, first put their heads together."
-Doug Gallant
The Guardian
August 16, 2003
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