Track Listing

1. Don't Make No Sense
2. Good to Ya, Baby
3. Shelter Me
4. Power of the Pontchartrain
5. For What It's Worth
6. Midnight and Lonesome
7. Sac-au-Lait Fishing
8. Somebody's Got to Go
9. I'm Guilty of Lovin' You
10. Addicted
11. One Foot in the Bayou

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34924 in Music
• Released on: 2007-06-26
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Tab Benoit's album titles leave little doubt as to where he's from or the music he plays. Brother to the Blues, Fever for the Bayou, Wetlands, and now Power of the Pontchartrain exude the sweaty Louisiana swamp, blues, and R&B inherent in their names. But that only tells part of the story--the rest is in the grooves where Benoit's distinctive, grainy voice and tough Telecaster leads bring soul, grit, and intensity to a sound already infused with an earthy sensibility. There's more of the same on this disc, but that's no criticism. Benoit generally sticks with others' songs here, yet he unearths hidden gems. Julie Miller's "Midnight and Lonesome" is dragged into the murky swamps as a driving ballad with eerie qualities that live up to its name. Miller and husband Buddy are also credited with the righteous-yet-rugged gospel of "Shelter Me." "Somebody's Got to Go," originally by Lonnie Johnson, gets a crisp, frisky makeover, and even Buffalo Springfield's crusty "For What It's Worth" takes a swim in the muddy waters of Benoit's home state, with a little help of some altered, post-Katrina lyrics. The guitarist lets his Cajun influences fly on the bouncy rhythms of "Sac-Au-Lait Fishing," the album's only original, and shifts into pleading Otis Redding mode for the aching blues ballad "I'm Guilty of Lovin' You." The Chicago-by-way-of-the-Delta shuffle of "One Foot in the Bayou" is also an apt description of Benoit's approach. He touches on a variety of Americana styles, yet always keeps part of himself planted firmly in the wetlands of his roots. --Hal Horowitz

Customer Reviews

As always....
Every time you buy a Tab Benoit's CD you can be sure that you will not be disappointed. And, as always, the brand new "Power of the Pontchartrain" confirms that rule. Excellent material played extremely well by Tab and the accompanying band. This time the "Louisiana's Leroux" are the supporting band and this is not irrelevant to the great final result. In fact the band spent several years, as explained in the linear notes, with one of the greatest Louisiana blues player of all time Mr. Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. The album is really very good and I would take the risk to say that from my point of view this is Tab's best effort so far. Tab's voice sounds great as always and the guitar playing is absolutely fantastic throughout the entire CD. The excellent and clean production and sound of Telarc Blues deserve a mention too. All the eleven songs in the menu are very strong and you will not be tempted to use the skip bottom of your CD player at any time, however I believe that a special mention is deserved by the great cover of the Stephen Stills' classic "For what it's worth", by the deep blues "Midnight and lonesome" that for me is the best cut of the bunch, and by the two mid tempo "Somebody got to go" and "Addicted". Very highly recommended for all the blues lovers.

This one is a must have!!
Once again Tab Benoit has outdone himself! His artistry shines on this album like never before! Gritty, haunting blues in Midnight And Lonesome, High steppin, foot tappin sounds in Sac Au Lait Fishing, and heartfelt pain in I'm Guilty of Lovin You. I have been a diehard fan of Tab Benoit for many years and must say this is one of his best efforts yet. I can hardly wait to see him live on stage again!

Knock out!!
Popped this into my CD player in the car the minute I got it and 5 minutes later was actually saying "Holy Smokes!!" outloud. Like all his music this CD is a knock your socks off collection of music. We saw him in person this summer and he is fabulous. Got called back for 2 encores and the crowd was screaming for more. He's the greatest guitar player I've heard since Stevie Ray Vaughn and he sings too!!