Mississippi Kings
Mississippi Kings is “Rock N Roll Blues” and “Rockin’ Country” at its Finest.
The Mississippi Kings Self Titled debut album is probably one the best “Rock N Roll Blues” and “Rockin Country” debut albums that I have heard in a long time. Out of the six tracks on the album there isn’t one that you can turn your ears away from; be it the slower tempo sounds of “Old Winter” to the likes of the fast paced “North Country”.
The Members of Mississippi Kings are Nick Cino on Vocals and Guitars, Mike Ventimiglia also on Vocals and Guitar, Dave Marini on Vocals and Bass, Dano Stajduhar on Drums and Vocals and Ivan Katkic on Piano.
The opening song “North Country” immediately shows you what you are in store for the rest of the album. Unhesitatingly The Mississippi Kings hooks you right into the song and their music. “North Country” virtually creates a fragmental Southern Country bar scene in your mind as you listen to the track. What strikes me to favour “North Country” is the collaboration between all the instruments in the song.
Everything is timed out perfectly. The Bass Guitar is what I tend to favour a lot. I find in most songs that the Bass Guitar doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the song. But In “North Country” the Bass keeps in synch with the Guitars and Drums and leads the instruments into the different verses of the song. I am also in assumption that the title “North Country” the band is talking about Canada but you wouldn’t really know this fact because of their musical stylings and band name.
“A Little Bit Of Soul” follows “North Country”. This is where the soul sound comes into play from the Mississippi Kings. As in the first song The Bass Guitar plays a lead roll in the song. The opening riff in the song is played by the Bass Guitar. This song makes me think of another Canadian band SuperStack. The song has a 70’s Classic Rock Feeling to it. About three quarters through the song there is a nice higher pitched blues style guitar riff that sounds great in the song.
“If It’s Good For Me” slows the tempo down a little bit. This song has been receiving radio play and rotation on College Radio. I am a bit surprised that this is the only song that is on constant rotation. The song starts slowly with an acoustic guitar and softer vocals but does pick up speed throughout the song as the other instruments kick in. I am in favour of the soft backup vocals in the song, the backing vocals adds an adequate amount of character to the song. I also like the electric guitar riff that is being played nearing the end of the song.
www.myspace.com/mississippikings.