onurblues: Brother Magnum & The Razor Bumps

April 11, 2022

Brother Magnum & The Razor Bumps - Feel Like A King (2010)

Who the hell is the real Brother Magnum ?

That's the big question ! Some will answer very logically that he is the leader of the Texas blues band Brother Magnum & The Razor Bumps. What perspicacity ! Some will assert it's the nickname of a Texas bluesman. Oh… really ? ! Some other smart ones will explain that "Brother" is the way an Afro-American call a fellow black person : "Hey brother, wa go on  ?" Maybe true, but still doesn't answer the question : who is Magnum ? Is it the real name of the guy or… Oh, come on, shut up ! That's nothing to do with the TV series ! Neither with an extra-size bottle of Champagne nor with a famous ice-cream ! Not with the Böker-Magnum knives brand either ! Pffff ! We're talking of music ! Blues, RnB, funk, soul… MU-SIC ! Y'understand ? ! Arrrgh ! I'm close to getting nuts ! Oh damn, forget it ! Who cares anyway ?!!

All we do know about the guy is that he was born in California, but we don't know when, and raised among seven siblings, a military father with Afro-Cuban roots and a mother of Native-American lineage. His father's military career took the whole tribe from California to Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia and Florida… An itinerant youth that exposed the mysterious Magnum to different social, cultural and musical facets of America, and certainly explains the blend of styles that characterizes his music.
If we don't know his real name, we do know yet some of the ones he gave to his guitars, all Stratocaster-types : "Child", his special favorite, a black Strat baptized "Domino", a blue custom one named "Ms. Kandi" specifically built for him by Jason Spradley from Jason’s Guitars…
We also know he's based in Austin. And that's all ! The rest remains to be discovered...

As for this album, apparently his third one as Brother Magnum, after "Tales From A Bad Man" in 2001 and "Meet Me In My Daydream" in 2008 (also available on Blue Dragon), it features a kind of catalog of different ways to approach contemporary Texas groove : rocking blues, rhythm'n'blues, funk, Texas swing, straight blues… always with a solid dancing beat, soulful vocals and no other aim but to bring a good time to people. All eleven songs are originals written by Magnum.

Magnum's mix of styles will certainly sound very appealing to many listeners, from the rocking "Amen-Try Again" and "Addicted To You" to the judiciously titled R'n'B "Funky Foot Woman" (probably the outstanding track of the album) and the equally funky "The Divorce Song", from more classic blues like "Bad Apple", "Paying Dues, Playing Blues" to songs more difficult to classify like the soppy soul "King", the popish "Gambler And A Preacher" or the mellowish "Mountains And Rain Drops" despite its interesting guitar weaving.
The nice-sounding acoustic version of "Cocaine Sheila", a track originally released on "Meet Me In My Daydream", is another great moment, as well as the so-called hidden track "One Drunk Apple", a jolly piece of studio jam fun.

◄ Mike Barnes

But the real noticeable thing about this album is Magnum's voice texture itself, a warm husky vocal style that I understand is much appreciated by Blue Dragon's high priests, our friends Blue DeVille and Lou Cypher. As for the Razor Bumps, they're all putting their good swinging spirit in the job, with a special mention for the excellent work of Mike Barnes on lead guitar.
Personally, though I haven't been really convinced by the global atmosphere of this package, I wouldn't dare diverting members of the BD community to listen and enjoy it. ■

Interviews

● A series of itws with BM gathered on SonicBids : https://www.sonicbids.com/band/brothermagnum/

Album
● Other album available on Deezer
→ Fire And Steel : https://www.deezer.com/en/album/1189620

Live videos

● Most of the available videos from BM with The Razor Bumps and with his former band Dysfunkshun Junkshun, are on this Magnum151 YT channel : https://www.youtube.com/dysfunkshunjunkshun/videos

● In studio at a local TV station in Sept 2010 :

→ "The Divorce Song" : https://youtu.be/qJ-AYh-fdko
→ "Cocaine Sheila" : https://youtu.be/1Na0GSpjBTM
→ "Funky Foot Woman" : https://youtu.be/EQsqMLlzt2Y
→ "Addicted to You" : https://youtu.be/vTWd3fWik_0
→ "Good Lovin' Feeling" : https://youtu.be/rplqUUH3SFk
→ "Mexico" : https://youtu.be/jlYNRvUW1KQ
→ "Have A Good Time" : https://youtu.be/-xoLSCKS4M4
→ "Love Me Woman" : https://youtu.be/rplqUUH3SFk

● At Antone's Club in Austin : 
→ in 2008 : https://youtu.be/NeaDNFV5S34
→ in 2013 : https://youtu.be/tYT21YAo5-4 & https://youtu.be/8SDP6HuQKFI

● At Maggie Mae's in 2008 (Pat Myers : guitar, lead vocal - Selton Cole : bass, vocal - Bob Fulton : keyboards - Roland Perez : sax - Will Chomycia : drums - Mike Barnes : guitar) : https://youtu.be/9CtJBtdc7nY & https://youtu.be/b1WrUa04Kx0 ("Bad Apple" )