Griff Hamlin Banded Together with Other Artists

In addition to releasing two albums with his band, (The Griff Hamlin Band) Griff Hamlin performed on several albums with other artists. These include “Inner Voice” by Renee Bondi, (1992) “All My Soul” by Eric Henderson, (2000) “The Sweetest Praise” by Alva, (2001) “It Was You” by Eric Casimir, (2002) “Patriot Voices” by Dave Taylor, (2002). His two albums with The Griff Hamlin Band are “The Griff Hamlin Band” (2001) and “Live in Poland” (2005).

The Music and Men Behind The Griff Hamlin Band

Photo Credit: griffhamlin.com

“The Griff Hamlin Band” and “Live in Poland” were released through the GHB Records album label, which is a branch of Jazzology Records, founded by George H. Buck. “The Griff Hamlin Band” contains original Blues/Rock songs. It was nominated for “Best Blues” by the Orange County Music Awards. It received excellent critical and consumer reviews, and Griff Hamlin has been referred to as the next Stevie Ray Vaughan.

The band’s line up consists of Mark Smith on bass, Bernie Rubio on drums, and Griff Hamlin on guitars and vocals. The trio works very well together, and each part on the album is crisp and clear, with no instrument overshadowing the others.

Griff Hamlin Debut Album Tracks

The debut album includes the following tracks:

1.Don’t Lie

2.Louisiana Holiday

3.Coming Home

4.Running On*

5.Morality*

6.G String Shuffle

7.Got to End

8.When Evil Comes*

9.Where Would I Begin

*The track listing is according to the record label. However, there is a mistake; tracks four, five, and eight are mixed up: “Morality” is track eight; “When Evil Comes” is track four, and “Running On” is track five.

The Griff Hamlin Band Album

Photo Credit: Utnapishtimvia Compfight cc

“The Griff Hamlin Band” is a fine blues/rock album. It flows nicely, and each song is sonically interesting and pleasing. There are no “skippable” tracks, or songs that alter the overall flow of the album. The album showcases the talent of each band member. Griff Hamlin is as talented a singer as he is a guitarist, and the guitar work throughout the album is fantastic without being overstated. For a great blues/rock jam, listen to “G String Shuffle.” The drums and guitars work in counterpoint in places, which makes it a delightfully interesting instrumental track. The bass work is excellent as well. In fact, it is the first sound I noticed on the opening track. In other words, each member of the band worked together to produce an album that is pleasing and interesting enough for many listens.

Live in Poland Album

Their live album, “Live in Poland” contains several of the songs released on their self-titled debut as well as covers like the Blues standard “Sweet Home Chicago.” The full track listing is as follows:

1.G String Shuffle/Letter to My Girlfriend

2.Texas Flood

3.Got to End

4.Running On

5.Me and My Guitar

6.Don’t Lie

7.Help the Poor

8.Sweet Home Chicago

The band performed for the album during a 2004 concert, and the album was released in 2005.

1.) Cream – “Crossroads” from “Wheels of Fire”

This is a prime example as to why Eric Clapton is so revered as a blues player. The song’s main riff is a classic and Clapton’s soloing was never more energetic and vital than during this period in his career.

2.) The Griff Hamlin Band – “G String Shuffle” from “The Griff Hamlin Band”

One of the most prominent online guitar educators out there, Griff Hamlin has the chops to back up what he tells his students. “G String Shuffle” showcases his talents in their purest distillation over a straight-ahead blues jam on his band’s self-titled record. Fans of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robert Cray should take notice.

Photo Credit: griffhamlin.com

3.) Elmore James – “Dust My Broom”

Despite the sound quality on this recording, the performance shines. Anyone looking to learn slide guitar needs to start with the king of that style, Elmore James.

4.) Allman Brothers Band – “Statesboro Blues” from “At Fillmore East”

On the opening cut from this legendary live album, Duane Allman displays his incredible slide guitar playing. Allman makes this Blind Willie McTell standard his own. This song gets favor over “Whipping Post” because of its comparative lack of play, brevity and the fact that it doesn’t take a huge number of chord changes to impress.

Photo Credit: media.npr.org

5.) T-Bone Walker – “West Side Baby” 

One of the great standards from one of the blues guitar’s greatest pioneers. This is T-Bone at his best, fulfilling the potential promised in his early singles and pointing the way for generations of guitarists to follow.

6.) B.B. King – “The Thrill is Gone” from “Completely Well” 

While this song’s expert string arrangement and powerful rhythm section would serve as a strong closer to a classic blues album on their own, it’s King’s guitar playing that elevates it to the sublime. Any guitarist should consider this a staple of their record collections. King’s restraint allows him to ring all the emotion he possibly can out of each note. Any aspiring soloist needs to pick this up to learn how to improvise tastefully.

7.) Freddie King – “Going Down” from “Getting Ready”

Clapton fans will immediately notice King’s influence on their idol. While this song has an obvious rock influence, it shows best of all how capable Freddie was at mixing and matching styles and his ability to hang with any other musician.

Photo Credit: freddiekingsite.com

8.) Stevie Ray Vaughan – “Texas Flood”

There’s a reason that this song is what cemented Vaughan’s legacy and spawned a million imitators. It’s a shining example of tailoring a composition to a soloist and executing the expressive qualities of the guitar to their fullest.

Photo Credit: walterzoomie.files.wordpress.com

Top 8 Blues Guitar Performances

1.) Cream – “Crossroads” from “Wheels of Fire”:

This is a prime example as to why Eric Clapton is so revered as a blues player. The song’s main riff is a classic and Clapton’s soloing was never more energetic and vital than during this period in his career.

2.) The Griff Hamlin Band – “G String Shuffle” from “The Griff Hamlin Band”:

One of the most prominent online guitar educators out there, Griff Hamlin has the chops to back up what he tells his students. “G String Shuffle” showcases his talents in their purest distillation over a straight-ahead blues jam on his band’s self-titled record. Fans of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robert Cray should take notice. Check out our review of Griff Hamlins Blues Guitar lesson program!
Picture

3.) Elmore James – “Dust My Broom”:

Despite the sound quality on this recording, the performance shines. Anyone looking to learn slide guitar needs to start with the king of that style, Elmore James.

4.) Allman Brothers Band – “Statesboro Blues” from “At Fillmore East”:

On the opening cut from this legendary live album, Duane Allman displays his incredible slide guitar playing. Allman makes this Blind Willie McTell standard his own. This song gets favor over “Whipping Post” because of its comparative lack of play, brevity and the fact that it doesn’t take a huge number of chord changes to impress.
Picture

5.) T-Bone Walker – “West Side Baby”:

One of the great standards from one of the blues guitar’s greatest pioneers. This is T-Bone at his best, fulfilling the potential promised in his early singles and pointing the way for generations of guitarists to follow.

6.) B.B. King – “The Thrill is Gone” from “Completely Well”:

While this song’s expert string arrangement and powerful rhythm section would serve as a strong closer to a classic blues album on their own, it’s King’s guitar playing that elevates it to the sublime. Any guitarist should consider this a staple of their record collections. King’s restraint allows him to ring all the emotion he possibly can out of each note. Any aspiring soloist needs to pick this up to learn how to improvise tastefully.

7.) Freddie King – “Going Down” from “Getting Ready”:

Clapton fans will immediately notice King’s influence on their idol. While this song has an obvious rock influence, it shows best of all how capable Freddie was at mixing and matching styles and his ability to hang with any other musician.
Picture

8.) Stevie Ray Vaughan – “Texas Flood”:

There’s a reason that this song is what cemented Vaughan’s legacy and spawned a million imitators. It’s a shining example of tailoring a composition to a soloist and executing the expressive qualities of the guitar to their fullest.
Picture

Griff Hamlin & Wife Laura

If you are ready to become a really Awesome Acoustic Blues Guitar player then you need to read this short article where I review the Acoustic Blues Guitar Unleashed by Griff Hamlin.

Griff Hamlin is a very well known Blues Guitar Player and is a GREAT blues guitar teacher and coach!

If you haven’t heard about Griff’s Blues Guitar Unleashed already it is a great course aimed at Electric Guitar, but this new course is all for the Acoustic 6 String guitars for everyone to easily get started right away!

Griff Hamlin also has his own band and you can listen to their music also to get a better idea how great Griff really is with playing the blues!

Introducing… Acoustic Blues Guitar Unleashed!

Blues sounds absolutely Awesome on Acoustic 6-string guitar, you will be amazed how great a blues player Griff Hamlin’s course will make you.

This course will instantly improve your skills and help you understand the most basic secrets behind making your acoustic blues guitar sounding very authentic and professional, just like the old school blues players.

This is what some of the DVD videos will look like when you get your package…

Do I Recommend Acoustic Blues Guitar In This Review?

Of Course I Do! Before this Acoustic Blues Guitar Unleashed was even released, I have already bought various blues guitar courses from Griff Hamlin and I absolutely love his stuff and his coaching style is one of the best I have found so far.

If you are interested to learn more and try this Acoustic Blues Guitar unleashed, I highly recommend that you should visit Griff Hamlin’s Acoustic Blues Guitar Unleashed Hompage Here…

Welcome to our new blues guitar unleashed blog, we hope that you enjoy the site and it helps you become a really awesome blues guitar player!

Be sure to find out more about this new Griff Hamlin blues guitar unleashed at the front page of the site!

Thanks again for visiting.