Ellington

The comeback continues. Today, Cat Head Presents of Clarksdale, Mississippi releases Round Two -- the second comeback album by Mississippi-born bluesman Big George Brock. Round Two is the follow-up to last year's Blues Music Award-nominated Club Caravan CD and features special guest Hubert Sumlin -- Howlin' Wolf's legendary guitar player. It is available in music stores nationally via Burnside Distribution Corporation and on-line via CD Baby ( http://www.cdbaby.com/biggeorge2 ) as well as Amazon.com , BestBuy.com , etc.

Other Mississippi-connected musicians on Brock's new Round Two CD include veteran blues drummer Ben Wells, guitarist Bill Abel, keyboard player Levan Lortkipanidze and Steve "Lightnin'" Malcolm who guests on multiple instruments. The Round Two album title refers to both Brock's early boxing career when he knocked out an amateur Sonny Liston in the second round and the fact that this is his second recording since starting his blues comeback in early 2005.

The first few seconds of Round Two feature Brock explaining how his blues came from that "lonesome cotton field" before launching into simmering slow blues entitled "So Long," with Sumlin on lead guitar. Other original songs include "No No Baby," "Rockin' Chair," "Mattson, Miss." (instrumental), "Mr. Wal-Mart" and the title track, "Round Two." Covers include "Shake For Me," "Poor Boy" and "Sugar Mama." The CD closes with a solo version of Brock's own "Call Me A Lover" that includes a brief monologue explaining the origin of the song. This final cut and the opening snippet come from the blues DVD documentary, Hard Times, directed by Damien Blaylock and released earlier this year.

Most of the album was recorded at Electric Catfish Studio in Oxford, Mississippi, and features many of the same vintage mics and equipment used on Club Caravan -- on loan from ex-Squirrel Nut Zipper/Buddy Guy sideman Jimbo Mathus. Roger Stolle again produced the sessions, and Michael Burkey again mastered the disk in Memphis. The studio engineer this time around was Justin Showah of the Taylor Grocery Band, and Brock played Hohner harmonicas exclusively on the recording.

The official CD release party will be held at Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi, this Saturday, August 12th, during Sunflower River Blues Festival weekend ( www.groundzerobluesclub.com www.sunflowerfest.org ). More information on Brock is available at http://www.cathead.biz/BigGeorge.html