Rev. Marv Ward - I Should Know Better

Rev. Marv Ward, a longtime blues guitarist and songwriter who plays continually around the city. Earlier this year he released I Should  Know Better, just his third solo album since he started out professionally as a songwriter in the 70s. Ward got his start early as a guitar player in a variety of blues and rock and roll bands, and over the years has shared stages with the likes of John Hammond, Dave Van Ronk, Big Bill Morganfield (son of the great Muddy Waters), and Aerosmith, and this collection actually includes unrecorded songs from throughout his long musical career.

Despite the star power of his past, these days Ward is more comfortable hanging with a talented group of local musicians. Recorded at the venerable Jam Room, Ward’s core backing band for the record included longtime scene members bassist Mike Mahoney and Vic Scaricamazza on the drums, along with frequent contributions from harmonica player Mike Fore, slide guitarist Rusty Davis, and mandolin from Steve Bennett. Ward also makes harmony singers Jenn McCallister and May Kirby central to the record’s sound, particularly on the girl group/beach music-heavy tune “Ridin’ on the Daydream.” Two other musical kindred spirits from the scene, Bentz Kirby (Alien Carnival) and David Hane (Devils in Disguise), trade verses on the final cut, the classic country-inspired “Tennessee Whiskey.”

The record opens with four tunes that are in the center of Ward’s wheelhouse, all of which make use of classic blues structures and the veteran guitarist’s effortless lead work. Ward’s approach has always been a laid-back mish-mash of styles, but here he seems to square in on a John Hiatt-meets-Muddy Waters vibe that fits perfectly with his more conservative blues tunes. The second half of the record, as if to apologize for the more straightforward (although uniformly strong)   opening, sees Ward stretching his legs quite a bit. The title cut takes a Buddy Holly rhythm and far more overt R&B vibe than anything that came before it, and from there Ward includes a trio of English folk and Celtic-influenced tunes (“Wallflower,” “Dance of Kindred Spirits,” and “Come Down to the River”), the California country-rock of “Virginia,” and the aforementioned “Ridin’ on the Daydream” and “Tennessee Whiskey.” Ward even throws in a twist on a classic blues conceit with his boomer-come-hither tune “Come Over,” which takes the genre’s love of ridiculous metaphors (“if you got the cheese, baby, I got the wine”) into near-Spinal Tap territory.  Even if you are tempted to laugh, though, the song is saved by a ridiculously good hard rock riff and the fact that Ward can, well, play.

In fact, throughout the record (and despite the numerous guest instrumentalists and vocalists), Ward’s consistency as a vocalist, guitar player, and songwriter never falters. His playing rarely lets you forget he is a blues player at heart, but traces of such unlikely influences as Jerry Garcia and Neil Young seem to pop up, even though he tends to more concise and structured solos than either. As a songwriter, his rather humble approach to the long legacy of the styles he works with balances originality and homage in a way that many contemporary blues musicians often find difficult..
Kyle Petersen -  Jasper Magazine

ALBUM REVIEWS

Rev. Marv Ward's Catharsis
His are the blues of an after-hours Chicago watering hole, not a sweaty rock club. His playing is more B.B. King than Jimmy Page. Instead of burying his guitar under distortion and feedback, he keeps it clean, allowing every last note to pulsate, breathe and be heard — and they’re notes worth hearing. Ward isn’t a guitarist to be taken lightly, and Catharsis makes no bones about showcasing his abilities.

Most of the eight tracks here stick faithfully to the blues script — the white-hot “Bouncing Baby Boogie” and sax-heavy “Legba in My Dreams” all but sear through the speakers — but Ward also throws a few curveballs. Bolstered by a Latin groove, “Runnin’ Free” flirts with salsa club danceability. “Daydreaming,” a lackadaisical swinger with the Cole Porter-ish feel of an American standard, proves that Ward is perfectly at ease leaning on his backing musicians; Charleston pianist Shrimp City Slim puts his stamp on the song, decking it with twinkling, airy keys that keep Ward grounded in his lovestruck lyrical theme.

If there’s a weakness to Ward’s arsenal, it’s his singing voice. His vocals are tightly controlled, and he wisely doesn’t stray outside his range or attempt to use them as any song’s lead instrument, but he often lacks the gruff authority that made his blues forefathers such larger-than-life presences. There are exceptions — on “Judgement Day,” Ward’s voice cooks every bit as hot as his guitar playing, and he makes a serious bid as Warren Zevon’s vocal doppelganger on “I Believe in You” — but on the whole, it’s his musicianship that rightfully steals the show.

Michael Spawn - FREETIMES,  The Post and Courier

Marv has three books of poetry, but is best known as a blues musician in the Piedmont tradition. I first talked with Marv at the old Utopia Bar. He was sitting at the bar killing a drink and started regaling me with stories of carousing and playing music. Years later, I had the privilege to write the introduction for his first book of poetry. Since Marv has retired and settled down, he is more often seen sipping his favorite caffeine beverage, but still enjoys regaling folks with his stories about playing music up and down the east coast in every venue and gin joint that enjoys good live music.﻿
AL BLACK Jasper Magazine﻿

“The triumphant refrain is that regardless of pain, loss, dust, longing, somehow, we remain who
we are supposed to be. All we have is our ability to give thanks when “night looms” and to
move forward in our “endeavor to persevere.” After reading “First Thursday,” we can’t help but
feel that to reach true destinations, it is best to “wander/ aimlessly.” This collection is piping
with sound; wails, a steam-released instrument where the calliope cautions “the desperate
heart/knows no fear/but is afraid to be alone.” Marv Ward wounds and heals with a luring
voice.”﻿
TIM CONROY, Author

﻿
Columbia's Marv Ward continues miraculous post-stroke comeback on new album
Before we get to Rev. Marv Ward’s new album, “Sparkling Isolation,” we need to pause and be grateful that he is still making music at all. He had a severe stroke back in 2017, and it’s a minor miracle that he was able to relearn how to sing and play guitar.
And he does both with authority on this collection, even better than he did on his first post-stroke comeback LP, 2019’s “Shine.”
Ward claims to have lost some of his range and mobility, but when he thunders into the swaggering “I Want To Rock You,” the second track on the album, you’d never know it. His gruff, borderline obscene come-ons (he offers to take you “all the way to the money shot” at one point) pack a hell of a punch, and his spitfire acoustic playing sounds just fine.
You’re not necessarily looking for originality on a blues album, but Ward manages to work some unique flair into his material, whether it’s the homespun, harmonica-driven shuffle “Cackalacky Blues” (the album’s first track) or the title tune, which celebrates an upside to the pandemic lockdown with a jaunty fiddle and lovable lines like “Quarantine ain’t so hard / There’s nothin’ I’d rather do / Than be alone with you.” Ward is versatile as hell on “Sparkling Isolation,” working his way through slow grinds like “I Need A New Mojo,” contemplative folk-blues ballads like “Nowhere Fast,” funky, percussion-heavy funk jams like “Angel In My Arms” and mandolin-fueled country blues like “The Miracle Of You.” And the closing track, “Picture & a Pillow,” is a hilarious calamity, a filthy, sputtering musical locomotive that seems ready to fly apart at any moment﻿
Vincent Harris - FREETIMES,  The Post and Courier