Those old, electric blues 78 rpm records had a certain sound; that sound. My style of playing the blues celebrates the rawness of the originals but allows for creative interpretation among the players. Sonic mayhem is alive and well on these songs. Some things never change.

The dogs bark and the caravan moves on ...

--Bruce

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT THE ALBUM:
Bruce Iglauer (Chicago) Krzysztof Gąszewski (Radio Cyprus)
Devin Anderson (Local Spins-Michigan)

Through The Amp
Bruce Madden
“I find this approach interesting -- fuzzed out guitar and distorted vocals. (Let’s Make It) Harp is powerful... You have plenty of power and (good) aggressiveness. I was really surprised by the brushes and less heavy feel of (Nobody But You) which grooves well. Some of your best harp playing (Help Me) here. (Mellow Down Easy)...good harp playing and an interesting guitar part. (Boogie Chillun) I liked the way the bass, drums and guitar were interacting. (The House Is On Fire) This worked for me. This was fun and I enjoyed the slide."
--Bruce Iglauer
Alligator Records

Through The Amp
Bruce Madden
Bruce Madden’s album “Through The Amp” is a music that flows from the history of the blues.
Madden’s band however does not pray on their knees to the blues masters.
The songs played in a Chicago way have an individual character. The most distinctive element for a performer is usually a unique sound and in this case we have a raw sound that allows us to recognize the band from the very first notes.
It is an album in which the overdriven harmonica plays the most important role. Madden has his own style. He plays traditional licks without reaching for chromatic jazz lines that are recently so fashionable. This gives the solos raw blues poetics.
As a fellow harmonica player, I recommend the album to all fans of overdriven Chicago harmonica.
--Krzysztof Gąszewski
Radio Cyprus

Bruce Madden
“Through the Amp”

What Stands Out: For musicians and audiophiles in some circles, the word “dirty” has come to reverently describe heavy, distorted music – music that rocks, grooves or might make the listener involuntarily make that lovely sour candy face. Bruce Madden must run in such circles, as his new album, “Through the Amp,” is filthy– and joyously so. The album shows Madden, a veteran Grand Rapids musician and connoisseur of early electric blues records, interpreting some of those classics made popular by the likes of Little Walter and John Lee Hooker, among others. The album’s name refers to the way Madden records his vocals and harmonica: straight into vintage guitar amps. Those screaming tones, paired with an equally vintage-sounding rhythm section captured at Goon Lagoon studios in Grand Rapids, push the notion of dirty electric blues to sizzling and loud new heights. Here’s to hoping Madden and company budgeted for some earplugs in the process.
Digging Deeper: It’s a superbly paced album, bookended by two of Madden’s originals, “Future Tense” and “The House is on Fire.” Both tracks distinguish the more rocking and alternative sensibilities that sonically define the rest of the album. On “The House is on Fire,” a straightforward blues riff represents a certain stability at the song’s core. That stability is challenged by Madden’s brooding lyrics and two overdriven guitars, one teetering with deep tremolo and the other (the proverbial fire) heavily overdriven and played with a slide. It’s grim and delicious.
Perfect For: Drawing upon the wisdom of a bygone era in an attempt to make sense of the strange world we live in today. Perhaps there is some insight to be gleaned, or maybe it just sounds good. Who’s to say?
– Devin Anderson
Local Spins

Press blurb for earlier release:

"...what Madden describes as "raw rockin' blues and psychedelia" comes off as an odd amalgamation of Captain Beefheart, The Doors and neo-traditional blues with a spare, semi-psychotic, rock and roll bent. And if that's not an intriguing enough menu to get you inside the restaurant...well, there's way too much MTV and formatted radio in your diet."
--John Sinkevics, The Grand Rapids Press