Russ Green - Stone Cold

Release date: May 29, 2026

Overton Music

By Marty Gunther

One of the most electrifying harp players in the world, Russ Green took the world by storm seven years ago with the release of City Soul, a debut release that won high praise from Living Blues and DownBeat magazine and earned Big Llou Johnson a Blues Music Award for producer of the year. If you were a fan of that one, you’ve got reason to rejoice because Russ has returned to the studio in the best way possible with this explosive, razor-sharp set, an all-original effort chockful of soulful, circular grooves and thought-provoking messages, too.

Born on the West Side of Chicago, once ground zero for the Windy City sound, Green only discovered the blues after service in the U.S. Army and graduating with a major in film studies from Southern Illinois University. A guitarist in his youth, he dreamed about being the next Jimi Hendrix, but put down the axe in favor of the harmonica. Any fantasy about being the next Hendrix on the harp came to an immediate end when he witnessed Sugar Blue – the undisputed title holder -- in action at B.L.U.E.S. Etc. on the North Side in the early ’80s.

It was a life-changing moment, however, because Green and Sugar soon became close friends and Blue helped fashion him into the fiery player he is today. Equally important in his studies has been his longtime friendship with Billy Branch, who schooled him in the techniques that made him a fixture in the Willie Dixon Band. Today, Green notes, he plays with Blue on one shoulder and Branch on the other to create a sound all his own.

Away from the blues, Green’s also a member of the Directors Guild of America with credits that include E.R. and Prison Break on the small screen. His resume includes a host of major motion pictures, including Soul Food, Save the Last Dance, Road to Perdition and more alongside Paul Newman, Tom Hanks, Daniel Craig, Vince Vaughn, Bruce Willis and others.

Green produced this all-original effort himself. It was captured, mixed and mastered by Rick Barnes at Rax Trax Recording in the Windy City with an all-star lineup that included frequent Branch collaborator Giles Corey trading licks with former Blue bandmate Vince Agwada on guitar and drummer Felix “D-Kat” Pollard (Lionel Richie, Destiny’s Child) on drums with Vic Jackson on bass and Joe Munroe on keys.

A brief, repeated guitar hook opens “Lint Redux,” a soaring complaint that, even though the singer plays by the rules, he’s got nothing in his pocket – and it’s gotten so lonely that it’s left him like his lady left, too. The pain he expresses in words is amplified by rich, fluid, deep blue runs on the reeds that run to the song’s conclusion.

Title track “Stone Cold” opens as a ballad with a Joe Monroe intro on the organ, but it quickly erupts into a medium-fast shuffle. And more heartbreak follows…so much, in fact, that Green’s preacher has reported that Green’s lady loves everyone but him. Not only that, but she came home late one night and picked such a fight that the lights went out and a chill came over the room. The guitars drive home the message mid-tune before Green reiterates that he’s well-aware of what’s going on. Next up, “12 Feet of Water” recounts a flood. It opens with orchestral flair before becoming a slow, steady shuffle driven by Vic’s beats. It’s gonna be a long, long night because there’s nothing 911 can do. Green’ lady tries to fight it. But he can see that her energy well has run dry.

The funky “Hey Man” picks up the pace from the jump as Green describes a young man who picks up a gun, became the “stickup kid” and is now on the run. Green’s harp blazes throughout when he’s not on vocals. The mood changes dramatically for “Waitin’ on You,” a bitter-sweet love song full of frustration and complaints. And more change is in store for “Nobody Knows,” a quiet number that features harp and guitar interplay and insists that the world is ignorant about the true relationship of the singer and his better half.

The rhythm section comes to the fore and a jazzy feel imbues the uptempo “Need You So Bad,” a song of longing in which Green vows he’ll always be there for the woman. Unfortunately, however, he’s just a fool because all she cares about is herself. It’s a message that continues in the honeyed ballad “I Believe,” a tearful plea directed at the lady to renew their love affair.

The straight-ahead Windy City shuffle, “Troubled World,” insists that you’ve gotta live the life you love -- especially the blues.  The disc closes with “Boogie Joint” – a furious, hard-driving tribute to the way the blues used to be. Green’s singing affirms that this is the way should be -- seven days a week and all night long.

If you like your blues with bite, you’ll love this one. All fun, no filler and strongly recommended.

Artist Website: https://russgreenmusic.com/music

About the Author: The blues came calling for Marty Gunther in the 1960s, when he witnessed Muddy Waters, Mississippi John Hurt, B.B. King and Howlin' Wolf perform at the Newport festivals in his native Rhode Island. A longtime Chicagoan who's now based out of Ohio, he's a professional journalist and harp player who studied under Sugar Blue before co-founding the Nucklebusters, a band that's filled clubs in south Florida since the '80s.