★★★★★
Coco Montoya is almost legendary. His career took off when he joined John Mayall's Blesbreakers and was teamed up with Walter Trout for some exquisite guitar duels and he has played with Albert Collins (he was originally Collins drummer) as well as the Cate Brothers and he has been touring constantly since the mid-eighties...
- www.music-news.com
2010-11-02
★★★★★
Coco Montoya is a guitar-wielding blues-rocker whose voice and songs are indistinguishable from those of a hundred other blues-rockers. But when Montoya launches into one of his extended guitar solos, you just can't help but crank that volume knob. By the end of the CD you're hopping around the room playing air guitar while the neighbors are phoning you to turn down the music. Born in Southern California, Montoya learned guitar from Albert Collins while toiling as Collins' drummer...
- www.allaboutjazz.com
2009-06-05
★★★★★
Montoya's first solo disc for Alligator finds the former Albert Collins sideman following in the doorsteps of his "godfather" with an album simply top-heavy with fiery guitar work and comfortable vocals. The production from Jim Gaines is as fat as any modern-day blues record has a right to be, and Montoya does not disappoint at any moment along the ride...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
★★★★★
Coco Montoya's second album for Alligator records finds the guitarist moving away from the sound of his mentor, Albert Collins -- although there certainly are licks throughout the album clearly inspired by "the Iceman," particularly when the tempo slows down -- and toward big rock productions. This album sounds huge: The rhythm section provides a gigantic foundation, sprawling from speaker to speaker, then the keyboards and backing vocals are added, with guitars pushed to the forefront...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
★★★★★
At times on Dirty Deal, it's virtually a Little Feat reunion, with five members from the classic lineup helping out on "Three Sides to Every Story," giving it a wonderful, funky momentum. Coco Montoya himself is definitely a better-than-average guitarist and singer when it comes to the R&B;/blues axis, although he's at his best on tracks like "How Do You Sleep at Night?" where he has the chance to pull more emotion from his instrument; in this case, more than a touch of bitterness...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
★★★★★
Years of apprenticeship with Albert Collins and John Mayall paid off handsomely for Montoya on this debut effort. Even with help from some famous friends (Debbie Davies, Al Kooper, Richie Hayward [Little Feat], and both former employers), Montoya asserts himself as the focal point. Sadly, this was one of Collins' last studio appearances before his death, playing on the Lowell Fulson-penned "Talking Woman Blues" (commonly known as "Honey Hush")...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
★★★★★
Coco Montoya's often ferocious guitar is the main reason to acquire this 1997 release. His singing is expressive and reasonably effective, but it is his blazing guitar soloing that makes one wish that he would record a full set of instrumentals; "Cool Like Dat" is a real cooker. Montoya performs some soul, R&B;, and even country-tinged music on the set, but he is at his best on the blues, particularly the B.B. King-inspired "Do What You Want to Do...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
★★★★★
With his second album Ya Think I'd Know Better, Coco Montoya ditches the guest stars and opts for a menu of pure, unadulterated Montoya. The results are quite impressive, to say the least. For the moment, overlook his somewhat pedestrian vocals and just concentrate on his scintillating guitar work...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
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