bluesblues

2012-02-08T11:39:00.001-08:00

Grainne Duffy -- Test Of Time (GD Records).

Test Of Time is Irish singer songwriter Grainne Duffy’s second album and showcases her roots in blues, soul and Celtic music. Going from the soft rock of Everyday and What More Can I Do to the gritty blues rock of the grinding Rockin’ Rollin’ Stone and the churning rocker Please Take Care, there is one constant; her husky vocal. This will bring comparisons to Maggie Bell and Bonnie Raitt and neither is out of place. If you throw in the sultry, soulful Sweet Sweet Baby and the eponymous title track, which has Tom Petty style guitar sounds then you have most of what Grainne is about. However, she can do a ballad too as shown by the emotional closer, In My Arms.

Tour dates:

13/02/2012 Oxford. Famous Monday Blues Club, The Bullingdon, 162 Cowley Road

15/02/2012 London. Blues Kitchen, 111-113 Camden High Street, NW1 7JN

16/02/2012 Herts. Attic Bar, The Forum, University of Hertfordshire
http://www.grainneduffy.com/

David Blue.

2012-01-31T12:33:00.000-08:00

The Law – Trigger (Local Boy Records).

Dundee 4 piece return with the follow up to their highly acclaimed 2009 debut, A Measure Of Wealth. Their sound has become more expansive and comparisons to many acts are there to hear on the sweeping vocals of Gimme Some Love (Fratellis & The View), the folksy rock of Holiday (Oasis), the country rock of All Over Your Mind (Fleetwood Mac/Lindsey Buckingham), My Lover (Crowded House) and Shadow (It Isn’t Me) (The La’s/Cast). Highlights are the aforementioned All Over Your Mind, Shadow (It Isn’t Me) and My Lover along with the soul searching epic, Letter.

The Law could easily be Scotland’s next big thing.

http://www.thelawmusic.com/

David Blue.

2012-01-26T12:31:00.000-08:00

Philipp Fankhauser – Try My Love (Funk House Blues Production).

Often put in the same bracket as Chris Rea and John Mayer but not as well known, this is Swiss native Fankhauser’s twelfth album. Try My Love is a selection of sympathetically produced songs that brings out the best in him. Songs such as the big band blues of Make My Home Where I Lay My Hat sit comfortably beside soulful ballads like the eponymous title track and Please Come On Home. Production levels reach a high with one of the four live ‘encores’ , Down On Bended Knees, which has superb input from the horn section. He flirts with Country on the hidden gem, Roadhouse & Automobiles as well as with funk on It’s Gonna Rain. However, it is in the blues where Fankhauser seems happiest. This is heard on the swinging Jealous Kinda Fella, the mid-paced strolling blues of Cut Me Some Slack and Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark. Special mention has to be made of the Johnny Copeland written Flyin’ High (Yesterday), a superb quick paced stroller and is essential Philipp Fankhauser.

http://www.philippfankhauser.com/
David Blue.

2012-01-18T13:07:00.001-08:00

Jon Amor Blues Group – Jon Amor Blues Group (Six Six Records).

Jon Amor, formerly of The Hoax, has returned to his blues roots for this eponymous album. Opening with the gritty blues rock of Holy Water the band then serves up Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters inspired blues in the shape of Juggernaut, Make It Your Trouble and Repeat Offender, the latter of the three being a grungy pleasure. There are riffs overflowing on the R&B/Blues crossover of Sweetheart and the rocker Angel In A Black Dress. Blues rock continues on The Underdogs and She Thought I Was An Eagle but it’s the pared down gritty, slow blues of When Your Time Comes that stands out. They close with a straight down the line rocker, You Know It’s Only Love. I can’t wait for the next one!
http://www.johnamorbluesgroup.co.uk/
David Blue.

2012-01-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

Liam Tarpey – Warm Up My Bones (Own Label).

Inspired to take up guitar at the age of 6 by hearing his cousin’s Pink Floyd albums, Liam Tarpey found his love of the blues in his teenage years. A music degree followed and during his time at University he managed to write, produce and record three solo albums. After basing himself in Spain he toured relentlessly and began to write songs for Warm Up My Bones. This begins with On My Neck, which is a high energy opener with a flurry of notes from Tarpey’s guitar. An instrumental blues/R&B crossover and a promising start. Krypto Blues is a Status Quo type rocking boogie and good fun at that too. The eponymous title track is a rough and ready blues – moody and wonderfully ragged whereas On Her Own is a slow blues with mournful vocals and classy guitar leading into a faster middle section. This is a standout and will be played again and again. There’s nothing spectacular about the high impact rocker, Lorraine but it will be one that is a crowd pleaser. It’s a showcase for his guitar and would have been a cracking closer.

Oyster Card Blues is a frantic acoustic slide offering and Let Me Know is a middle of the road, mid-paced soft rock and pretty harmless. The bouncy blues rock of Pennies has a good chorus whereas Never Again has a low key guitar and vocal opening with layers being added but it’s a strange one. The final song, Peter Panda, is a slow, atmospheric blues with clever guitar. However, it’s not my favourite as a closing track.
All in all I’m sure Liam Tarpey will be proud of this album, and with plenty of justification.
http://www.liamtarpey.com/

David Blue.

2012-01-17T12:13:00.001-08:00

Jim Allchin – Overclocked (Sandy Key Music).

Seattle based Allchin has not taken the usual path to being a full time musician. An early sortie into the music business resulted in him giving up because he was starving. This led him to studying computer science and earning degrees at Stanford and Georgia Tech before joining Microsoft in 1990. He eventually became Co-President of the Platforms & Services Division and is a recognised leader in the world of computer science. However, he suffered a health issue in 2003 and that led him to reconsider his life and he decided to try and do the things he had regretted not following through. So he picked up his guitar again, started touring and released his debut album, Enigma, in 2009. Overclocked (which is, surprisingly enough, a computer term) is the follow up and opens with the eponymous title track. Authentic vinyl scratches make way for a clean, up tempo intro and then onto more fuzzed guitar from Allchin and overladen organ from David Gross. It’s better musically than vocally as shown by Allchin’s screaming guitar. Willow Tree is a mid paced swing blues with a good guitar solo and a better vocal. Back In The Swamp has an Albert Collins feel to it but Allchin’s guitar set up is not as clinical as Collins’. This swinging blues has a lovely piano break by the aforementioned Gross and the now standard classy guitar. Don’t Tell Me What To Do is a classy, strolling electric blues and one of the top tracks on the album whereas One For The Money is sultry with a female vocal and piercing guitar. The use of another lead vocalist is possibly a way forward for him as this has added a bit of passion.

Fall is a slow instrumental and it’s a very good vehicle for his guitar. Scorching slide guitar is added to horns and organ for the high energy impact of Dr J. This is a big track in many ways, only slightly let down by his limited vocal. Mr Unknown has some gentle 50s doo-wop stylings but Flirt has a heavier feel although he is struggling with the vocal to match. Both are satisfying tracks in their own way. Perfect Game is one of the slower tracks and is another with a female vocal, but this time not to any great effect. This isn’t his best song but the quality guitar work shines through again. There’s no mistaking the quality of his guitar work on Just Playin’ With Me, which leans towards R&R. Penultimate track, The One, is a slow night club style blues with the guitar as the star again whereas the instrumental final track, Opening My Eyes To Love, has a Spanish feel with a Santana-esque solo.

13 tracks of self-penned songs that show his song writing skills added to some sublime guitar playing makes for an entertaining album overall and one on which Allchin can build.

http://www.jimallchin.com/

David Blue.

2011-09-21T11:13:00.000-07:00

Hokie Joint – The Music Starts To Play (Cool Buzz).

Formed in late 2007, Hokie Joint have set themselves the task of reminding Blues fans that the guitar doesn’t have to be the main instrument. The Music Starts To Play is their second album and follows on from their 2008 debut, The Way It Goes….Sometimes. They are hard to pigeonhole, going from the Folk Country of the energetic eponymous title track to Folk Rock in the form of Force Of Habit with its Rolling Stones style chorus, Aeroplane and Apologise via the more straightforward Jackie Boy. All their songs show a penchant for storytelling and they are all originals. The Blues are never far away from t5he surface but it is the Country feel to the album that comes through most on tracks such as Bang Bang, Watch What We Eat and Remington. They have managed to get away from the guitar driven stuff and it is Giles King on harmonica who is the main driving force with Bang Bang being the standout , albeit frantic, track. There is a lot of humour on the album but they can be dark and sombre with the strangely alluring This Body Of Mine being a good example. Add gutsy vocals from Jojo Burgess and the occasional guitar interlude from Joel Fisk and you have a solid base to build a lasting future.
http://www.hokiejoint.co.uk/
http://www.coolbuzz.nl/

David Blue.

2011-09-06T13:56:00.000-07:00

John-Alex Mason – Jook Joint Thunderclap (Naked Jaybird).

The last John-Alex Mason album that I reviewed alternated between acoustic Country Blues and urban electric Blues on a track by track basis. This time he’s gone all Seasick Steve on us. My Old Lonesome Home is a raucous opener with the harp player blowing his lungs out. Cracking stuff! Gone So Long features Cody Burnside and is a chugging swamp Blues in keeping with the standard of the rest of the album. A piece of rapping from Burnside is a surprise and the overall grit of the track could make it a candidate for a TV theme tune for a series in the vein of The Wire. More Than Wind is a slow, mournful Blues and there’s a mandolin in there now in addition to the fiddle. This will draw out emotions from you. I felt sad but strangely euphoric in parts. Burnside also guests on Riding On. Do I hear a glockenspiel in there? He’s not afraid to try things out, is he? The drummer is on the pots again. All of this is over a metronomic electric Blues with a slide guitar solo that’s a tad manic in parts. However, I don’t feel that Mason is showing his full repertoire and he’s holding back for some reason. Rolled And Tumbled is a slowed down variation on Robert Johnson’s Rolling And Tumbling with harmonica, slide guitar and bongos – it works, believe me! Diamond Rain would be some women’s idea of heaven. A fiddle is added and this makes for a more Country feel, not that I’m complaining. Signifyin’ Monkey, what’s that title all about? What the song delivers is a slow, brooding deliberate blues rock with gritty guitar and an overall hypnotic feel. The percussionist sounds as if he has got the pots and pans out on Free, which is vital and vibrant. Write Me A Few Of Your Lines will make you boogie until you drop and the guitar is like a mosquito in your ear, but in a pleasant way. Whisper is an acoustic deconstructed blues. Just guitar and voice and he can carry it too. This is superb in its starkness.
This is an album of many parts, some good, some even better.

http://www.nakedjaybirdmusic.com/
http://www.johnalexmason.com/

David Blue.

2011-08-22T08:05:00.000-07:00

Hadden Sayers – Hard Dollar (Blue Corn Music).

Once described as Houston’s best all-around rock guitarist, Hadden Sayers has had more than the average number of troubles to overcome throughout his musical career. In 2004, he was feted by record labels but bad deals followed, along with other mishaps, and he found himself out on his own. It took a final turning of his back on music and a subsequent meeting with a retired stonemason who turned up to help on a project to rebuild an old fishing shack to get him back on track. He’s now signed with Blue Corn Music and his debut opens with the good old Texas Country Rock of Take Me Back To Texas. The sleeve notes say he was thinking of Freddie King, Joe Ely and Asleep At The Wheel but mainly about home. He keeps the Texas Country Blues but slows it down for All I Want Is You. His drawl fits in perfectly although it does make it a little derivative of the style. Stabbing guitar compliments well. Back To The Blues highlights that Sayers does not have a classic Blues voice; that lies firmly in the Country genre. However, Ruthie Foster guests and turns it into a sophisticated, glitzy Blues and there is some fine guitar playing in there too. The intriguingly named InsideOutBoogie is a straightforward Country Boogie, nothing new but has the band on good form. The offbeat Lap Of Luxury follows and has an overall Blues feel to it, much like T-Bone Walker. It lumbers along effortlessly and the seamless guitar adds a touch of fluidity. I knew that we’d get a song about a car, now all we need is one about trains or prison and we’re set. Seriously, this laconic Country tune is not out of place on the album.
Sweet Texas Girls is a slick modern Country song that will challenge those who say that they don’t like Country music and make them sit up and listen. Sayers’ drawl is evident on Crush On You, an old time Country offering with a Willie Dixon Blues bass line, which is delivered in a contemporary way. If Country and Blues could get funky then it would sound like Ain’t Comin’ ‘Round No More and some of the best guitar work, with thoughts of Hubert Sumlin, on offer makes for a bit of a highlight. Hippie Getaway brings us back to Sayers’ forte, Country Blues, and this slick one is replete with punchy guitar and a fitting tribute to Lightnin’ Hopkins. He remains in the genre for the mid-paced Burnin’ Up. He strolls his way through this one with occasional fills from guitar and harmonica along with a few Howlin’ Wolf ‘hey, hey’s’ thrown in for good measure. The penultimate track, Room 155, is a slow Blues and shows that there may well be a Blues voice in there after all. This gritty epic, written to honour Sean Costello, is over 7 minutes long but time goes by very easily with scything guitar and everything going deliberately discordant at times. He closes with MoneyShot, which almost ventures into the Jazz Blues arena and he may leave himself open to accusations of trying to put too many genres on one album. Having said that, the classic Hammond organ/guitar combo, played exquisitely, makes for an excellent instrumental finish. See if you can pick out three keyboards players here.
Is there a place in the highly competitive world of modern Country/Americana music for Hadden Sayers? I think there might just be.

http://www.haddensayers.com/
David Blue.

2011-08-22T02:56:00.000-07:00

P-A-U-L – Tales From The Gravel (E&E Entertainment).

Think of Kiss mixed with Oasis and you might just about get the sound of The Time Of My Life. It’s all a bit frenetic but it’s a good opener. Forever Young And Free is a crisp funky rocker with a big bass line and a searing solo. Has he made a progression from his first two albums? Possibly, and he has managed to keep that raw edge. Pistol Whipped Again is a grungy Blues Rock with a sleazy vocal from PAUL. This one will grind you into the dirt and the free flowing solo is a highlight. Ghost Of Gun And Fist is a strange title but it turns out to be a simple Blues Rock with a strong solo. Piano ballads such as We Believe invariably turn up on this type of album but this isn’t PAUL’s finest vocal. However, things pick up when he isn’t singing alone but it’s all too long at just under 7 minutes. This could do with a reworking and keeping the best parts which all come towards the end.

Preachin’ Fire promises a straightforward rock approach and that’s what we get. It’s unashamedly of the fire and brimstone kind – if the Wee Frees liked rock then this would be their theme tune! The One is a rocking highlight where a number of styles come together perfectly. PAUL hits the spot and lets loose his guitar. The rhythm section (Joey Spina on bass and Layla Hall on drums) sets up Bite You with a deep bass and rolling drums. It’s like Fred Flintstone rocking out – Yabba Dabba Doo. I’m not too sure about the song but it has some of his best guitar work. The New Machine is another on the funky side. Hall throws everything at it and the verse reminds me a little of ZZ Top’s Cheap Sunglasses but don’t ask me why. Drinks Are On Me is a fast paced Rock N Roll and I’m sure I heard Glasgow mentioned in there somewhere. He tips his hat to Dr Feelgood and the slide guitar suits it very well. If Glasgow is mentioned then the title is not a good thing to broadcast – it’ll cost you a fortune!!

http://www.p-a-u-lmusic.com/
David Blue.

2011-08-18T11:24:00.001-07:00

Eden Brent – Ain’t Got No Troubles (Yellow Dog Records).

Ain’t Got No Troubles is Eden Brent’s third album and contains eight self-penned songs. She opens with Someone To Love, which is a soulful R&B with a New Orleans feel to it. It has a good vibe and a stringent vocal. The eponymous title track, with New Orleans jazz stylings stamped all over it is the perfect vehicle for Brent’s sultry vocal. Her smokey voice takes us all the way to the end on Blues All Over and her slow, rolling piano is a highlight. Later Than You Think veers towards Jazz and has a lovely acoustic interlude whereas Right To Be Wrong is a guitar based Blues boogie and an extremely strong one at that. Leave Me Alone is another ballad and why not, as she is so good at them. Subtle horns (Tracy Griffin, Emile Hall and Jeff Albert) and organ (Jon Cleary) supplement the piano and guitar. The title says it all on Let’s Boogie Woogie. Colin Linden’s guitar and Eden’s piano join together to make for a very strong track. Her piano is to the fore again on My Man, a jaunty alehouse kind of song. The piano ballad, Beyond My Broken Dreams has a slightly contemporary Country touch. Eden’s vocal has shades of Maggie Bell and there is a lovely slide guitar break from the aforementioned Linden. The jazzy acoustic feel of If I Can’t sits beside I’m In Love With Your Wallet, which is a mid-paced piano boogie, Southern style, that is much reminiscent of Professor Longhair. I could be ungracious and say, typical woman but I’m not that kind of guy! Goodnight Moon is another piano ballad and another good song. It’s a different kind of song to the likes of Beyond My Broken Dreams and although she is a powerful singer she has the ability to soothe the soul.

http://www.edenbrent.com/
http://www.yellowdogrecords.com/

David Blue.

2011-08-09T12:38:00.000-07:00

Gov’t Mule – Mulennium (Provogue).

This release is a live recording made at the Roxy Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia on 31/12/2009 with Bad Little Doggie opening up the 3 CD set and they give it a big build up, just like a preacher. This is a chunky blues rock and the singer has a classic rock voice – a great opener. Lay Your Burden Down has the band in a groove. It’ a grinder with excellent guitar work. Blind Man In The Dark has them raiding their back catalogue with a fuzzed vocal on this standard blues rocker. Life Before Insanity is a great title and the band slows things right down for this classy rock ballad. Larger Than Life has hypnotic drums and the vocals are holding up well. This track shows just how good a band Govt Mule is. Towering Fool is classic slow rock – moody, brooding and peppered with stinging guitar. Countdown Jam is essentially a 90 second warm up and lead into a cover of King Crimson’s 21st Century Schizoid Man. Although King Crimson covers are rare, Govt Mule stays true to the original complete with heavy vibes and fuzzed vocal. The Who’s We’re Not Gonna Take It follows and this is a great version of another song that is not often covered. A trio of covers finishes with Led Zeppelin’s Dazed And Confused, which is delivered with panache by the all Mules line up and closes the first set after 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Set 2, 1 hour and 43 minutes, is a selection of songs with blues legend Little Milton and opens with When The Blues Comes Knockin’. This classic rhythmic blues has Little Milton on vocal and his smokey tones add a little piece of class. My Dog And Me is a Chicago blues about when your woman leaves and all that’s left is the dog! The guitar will touch your soul and, when added to the heartfelt vocal, makes for a top class blues song. Lump On Your Stump continues the Little Milton collaboration and what a title that is! This bounces along very well and the message to come out of it is – don’t mess with Milton. I Can’t Quit You Baby is another classic blues song and they play it to perfection whilst their version of It Hurts Me Too is not quite as raw as those of say, Elmore James and Eric Clapton. However, it is just as good and the dual vocals works well. Milton is the man as they take on Blues Is Alright, perhaps best known to some by the Gary Moore cover, and deliver it in an authentic and vibrant style. Former member Audley Freed (also ex-Black Crowes) joins them for Is It My Body and the addition of his guitar is noticeable. They go for that fuzzed vocal again but I feel that it is not necessary this time and it slightly spoils a good track. Disc 2 ends with Power Of Soul and Freed stays on for this funky offering. It turns into a bit of a jam but when there are two excellent guitarists on show then it doesn’t really matter too much.
The final disc, which has them finishing at 03:43 am, starts with a version of The Beatles’ Helter Skelter and although it loses to the original on vocal prowess, it is as frantic and is still a class apart. Sometimes Salvation has Freed still with the band and he makes his mark on this classy, slow rocker. Robert? Adds his vocals for 30 Days In The Hole whilst Freed continues on guitar. This is vibrant and even mentions Newcastle Brown! The drummer gives it plenty on this and the guitarists swap licks effortlessly. With Freed now filling in full time as they move on to the classic rock themes of End Of The Line. The addition of slide guitar to the mix makes for a more rounded sound. Out Of The Rain takes quite a while to get going but the powerful, soulful vocal is worth waiting for. The singer turns in a great performance and the addition of steel guitar gives it a country feel. The Americana standard, I Shall Be Released, is delivered with great melody and there’s a new bassist and guitarist added. Freed is back for a brilliant take on the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic, Simple Man. This is one of my favourite songs and Govt Mule’s version is worth every one of the 15 minutes that they give us. They certainly don’t do too many short songs and you certainly get your money’s worth on this album and this is what music is all about. Having said that, they follow up with Crowd and, at less than 2 minutes long, I feel short changed!! Seriously though, this is just the sound of the crowd at the end of the gig.
This is a great introduction to the music of Govt Mule so go get it.
http://www.mule.net/
http://www.provoguerecords.com/
David Blue.

2011-07-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

Devon Allman’s Honeytribe – Space Age Blues (Provogue)

When you see the name Allman then you know that you are in for some top guitar playing and Devon carries the family name with panache. Space Age Blues is the follow up to the highly acclaimed 2006 debut, Torch, and is a step in the right direction for Gregg’s son and his band. Could Get Dangerous shows that his voice has matured and, when added to fuzzed guitars, harmonica (from Huey Lewis) and a good dose of funk, makes for an excellent opener. The eponymous title track follows with a sultry saxophone introduction. It turns heavy quite quickly and shows both the rough and smooth sides of Honeytribe. Salvation is marked by Allman’s deep, dulcet tones and the soulful, heartfelt vibes are counterbalanced by the screeching saxophone of Ron Holloway. Stevie Wonder songs are often covered but I don’t think that I’ve ever heard anyone doing Sir Duke. So, was the decision to include this brave or foolhardy? Unfortunately, I think that it’s the latter with his voice not up to the mark and the lack of horns and minimum input from keyboards detracting from the overall feel. Endless Diamond is a grinding blues influenced rocker but although this is his forte, the guitar is too far in the background for my liking. It’s not all electric on the album as the acoustic instrumental Blue Est Le Vide shows. This showcases his intricate acoustic guitar work and they stay in the acoustic area for the follow up, Warm In Wintertime which is a bit of a strange one. It’s a rock ballad in parts but the funky lead guitar is a bit in competition with the strings in the background. New Pet Monkey is a standard rock offering but they are back on form with I’m Ready. The funky guitar and snappy drums make this a highlight. Honeytribe is ramping it up towards the finish and Take Me To The Bridge is an excellent example of funk rock. They close with Insh’Allah, Eastern influenced as you would expect from the title. This is held together by the drums of Gabriel Strange as Allman enjoys himself on this instrumental finish. There are a number of different phases to the song as he varies the tempo before the whole thing finishes on synth and goes all space-agey.

http://www.provoguerecords.com/
David Blue.

2011-07-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

Dave Arcari – Devils Left Hand (Buzz Records).

The eponymous title track is not as manic as he has been known to be in the past. This is more deliberate and his Scots accent comes over all the more heavily. Is this a ploy to gain more fans from the less hardcore group, whilst keeping his Scottish fans? Can’t Be Satisfied is an oldie re-done. It is still edgy and you just feel that danger is just lurking beneath the surface. Controlled aggression seems to be Dave’s approach now. The sedate Devil’s Deal has Arcari’s trademark guitar and he goes off in the Robert Burns direction not for the first time on MacPherson’s Lament – Scottish blues – ye cannae whack it! Blue Train is a country/blues crossover with a guttural vocal from Arcari but he’s back to a more standard blues with the laid back Trouble In Mind and Robert Johnson’s Come On In My Kitchen. However, nothing is really standard when Dave is about and the latter gets the full Arcari treatment and this makes it so different from most of the versions of this often covered song that you’ll hear. Cotton On My Back is the type of song that Dave Arcari does so well. It’s a simple melody which is well played. Hangman’s Blues has an echoed vocal to open with but that soon fades into a full sound with the story told from two points of view. One Side Blind is another oldie and listening to some of these old Radiotones songs brings me to the conclusion that not all of them are successful as solo efforts. Perhaps a return to the band to add different levels to the music for a while and maybe a new Radiotones release would be a good idea. Texicali Waltz is a true waltz, and a quick one at that! This is inneuendo laden and more like the old Arcari although he does give us a chorus here, not something you get too often. He closes with Dragonfly and he stays in his old style, loud, brash and dangerous. This has almost prehistoric sounds and the stomping blues is an excellent finish which leaves you gasping for more.

http://www.davearcari.com/
http://www.thebuzzgroup.co.uk/

David Blue.

2011-07-11T09:07:00.000-07:00

Dani Wilde – Shine (Ruf Records).

Shine is Dani Wilde’s second international release and features 9 self written songs alongside 2 covers. The eponymous title track opens proceedings and it almost has a Gospel feel to it. When Dani adds a gritty vocal and Will ‘Harmonica’ Wilde adds harmonica, surprisingly enough, the song flows well – renowned producer, Mike Vernon, adds percussion. Another legend, Pete Wingfield, contributes piano to Some Kinda Crazy, which is a slow, strolling blues. Dani’s guitar rings like a bell as she shares lead guitar responsibilities with Ben Poole and although she has lost a little of her youthful exuberance she has a new found maturity. She covers The Rolling Stones classic, Miss You and she is brave to do so. I always thought that it should have had a female vocal what with Jagger’s falsetto taking you most of the way there on the original. This is more than passable and captures the feel of the original with Will Wilde outstanding on harmonica. How Do You Do It is piano led (Wingfield again) and harmonies abound. This is a powerful performance from Wilde although she keeps the guitar under control. Red Blooded Woman begins with just Dani and guitar before the band joins in for a classic mid-paced blues. Dani keeps is simple and effective and this is the songs strong point.

Don’t Give Up On Me turns away from the blues. This is a soft rock ballad with a big guitar solo – standard stuff, well done. I Don’t Even Care is a blues rock tale of love gone wrong and its hard hitting message is don’t stand in this lady’s way! Abandoned Child is a classy, slow blues with strong guitar and warbling harp. It is suitably dark, given the title. Wilde’s voice has grown significantly. She plays well in conjunction with her brother Will on harp on Born To Love Him and this has been a theme throughout the album. This bouncing blues has a feel good aura. Where Blue Begins has a snappy snare, piercing guitar and its mellow R&B tones are strangely familiar although I haven’t heard the Dana Gillespie version. Big Brown Eyes is acoustic, not a direction she chooses very often, and sounds a bit Joni Mitchell. This is a beautiful song where she pours her heart out and is completely different from the rest of the tracks.

Dani Wilde has delivered a second album of some quality.

http://www.rufrecords.de/

David Blue.

2011-05-15T14:18:00.000-07:00

Stoney Curtis Band – Cosmic Connection (Provogue Records).

The Stoney Curtis Band has honed their skills playing the clubs in Los Angeles and Las Vegas over the past 10 years. They’ve also managed to squeeze in four European tours in recent years and this has massively widened their audience. Cosmic Connection is their second album for Blues Bureau and is released on Provogue in Europe. The album contains 12 original songs and Blues And Rock N Roll is a high impact opener. This band is a classic power trio that play top class blues rock. Stoney is a top performer and with Aaron Haggerty on drums and Steve Evans on bass they all come together to produce a full sound. When The Sweet Turns To Sour is a big, ballsy Chicago blues and a joyous thing to hear. Curtis’ grizzly vocal and soaring guitar set the song up perfectly. Mouthful Of Honey is a rock styled blues in the style of The Rolling Stones and The Black Crowes. It’s good solid stuff and its classic rock stylings are easy to like. Headin’ For The City is a swinging blues played in Curtis’ inimitable style whilst Soul Flower is a high energy rocker with an electrifying solo but the vocal comes over as a little bit strained in places. Good Lovin’ Done Right is a classic electric blues, plain and simple.

Big Beautiful Women is a straightforward rocker of a high standard and Curtis shines through. Mary Jayne opens with sustained guitar as Stoney goes all heavy metal! This is high quality and a favourite of mine. Infatuation Blues is a rarity – it’s slow! I’m not too sure about this lyrically but musically it’s top notch as Stoney turns in yet another classy solo. Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead is a great title for a song and this is another in the heavy rock vein. High quality and confirms that Stoney Curtis and the band deserve to be on the Provogue label. Rise Up proves that it’s best to stick to what you are good at rather than trying too hard to be different. This blues based effort rocks along as Curtis stays in his safety zone, although he does veer into the progressive side of rock sometimes. They close with a rock ballad, The Letter, which has a good riff and an atmospheric solo but doesn’t leave me wanting more, something that I can’t say for the rest of the album.

http://www.stoneycurtisband.com/
http://www.provouguerecords.com/

David Blue.

2011-05-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

Chris Bergson Band – Imitate The Sun (2 Shirts Records).

New York native Bergson is no newcomer, 5 previous albums and providing backing for Annie Ross and Norah Jones testify to that. He has been a jazz ambassador for the USA and touring Africa in that capacity. Imitate The Sun is the follow up to his widely acclaimed Fall Changes from 2007, which was voted Mojo’s number 1 blues album of 2008. His latest album opens with Goin’ Home, which has a Southern blues feel with CCR and even a bit of Dr Hook in there. It’s laid back, slightly spiritual and very uplifting with staccato guitar rounding the whole thing off. The eponymous title track has a slow groove and soul oozes from its very pores and he still manages to have that Southern vibe. When he throws in a powerful guitar solo then you’ve got a top track on your hands. Bergson goes all acoustic on Shattered Avenue and this Bon Jovi style rocker works very well and the gritty slide guitar is a welcome addition. Hello Bertha has horns from Kenny Rampton and Chris Karlic and Buruce Katz’s inimitable keyboards in unison to make for a soulful sound and a New Orleans vibe.

The chunky blues of Willie Dixon’s Down In The Bottom leads into the laid back acoustic sounds of Laying It Down In White. Barrelhouse piano heralds the entrance of You’ve Been A Good Old Wagon and this is so easy to listen to. Good outing for the saxophone of Jay Collins too on this John Henry song. Mr Jackson has a funky vibe and this jazzy blues has horns and electric piano setting it up for Bergson’s soul fuelled vocal. Bergson serves up a swing version of the classic Elmore James song, Dust My Broom and although it loses a bit of impact on the guitar front it still gets top marks. Bruce Katz’s barrelhouse piano is another change from the norm. He closes with Bob Dylan’s Standing In The Doorway and Bergson’s world weary voice adds passion to the heartfelt lyric. This is totally relaxing and I feel as if I’ve known him for years. It builds vocally throughout and eight and a half minutes go by extremely easily.

http://www.chrisbergson.com/

David Blue

2011-05-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

WALTER TROUT

JUNE 2011

18th CHICHESTER Blues On The Farm, Pump Bottom Farm, Birdham Road, PO20 7EH
Stage 9pm Tkts £99 W/E £35 Day 01243 773828 www.bluesonthefarm.co.uk

19th ROSS ON WYE Linton Festival
Stage 9.15pm Tkts £60 W/E £25 DAY 0844 884 292 www.lintonfestival.org

20th CHISLEHURST The Beaverwood Club, Beaverwood Road, BR7 6HF
Doors 7pm Stage 9pm Tkts £15 020 8761 9078 www.feenstra.co.uk
Support P.A.U.L. & The Harper Woods Heroes

21st CARDIFF The Globe, 125 Albany Road, CF24 3NS
Doors 7.30pm Stage 9.15pm Tkts £16 02920 230130 www.theglobecardiff.com
Support P.A.U.L.& The Harper Woods Heroes

22nd CHATHAM No 3 Covered Slip, Mezzanine Floor, Historic Dockyard
Doors 7pm Stage 9.30pm Tkts £22 01634 823807 www.thedockyard.co.uk
Support Oli Brown

23rd HEBDEN BRIDGE Picture House, New Road, HX7 8AD
Doors 7pm Stage 8.30pm Tkts £20 0871 230 1101 www.calderdale.gov.uk
Support P.A.U.L. & The Harper Woods Heroes

24th GLASGOW The Ferry, 25 Anderson Quay, G3 8BX
Doors 7pm Stage 9.45pm Tkts £17.50 01698 360085 www.the-ferry.co.uk
Support P.A.U.L. & The Harper Woods Heroes

25th DURHAM Blues Festival, Durham University, Old Elvet, DH1 3HP
Doors 2.30pm Stage 9.30pm Tkts £24 01472 349222
www.eastcoastbluesfestivals.co.uk

26th CLEETHORPES Blues Festival, The Beachcomber, North Sea Lane, Humberston
Doors 2.30pm Stage 9.30pm Tkts £24 01472 349222
www.eastcoastbluesfestivals.co.uk

28th LIVERPOOL Stanley Theatre, 160 Mount Pleasant, L3 9PA
Doors 7pm Stage 9.10pm Tkts £18.50 0844 477 2000
Support P.A.U.L. & The Harper Woods Heroes

29th MILTON KEYNES The Stables, Stockwell Lane, Wavendon, MK17 8LU
Doors 7.30pm Stage 9pm Tkts £23 01908 280800 www.stables.org
Support P.A.U.L. & The Harper Woods Heroes

30th NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms, Masonic Place, Goldsmith Street, NG1 5GG
Doors 7.30pm Stage 9pm Tkts £17 0845 413 4444 www.rescuerooms.co.uk
Support P.A.U.L. & The Harper Woods Heroes

For further information, interview requests etc. contact Sue Williams, Frontier Promotions
Tel: 01760 756394 or email frontieruk@btconnect.com

2011-04-25T08:51:00.000-07:00

Various Artists – European Blues Challenge (EBC).

This live compilation is a good way to get a feel of what is happening on the Blues scene throughout Europe. Artists from Scandinavia, East and West Europe came together in Berlin on 18th and 19th of March this year to do battle in the 1st European Blues Challenge and the standard is surprisingly high. First up is Meena from Austria, already with an album released by Ruf Records, and I Shoot You Down. This is a pounding opener with excellent slide guitar and a strong vocal. Howlin’ Bill is from Belgium and his slick blues on Six Feet Five make little impact. The guitar solo is pleasant enough but the harp solo is better received. It’s a bit too long at over 6 minutes. Swiss band Bluecerne gives us He Was A Friend Of Mine which is Hoochie Coochie Man by any other name and no anywhere near as good. It’s too smooth but the guitar work saves it slightly. Richie Arndt & The Bluenatics from Germany delivers a hi-energy Little Brother Of Mine. There is a sense of rockabilly here but they are best known in their homeland as a blues rock band. Denmark gives us Tim Lothar with In It For The Ride. Lothar’s high class acoustic slide is a memory that will outlast most on the album. The Suitcase Brothers hail from Spain and their song, Motherless Children, is from the top drawer. The mix of cello and wailing harp blends well on a suitably sombre song in keeping with the title. Micke & Lefty Featuring Chef are from Finland and the ZZ Top riff of I’m A Guitar Man sets up this raw boogie to perfection. The average slide guitar playing doesn’t detract from the overall feel. French act Awek gives us a slow stomping blues in the form of Hush Your Mouth. This almost makes it; a little bit more aggression would have done it.

T-Train Kick is the offering from Croatia’s Tomislav Goluban & LPFB. The harmonica goes like a train on this one and you can certainly hear the effort on this instrumental. The opening to the song is good and the whole lung bursting piece is better than most. Italy is represented by One Man 100% Bluez with Different End Boogie. This is a down and dirty boogie and very classy. The Latvian Blues Band is from Latvia, surprisingly, and gives us Good Bye, a slow, silky R&B that you wouldn’t expect from the Baltics. King Mo from The Netherlands gives us Ain’t Nobodies Business, an old track but with top guitar. The Norwegian entry is Vidar Busk & His True Believers and they present Stompin’ Our Feet With Joy. This is a swing blues with good harp interludes but most of all, they are just enjoying themselves. Poland’s Boogie Boys serve up an R&B jazz crossover in the form of Hey You and Emil & The Ecstatics from Sweden go the opposite and play a rhythmic blues with a tidy guitar and organ solo on Bill By Bill. The UK act, 24 Pesos, get to close the album with Live My Life and they throw in a few modern elements. There’s a bit of rapping in what really constitutes modern blues shouting and the sing-along chorus conjures up elements of Creedence Clearwater Revival.

The winner of the inaugural challenge was Howlin’ Bill from Belgium, Austria’s Meena was second and Poland’s Boogie Boys were third. My top three? Meena, Tim Lothar from Denmark and The Suitcase Brothers from Spain. Goes to show how many good acts there are here.

http://www.bluesyou.com/

David Blue.

2011-01-31T13:56:00.000-08:00

Rob Stone – Back Around Here (Earwig Music).

A frequent visitor to Chicago’s House of Blues, Rob Stone is a harmonica player very much in the mould of his heroes. Little Walter, Big Walter Horton, Sonny Boy Williamson and Junior Wells. It’s been seven years since his last Earwig release but he has spent the time wisely, honing his craft with relentless touring. He opens with You’re No Good For Me, which is a rolling blues to start proceedings off with. Stone has an easy vocal style and this makes for an excellent opener. He is a killer harp player, ably backed by the band and, in particular, snappy guitars from Chris James and Jeff Stone. The eponymous title track is a big brassy swing blues and laid back Stone has the perfect tone for it. Slashing guitar from James for the lengthy guitar break. Love You For Myself is a slow Chicago blues with stylish interaction between Aaron Moore on piano and Stone’s harp. Give Me Time is a mid paced R&B with a great guitar riff going on in the background and a fluid solo. It’s a little different from most of the others on offer. I Need To Plant A Money Tree (don’t we all) is laid back and class just oozes out of this one. Chicago All Night is mid-pace funky R&B that reminds me a bit of Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag.

Lot To Love About You is another in the up-tempo area -- a swing blues that slides over you all too easily whereas Sloppy Drunk Blues is a bit of fun on barrelhouse piano from David Maxwell and Stone on harp. It’s Hard But It’s Fair is a strolling blues and Dragon Killers is a hi tempo lung buster. Both of these confirm how stylish a player he is. Can’t Turn Back The Clock is a high speed piano boogie with Maxwell on top form. He finishes with No Strings Attached, an up-tempo blues with more piano from Maxwell to the fore.

http://www.robstone.com/
http://www.earwigmusic.com/

David Blue.

2011-01-23T14:00:00.000-08:00

Chris James & Patrick Rynn – Gonna Boogie Anyway (Earwig Music).

Gonna Boogie Anyway is the second album for Earwig Music from the San Diego based duo an follows their Blues Music Award nominated debut, Stop And Think About It. Traditional Chicago and Delta styles supplemented by some jump blues is what they are all about and Gonna Boogie Anyway does not disappoint. Opening with Money Don’t Like Me they lay down a gritty vocal from James and his guitar snaps from the outset. It’s a straightforward opener that gets your attention. Dearest Darling is an up-tempo and a bouncy boogie is followed by You Can’t Trust Nobody, a wonderfully deconstructed classic chugging blues. Life Couldn’t Be Sweeter is another upbeat one with slide guitar from James and barrelhouse piano from Henry Gray showing that the boys sure do know how to enjoy themselves. H.M. Stomp is a guitar and harmonica (Bob Corritore) instrumental and Gray also gets himself heavily involved on piano. The pace is relentless on this one. Headed Out West is a standard Chicago blues, well played by two true exponents.

Can’t Stand To See You Go is a shuffling blues with top notch harp from Rob Stone and piano from the aforementioned Henry Gray. The eponymous title track does what it says on the tin -- a piano boogie-woogie of high impact. This is followed by The Tables Have Turned, which is another is another that chugs along with great piano. Money Don’t Like Me Part 2 is a further instrumental, guitar led with saxophone input from Jonny Viau. It’s sedately paced but it is high in quality. The penultimate song, Black Spider Blues, is a Delta blues played in a classic style. They keep it simple and that’s the key. To close off they give us Little Girl, which is a rolling blues and good fun as well.

If you can’t have a fun time with Chris James and Patrick Rynn then you are just not trying.

http://www.chrisjamesandpatrickrynn.com/
http://www.earwigmusic.com/

David Blue.

2010-12-15T13:08:00.001-08:00

Erja Lyytinen – Voracious Love (Ruf Records).

Finland is not the usual place that you’d look for the blues but slide guitarist Erja Lyytinen is turning a few eyes in that direction. The eponymous title track opens with a screech of feedback and she’s off and running on a soft rocker with a grinding riff. Don’t Let A Good Woman Down is blues at high speed with Erja’s slide guitar punctuating throughout. Crowes At Your Door is slowed right down. Is it The Black Crowes at your door? Overall, this bluesy rock upstart has an eerie feel and Bon Jovi comes to mind. Bed Of Roses is an acoustic ballad. It’s not spectacular and it’s a bit Eurovision in parts. Marco Hietala takes over vocals on part of the song, although some of the harmonies are a bit over the top, and there’s even some violin breaks. However, she’s back to form on Bird which has good rock beats and her slide guitar fits in perfectly. If it was a bit more emotive vocally it would be a top track. She does get there, but just not soon enough. Gilmore is another acoustic ballad with gentle guitar breaks in keeping with the overall feel.

I Think Of You has sultry, understated bass (Matti Vallius) and keyboards (Harri Taittonen) with snappy drums (Rami Eskelinen) supporting. This is late night, grown up music. Oil And Water is a rhythmic, upbeat middle of the road rocker with Erja using slide guitar often and always to good effect. Her accent comes through on this one and that’s no bad thing. Can’t Fall In Love is a rock ballad that follows the formula and as such, it’s nothing out of the ordinary. Her powerful vocal and obligatory guitar break are both fine. One Thing I Won’t Change has breakneck drumming and guitar. Good pumped up power pop and very nice guitar work. The very short Soul Of A Man has gentle sounds regressing almost into Folk and The Road Leading Home has an eerie opening with slide guitar and keyboard setting the scene. The only problem is that it doesn’t go anywhere as it is too short! The final track, No Place Like Home, is old style Americana/Folk and it’s another shortie, just Erja and guitar making for a pleasant finish.

http://www.rufrecords.de/
http://www.erjalyytinen.com/

David Blue.

2010-12-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

24 Pesos – Busted, Broken & Blue (Ourgate Records)

Busted, Broken & Blue is the first album from up and coming British blues band, 24 Pesos. It’s an album full of original songs, all written by front man Julian Burdock, and played by a band that has a passion for the blues as well as funk and soul. The opener, Maxwell Street, has acoustic & electric dobro and a strident vocal from Burdock. The band delivers a contemporary blues with an ancient feel. Never Saw The Devil is a chunky song. Funky blues with a fat bass line from Silas Maitland and a full sound with Moz Gamble (organ) and guitar on form. Standing At The Station is bringing the blues into the 21st century. Just dobro, voice from Burdock and hi-hat from Mike Connolly before the full band joins in – top class. In The Summertime flirts with hip-hop in parts but this is still essentially a blues song. One thing that it does have is a great singalong chorus. Lowdown Sweet & Dirty confirms that the Burdock is the mainstay of the band and they could well struggle without him. This is a grinding rocker with rounded edges. Gamble also gets another chance to be in the spotlight.

Live My Life (Just To Sing The Blues) has that hip-hop feel to it again but the fuzzed harp and throbbing bass are the highlights. Mean What I Say is a funky blues and the band manages to capture their energy in the song. However, sometimes Burdock’s vocal just doesn’t go that extra yard to bring the song to its full potential. However, he does maintain his high standards on guitar. Still In Love With My Baby is the obligatory slow one and it’s a Bon Jovi track if I ever heard one. It’s not as good as them but it will have the crowd singing along to it. The eponymous title track comes late on in the album and it is worth waiting on. Burdock lets it all out on this swing blues rocker. Day Becomes Night is a slow blues with sultry night time sounds – all grown up stuff. Neckbones & Gumbo is a bit of a strange title and it is hard to pigeonhole this one. I’m getting hungry listening to it though. As with the rest of the album, it is Burdock on guitar that shines through.

http://www.24pesos.com/

David Blue.

2010-10-27T14:03:00.000-07:00

JJ Grey & Mofro – Georgia Warhorse (Alligator Records).

Georgia Warhorse is JJ Grey’s fifth album and each has been full of original songs. He fits in those albums between his exhausting touring regime and the two pronged attack is bringing him to the notice of more and more people each year. Diyo Dayo is a throbbing grungy opener with baleful harmonica from Grey. King Hummingbird is a classy acoustic rock ballad with Grey’s mournful vocal. The horns make The Sweetest Thing into a cool R&B and the addition of Toots Hibbert on vocals is a master stroke as the band powers it out. All has strident drumming from Anthony Cole as the band stays in the R&B field. This is in your face, big time. The eponymous title track is about a kind of grasshopper, I believe, and JJ says that they are tough like an old Tonka toy and so at ease with the world – just like him, really. No matter what it’s about, this slow grinding blues has lung bursting harp to match the best and Grey also chips in with a lazy solo on slide.

Gotta Know is another rock ballad. This has a gritty vocal but there are many levels to his voice. The introduction of organ half way through gives it a Gospel feel. Another level is added with the horn section as the whole thing builds up towards the finish. Hide & Seek is vibrant and acoustic led. Andrew Trube, on bass, delivers the power this time but there’s an unexpected, slightly strange keyboard solo as well. Having said that, it does cut through the song pretty well. Co-written with Chuck Prophet and Angelo Petraglia (Kings of Leon), Beautiful World has relaxing acoustic tones and leans towards Country. Slow, Hot & Sweaty, you don’t get sweaty in a title very often, is funky and the kind of song that you’d expect from someone like Prince or Sly Stone – surprising. The Hottest Spot In Hell is a pounding R&B which showcases his deep baritone voice. The rhythm section excels and the horns (Art Edmaiston on trumpet and Dennis Marion on trumpet) make for a tight unit. He finishes off with Lullaby but, although hypnotic, this blues flecked offering won’t send you to sleep as the drummer and guest slide guitarist, Derek Trucks, are let loose.

http://www.jjgrey.com/
http://www.alligator.com/

David Blue.

2010-10-21T14:04:00.000-07:00

Joe Bonamassa @ The Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow 18/10/2010.

Gone is the shy young man who I saw at The Ferry in Glasgow a few years ago. He walked through the crowd unnoticed before stepping onto the small stage and blowing everyone away with his playing. These days, Joe Bonamassa sports a sharp suit, has a light show and has arrived on the big stage.

He opened with a perennial favourite of his, Rory Gallagher’s Cradle Rock and peppered the evening with songs from his latest album, Black Rock, along with titles from his already burgeoning back catalogue. The new songs such as Steal Your Heart Away and Three Times A Fool sat very easily with older favourites Sloe Gin, The Ballad Of John Henry and If Heartaches Were Nickels. At times he was hunched over his guitar as if in his own little world only to throw his head back in the ecstasy of the vital note.

Joe’s Scottish girlfriend, Sandi Thom, came on for part of the well deserved encore and the two of them produced an excellent version of Bird On The Wire and different to the one on Black Rock.

So I’ve seen Joe Bonamassa go from a very small venue with less than 100 in the audience to a slightly larger hall with a slightly larger audience and on to the premiere venue in Glasgow with over 2,000 of a crowd. One thing has remained constant and that is his talent and when you go to one of his gigs you know you are in the presence of someone special.

David Blue.

2010-10-19T12:06:00.000-07:00

Simon McBride – Since Then (Nugene Records).

Since Then is Northern Irishman Simon McBride’s second album, his first being the critically acclaimed Rich Man Falling in 2008. A winner of Guitarist Magazine’s Young Guitarist of the Year and endorsed by guitar builder Paul Reed Smith by the time he was 15, it was inevitable that he would go on to greater things. Stints in Sweet Savage (replacing Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell) and Andrew Strong’s band led to him taking the solo plunge and the aforementioned debut album. The 14 self-penned tracks of Since Then open with Take My Hand, which is a full throttle opener with Adrian McIlduff’s drum kit at breaking point and electrifying slide guitar from McBride. Hell Waters Rising is a blues rock title if I’ve ever heard one and this pounding track is just the type of song to rock out to. Superb guitar from McBride and he definitely knows what buttons to press. Acoustic guitar makes an appearance on Save Me and McBride’s very good rock voice comes into its own. This is a grower, starting in ballad style and building up into a soft rocker. Down To The Wire is a high class slow blues. Joe Bonamassa must be an influence as I can hear him all over this. McBride is a new star is on the blues horizon. Be My Baby is Jimi Hendrix meets Kansas City blues -- oddly catchy with McBride’s guitar stinging you at every turn. From The Other Side is rhythmic blues rock and although there’s a lot of guys out there doing this kind of stuff McBride more than holds his own. It’s back to slide guitar with The Promise and to great effect too with the power chorus on this good time rocker reaching down your throat and playing with your insides.

Tear Down Your Soul is a funky rocker and I now feel that I’ve known Simon McBride forever. Dead Man Walking has a resonator in there somewhere but it gets dwarfed by McBride’s slashing electric guitar. However, it’s another high class blues rocker and he is a master of the chorus. Even though this one is simple it’s the power chords that do for you again. Dancing On The Sidewalk is a mid-paced rocker with a funky edge and Sweet Angel has shades of Gary Moore’s Still Got The Blues For You in its opening but it’s much more than that. McBride’s guitar goes straight to your heart. He has the Dobro out again for Coming Home but this time it gets a higher billing. This has intricate guitar work over a pounding beat. I know that I mentioned Mr Bonamassa before but McBride is so similar vocally on Devils Road it’s uncanny. This is a strange one with Paul Hamilton’s drums on the off beat and it may have been better with just voice and guitar -- a fast paced blues, country, hip hop crossover! He finishes with The Truth, a short instrumental lament with piercing guitar which draws out his Celtic origins.

Simon McBride has the class to challenge the might of the Provogue Records guitarist stable.

http://www.simonmcbride.net/
http://www.nugenerecords.com/

David Blue.

2010-10-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

Walter Trout & Mitch Laddie @ The Ferry, Glasgow 08/10/2010.

It’s October so it must be Walter Trout in Glasgow. Walter and his superb band just keep coming back to Scotland and they sound better each year. This time he brought his Provogue stable mate Mitch Laddie with him and young Mitch opened up the evening superbly. Showcasing songs from his debut album, This Time Around, the 19 year old held the crowd in the palm of his hand at times and the future is bright for this young North Easterner.

Walter Trout arrived onstage to announce that we were honoured to have a local celebrity in the audience and proceeded to introduce Fat Bastard from the Austin Powers movies. Of course, this turned out to be larger than life drummer Michael Leasure. After a couple of impressions from the big man the band, with the ever-smiling Sammy Avila on keyboards, launched into the show with Walter bringing us a number of tracks from his latest album, Common Ground, as well as many from his extensive back catalogue. The new songs such as May Be A Fool, Common Ground and Wrapped Up In The Blues were all well received and when added to Walter’s wicked wit (sometimes at the expense of bass player Rick Knapp) it all added up to a great evening. Walter certainly knows how to play to a Scots crowd as when there was a problem with one of the speakers he announced “you may take our monitors but you’ll never take our freedom”. He added Loch Lomond and Scotland The Brave to his encore to finish off a show that was over two hours long. However, I think that Walter and the band could have played all night and you know what, I could have listened all night too.

David Blue.

2010-09-09T14:50:00.000-07:00

B.B. & The Blues Shacks – London Days (Crosscut Records).

B.B. & The Blues Shacks are becoming a European institution with touring experience of over 20 years and an average of 150 gigs a year. Well known for their sound which is deeply rooted in 40s and 50s jump blues, this is their first release since 2008s Unique Style. London Days was, conveniently enough, recorded in London under the watchful eye of Liam Watson, he of White Stripes’ Elephant fame. The opener, Real Good Times, is a pacy R&B with a gritty Northern Soul feel to it and This Time Baby continues the R&B vibe. They are getting better vocally album by album although they always have been a tight band. High Class Lonely is a swinging R&B with Michael Arlt on harp, jagged guitar from Andreas Arlt and Hammond organ from special guest Raphael Wressnig and you have to be happy with that! Just You is slowed down and soulful before Between The Lines picks up the pace again and this strong R&B is a highlight. It Hurts So Good is good old fashioned Rock and Roll whereas Let Them Talk is a rolling R&B with a sharp vocal from Michael Arlt.

B.B. & The Blues Shacks are summed up by the next trio of songs -- My Baby’s Alright has classic R&B styling, How Low Can You Go is slow, brooding Soul and Fools Getting Stronger is a shuffling blues which is compact and beautifully formed. These show how adaptable the band can be. However, Miss Wrong is standard fare and fails to match the rest of the album. The only song not written by the Arlt boys, Once In A While (Is Better Than Never At All), harks back to the Rock and Roll era and leads into hardcore Soul. How Would You Like That is a mix of R&B, Soul and Doo-Wop, spoiled slightly by the spoken bridge. Despite that, these gentle sounds are most welcome. The final official track, Turnaround, has Chubby Checker style drums from Bernhard Egger and is very 60s influenced R&B/Soul with good energy. They close with a bonus track, Autumn Sunset but I wonder why this harmless lounge music was included at all.

http://www.crosscut.de/
http://www.bluesshacks.com/

David Blue.

2010-09-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

Michael Landau, Robben Ford, Jimmy Haslip, Gary Novak – Renegade Creation (Provogue).

Renegade Creation brings together four diverse musicians and moulds them into a fusion of blues, rock and soul. The two headliners are Landau and Ford, the former a renowned session guitarist with credits on albums by Miles Davis, Michael Jackson and James Taylor, the latter being the legendary guitarist who has played alongside George Harrison and Greg Allman. Haslip and Novak are not un-notable however and have played with Bruce Hornsby, Donald Fagen, Chick Corea and Alanis Morissette. The opener, What’s Up, is a Mark Knopfler influenced rhythmic blues with Landau’s laconic vocal and the twin guitarists on top form. The follow up, Soft In Black Jeans, is more of a Robert Cray style smooth blues/rock and Robben takes on the vocal with aplomb. Destiny Over Me is slow, dreamy rock and is counterbalanced by the strong blues rock of God And Rock ‘N’ Roll. Landau and Ford let rip on their guitars on the latter with riffs aplenty, all ably backed by strong drumming of Novak. The Darkness is a classy slow blues with signature big guitar breaks from Ford.

Renegade Destruction is a driving rocker with Landau on from as vocalist. This is followed by Peace, which is split into two parts, the intro and the main song. The intro seems a bit pointless with trains, waves and birds in the background. The main track is a guitar instrumental that, whilst well played, is not a strong addition to the album. Who Do You Think You Are is a down and dirty blues with fluid guitar, perhaps the best playing so far. The penultimate track, Where The Wind Blows, is a grinding blues rocker, held together by the rhythm section but it is Robben’s guitar work that shines through. They finish off with Brothers, an instrumental that allows all four to showcase their skills.

http://www.provoguerecords.com/

David Blue.

2010-09-02T11:48:00.001-07:00

Elvin Bishop – Red Dog Speaks (Delta Groove Music).

A founding member of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Elvin Bishop has been around long enough to be called a legend. Not that passage of time is the only qualification; Elvin Bishop is a true guitar great. This only his second release on Delta Groove Music (see my review of his first, The Blues Rolls On) but he has firmly established himself at home. The eponymous title track is a laid back blues about his 1959 (a great year) Gibson Cherry Red ES-345. Stinging slide guitar and barrelhouse piano makes for a great opener. Neighbor Neighbor is R&B, vocally excellent and that slide is sublime. Fat & Sassy does what it says on the tin and Barbeque Boogie is the kind of storming boogie where Bishop excels. Many Rivers To Cross is a strange inclusion. It’s hard to beat the Jimmy Cliff version but the inclusion of slide guitar is effective. However, I’d rather he hadn’t really bothered.

Blues Cruise has a Cajun feel, no surprise since it has the addition of Buckwheat Zydeco on accordion. The extra guitarists, such as Roy Gaines, Tommy Castro and Ronnie Baker Brooks make this, in effect, a jam session and a damn good one too. Doo-Wop Medley is mainly the classic Still Of The Night but I can’t make out where the medley comes in although this instrumental is well played on slide guitar. We get back to Elvin Bishop territory with Get Your Hand Out Of My Pocket, which is a good romp with boogie piano and rocking harmonica from Bob Welch and John Nemeth respectively. His Eye Is On The Sparrow is a strange title but this strolling blues instrumental with added horns is more than passable. The solo, Clean Livin’ has a spoken vocal and tells us all about what has happened to him health wise throughout his life and he wonders why he is still standing – a cautionary tale. Festivities are rounded off well with the laconic Midnight Hour Blues.

http://www.elvinbishop.com/
http://www.deltagroovemusic.com/

David Blue.

2010-08-18T12:49:00.001-07:00

Colosseum – Live 05 (Ruf Records).

Colosseum has been going since 1968 (with a long hiatus between 1978 and 1994) in various incarnations and boasts some of the best musicians ever to have graced a stage in the UK. Vocalist Chris Farlowe, guitarist Clem Clempson, keyboards player Dave Greenslade, bassist Mark Clarke and drummer Jon Hiseman have been the mainstays and Hiseman’s wife, Barbara Thompson took over saxophone duties from founder member Dick Heckstall-Smith, who died in 2004. This 2 disc live album, recorded in Germany and Austria in 2005 covers a number of tracks from their 1971 Live album, which came out just before the original band broke up for the first time. The opener, Come Right Back is bluesy with big sounds from a tight band, as you would expect with their joint pedigrees. Theme For An Imaginary Western – this is my first real involvement with Colosseum but this prog rock with flecks of jazz is just what I expected, especially when it was written by Pete Brown and Jack Bruce. Good guitar from Clempson and a great rapport with the crowd. Rope Ladder To The Moon, another Brown/Bruce composition, is an English blues and this is more like it – over 8 minutes, an organ solo – true prog band form. The Valentyne Suite covers three tracks, January’s Search, which is an expansive instrumental covering jazz, prog rock & classical themes all backed with frenetic sax from Thompson and Farlowe, February’s Valentyne which also has sax to the fore and builds to the end and finally, The Grass Is Always Greener where Clempson’s guitar gets its chance in the slower passages.

The second disc opens with Those About To Die, a mix of rock (classic and prog) and jazz and is followed by the T-Bone Walker classic, Stormy Monday Blues. This has sharp guitar from Clempson who trades licks with Thompson on sax. The laconic drums of Hiseman and Clarke’s bass back things up very well with Chris Farlowe in his element with his vocal gymnastics. Dave Greenslade lifts the whole thing to a different level with his playing. No Pleasin’ is a straightforward rocker without too much interference and although there is no doubting the virtuosity of the musicians, it is Clempson’s guitar that shines through. This merges into Tomorrows Blues, a prog fest at over 11 minutes although not a blues as such. The penultimate track, Drum Into LA has a virtuoso performance from Hiseman on drums, although it is short for a drum solo at 2 minutes 56 seconds, before it leads into Lost Angeles, which at over16 minutes is a true prog/jazz epic. Greenslade is to the fore and Farlowe’s voice is still going strong although we could do without the scat.

This is a classic example of a Great British institution and as the sleeve notes say, “turn it down to deafening”.

http://www.rufrecords.de/

David Blue.

2010-07-26T06:27:00.000-07:00

Walter Trout – Common Ground (Provogue Records).

Every time a Walter Trout album lands on my desk I feel the excitement in the air and this one does not disappoint. Common Ground is Walter Trout’s 20th album and it is testament to his talent that it sounds just as fresh as his solo debut in 1990. Walter has raised the bar immediately with the acoustic slide based opener May Be A Fool. This pounding blues rocker builds and builds as he introduces the band and finally his electric guitar to the mix. Acoustic guitar starts Open Book too. This is a standard rock ballad, if anything by Walter Trout is standard, but it is lifted from the pack by his superb guitar playing. The notes just fall from his guitar. There’s a theme running here as Her Other Man also starts acoustically. Trout’s voice is on top form and the guitar interludes are just what you expect from a master of the fret board. The eponymous title track has a spiritual feel to it. Bon Jovi written all over it and guitar ringing like a bell at the end. Danger Zone adds some funk to the rock and is held together by the snappy drums of Kenny Aronoff. Hudson Had Help is a good time barrelhouse blues and a bit of a highlight.

Loaded Gun is the type of song that you would attribute to Walter Trout right away. Loud, bawdy blues rock and one to get the party started with. Rousing, especially with Jon Cleary’s piano getting hammered as well as Trout’s guitar and driven on superbly by Hutch Hutchinson on bass and the aforementioned Aronoff on drums with some of the best guitar you are likely to hear this year! Song For My Guitar is exactly what is says. Walter gives his guitar almost human status. Some may think it a bit twee but a guitar can become a member of the family. Eyes Of A Child is a mid-paced blues with a touch of swing. No Regrets is a slow, chugging blues with Trout’s voice and guitar in perfect unison. His guitar scorches as he bends the strings to breaking point. Wrapped Up In The Blues is a more standard type of electric blues. Harmony vocals and shuffling beats makes for another highlight. He finishes with Excess Baggage, a slow, sultry blues with Cleary’s Hammond organ to the fore – just what I would expect from one of my keyboard favourites. This is a powerful finish to the album and Walter Trout just keeps on being outstanding. I’m already looking forward to the next album!

http://www.waltertrout.com/
http://www.prvoguerecords.com/

David Blue.

2010-07-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

Philip Sayce – Innerevolution (Provogue Records).

Born in Wales and raised in Canada, Philip Sayce was immersed in music from a very young age. Influenced by those such as Eric Clapton, BB King, Buddy Guy and Robert Cray you would have expected him to come out as an all guns blazing blues guitarist but that’s only a part of the Philip Sayce armoury. Innerevolution is his second album since leaving Melissa Etheridge’s band and the opening track, Changes is a strong one, with expansive rock sounds. It’s a good, driving song and his guitar work is excellent. The follow up, Scars, has a great riff and it chugs along very well – Lenny Kravitz comes to mind. The snappy Bitter Monday (is that not every Monday that you have to go to work?) has pounding drums, from Matchbox 20s Ryan MacMillan) announcing the arrival of Sayce’s guitar before going off onto the realms of pop-rock. Anymore is slower than most of the albums opening tracks and this power ballad compares well in a genre that is difficult to be innovative in. This succeeds and Sayce’s voice has the requisite power to carry it off. Take You Away is raucous power pop with fuzzed guitars adding to the wall of sound and has Sayce letting rip on a number of fronts.

Daydream Tonight is the obligatory ballad and this piano-led softie could quite easily be boy band chart material. It’s no surprise that he includes Richard Marx amongst his co-writers on this album. He rips it up again for My Pearl and this pulsating, melodic rocker sets him apart for the other artists on the Provogue label. The power trio set up suits his classy guitar style. Tennessee Girl is a gritty rocker and Are You Ready has a big production and a singalong feel with his guitar getting a good going over on both. Gimme Some More has frenetic drumming and the whole thing tips more than a nod to Hendrix. Little Miss America is an epic to finish with. At over 8 minutes long it will stretch you to your limits but the throbbing grooves and Hendrix overtones will satisfy more than most.

http://www.philipsayce.com/
http://www.provoguerecords.com/

David Blue.

2010-06-07T16:05:00.001-07:00

Jimmie Vaughan – Plays Blues, Ballads & Favorites (Proper Records).

This is Jimmy Vaughan’s first album in nine years and he has chosen a personal collection of songs, recorded in his home town of Austin, Texas. It opens with The Pleasure’s All Mine, a shuffling blues and it is as if the Fabulous Thunderbirds had never gone away. Vaughan’s trademark jagged guitar coupled with a mellow sax solo make for a solid opener. Jimmy Reed’s Come Love is a strolling blues/R&B crossover with additional backing vocal from Lou Ann Barton and Vaughan’s harmonica used to good effect. The country blues of I’m Leavin’ It Up To You continues with harmonica and Vaughan’s guitar rattles like a machine gun. Jimmy picks up the pace a little for the excellent, self-penned instrumental, Comin’ & Goin’. He plays this in an Albert Collins style with horns and George Rains’ drums integral to the overall feel. Wheel Of Fortune is another of his country influenced blues with Texas stamped all over it. Lou Ann Barton stars on vocals. How Can You Be So Mean – what a question! The smokey vocal on this Johnny Ace song flirts on the edge of R&B but despite the title, you’ll always have a good time with Jimmie. Roscoe Gordon’s Just A Little Bit is a well known song and Jimmie delivers it in a smooth fashion with raucous sax an excellent counterpoint.

He keeps up the pace on Lonely Weekends, a good time R&B, surprisingly written by Charlie Rich. This is sure to be a favourite on tour. I’m not too much of a fan of spoken vocals so when I Miss You So starts off in such a fashion, my heart sank a little. However, once Jimmie and Lou Ann Barton get to grips with the song and start to swap vocals then the whole thing turns around. Roy Milton’s RM Blues shuffles along very nicely and Bill Willis’ Hammond B3 and the horns make for an accomplished track. Trumpet is not often heard on blues tracks nowadays but it is a standout here beside Jimmie’s guitar. Guitar Junior’s Roll, Roll, Roll is another classic, played in the Fabulous Thunderbirds style. This shows how much of a class act Jimmie is and is the highlight of the album. Send Me Some Lovin’ is a country influenced blues, written by Little Richard, with Lou Ann Barton on vocals and he’s still using that horn section to great effect. Add Kim Wilson and it’s the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Why, Why, Why is replete with Tex-Mex influences and this is no surprise considering that it is a Doug Sahm number. He is so good in this genre it makes you wonder whether it is worth his while playing anything else. (She’s Got The) Blues For Sale is an upbeat blues and Jimmie is cranking up the style towards the end of the album. He’s got himself a top band and the sax players excel here. This track is short and oh so sweet. Bill Willis takes over on vocals for Willie Nelson’s Funny How Time Slips Away. It’s real soulful and although I didn’t think that this might not work at the outset, it comes across well. Willis’ haunting Hammond B3 makes it a little less lounge room smooth as other versions such as Bryan Ferry’s.

Jimmie Vaughan’s love for these songs pours out of every track and I must make special note of the horn section, Greg Picollo, Kas Kasenoff and Ephraim Owens, who are excellent throughout.

http://www.jimmievaughan.com/
http://www.properuk.com/

David Blue.

2010-05-25T13:12:00.001-07:00

Jimmy Bowskill – The Jimmy Bowskill Band Live (Ruf Records).

It’s always brave to release a live album but to do it with your debut shows a real confidence in your own ability. Is it me or are guitarists getting younger every day? 18 year old Bowskill is the latest off the Ruf production line. He is an exciting young player with a powerful, yet still youthful voice and riffs abound on the gritty opener, Far From Reality. His style on Peter Green’s Rattlesnake Shake is actually more reminiscent of Paul Kossoff and there is some way over the top sustain. Walk In My Shadow is a Free song and whilst he is no Paul Rodgers in the vocal stakes, he has more than the capability to match Paul Kossoff. His fingers are now starting to fly. Loser is the obligatory slow one and he turns in a strong vocal performance to hold the crowd. Be Mine is a driving rocker and Dan Neill’s snare drum gets a real beating. Slide guitar adds to the wall of sound. Broke Down Engine is Rory Gallagher, Joe Bonamassa and Gary Moore all wrapped up in one – he really is that good!!

Drifting Haze is a very descriptive title as Jimmy takes you out on an ocean of sound and allows your mind to completely relax whereas Diamond Ring is a cracking blues rocker. It’s shorter than most but that allows him to maintain the impact. Jimmy’s treatment of the old Free song, Ride A Pony just confirms that the sky is the limit for him. He really can go anywhere his ambition takes him. The hi-pace instrumental, Karaday gives drummer Neill the chance to come to the fore. BB King’s Three O’Clock In The Morning is a mournful blues with a big solo and Link Into Your Chain is a superb finish. It is full of energy and action and confirms his songwriting credentials.

Big things beckon for Jimmy Bowskill – remember the name!

http://www.rufrecords.de/
http://www.jimmybowskill.com/

David Blue.

2010-04-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

Oli Brown – Heads I Win, Tails You Lose (Ruf Records).

This is Oli’s follow up to his critically acclaimed debut, Open Road, and legendary producer Mike Vernon has brought the best out of him again. Evil Soul is a hi-octane opener which is driven by the drums of Jamie Little. Brown’s voice has improved since my review of Open Road and two years of almost constant touring has helped that so much. His guitar work is still stunning on this snappy introduction. Makes Me Wonder is a fluid blues which is slightly jazzy in some of the passages. The piercing guitar is the focal point. The metronomic Keeping My Options Open is a grinding blues based rocker whereas Speechless turns to a softer rock with a sophisticated feel. Brown’s guitar needs no encouragement to come to the fore and he confirms his status as one of the UK’s premiere guitarists. His treatment of the classic Fever, by playing it in a 60s R&B style is a success. It’s always hard to do something unusual with such a well known song but he does add a different feel to it overall.

Not A Word I Say is the first slow song on the album. It is moody and smouldering with the guitar as the star again. It builds well from the middle onwards. I Can Make Your Day is another grinding blues but a bit on the heavier side this time. Oli lets it rip here on the type of song that Joe Bonamassa excels at. Real Good Time has punchy guitar with a soulful feel. The funky Take A Look Back has a slicing guitar and the funk continues with No Diggity. Oli switches effortlessly between styles but the one constant is his guitar. Love’s Gone Cold has to be a blues with a title like that. This is slow and dark before it explodes into life when Oli lets that guitar go. Unfortunately, the album has to finish sometime and On Top Of The World is a wonderful sing-along song to wrap things up with. Played with panache, it is a testament to Oli’s all round growth.

Oli Brown will help form the future of British blues.

http://www.olibrownband.co.uk/
http://www.rufrecords.de/

David Blue.

2010-04-15T05:55:00.001-07:00

Stefan Schill – Don’t Say A Word (Provogue).

Dutchman, Stefan Schill hails from Dordrecht and I am sure that this is the first time I’ve reviewed anyone from that part of the world. Don’t Say A Word is his debut album and fulfils a desire to perform after seeing Ritchie Sambora captivate the audience on MTV’s Unplugged. The album, which was two years in the making, opens with Any Direction, which is vibrant and fresh with a youthful vocal and stinging guitar. The eponymous title track is funk/soul with a little input from horns and a silky guitar interlude. He stays with the funk for Take On My Beliefs but he rocks it up a little this time. His guitar playing shines through and the whole package comes across a little like Prince, who he just happens to think is a genius. Just Not Today has his vocal progressing all the time and still staying on the funky side.

U Don’t Mind has crisp drums from Arie Verhaar and this mid-paced funk grinder certainly shows up Prince as a major influence. Gone By Tomorrow is a slinky professional blues whereas Everybody’s Gotta Be Somewhere is soulful and a strong contender for song of the album. The latter has one of his best vocals so far. Game Called Love is a big, ballsy, swinging blues with heaps of attitude. He rocks it up a little for It’s Gonna Be Alright but this rarely gets out of the power pop genre. Last Goodbye is just Schill on guitar and vocal with a little harmonica added by Aram Raken. This acoustic track shows the talent behind the gloss and is a very pleasant finish.

On this basis, Stefan Schill is certainly worth another listen.

http://www.provoguerecords.com/
http://www.stefanschill.com/

David Blue.

2010-04-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

P-A-U-L – Gunshot Lullaby (E&E Entertainment).

Paul Andrew Ulysses Lamb, or P-A-U-L as he likes to be known, is a Detroit native and his second album is as tough as the city of his birth. It begins with, funnily enough, And So It Begins which is a short intro into the high impact Our Bullets Will Be Fairytales. I reviewed his first album and I think that he has gone for an all over heavier sound this time around. There is a lot going on in this song but it all comes together very well. The grinding I Ain’t Givin’ You Up continues with the heavy vibes and Martyred Eyes confirms his transfer over to the heavy side of rock. This has guitar overload and best played loud. I Will Never Tell is a wall of sound, a real rockers tune so get the air guitars out and dust them down. The eponymous title track gives us a slight respite from the aural assault but the subject matter makes for a strange ballad. However, his guitar work is still on the highest level.

Detroit Is On Fire is just as powerful as the only other song I know about Detroit. That’s Detroit Rock City by Kiss and P-A-U-L shows that Detroit is still a rock city. He might not get the same exposure as Kiss but he certainly can generate the same power. Mercy Kissin’ is very ZZ Top and I love it!! Grinding, thumping rock at its best. At The Revolution has a short burst of acoustic slide to begin with before taking us off to the now customary grinding loud rock of Rattlesnakes And Butterflies. Diamonds For Gold has nothing too much to get excited about although it does pick up towards the end. Behind The Brothel is an interesting title. There is a big bass line from Paul Randolph and some added woodwind. This, plus the funky guitar gives us a break from the heavy stuff. It’s over 6 minutes and at times it seems a bit too long. What it does do is it shows his versatlilty and the singalong chorus, “hey hey, come out and play” is a different proposition to most of the album.

This is a cracking second album and there is even more to come from P-A-U-L in the future.

http://www.p-a-u-lmusic.com/

David Blue.

2010-04-09T15:49:00.001-07:00

Mitch Laddie – This Time Around (Provogue).

A North-East of England native, Mitch Laddie is just 19 years of age. When you hear this album you will share my complete shock and awe at the talent of this boy at this age. He’s only been playing the guitar seriously for 6 years and learned his chops by copying the riffs of Mark Knopfler, Dave Gilmour and Jimi Hendrix. However, his love of the blues was kindled when he heard Stevie Ray Vaughan. A listen to BB, Freddie and Albert King, Albert Collins and many others focused him on the genre. Walter Trout invited him to play at one of his gigs in 2006 (he was only 15 or 16) and his life changed forever. His debut solo album opens with Awakening (intro), which starts like a leviathan rising from his sleep. Laddie builds layer upon layer before unleashing a pulsating, rocking instrumental. He is technically superb as he slashes his guitar. The smouldering Here’s A Drink is bluesy but shows that vocally, he is still a bit raw. However, he has all the attributes and stands up to the current best in the genre. Get You Back is a hi-paced blues from an exciting new kid on the block but he slows it down again for I Need Your Love. Float On By has a staccato delivery but shows that he is a real talent. He keeps the solos on this to a good length, something he doesn’t always do. Punchy drums and piercing bass from Lee ‘Cliffy’ Clifford and Rhian Wilkinson respectively. Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag is not as frenetic as the James Brown original but he does make it his own – not an easy thing to do with a song like this.

The eponymous title track has funky beats as he puts his soul into it with his wailing guitar a stand out. There is a barrage of notes at times and he may have to take up the new Joe Bonamassa philosophy that sometimes less is more. Miss Supernatural has pounding drums and sustained guitar opening this full on rocker with fuzzed vocal. Two Years is an upbeat swinging blues with stinging guitar whereas Mr Johnson is a complex instrumental that shows his fretboard skills. The latter is perhaps a tad long at 6 minutes but that’s only a small criticism. All I Have has a pleading vocal -- a bit mainstream but in the upper echelons. Rock Me Baby is the old BB King song and this live version with Walter Trout is turned into a slow, driving blues with guitars a plenty (10 minutes of them). It’s good to hear what he’s like live as I intend to seek out his next visit north of the border immediately.

http://www.provoguerecords.com/
http://www.mitchladdie.com/

David Blue.

2010-04-02T12:36:00.001-07:00

Scott McKeon – Trouble (Provogue).

Trouble is the second album from baby faced guitarist Scott McKeon. However, don’t let his youthful looks (he’s 23) deceive you; he is a hard nosed guitarist and has made it into the Top 30 blues guitarists already. McKeon tours relentlessly and has opened for such luminaries as Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow and John Mayer. Trouble has 12 original songs and opens with The Girl, which has an industrial feel, some great riffs and an all encompassing sound. However, the guitar, albeit in short bursts, is the star. I Can Tell highlights McKeon’s youthful voice and the song comes over as a bit poppy, but there is a harder core in there too. This may be a bit too middle of the road for some people’s tastes. The eponymous title track is a grinding standard rocker with a big chorus and this chorus may just be enough to win you over, that’s if McKeon’s guitar doesn’t. Scarecrow is the track of the album so far with acoustic influences all over and layer upon layer of sense provoking guitar. Written by Robbie McIntosh who also contributes slide and resonator guitar. Talk To Me, featuring John Mayer’s vocalist David Ryan Harris, is an acoustic led rhythmic groover with a sing-along feel to it.

Broken Man has fuzzed guitar and echoed vocals wrapped up in some classy pop rock. All That We Were is a ballad which shows how good a song McKeon can write. This is as good as any in the genre and the big guitar solo sets it off well. Capture Me has a pounding drum beat and strong, throbbing guitar. So Much More has sultry acoustic vibes with Robbie McIntosh adding his weight on guitar. Added horns and organ on Giving Me The Blues makes for a soulful sound. What I’ve Become is another mid-paced rocker with heavy bass and a storming finish. Home is a low key finish but after a 20 second pause it drifts into an electric jam. Fully instrumental, it is a strange finish but a well played one nonetheless.

http://www.scottmckeon.com/
http://www.provoguerecords.com/

David Blue.

2010-03-23T00:49:00.000-07:00

Joe Bonamassa – Black Rock (Provogue Records).

Black Rock is the tenth solo album from the industrious Mr Bonamassa and sees him team up again with producer Kevin Shirley of Black Crowes, Aerosmith & Led Zeppelin fame. Shirley, of course, produced 2009s critically acclaimed The Ballad Of John Henry. The albums title comes from the recording studio in Santorini where Joe wanted to get a ‘world’ feeling for the songs. Steal Your Heart Away is a grinding opener. Joe is on form immediately on vocal and guitar. I Know A Place remains on the slower side but this has power all the way. However, don’t let that fool you into thinking that the craft isn’t there, this is a majestic musician at work. He introduces dobro on When The Fire Hits The Sea and he switches between acoustic and electric effortlessly. This old style blues shouting lets his show the expression in his voice. Quarryman’s Lament has him stepping away from the blues for a more straightforward rock that has folk and Celtic leanings. Great harmonica too. Spanish Boots, written by Jeff Beck, is a blues rocker with Joe’s fingers in a blur. If there is anyone better in the genre then I’d like to hear him or her. Joe likes to throw in some Middle Eastern/Asian influences from time to time and on Bird On A Wire Is Black Rock’s. This Leonard Cohen song, made famous by The Neville Brothers, will grow and grow on you. It’s completely different from their version and it may well become a Bonamassa staple.

Three Times A Fool is a great old Otis Rush song an Joe plays it as a classic blues rock. He’s never sounded better vocally too. Willie Nelson’s Night Life is turned into a big, brassy blues with BB King, who originally made the song his own, adding his not inconsiderable talents. BB’s voice is still one of the best on this up-tempo version of his classic. Wandering Earth is an expansive Chicago style blues with a Joe twist. James Clark’s Look Over Yonders Wall is a fast paced, energetic blues Athens To Athens, that’ll be Greece to Georgia, USA, has a bouzouki as well as guitar giving us Delta blues for the 21st century. Joe throws in all sorts of strange instruments here. Blue And Evil is a rousing penultimate track. It confirms his status as a consummate performer but he often says that he plays too many notes. That may be so, but they are all in the right place. The closing track is Blind Boy Fuller’s Baby You Gotta Change Your Mind which exudes class and tops off another blinding Joe Bonamassa album.

Joe Bonamassa was recently named as Best Blues Guitarist in Guitar Player magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards for the third consecutive year – glad to hear that I’m not the only one who thinks he is the best that we have heard for some time!

http://www.provoguerecords.com/
http://www.jbonamassa.com/

David Blue.

2010-03-22T12:19:00.000-07:00

Coco Montoya – I Want It All Back (Ruf Records).

Erstwhile Bluesbreaker, Coco Montoya has a reputation within blues circles as an awesome guitarist. He forged this reputation alongside Walter Trout in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and has continued it into a parallel solo career. He’s not just about the blues though and Hey Senorita has Latin grooves meeting the blues with punchy guitar from Montoya. The piano fills make you feel like you are in Cuba. The eponymous title track is soulful, with silky guitar from both Montoya and Keb’ Mo’. Forever is another on the soul side, not surprising seeing that Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland were involved in its composition, and Cry Lonely will creep into your head.

As Close As I Have Come is a bit tired and The Life Of My Broken Heart, whilst strangely familiar, is mainly harmless soft rock. The One Who Really Loves You continues his laid back, soulful side although his guitar does get a little outing this time. Buster Brown’s Fannie Mae delivers some of the guitar slinging Montoya that we all know. This takes us back to the days of his exchanges with Walter Trout in The Bluesbreakers and has the added bonus of Rod Piazza on harp and Jeff Paris on Hammond organ. Don’t Go Makin’ Plans (the only song written by Coco) is a funky offering and the funk continues on She’s Gonna Need Somebody, one of two written by keyboardist Jeff Paris, which is vocally good and has its base in the blues. He finishes with Jackson Browne’s Somebody’s Baby. This is a great song and Coco and the band play it well but it lacks the impact of the original and I’m sorry to say that it is out of place here.

http://www.cocomontoya.com/
http://www.rufrecords.de/

David Blue.

2010-02-24T14:01:00.000-08:00

Eugene Hideaway Bridges – Live In San Antonio (Armadillo).

It’s about time that Eugene Hideaway Bridges released a live album because his reputation as a live performer was building so much that he couldn’t afford not to. Recorded at Chango’s Havana Club in San Antonio, Texas, it captures the essence of Bridges’ talent. He opens with I Got The Blues, which is an electric performance that sets up the listener for what is to come. Next up is Woke Up This Morning, words often used by blues singers but none to more effect t than here on this energetic blues. Little Boy Blue – is he singing about me? Maybe so, but this is a funky blues which keeps up the energy with such power. Learn How To Let You Go is performed in a Motown style in the vein of The Temptations and brings to the fore his lovely guitar work. Giving Up On Love shows Bridges lightning fingers as he funks it up big time and Real Hero is a Chicago blues with attitude. The horns in the background on the latter, which is an homage to the workers, are superb. Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day is classic soul and when you know that it’s written by Sam Cooke then it isn’t any wonder – fantastic.

Won’t Be Your Fool is an up-tempo blues which showcases Bridges’ prodigious guitar work. Sam Cooke’s Movin’ And A Groovin’ is played as a slinky Kansas City style blues and it works so well. This is followed by I Know That You Love Me, which is funky soul with frantic trumpet from Justine M. Miller. I Found It has the horns coming more and more to the fore as his soulful side comes out – superb. Bluesman is a punchy bold blues whereas How Can I Win has a spiritual soulful feel although both are vocally excellent. You’re The One is happy and Jump The Joint is a big finish. This jump blues is energetic, as you would expect. A great way to finish and it shows Bridges to be the consummate artist.

http://www.bluearmadillo.com/

David Blue.

2010-02-17T14:17:00.000-08:00

Recorded live in the studio over 2 days, without any overdubs and mainly taking only one take, Ain’t Gotta Dime is Boo Boo Davis’ 6th album for Dutch label, Black & Tan. Silvermine is a grizzly, grungy, throbbing opener. There is no level of pace injected into Ten Thousand Dollar either but the quality is already shining through. Watch Yourself is a mid-paced R&B with a fuzzed vocal and a certain earthy feel. The quality continues with My Baby Got Me Fixed and The Man Who Be Around evokes feelings of the past and confirms Boo Boo as a true blues man. The eponymous title track is deep, down in your soul music and Boo Boo Blues is a romping, stomping boogie. Boo Boo certainly knows how to have a rollicking good time.

Cake Lady is a Delta blues with a drumbeat and this will touch your hidden depths. The repetition on Don’t Wait Too Late will hypnotize you but you will be brought crashing back to earth by the superb blowing harp and fuzzed vocal of Standing At The Fishbank. Let Me Ride With You is a hi-energy, swinging blues and he goes all Bo Diddley on Got My Loving, Now You’re Gone. Cryin’ Blues is slow and wailing, well what would you expect? He finishes it off with the fast paced R&B of the quaintly titled There’s A Roach Crawlin’.

Boo Boo Davis has an air of authenticity that some of his peers lack.

http://www.black-and-tan.com/
http://www.booboodavis.com/

David Blue.

2010-02-14T12:33:00.001-08:00

Popa Chubby – The Fight Is On (Provogue Records).

This is Popa Chubby’s first release in two years and he says that this is blues rock for the people. He started out with some cool riffs and a house full of vintage guitars and The Fight Is On and a transfer to the superb Provogue Records is the result. The eponymous opener is pure Popa, gritty subject matter and top detuned guitar. The pulsating, anthemic We Got Some Rocking To Do is standard fare but Locked In A Memory harks back to the best rock ballads of the 70s. Popa says that he thinks that this has some of his best guitar work to date and I’m not about to argue. One hearing of his scintillating Les Paul confirms his thoughts. He goes all Motown on The Right Time!! This could easily have been a Temptations or Four Tops song. Rock & Roll Is My Religion is another standard mid-paced rock offering and Greedy For Gold attacks you on two levels -- fast and ultra fast.

NYC 1977 Till is Popa’s homage to Lou Reed as he intertwines Walk On The Wild Side with his own words. He rocks out on Holes and Steelhorse Serenade is a strong instrumental with the man on top form. It’s Over has Popa at his brooding best before ZZ Top come to mind on Wicked Wanda and he wraps the whole thing up with a storming version of Ace Of Spades.

Love him or hate him, you certainly can’t ignore him!

http://www.popachubby.com/
http://www.provoguerecords.com/
David Blue

2010-01-28T12:10:00.000-08:00

Marcus Bonfanti -- What Good Am I To You (The Guitar Label).

This is 27 year old Londoner Bonfanti’s second album and follows on from 2008s promising debut, Hard Times. That debut gave rise to a new British voice demanding to be heard and the follow up confirms that the voice has arrived. Bonfanti was once described as the love child of Tom Waits and Van Morrison and also the person to fill the gap between Seasick Steve and Jack Johnson. Time will tell (not on the love child thing though!) The grinding opener, Will Not Play Your Game is acoustic led and Bonfanti’s silky voice will win you over immediately. He then slips seamlessly into Goin’ Down, a mid-tempo boogie which will have you believing that you are listening to someone from the deep South (USA, that is). Messin’ Round No More is a strolling blues whilst Devil Girl is more of a contemporary acoustic blues.

Don’t Wanna Come Home is so laid back and superbly understated whereas Tweed Blazer is a high octane rock and roller much akin to Pat Travers Hot Rod Lincoln era. This guy is not all front, he can really can play. Get Behind Me confirms that I can do little pigeonholing on him as he can turn his hand to anything and can be quite unique when he wishes. The eponymous title track has him switching from acoustic to electric effortlessly and the superb God Only Knows is played on harmonica only with Bonfanti’s soulful voice a classy counterpoint. Give Me Your Cash is a pulsating blues rock which confirms his excellent vocal range. The gentle acoustic tones of Bleecker Street and Sweet Louise finish the album off in old style magnificence.

I would say that Marcus Bonfanti has arrived.

http://www.marcusbonfanti.com/
http://www.theguitarlabel.com/

David Blue.

2010-01-22T16:06:00.001-08:00

Luther Allison – Songs From The Road (Ruf Records).

It’s hard to believe that Luther Allison died over 12 years ago as I remember reviewing him just around the day he died. This latest set, recorded for Canadian Television just 4 days before he had to cancel his tour in 1997 and never to return to the stage again, runs for 90 minutes on CD and 56 minutes on DVD. Cancel My Check has a long guitar intro that sets the scene. Luther then adds his dulcet tones to his outstanding guitar for a storming start to this CD & DVD set. Living In The House Of The Blues is a standard electric blues performed by an above standard musician. What Have I Done Wrong (an often asked question) has Luther funking it up a little and he plays with such energy and Will It Ever Change has some superb guitar work as he sets the fret board on fire.

You Can, You Can is a swinging blues whereas There Comes A Time has a bit of audience interaction as Luther virtually talks his way through the song. The latter adds some funky keyboards and a bit of swing. Allison’s guitar always reminds me of BB King and sometimes even his voice does too. He even makes his guitar talk towards the end. (Watching You) Cherry Red Wine is a big, powerful instrumental that shows Allison at his best. Low Down & Dirty, written by his son, Bernard, is energetic and adds to a great build up to the end of the album It Hurts Me Too is a famous old song and Allison treats it well and he finishes with the funky and gritty Serious, keeping it short, unlike most of the others.

http://www.rufrecords.de/

David Blue.

2010-01-16T07:35:00.001-08:00

Danny Bryant’s Redeyeband – Just As I Am (Continental Blue Heaven).

British guitarist Danny Bryant has released six albums prior to his latest, Just As I Am, and the new album contains 8 new songs along with a cover of John Hiatt’s Master Of Disaster. Shut Out The Light is a standard rocker to open with and Bryant sets the standard with a searing guitar solo. Blues For Buddy is a big, ballsy blues, just like Buddy Guy. For The Last Time is a rock ballad and Every Time The Devil Smiles is a slow, blues rocker to rival the best in the genre.

The big production on the eponymous title track leads into John Hiatt’s Master Of Disaster, which is not a heavy rocker as you may have expected from the title. It has a strained vocal but it is appealing in a certain way and this will be a grower. The raunchy Day By Day is an excellent example of Bryant’s guitar work and he will beat you into submission as he slugs his way through The Hard Way. The 8 minute epic, Alone In The Dark is slow and powerful with a big guitar solo to finish. Bryant’s voice may not be the greatest but it is strangely effective and he has honed this and his superb guitar playing over a career that has yielded in excess of 2,000 live shows so far. I think Danny Bryant will be around for quite some time yet.

If you want to find out how far Danny and his band have come then check out his excellent 2002 debut album, Watching You, which was recently re-released on the Roots Collectibles label. Highlights on the album are Since You’re Gone and Purple.

http://www.continental.nl/
http://www.redeyeband.co.uk/

David Blue.

2010-01-05T11:43:00.001-08:00

LZ Love & Lightning Red – Gut Bucket Blues (Own Label).

LZ Love has an impressive list of artists that she has sung and toured with including Joan Armatrading and Luther Vandross but she has returned to her blues and gospel roots to team up with guitarist Lightning Red. The opening Been Lonely is drawled out and LZ has such a soulful voice. Red strums away in the background and adds some background vocals towards the end. You can feel her pain with every syllable. Wang Dang Doodle is the famous old Willie Dixon song with Howlin’ Wolf’s version being the best known. This version is earthy and highlights LZ’s powerful voice. Live No More is a pleasant Country blues with Red taking the lead vocal but LZ returns for the plodding Something Good. The title doesn’t really fit the song as this is nothing special.

Backyard Boogie is a bit more like it. A slide blues instrumental and well played by Lightning Red. Baby, What You Want Me To Do is a Jimmy Reed song and Red deals with it is a suitably stand off manner. Can’t Help Myself tends toward Delta blues – a good track with an ethereal feel. Cotton Pickin’ is another slide instrumental and Red keeps up the high standard. He takes the vocal again on Gates Of Heaven, a Southern blues rocker which could easily be a big Lynyrd Skynyrd style song given the correct production.

http://www.lz-love.com/
http://www.lightningred.com/

David Blue.

2009-12-29T07:53:00.001-08:00

Blue Mother Tupelo – Heaven & Earth (Diggin’ Music).

Tennessee husband and wife duo Ricky and Micol Davis’ third album has been mastered by Motown legend Bob Ohlsson who worked on many of Stevie Wonder’s hits. Heaven & Earth bears the Ohlsson stamp but is very far removed from those Wonder tracks. Always Lookin’ is a mid-paced Country rocker with a little funk on the side. A rasping vocal from Micol Davis makes for a good opening. The slow and hypnotic eponymous title track is played on piano and there is something spiritual about it. Give It Away/Hard Times has a grinding boogie slipping into a rhythmic Delta blues before reverting back to some grinding to finish the duet of songs off. The War is a beautiful piano ballad and their voices work well together on Goin’ Down Midnight, a mid-paced rocker. Wandering Soul is gentle Americana and so easy to listen to. Tupelo sees the introduction of saxophone to back up the slide guitar all played in a laid back Southern US style.

Ramblin’ Train is a bit heavier and darker than its predecessors although it is a bit out of sorts with the rest of the album. There is some more gentle Americana in the form of the Jesse Winchester written Biloxi and their strong harmonies underpin a classic Southern Country rock on Hand In Hand. The traditional I Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down brings Janis Joplin to mind and the gentle High In The Sky is much akin to Krista Detor in its execution. Runnin’ Around is rousing, rocking Country and they finish with the swamp music of Gustard Bellue. This is a jaunty end to an overall excellent album and it is split into two tracks, in effect. There are children singing on the second part and dogs barking in the background which gives a homely feel. To give more of a background, Gustard Bellue is the dog of the story – imagine calling out for him in the park!!

http://www.bluemothertupelo.com/

David Blue.

2009-12-23T14:32:00.001-08:00

Patrick Vining Band featuring Mike Bourne – Atlanta Boogie (Blues Boulevard).

An Atlanta native, Patrick Vining has been playing music since he was a child but it was only when a friend played him a Muddy Waters record that he knew that he had to sing the blues. That love of the blues continues with his latest album, Atlanta Boogie, which opens with a Kansas City style blues, Everybody Knows. Vining has one of those lived-in voices and Mike Bourne’s sharp guitar compliments it very well. Chicago blues man Bourne is steeped in the styles of Chicago and Kansas City and has now relocated to Atlanta to join up with Patrick Vining. Last Night is another shuffling blues with New Orleans overtones and highlights Vinings perfect voice for the blues. There is some good piano work from Matt Wauchope on this one. Tommy Brown joins on vocals for Atlanta Boogie and his is good time music in a rock n roll vein. I’m So Glad is a boogie-woogie and a classy one too with Wauchope is sparkling form.

30,000 Dollar Millionaire is a strolling blues/swing effort and very pleasing to the ear whilst the very good Money’s Getting Cheaper is a mid-paced swing blues. Something is upbeat R&B and Late At Night is a standard slow Chicago style blues. They then throw in Man Of Clay, a fast paced boogie that shows they are comfortable with all forms of the blues. There is a Gospel feel to the beginning of Last Meal. However, this then turns into a rolling blues but it is the organ playing of Wauchope that makes it feel like Gospel. A good, strong finish from a tight band.

http://www.blues-boulevard.com/
www.myspace.com/patrickvining

David Blue.

2009-12-18T09:09:00.000-08:00

Philip Sayce – Peace Machine (Provogue).

As a teenager, Philip Sayce was held in such high regard as to be invited to join the Jeff Healey Band and played with them at the Montreux Jazz Festival and many other sold out gigs around the world. After moving to Los Angeles he joined Uncle Kracker and was with the band when they had their massive US number 1 with Drift Away. He then joined Melissa Etheridge’s band and was with her until 2008. Now temporarily on his own, he releases his debut solo album on Provogue, a label that is getting a reputation as the home of guitar players. Peace Machine opens with One Foot In The Grave (not the theme to the popular sitcom), a high energy rocker. Save Me From Myself continues the hard rocking – classic stuff. Slip It Away is a Jimi Hendrix style hard blues which speeds up as Sayce launches into a solo that will take your breath away. The title says it all on Powerful Thing – think Lenny Kravitz and you’ll almost be there. This is followed by the acoustic led Angels Live Inside before he turns the power back on for the ballad, Dream Away and the rock with Sweet Misery.

Blood On Your Hands is a standard rocker but a classy example of one. Sayce doesn’t go in for too many solos but he puts in a good one here with touches of Bon Jovi. Cinnamon Girl is a classic Neil Young song and Sayce stays very close to the original feel. It flows well with archetypal riffs helping it to do so – psychedelia lives! The acoustic led Over My Head is a classic American MOR rock tune and Sayce finally unleashes his guitar as he builds the song layer by layer. Alchemy is a slow, bluesy instrumental which showcases his playing ability and it works very well. All I Want is another Lenny Kravitz style rocker and Morning Star stays in the same mould. Sayce is very easy to listen to although he is getting more and more adventurous as the album goes on. The title track has echoes of Foxy Lady at the beginning before going onto a heavy blues riff. This is a big, blues rocker and a feast of guitar playing. The bonus track, Arianrhod is another instrumental to satisfy the guitar lovers. Sayce uses just about every effect pedal in his collection. At over 7 minutes, it has a bit of a break just after 4. He then goes off into what is effectively a reprise of the title track, this time played on dobro.

Philip Sayce is a worthy addition to Provogue’s excellent stable of guitar players.

http://www.philipsayce.com/
http://www.provoguerecords.com/

David Blue.

2009-11-19T13:31:00.001-08:00

Roy Rogers – Split Decision (Blind Pig Records).

Roy Rogers is one of the finest slide guitarists around today. Always in demand, he has a number of credits to his name, most notably as a member of John Lee Hookers Coast To Coast Blues Band and you will have heard his talents if you have ever seen the film One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest as he features on the soundtrack. His sixth solo album begins with Calm Before The Storm, a grinding, shuffling opener with Rogers’ signature slide. Patron Saint Of Pain features his swinging, laconic delivery and Little Queen Bee is a bouncy boogie. Bitter Rain is another shuffling blues based rocker and confirms that Rogers improves with age. Someone Like You shows more of a country influence but is a little weak. The jazzy Rite Of Passage has an excellent sax input from George Brooks but the follow up Rivers Of Tears is a bit nondescript. Your Sweet Embrace is a gentle acoustic instrumental whilst Requiem For A Heavyweight is just bog standard by Rogers’ standards. I Would Undo Anything is unashamedly country and won’t offend anyone but he’s back to what he does best on Holy Ghost Moan. This electric slide boogie is played in a CCR style. It’s good fun and it’s the highlight of the album. Rogers closes out the album with the grinding rock of Walkin’ The Levee. Brooks’ sax and Rogers’ guitar vie for top billing but there can be only one winner. Many take on the slide guitar but only a few become masters. Roy Rogers is most certainly in the latter group.

http://www.roy-rogers.com/
http://www.blindpigrecords.com/

David Blue.

2009-11-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

Samuel James – For Rosa, Maeve And Noreen (NorthernBlues Music).

I reviewed Samuel James’ first album and proclaimed it to be one of the best debuts that I have heard so when his new release fell through my letterbox I wondered how he was going to deal with the difficult second album. Bigger, Blacker Ben opens that difficult second album. He’s certainly maintained his guitar playing standard and his knack for being a sublime storyteller is still there too. Cryin’ Blind shows a man out of his time yet strangely contemporary. He’s not trying to be a 1930s Delta bluesman but he could fit in there very well. His laconic delivery is beautiful on this more traditional song. Joe Fletcher’s Blues is slightly more up-tempo and is another gentle track. A Sugar Smallhouse Valentine continues the slightly quicker pace as James revisits a character from his first album. A good country blues. I’ll Break Your Promise is intimate and if you are looking for fireworks then Samuel James is not your man. However, if finely crafted tunes and expert playing such as Rosa’s Sweet Lil’ Love Song is more your bag then come on down. With the correct backing I can see Samuel James doing the same for acoustic blues that Joe Bonamassa has done for the electric genre. Darlin’ Maeve is again a bit more up-tempo but also goes to confirm that James doesn’t really conform too often.

The prize for pun of the year has to go to I’ve Haddock Up To Here. This easy going country blues is played in such a way that makes you believe that you could pick up a guitar and join in. This is one of James’ qualities – he makes everything sound so easy. He turns to the banjo for the rambling, stomping superb Miss Noreen. Trouble On Congress Street Rag is an instrumental that showcases his not inconsiderable finger picking talent. He varies the tempo well and the guitar is reminiscent of a train at times. John Ross Said is low key and moody, the opposite of many of the others on the album. The mood doesn’t hide the consummate storytelling however. Those who bought his first album will know his propensity for a long title and The Waters Always Changing But The River… is the latest in that line. This is his strongest vocal performance so far. Wooden Tombstone will have you making sure that the pills and razor blades are out of arms reach. This is simple in its execution with only his voice and foot taps present – superb! The ambling country blues of Path Of Ashes finishes things off well. Difficult second album? Done!

http://www.sugarsmallhouse.com/
http://www.northernblues.com/

David Blue.

2009-10-31T15:34:00.001-07:00

David Gogo – Different Views (Cordova Bay Records).

Canadian singer/guitarist David Gogo has released nine albums prior to Different Views but this is his first in three years. Too Late To Stop Now is a high energy rocker with Gogo excelling on slide guitar. There are blues and Cajun influences all over this. Don’t Bring Me Down is a Goffin & King song, but not that you’d recognise it after the David Gogo treatment. This rocked up R&B is excellent. There’s a big vocal performance on Lies and the overall feel of the album so far, is that it is earthier than his last. Erase Any Trace is an acoustic led blues rock that is very classy and Gogo returns to slide guitar with panache. I’ll Get Over It has a big, big production and Gold is pure West Coast acoustic rock – excellent from the first note.

Where The Devil Won’t Go has echoes of John Lee Hooker and it’s a big, ballsy blues. There is a real maturity to Gogo’s songwriting and this is personified by Gunslinger, which is a bouncy soulful example. The following track, Relax, is an instruction, so do as the title says and just enjoy some beautiful sounds. Over And Over is a strolling, swinging blues with soaring guitar – a classy track. He’s building up to a strong end to the album and Since You’re Gone is a beefy R&B. He follows it up with I’ll Do It Myself and this all out rocker is the perfect way to round things off.

http://www.davidgogo.com/
http://www.cordovabay.com/

David Blue.

2009-10-24T12:45:00.001-07:00

Govt Mule – By A Thread (Provogue).

To say that Govt Mule is a success would be a bit of an understatement. 2 million paid song downloads from their website, 7 critically acclaimed albums and sold out coast-to-coast US and European tours are testament to that. They open their 8th album with a bit of a Texas stomp and that’s no surprise when you hear that ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons has added his not insignificant skills. Broke Down On The Brazos is bass heavy, thanks to new bassist Jorgen Carlsson, and this adds to the all round grungy feeling. Erstwhile Allman Brothers Band and Grateful Dead member Warren Haynes is a bit special (voted in Rolling Stone’s Top 25 guitarists) and his gritty voice is still as vibrant as ever. This is followed by Steppin’ Lightly, which is chunky, funky and very heavy. Good stuff! The blues influenced Railroad Boy also has cowboy flecks and maintains the high standard set by the opening two tracks. The cowboy influence may be from recording in Willie Nelson’s studio in Texas

Monday Mountain Meltdown is more of a prog rock style and after what has gone before, is a little disappointing but Gordon James is a classic acoustic rock that would hold its own in a large stadium or a small club. Any Open Window is another top class song and Lenny Kravitz comes to mind whereas Frozen Fear is a bit more run of the mill than the others and its alt country vibes are just not consistent enough. Forevermore is a return to the big ballsy acoustic ballads and it works well and Inside Outside Woman Blues #3 is a Jimi Hendrix/Joe Bonamassa style heavy blues with psychedelic undertones. The band is a class act and can grind it out – I could listen all night. Scenes From A Troubled Mind is another grinding blues with a big rock chorus and fills. World Wake Up is a lower key finish than I would have expected. However, this is an excellent ballad to end with and shows the softer tones in Haynes’ voice. They are only playing one gig in the UK on their upcoming European tour and that is a pity. Maybe next time they’ll let more of the country get the chance to see them.

http://www.provoguerecords.com/

David Blue.

2009-10-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

Billy Walton Band – Neon City (Own Label).

New Jersey native Billy Walton has paid his dues on the blues circuit but the addition of bassist William Paris and drummer Marcus Croan has taken him to a different level. This is his debut album and Radio is a hi energy, hi impact opener – good blues rock. There is no doubting his fretboard skills on the eponymous title track but the song is a little nondescript. Hypnotized has a funky reggae beat with a rock base. Walton sets the frets on fire on this surprising highlight. The title says it all on Soul Song. It’s another song and another genre. On its own it is fine but I wish he would just pick a style and get on with it. He gets back to blues rock with Set Backs and you can chant along to this until your heart is content.

Treat Her Right is a speedy R&B with another shout along chorus. Walton’s guitar drives this along very well. Spreading The Blues is the kind of heavy blues rock that the Billy Walton Band excels at and air guitar players should look out their plectrums. This is short, sweet and solid. Distorted Views is a mid-paced blues ballad of a style similar to that of Gary Moore. This is more restrained than others but that lets you pick out his superb technique more. However, he can’t help himself and eventually lets it rip. He’s not up to it vocally at the start of Jersey Devil but he does eventually come onto his game on this Bon Jovi style rocker. He’s not in Bon Jovi’s class vocally but he does have claims to rival Richie Sambora on guitar. They finish with a strange choice, The Temptations’ Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone. I had reservations when I saw it listed on the sleeve and my fears were partially founded. Thankfully, it’s not a rehash of the original (why try to match perfection). There’s a strange end to it with a voice box over Walton’s guitar but it is a valiant effort nonetheless.

http://www.billywaltonband.com/

David Blue.

2009-09-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

Rick Derringer – Knighted By The Blues (Provogue).

Knighted By The Blues opens with The Mess Around, a famous song (written by Ahmet Ertegun) and Derringer is a famous artist, having played with the McCoys as far back as 1965 on Hang On Sloopy. He went on to be an able sideman for Johnny and Edgar Winter as well as launching his own solo career. He plays this at high pace with searing guitar as you would expect. Derringer doesn’t over complicate things and when you do that, things are unlikely to go wrong. The gritty Sometimes is a bit heavier and Derringer’s voice is superb as is his guitar playing. He has certainly stood up to the test of time. Give Me Some Money is a stylish blues that swings along just fine and he delivers a fine version of If 6 Was 9, a Jimi Hendrix written chugging blues. He has certainly not lost any of his panache through the years and he delivers a big solo. The eponymous title track is a strolling blues – sophisticated night club stuff and exquisitely performed.

Jenda is not up to the standard of the rest of the album but we’ll forgive him one average track. The lively instrumental Cat On A Hot Tin Roof is jazz rock with intricate runs and able backing from Ron Reinhardt on keyboards. My Gals Kinda Crazy is a classy hard core Chicago blues and Derringer lets rip. Time To Go is a driving blues that is let down slightly by the vocal but that’s only a small criticism as the guitar work is superb and more than makes up for it. He finishes with the sultry Funny I Still Love You, which is the kind of slow blues that Clapton excels at. Written by Ray Charles, it sounds a bit like Hard Times.

You don’t last as long as Rick Derringer without being good and Knighted By The Blues shows how good.

http://www.rickderringer.com/
http://www.rickselectricguitar.com/
http://www.provoguerecords.com/

David Blue.

2009-09-11T16:07:00.001-07:00

Jeff Healey – Songs From The Road (Ruf)

Trawled from three concerts in 2006 and 2007, Songs From The Road is the perfect way to remember Jeff Healey. He was the consummate live performer and this DVD/CD set is a must to have in your collection. The opener, I Think I Love You Too Much lets us hear what we are missing since Jeff’s untimely death. This is a scorching version of the Dire Straits song and has some of his best work ever. What a guitarist he was. I’m Ready tends towards a Kansas City style with this strolling blues and barrelhouse piano. Stop Breaking Down is a good old stomping version of the Robert Johnson song. Slide guitar and harp and you didn’t hear them on a Johnston version. This has been recorded by many but this is one of the best rock versions that I have ever heard. There is the obligatory trademark solo and a well deserved big cheer at the end. He cools it down for his biggest hit, Angel Eyes, and shows that he did have a voice too. This big rock ballad has an equally big chorus and dual guitars. It is so well played that you forget that you are listening to a live recording. The Beatles’ Come Together is played in the menacing manner that it should be. Plenty of audience participation and the electric piano is in there too. It stays very true to the original, well almost. Jeff rips into a superb solo at the end – no surprise there then.

Hoochie Coochie Man is excellent but slightly overdone. It’s been done so many times but there is no need to mess about with it. There’s a harp solo and Waters would have liked that. Guest guitarist Randy Bachman launches off into one this time as does Healey. I can just visualise him bouncing about on stage with the guitar at its usual angle. White Room – another version of the classic Cream song. This is full of energy and is as good a cover of any song that I’ve ever heard. Pounding drums and a sensational solo sum this up. This is one of my favourite Cream songs and Healey has not disgraced it. He keeps up The Beatles and Clapton theme with While My Guitar Gently Weeps. It’s an audience favourite with a big participation from them. I think that this is the first song that I saw Healey play. Whipping Post is a pulsating blues rock with jazz and prog inflections. Teach Your Children Well is a strange one to include, considering Healey’s blues/rock credentials. There are deep tones to his voice an he comes across surprisingly well. The band adds excellent backing vocals to give an all round country feel. Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me is a pretty daft one to include in an album that was released in the Summer. Seriously, it must have been from the November 2007concert in Toronto that this one came from. The band was having a good laugh anyway and as the man says “That’s what it’s all about”. A fitting epitaph. The bonus DVD has versions of Shake Rattle and Roll and Like A Hurricane. Worth having for those two alone.

http://www.rufrecords.de/

David Blue.

2009-09-11T15:53:00.000-07:00

Jack Bruce & Robin Trower, Gary Husband On Drums – Seven Moons Live (Ruf)

Two legends get together for the first time, performing live. Jack Bruce and Robin Trower have a number of years on the clock, playing in some of the most famous bands ever but this is the first time that they have played live, together. This album was recorded in Nijmegen, Holland on the third date of a short tour and must have been a sight to have been seen. Seven Moons opens with very grateful thanks from the band. Jack Bruce just loves his power trios and this one is up there with the best. Bruce’s voice hasn’t suffered too much over the years and Trower is playing just as good as ever. Lives Of Clay is blues influenced with a big solo just like days gone by – stunning stuff. Distant Places Of The Heart is morbid, morose and any other m’s you can think of. Everyone plays Sunshine Of Your Love so why not Robin Trower? It’s only Bruce singing so it’s different vocally on the chorus. The solo is where Trower puts his stamp on it but he doesn’t muck about too much with this classic. Bruce’s bass is top notch. There is some awesome note bending from Trower on Carmen with So Far To Yesterday, another stunning track which confirms the trio’s power.

Just Another Day is slow and bluesy with Bruce’s world weary vocal a highlight. Perfect Place is a funky blues with Trower on form. This is one of the top tracks on offer. The blues theme continues with Bad Case Of Celebrity and Trower shines again. Jack Bruce is just Jack Bruce; I can’t give him any higher accolade than that. The Last Door has a faster pace but there is no loss of quality. Come To Me has signs of deterioration in Bruce’s voice but musically they are still on top form. Trower lets it go on the solo and the rhythm section keeps things going very well. White Room is the first of two classic Cream songs to finish the set. This is subtly different from the original and although Trower’s solo is great, Clapton’s is still better. It’s good to hear the old song again though. Politician has that classic bass line and guitar riff. There’s another big solo from Trower as they go out with a bang.

http://www.rufrecords.de/

David Blue.

2009-09-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

She Keeps Bees – Nests (Names Records).

She Keeps Bees were only formed in 2006 but they have been making great strides ever since. The Brooklyn duo’s style of music has been described as primal thumping and hollering, bluesy riffs & gritty and downright sexy so you are assured of almost anything. The opener, Ribbon, is pared back blues inflected genius with a no nonsense vocal and percussion. This is followed by the acoustic, throbbing yet understated Wear Red. They don’t do long songs and this is at the very short end of their range. Release is electric this time but still in that understated vein and they stay electric on Gimmie though they are not out of second gear yet. The latter builds well and is simple in its execution with a tumultuous finish in a crash of cymbals. The very earthy Get Gone continues the raft of short songs. My Last Nerve reminds me of a favourite t-shirt. That’s in ‘I’ve got one nerve left and you’re getting on it’. However, She Keeps Bees are unlikely to get on your nerves. On the contrary, you are likely to want to hear more. Bones Are Tired is world weary with vocal only but at just over one minute, they are taking short songs a bit far. Focus is powerful yet pedestrian and You Can Tell is more of the same. They are a good band but they would be better if they could just change gear once in a while. Strike sounds a bit like Siouxsie at times while Cold Eye finishes the album off in the way that most of it has gone. Believe it or not, the two longest tracks are at the end and they are still under 3 minutes. She Keeps Bees don’t hang about much on their songs – I just hope that they manage hang around a bit longer.

http://www.namesrecords.com/
http://www.shekeepsbees.com/

David Blue.

2009-08-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

James Yorkston & The Big Eyes Family Players – Folk Songs (Domino).

James Yorkston takes a break from his usual band The Athletes and teams up with The Big Eyes Family Players to release an album of traditional folk songs, done the Yorkston way. The opener, Hills Of Greenmoor, is Lo-Fi folk and will bring a new wave of interest in the genre. As with a number of the songs on this album, Yorkston first heard it sung by Anne Briggs. Just As The Tide Was Flowing has melancholy and gentle tones. Very short, like most of the songs on the album, at just over 2 minutes. James Green of The Big Eyes Family Players says it leaves you with feelings of longing and sadness and resignation – not a barrel of laughs then. Martimas Time is another Anne Briggs one. It’s Old English and has been recorded often. Yorkston’s plaintive vocal is off set by gentle backing from the band. Mary Connaught & James O’Donnell has a bit of a faster pace with even a drumbeat! Irish tune but Yorkston has replaced the melody with one of his own. Thorneymoor Woods has an eerie opening and is a poacher’s song. Quintessential English folk with harmonium and too-ra-eh’s but don’t expect a lively tune though.

I Went To Visit The Roses is another Irish one. Interesting harmonium on this one – it was found on an Edinburgh street and has mouse proof pedals!! Pandeirade de Entrimo is a Galician instrumental which is led by the violin and recorded by Yorkston before on his The Lang Toun single. It’s a bit of a Tango in its execution and has a very Latin feel. Little Musgrave is from the 16th century, at least. It’s often been changed and Yorkston has changed it again – it’s such an organic song. Rufford Park Poachers is another that Yorkston has changed the melody on. He learned it during his many long train journeys but couldn’t replicate the guitar from the Nic Jones version that he was learning it from. Sovay is a famous old song and this is such a sorrowful version of it. A tale of a woman who dresses up as a highwayman and robs her own man, as if you didn’t know. Low Down In The Broom is a galloping finish and was rattled off in a day at the end of recording. I’m so glad that they had time and energy left to do this because it’s one of the album’s highlights.

http://www.jamesyorkston.co.uk/
http://www.dominorecordco.com/

David Blue.

2009-08-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

Watermelon Slim -- Escape From The Chicken Coop (NorthernBlues Music).

Blues giant Watermelon Slim goes to the country heartland of Nashville for his latest offering and the opener, On Caterpillar Whine, the Nashville influence hits you right between the eyes. It’s where blues meets country with classy slide guitar from Slim, a high tempo and it is a very good start. Skinny Women and Fat Cigars is good time, honky tonk music and although you may try not to like it, you will not succeed. You See Me Like I See You is old time country where the additional vocal from Jenny Littleton fits in perfectly. Stuart Duncan on fiddle and Paul Franklin’s twanging steel guitar lend an air of authenticity. Slim has always made reference to his trucking days and this album is no different with tracks such as Wreck On The Highway. This has the mandolins and harmonised chorus’s that you would expect of mountain music. Friends On The Porch has some thoughts from the Watermelon man. This short poem is spoken throughout and is surprisingly not too much out of place. Should Have Done More is a tale of human inadequacy as Slim brings country to Nottingham, England. The overall grungy feel of the music compliments the pointed lyric very well.

Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life is a superb title and what a life Slim must have had. This is good old style country played in a contemporary way and may even get some people searching back and checking out old Hank himself. America’s Wives is another that mixes old and new country and has the obligatory steel guitar from Paul Franklin to the fore. The Way I Am is a statement from Slim and it is Nashville through and through. He has such an easy way and that steel guitar reverberates again. It’s Never Too Hard To Be Humble treads a well worn country theme of trucks, not surprising seeing that Slim was a trucker in a previous life. Slide guitar on this is a standout and it sounds like it was recorded in one take. It’s said that country music covers four main themes; prison, farms, trucks & trains and Slim more than covers the trucks theme. That is confirmed on the final three tracks. 300 Miles is a true American tale, the Honky Tonk Truck Drivin’ Songs continues the theme and things are rounded off perfectly with 18:18 Wheeler, which has the listener feeling like they are in a moving truck. Stuart Duncan’s fiddle keeps the pace up and makes it a true driving song.

This is a superb collection of Nashville inspired songs and well worth a place in your collection even if you don’t like country music. However, if you are looking for Slim’s blues side then check out his sublime last album, No Paid Holidays, with standout tracks such as the rich sounding Blues For Howard, the shuffling You’re The One I Need and the heart aching And When I Die.

http://www.northernblues.com/
http://www.watermelonslim.com/

David Blue.

2009-08-05T07:14:00.000-07:00

Rock and Roll Tourist – Graham Forbes (Northumbria University Press).

Former Incredible String Band bassist Forbes has come up with a great idea. Go and watch gigs, write a book and get paid for it! Seems simple, doesn’t it? What I have missed out is the fact that Graham Forbes has a talent for explaining his surroundings in such a way that you can almost feel that you are there. His accounts of going to see such diverse bands as The Bootleg Beatles, Anthrax and Hayseed Dixie as well as music heavyweights Kiss, U2, Elvis Presley and BB King don’t glamorise life on the road but will still make you want to be a rock n roll star. Sometimes things don’t turn out such as the time that Graeme went to see Chuck Berry in Glasgow and the “cantankerous old sod” didn’t turn up. Eminem did the same in Hamburg. But these aren’t the tales of the road that you want to hear. You want to hear about what it’s like to travel with a band, don’t you? Take Anthrax, for instance. They’ll really be rock n roll, won’t they? Forbes’ main problem was how he was going to get from Galway (where he had just seen Amos Garrett) to Oxford, where Anthrax was playing. The resulting paragraphs sum up public travel in the UK and are hilarious. Anyway, back to Anthrax. After seeing them in Oxford, Graham travels across the Channel with them to Calais and then on to Brussels. Graham describes the toilet on the tour bus as smelling like a tent for geriatric elephants – I don’t think that any other descriptors are required. However, days of hard drinking and wrecking hotel rooms are all in the past and now Scott Ian and Charlie Benante are Anthrax’s answer to Aerosmith’s Toxic Twins – they are the Blackberry Brothers! Rock and Roll, eh?

If you only read one music book this year then make it Rock And Roll Tourist.

2009-05-09T10:46:00.001-07:00

The Why & Wherefores –Alright (Dusty Records).

This is Emily Druce & Steve Jones’ latest incarnation and they stray slightly from the blues path with roots and rockabilly coming into play. Joining Druce & Jones in The Why + Wherefores are Martin Wydell on tuba & sousaphone, Marc Layton-Bennett on drums & percussion and John Barker on lap steel. Alright takes them away from the blues and they go electric. This is a very Bohemian, jaunty opener. Black And White has gentle sounds with Neil Innes guesting ob bassand Rev Gal takes them back into the blues arena as Jones takes on the vocal. This is a beefed up electric blues with added percussion from Layton-Bennett -- high impact blues rock. The One I Left Behind has Druce back on vocals and Innes on bass for this uptempo swing blues and one of familiar territory. Rough Diamond is slowed down and folk influenced. Druce’s fiddle gives that boho feel to Wolf which has them swapping the vocals again.

Rollin’ And Tumblin’ is not a blues as you would expect from the title but a return to Bohemia. Illuminated is early Eddi Reader in delivery and pleasant enough without being outstanding. Way Out West has a punctuated bass and this lays the foundation for a laid back groove. I feel that the fiddle is a little unnecessary on this one though. I Thought I Loved Somebody Else is a heavier blues based thumper and far better than the pretty stuff in my opinion. Last Go Round is another slinky one and they finish with a brave cover (the only cover on the album) of Bob Marley’s Lively Up Yourself. This is slower than the original but it does maintain the slight reggae feel that has just been under the surface on some of the earlier tracks. However, it is not up to the standard of the original but the slide guitar is a bit of a novelty.

www.myspace.com/thewhywherefores

David Blue.

2009-05-05T11:36:00.001-07:00

Danny Bryant’s Red Eye Band –Watching You (Roots Collectibles).

Fans have been crying out for the re-release of Danny Bryant’s 2002 debut album and now the wait is over. On its original release the album was declared as marking the arrival of a new blues star and given his most recent success with 2008’s Black And White, it makes sense to go back and see how much he has progressed. The eponymous title track is a rousing start and the type of chugging blues rocker that he has gone on to perfect. Since You’re Gone highlights the early guitar skills and it is there for all to hear. This slow Chicago blues has added gritty vocals and it is no surprise to see him performing so well today when this is where he started! Living In The Lions Den is an acoustic based rocker with a strong vocal whereas Crying For My Baby shouts out Status Quo with a strong mid-paced boogie. Search For You is slow and atmospheric. It’s not his best vocal but confirms he was a raw talent. Nothing raw about his guitar work however.

Heartbreaker is another mid-paced rocker with the flaming guitar licks that he now performs with aplomb. Purple is a pleasant instrumental with superb guitar and a big solo spot for Bryant. Follow On has that gritty vocal again and it is very well suited to this big rock ballad. Dancing Girl starts out as an acoustic led slide blues and then boom, in comes the electric guitar and the rest of the band as they turn it into a good, thumping rocker. Falling Tears sounds as if it has a piano into before it leads into a surging power ballad. It’s pretty standard stuff but another bulging solo from Bryant confirms his early class.

This is a good point of reference for those who bought Black And White and want to dig out Danny Bryant’s roots.

http://www.continental.nl/

David Blue.

2009-04-06T09:13:00.001-07:00

Tiny Tin Lady – Ridiculous Bohemia (Tiny Tin Label).

Ridiculous Bohemia is Tiny Tin Lady’s second album and follows on from their critically acclaimed debut in 2006. For the new album, the all-girl group from Merseyside has added Kat Gilmore on violin to the established line up of sisters Beth & Danni Gibbins on guitar and vocal and Helen Holmes on bass. They have honed their skills supporting acts such as Fairport Convention, Midge Ure & Jah Wobble and have performed at more than 30 festivals. The first of twelve original songs is Fall Into Line, which has a crystal clear vocal, a quirky beat and lovely harmony. Anti-Social Sciences has a Corrs feel, perhaps this is down to the three part female harmony – good song. Green And Brown And Grey is not the most endearing of titles but the Corrs theme continues and the fiddler just makes them sound like them all the more. In My Room is another sedate, folksy offering and these soft sounds are just perfect for drifting away on. They are quickly adding themselves into my chill out playlist. Dubble Bummage is more up-tempo but that title needs further explanation. Pretty Eyes is classy and those harmonies are just perfect.

I’ll stay away from the obvious comments about Seven Weeks Of Strip Poker. It has a Russian vibe and a high pace, something they don’t do often enough. It shows that there is more than one level to Tiny Tin Lady. Growing Pains is graceful and has that slight Celtic influence that has been just under the surface since the start – very good. The Road To Ridiculous Bohemia is a bit tame, unfortunately. The introduction of violin does give them that Bohemian feel nonetheless. The eponymous title track is higher paced but they are losing it a bit and struggling to keep up the standards of the earlier part of the album. Love Is A Duel is a calm, pretty song but why have a minutes silence at the end? Perhaps it was for the loser! The final track, My Heineken Keg, is good fun and an exercise in finding words to rhyme with keg.

http://www.tinytinlady.com/

2009-03-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

Dave Arcari – Got Me Electric (Buzz Records).

Got Me Electric is Dave Arcari’s fifth album and features nine originals along with four covers. He has sprung a couple of surprises and plays acoustic and Telecaster guitars as well as his beloved National. The eponymous title track heralds the return of the wild man but there is only so much that you can do as a solo artist. However, he may garner more recognition on the back of what Seasick Steve has managed to achieve. Whatever happens, you know what you are going to get from Mr Arcari. Nobody’s Fool is engaging and You Oughta Know is a great re-working of an old song. I may have been premature in stating that the wild man is back as it seems that he may have mellowed a tad on No Easy Way and he has rounded things out a little more. Close To The Edge is out of Radiotones back catalogue and Arcari often successfully raids his old songs from time to time for a bit of re-jigging. Another success, although there will be those that say he leaves himself open to accusations of a lack of new material. The one thing that is constant is that he always keeps his Scots accent. One More Heartbreak dispels all thoughts of mellowing as he really goes for the throat. This is classic Arcari and a great version of the Frankie Miller song.

Blind Willie Johnson’s Soul Of A Man is a country influenced blues and Arcari keeps it simple. It is Robert Burns’ 250th anniversary this year and Arcari has chosen to include Parcel Of Rogues. There will be purists jumping from roofs but I’m sure that the bard would have loved to hear his words interpreted in this way and given the full Arcari treatment. Hear Me Coming is back to the blues but I feel that this would benefit from a full backing band. Homesick And Blue is electric and a little on the rockabilly side whereas Journeytime Is Over is archetypal Arcari if there is one, although not in the blues shouting area. There is a certain formula to our Mr Arcari and the man is not for turning. Robert Johnson’s Walkin’ Blues is electric and grungy, revamped and how!! Just wait for it and all of a sudden you’ll be in the middle of a riot. This is him at his snarling best. He closes with Bound To Ride, another revamped Radiotones song but this time he has managed to create a wall of sound just from one man and his guitar.

This is a remarkable album in more than one way!

http://www.davearcari.com/
http://www.thebuzzgroup.co.uk/

David Blue.

2009-02-22T12:53:00.001-08:00

Paul Rishell & Annie Raines – A Night In Woodstock (Mojo Rodeo Records).

Paul Rishell and Annie Raines first met in 1992 when Raines sat in with Rishell on a gig in a Boston bar. Those who were there must have suspected that they were witnessing the beginning of a long standing partnership. A Night In Woodstock is their first live recording and also the first release on their fledgling Mojo Rodeo label. The pair has racked up hundreds of gigs and it is evident throughout this recording of how comfortable they are with each other. The opener, Blind Boy Fuller’s Custard Pie, is acoustic country blues which has a Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee style guitar and harp feel to it. A Night In Woodstock is a live album in every way and this is the best medium for the wailing vocal on Canned Heat Blues. This Tommy Johnson classic is superbly executed. Johnny Winter’s Dallas has slide guitar and is a classic blues of huge proportions. The first original song is Got To Fly, which has guitar and harp in the Terry/McGhee style again but it’s Raines who takes the vocal this time though. There’s not enough emotion in it for me but it is admirable taking on both harp and vocal. It’ll Be Me/I’ll Be Looking For You is sedate but has precision guitar from Rishell and moaning harp to make up for it. Louis Armstrong’s Old Man Mose is far more upbeat. It’s not a blues however but should be filed more under jazz/Americana.

Blues On A Holiday is laid back and nothing special but Can’t Use It No More has John Sebastian guesting. This gives us a more impassioned vocal and the added drums and piano are welcome. I’m A Lover Not A Fighter has country influenced guitar picking from Rishell and the impressive harp helps build it up to a good ‘un. Moving To The Country is an electric chugger. More of a country rocker this time and has the requisite vocal. Maybe just a little too much plodding for some people’s liking but the harp is as good as ever. Bad Credit is a vibrant, upbeat blues and Blue Shadows is mid-paced, rhythmic blues rocker with deliberate lead guitar. The show finishes with the classy Orange Dude Blues and this will leave you wanting more. Your wish shall be granted when the planned DVD comes out soon.

http://www.paulandannie.com/

David Blue.

2009-02-04T13:05:00.001-08:00

Memo Gonzalez & The Bluescasters – Dynomite (Crosscut Records).

Texas born frontman Gonzalez and his multi-national Bluescasters have been performing their brand of blues, swing, rock, soul and funk to audiences throughout Europe and the USA for a few years now and they have transferred that craft onto their latest album for Crosscut. Bad Luck is a slightly low key opening, not normal Bluescasters fare but well played nonetheless. However, Dynomite Nitro has the big R&B sounds that the band have become renowned for and One Day, One Kiss, One Night is a pounding Dave Edmunds style rock n roll. Please Come Home is a slow, swinging blues with strong guitar work from Kai Strauss and highlights Gonzalez’s presence. Strange Kind Of Feeling is bouncy R&B from a tight band held together by the rhythm section of Erkan Ozedemir on bass and Henk Punter’s drums. Slip Away has a big vocal performance and is a soulful R&B.

The Freddie King song Double Eyed Whammy stays in the R&B field that they are comfortable in and Strauss’jagged guitar is a near match for the great man’s. Mary Lynn is an electric blues with a country feel and What’s In A Name is eight and a half minutes of superb harmonica blues -- a highlight! Gonzalez’s voice is on the mark and the harp is of classic proportions with Strauss beefing things up on guitar. D Jump is a harmonica led jump blues and is good party stuff. Lonely Boy is a swinging, electric blues and Fat Boy is a big finish. This instrumental has both guitar and drums to the fore. The only question unanswered is that of whether it is an homage to the Fat Boy Stratocaster.

An excellent follow up to Live In The UK.

http://www.memogonzalez.com/
http://www.crosscut.de/

David Blue.

2009-02-01T13:06:00.001-08:00

Joanne Shaw Taylor – White Sugar (Ruf Records).

Joanne Shaw Taylor first burst onto the scene at the tender age of 16 when she was discovered by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame. The following summer she toured with Dave, Candy Dulpher and Jimmy Cliff and has been honing her blues themes ever since. Her debut album, White Sugar, has been produced by the legendary Jim Gaines and he has pushed her to the limit. She opens with Going Home, a beefy opener which suits her smokey voice. She is the complete package as she is a more than competent guitarist too. She has been described as the love child of Dusty Springfield and Stevie Ray Vaughan so just close your eyes and imagine what she sounds like. Just Another Word is a mid-paced funky rock and Bones is gritty blues rock with a scorching solo which slides along very well. Who Do You Want Me To Be? is high energy and Time Has Come is a slow, classic blues with a big solo.

The eponymous title track is a funky, biting blues but Kiss The Ground is an altogether more rock influenced sing although it is nothing out of the ordinary. Heavy Heart is soulful and a strange change of direction towards the end which is a little bit unnecessary. Watch ‘Em Burn is a pulsating rocker and shows how good a guitarist she is. She closes off with Blackest Day, a classic blues with one of her big, blossoming solos. As far as debut albums go I think that Joanne Shaw Taylor has shown that she had tremendous potential.

http://www.joanneshawtaylor.com/
http://www.rufrecords.de/

David Blue.

2009-01-27T12:39:00.001-08:00

The Mannish Boys -- Lowdown Feelin’ (Delta Groove Records).

Los Angeles based The Mannish Boys play the blues in West Coast, Texas and Chicago styles and have a number of luminaries in their occasional line up. Lowdown Feelin’ is their fourth album and leads on from their critically acclaimed Big Plans from 2007. The opener, These Kind Of Blues, has a Spanish/Mexican intro that leads into a BB King sort of feel. It’s a good, pulsating start, an upbeat walking blues with strong harp from Randy Chortkoff. Searchin’ Blues is well performed with classy slide guitar provided by Frank Goldwasser. Lowdown Feeling is a powerful Chicago blues with a big brass input – a big performance and Chocolate Drop is a smooth track with a gritty vocal from Bobby Jones. The quaintly named If The Washing Don’t Get You, The Rinsing Will is a swinging blues with Kirk Fletcher’s snappy guitar. Need My Baby is a slow, strolling blues with a deep vocal from Jones this time and a slight Kansas City influence. The Something is smouldering and The Woodchuck picks up the pace for a good time boogie. Fine Lookin’ Woman is a straightforward slide guitar and harp offering and You Don’t Love Me is a vital 60s R&B instrumental. Figure Head is a languid, fluid blues. Rude Groove is an invigorating yet slowish R&B but it is a little too long. When I Leave is soulful yet a little out of place – a bit of a filler methinks. Good Times is a slow blues with harmonica, guitar and organ prominent. Something’s Wrong is a strong, shuffling blues and Reet, Petite And Gone has a slinky guitar solo from Goldwasser and moves along at a decent pace. They close with Dead Letter Blues, a song from the Son House archives, I think, but although this is vocally strong and musically sound, it is not as powerful as the master. Their name is from the Muddy Waters song but believe me, these guys are all men.

http://www.deltagroovemusic.com/
http://www.themannishboys.com/

David Blue.

2009-01-14T00:52:00.000-08:00

Elvin Bishop – The Blues Rolls On (Delta Groove Music).

Elvin Bishop has used The Blues Rolls On to pay tribute to those who inspired him and gave him his start in the music business. Some of the blues royalty such as BB King, George Thorogood, James Cotton and Kim Wilson has stepped forward to help him too. The self-penned eponymous opening track is a pulsating start with Kim Wilson’s harp to the fore. Bishop is one of rock’s elder statesmen and he gets his slide out to good effect on this also. There is a good sentiment to this song and all of my heroes are mentioned. Night Time Is The Right Time is a classic song and has a classic vocal from rising star John Nemeth and Angela Strelhi. Bishop stays in the background but you know he is there. Yonder’s Wall has a minimal opening until Chris Sandoval on drums and Scott Sutherland’s bass arrive. It is a good, swinging blues with Ronnie Baker Brooks as guest vocalist. Bishop’s slide is also complimented by Brooks’ guitar. Builds well into a cornucopia of guitars. Struttin’ My Stuff is Southern funk and Bishop is in his element. He just has that certain style and class. BB King guests on Keep A Dollar In Your Pocket and he has a slight discussion that leads into and out of the song and adds that personal touch. BB’s trademark licks are there as you would expect. The Berry Gordy/Smokey Robinson composition, Who’s The Fool has John Nemeth back on vocals and fluid guitar from Bishop and Mike Schermer – a highlight.

Clifton Chenier’s Black God is slow, but authentic, Cajun while Oklahoma is a harder edged blues and is basically just Bishop and his guitar. Come On In My House (credited to Junior Wells) just feels as if it belongs here – a top electric version of this classic. I Found Out is a shuffling blues and sounds a bit like a Howlin Wolf song. Good harp from James Cotton. Send You Back to Georgia is energetic and Bishop’s guitar is unleashed along with those of George Thorogood and Jim Suler. The final track is Honest I Do, another well known one. This has piercing harp from John Nemeth and stinging slide from Bishop. The cymbals get a real bashing on this instrumental as the number of personnel highlights – Ed Earley & Larry Vann on percussion and Bobby Cochran on drums. It all makes for an excellent finish to a good album by a true slide guitar master.

http://www.elvinbishopmusic.com/
http://www.deltagroovemusic.com/

David Blue.

2008-11-28T01:45:00.001-08:00

The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band (feat Rick Vito) – Blue Again! (Hypertension).

The granddaddy of British percussion is back with a band that is only half filled with ex-Fleetwood Mac stars. Fleetwood is returning to his blues roots with this series of songs and he has never sounded better. Rick Vito’s Red Hot Gal opens this live album. It’s a standard electric blues played by top musicians and with slide guitar to the fore. Just try and stop yourself joining in. There was always going to be a big Fleetwood Mac influence on this album and Peter Green’s Looking For Somebody is given a wonderfully atmospheric treatment by Vito (another link to Fleetwood Mac, albeit a different incarnation). The energetic Fleetwood Boogie allows the pianist to let loose and another Peter Green song, Stop Messin Around has Vito carrying on his great guitar work. Rattlesnake Shake is much heavier than Green’s version and although I have never heard of Vito’s When I Do The Lucky Devil before, I have just stumbled across a wonderful boogie – absolute class! The inclusion of another Peter Green song, Love That Burns, continues that Fleetwood Mac link and shows that Green’s songs have become standards in their own rite. Rollin Man/Bayou Queen is a great shuffling blues with little discernable seams between the songs and has Vito pinpointing the notes as he does with such aplomb. There is not a lot to be said about Black Magic Woman. The two iconic versions by Santana and Fleetwood Mac have stood as classics for years and Vito gives a more than acceptable guitar performance. I Got A Hole In My Shoe has a bayou feel and the closing track, another played by Peter Green but written by Elmore James, Shake Your Moneymaker, epitomises the drumming sound of Mick Fleetwood. It has been kept true to the original and remains a good time boogie.

There is also a four track bonus CD which includes Albatross, a difficult song to better although Vito does make a very good effort to do so. Also included are the Shadows sounding Napuli Nocturne, The Supernatural (on which Vito may even surpass Green) and La Mer D’Amour which is pleasant guitar based Hawaiian style.

There was never any way that this album was not going to link up with the early incarnations of Fleetwood Mac and I’m happy that it does. In fact, Fleetwood dedicates the album to the other original members, Peter Green, John McVie and Jeremy Spencer. British music should never be without the drums of Mick Fleetwood and the songs of Peter Green.

http://www.hypertension-music.de/
http://www.mickfleetwood.com/

David Blue.

2008-11-20T12:05:00.000-08:00

Various Artists – The Fine Art Of Music (CoraZong).

This is a 2 CD showcase of CoraZong’s current catalogue and has artists such as Peter Cooper, Krista Detor, Kim Carnes, Alastair Moock and Last Train Home displaying their wares.

CoraZong is well-known for their commitment to artists that are just on the edge of genres such as Americana, Folk, Blues and Country.

JP Den Tex gives us the sedate MOR The Lights Of Phoenix and ups the stakes with a tortured vocal on the piano ballad, Looking For Rosie. Alastair Moock has his usual quirky vocal on the standout live version of My Creole Belle. He exudes an old style class with excellent playing all around. He also contributes God Saw Fit To Make Tears, which is a gentle Americana with weary vocal.

The Mercy Brothers’ I Believe I’ll Make A Change tips its hat to Woody Guthrie whereas Waiting For A Better Day shows their country blues side. Peter Cooper shows he is a star on Wine and he has that great American voice so suited for the gentle country of Gospel Song.

Jeff Talmadge is on the gentle country trail with Wrong Train. He also gives us a live version of Wild And Precious Thing which shows him to be a most accomplished singer songwriter. Krista Detor’s dark Go Ahead & Wait has silver linings if you wait and More Than I Dare Say has more of her silky voice.

John Coinman throws in some Tex-Mex on Down In Nogales and a very good example it is too. However, he also gives us the strange You And Me, Oui which doesn’t really work. Inneke 23 & The Lipstick Painters gives us the topical Christmas Song. Also here is Elephant Crossing, a quirky song with bouncy fiddle and banjo.

Kim Carnes has the gentle brilliance of Goodnight Angel on which she has a great vocal partnership with her backing singer. She still has that husky voice from Bette Davis Eyes and she unleashes it on Still Warmed By The Thrill (live). However, this is so different from what she is known for as it is slow and acoustic. The excellent Last Train Home contributes Flood which is strong, moody country tinged rock. They also supply (Say) Won’t You Be Mine which has tremendous guitar and pedal steel with an old style country/bluegrass feel.

Patricia Vonne is raucous and rebellious on Rebel Bride (live in New York City). She also gives us some classic Americana on Joe’s Gone Ridin’ and this shows her strong voice and a top backing band. Jean Paul Rena & Terrawheel provide some heavy guitar R&R. It’s raw and just about ok but they show their blues and roots side on the acoustic demo of Blue Son.

As a sampler for CoraZong’s eclectic style of music, this could not be any better. I defy you not to find something that you like.

http://www.corazong.com/

David Blue.

2008-11-14T11:59:00.000-08:00

Ruthie Foster – The Phenomenal (Proper Records).

When you name an album ’The Phenomenal’ then you’d better be able to back it up. Texan Ruthie Foster immediately dispels any doubts as she lays down her credentials on Cuz I’m Here, a sultry, soulful R&B. Heal Yourself has good vibes and more upbeat than the opener. She has a classic R&B voice (that’s original R&B). Fruits Of My Labor is a Lucinda Williams song and an emotion laden ballad as you would expect. You can just drift away on the back of this. Son House’s People Grinnin’ In Your Face is sung a capella and the power of Gospel is stamped all over it. Up Above My Head (I Hear Music In The Air) is the third cover in a row. This time it is Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Foster gives the song a smouldering contemporary feel.

She was one of the stars of the 2007 Cambridge Folk Festival and on this evidence it’s not hard to understand why. Harder Than The Fall is an uplifting spiritual and highlights Foster’s songwriting talent. I don’t think that the swamp noises on Beaver Creek Blues are totally necessary as this folk blues is strong enough to stand on its own. Special mention here to the drummer. Mama Said is an acoustic folk blues and Eric Bibb comes to mind as it has that gentle spiritual feel to it. Phenomenal Woman is sweet, powerful soul and Foster has maintained that voice throughout. Eric Bibb’s A Friend Like You is so smooth and she continues the gentle sounds through to the end on I Don’t Know What To Do With My Heart.

Ruthie Foster has a voice that will take your heart and caress it and this album will be a worthy addition to any collection.

http://www.proper-records.co.uk/
http://www.ruthiefoster.com/

David Blue.

2008-11-13T12:43:00.000-08:00

Marc Ford & The Neptune Blues Club – Marc Ford & The Neptune Blues Club (Provogue).

This is Former Black Crowes guitarist Ford’s second album for Provogue and he has continued his growth as a songwriter and solo artist. On his last album, Weary And Wired, he was compared to guitar greats such as Clapton, Hendrix and Beck so no pressure there then! This new offering opens with Main Drain, which is an excellent way to start as it grabs the listener from the first note. Locked Down Tight is blues based R&B and shows how good a band that Ford has pieced together. This is not the best vocally but it will get you going. Freedom Fighter is a tough, blues based, slow rocker and Ford’s guitar work is just classic rock – a big stage solo. It’s very atmospheric with harp from Bill Barett and organ from Mike Malone playing their parts and Ford back on form vocally. The classy Go Too Soon is old time rock n roll and Don’t Get Me Killed is slowed down with a fuzzed vocal added. The latter is an earthy blues with stinging guitar and haunting harp, this time from Malone. Last Time Around Again is good old Southern rock, played well and Ford is on familiar ground here.

Spaceman is grinding, airy and grungy. It verges on prog rock and over 8 minutes of it too! Pay For My Mistakes has bluesy slide guitar and a great vocal as he ups the standard. Good harmonica from Barett. Shame On Me has a laconic vocal over a running boogie – good stuff, and Mother’s Day stays with the blues theme. This is very, very good and allows Ford to show all of his skills. Smilin’ is funky but weak in parts and at over 8 minutes it is a bit of a struggle. They close with Keep Holdin’ On, a slow, world weary Southern rock and this is what Ford is best at.

http://www.provoguerecords.com/

2008-11-11T12:30:00.001-08:00

Chris Duarte Group – Vantage Point (Provogue).

Chris Duarte appeared on the scene in the early 90s and wowed industry insiders at the South X Southwest convention. Since then he, and his band, has built a reputation as one of the best blues rock guitarists around. From his debut album for Silvertone Records to last years commercially and critically acclaimed Blue Velocity, he has consistently raised his standard, album by album. The latest in that line is Vantage point, which opens with the high impact The Best I Can Do and this boogie follows on perfectly from Blue Velocity. Satisfy is another no nonsense blues/boogie with a very deliberate beat. It has a good time feel much in the Dave Edmunds style. The instrumental, Slapstak, has funky guitar and bass peppered by the drums of Jeff Reilly who has replaced Damien Lewis since the last album. The removal of vocal duties allows Duarte to really display his true guitar virtuosity. More Boogie is a title that should be easy to follow and the song itself has no airs and graces. Duarte impresses with his fleet fingered guitar. Troubles On Me is a slow Chicago blues with an explosive solo and is perfect for the power trio format.

They crank up the speed for Let’s Have A Party, another impact boogie but the one disappointment of the album is The End Of Me And You. It’s funky but it just doesn’t really hit the mark although you cannot fault Duarte’s guitar playing. They are back on form with Blow Your Mind, which is a grinding rocker. She Don’t Live Here Anymore is heavy rock and has one of the better vocals too. Pounding drums from Reilly lead to an increase of speed after a couple of minutes and the band lets loose for a good old fashioned rocker. Babylon is a Guns N Roses/Black Crowes amalgam with a little Aerosmith thrown in for good measure. What that produces is an expansive track with top guitar work from Duarte. They close with an instrumental, Woodpecker, and that’s never a good idea in my book. However, this gives Duarte a showcase for his guitar and bassist Joseph Patrick Moore, Dustin Sargent’s replacement, is given a chance to shine. His easy style comes through very well and Duarte’s guitar is as fast as Woody himself at times. There are extended versions of Blow Your Mind and Troubles On Me added as a bonus to finally close things off.

Duarte has continued his streak of ever improving albums.

http://www.thechrisduartegroup.com/
http://www.provoguerecords.com/

David Blue.

2008-11-04T12:40:00.000-08:00

Peter Cooper – Cautionary Tales (CoraZong)

Cautionary Tales is the debut album from East Nashville singer songwriter Peter Cooper. There is a bright opening in the form of the nu-country Boy Genius and All The Way To Heaven is world weary but will be a crowd pleaser with its singalong style chorus. There is some excellent pedal guitar from the legendary Lloyd Green as Cooper tips his hat to the old timers. The word legendary is over used these days but in Green’s case it is more than justified. Just listen to his contribution to The Byrds’ Sweetheart Of The Rodeo amongst many others (he has played on more than 100 number 1 country records). Cooper’s laconic style is coming through in spades on tracks such as Wine. It’s a simple execution of a topic well discussed and has a pleasant feel, just like the feeling after a bottle of wine by coincidence!! Couple Of Lies is gentle but again covers a harder topic whereas Take Care is a bit more upbeat, musically. This fractured country gets a bit grungy at times with harp from Todd Snider and electric guitar from Cooper.

Mission Door has the addition of none other than Nanci Griffith on vocal along with Snider and Fayssoux McLean with Jen Gunderman’s accordion in the background – a masterpiece. They Hate Me is a little bit of boogie and this is about as excitable as Cooper gets. He is a very good social commentator and manages to raise a few smiles during the album. 715 (For Hank Aaron) is pure Americana. It’s about baseball, how more American can you get? Lyle Lovett comes to mind throughout and on this track in particular.

Take Cooper’s advice and take caution on the topics of his songs but there is no need to be so wary of the man or his music.

http://www.corazong.com/
www.myspace.com/petercoopermusic

David Blue.

2008-10-30T13:28:00.001-07:00

Anthony Gomes – Music Is The Medicine (Ruf).

Young American guitar slinger Anthony Gomes serves up a dozen self-penned songs on an album co-produced by the legendary Jim Gaines. The eponymous title track is a funky opener with strong guitar. Gomes’ gruff voice is complimented by the female backing and it’s got it all – it’s the cure! Bluebird is a very strong song and Gomes shows that he is an all rounder on this soft rock offering. Now She’s Gone is more of the funk with vocal and over laden heavy guitar to the fore. War On War continues with heavy, searing guitars and I can tell you one thing – Gomes is certainly not quiet! The obligatory ballad arrives in the shape of Love Is The Answer and it is better than the average fare served up on the normal rock album. Gomes slashes his guitar through the middle.

The classy Everyday Superstar is another funk fest with the keyboards the funkiest. Testify is blues influenced and has a heavy rock feel that is blended with gospel – good Southern rock. This is a stormer as Gomes unleashes a flurry of notes. He takes a breather on Waiting For A Sign, an Elton John style ballad. However, this gives him the chance to show that he is as strong a singer as he is a guitarist. His songwriting skills are not too shabby either as his songs have a way of endearing themselves to you. There is a clever thought behind the lyrics of the blues based What If? whereas Run is a straightforward, heavy rock based grinder. When The Right Woman Does You Wrong is a blues title for sure and a blues is what you get. It is slow and moody and Gomes lifts you up and drops you like a stone in what is an excellent finish to a strong album.

http://www.anthonygomes.com/
http://www.rufrecords.de/

David Blue.

2008-10-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

Pat Travers Band @ The Ferry, Glasgow 24/10/2008.

With a flourish, Pat Travers arrived on stage and announced “I’m Pat Travers, this is my band, and we’re here to kick your ass tonight”. After this, they launched into a superb version of Life In London and had the audience in raptures thereafter. Pat was in Glasgow to showcase his latest album, Stick With What You Know. Live In Europe, and confirmed that he is still a live act of some standing. He also managed to throw in Ask Me Baby from his eagerly awaited next album but this won’t be released until next year. If this track is anything to go by then the new album will be extremely good. For those of a Pat Travers persuasion, the evening followed a familiar path with Crash And Burn, Heat In The Street, Snortin’ Whiskey and Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights gleaned from past albums. He also showed his blues side with excellent versions of Red House and If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day (a Robert Johnson song not tackled by many). The blues connection continued in the encore with a scorching Statesboro Blues. Despite being a fan of Pat Travers for some years, this is the first time that I have seen him play and I was not disappointed. He has lost none of the vitality in his playing and he currently has an excellent band of Sean ‘The Cannon’ Shannon (drums), Kirk McKim (guitar) and Rodney O’Quinn (bass). These three give Pat the base on which to build and they form such a tight unit.

If you haven’t seen the Pat Travers Band yet then don’t leave it as long as I did!

David Blue.

An after show interview with Pat follows.

2008-10-22T14:32:00.001-07:00

Twilight Hotel – Highway Prayer (CoraZong Records).

Twilight Hotel is Canadian duo Brandy Zdan and Dave Quanbury who play a multitude of instruments between them and they also show their songwriting abilities on this album of 12 original songs plus one bonus. They open with Viva La Vinyl, which shows an early indication of the good vocal harmony that the pair produces. Their dual fragmented guitars set up the song very well and make it strangely likeable. No Place For A Woman is slow, rhythmic Americana and Impatient Love, with Colin Linden on guitar, is acoustic and remains very slow -- this nu-country song shows how well they work together. The eponymous title track is music direct from the American heartland and very strong. Slumber Queen has jangly guitars much in the style of Chris Isaak and it harks back to the 60s whereas Iowalta Morningside is pounding Americana with menacing overtones.

The Ballad Of Salvador And Isabelle has added accordion but the pleasant tune hides the sad tale of illegal Mexican immigrants. Pure Americana and Richard Bell provides telling organ backing. This album was the last recording that he ever made and capped a career of some 400 albums. Shadow Of A Man is a strange one with its Latin execution but a few listens will confirm that it is a grower. The Critic is a bit ragtime and a bit jazz. It works ok but it is just missing something. If It Won’t Kill You is barrelhouse style Americana. There is a St Louis feel to Sometimes I Get A Little Lucky, which is slow and heartfelt and is one of a few songs on the album that could become future standards. Sand In Your Eyes is slow again and Brandy Zdan takes on most of the lead vocal. This is lyrically excellent and is very much in the vein of Krista Detor. Fire is played on slide guitar and piano. It is hard to categorise and a slightly strange finish. However, a quick read of the album sleeve tells you that Colin Linden and Richard Bell played this together and is just two friends playing together and catching a groove. One thing that can be said is that Twilight Hotel is not orthodox in any way. It’s an instrumental finish and not one that I would have chosen but they do keep you guessing right to the end.

http://www.twilighthotel.ca/
http://www.corazong.com/

David Blue.

2008-10-17T09:38:00.001-07:00

Paul Orta & Tonky De La Pena – Pawn Shop Blues (Great Recordings).

Paul Orta (Port Arthur, Texas, USA) and Tonky De La Pena (Madrid, Spain) arrived at the studio with a Hohner harmonica and a Martin D28 guitar in hand, sat down and recorded Pawn Shop Blues. There were no amplifiers used and it harks back to the old Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee format. The eponymous opener is a slow Delta blues and is a great start to the album. Muddy Waters’ Catfish Blues features slide guitar and Tonky takes over on the vocal. Talk To Your Daughter is a full harmonica blues with Orta back on vocal. However, I don’t think that the dog noises are necessary on this JB Lenoir song. Ponme Otro Whiskey is sung in Spanish but I’d have preferred the Scottish spelling of Whisky. Otherwise, it’s a standard guitar and harp blues. Boogie The Woogie is a lung bursting stunner and the classic Jimmy Reed song Bright Light, Big City has piercing harmonica from Orta.

Voodoo Mama is in Spanish again and is strange yet compelling. Willie Dixon’s Bring It On Home has more echoes of McGhee & Terry and Feel So Bad is a classic guitar and harp blues, written by Lightning Hopkins. Oh Susanne is more of the same, only slower and the last of the Spanish songs, Vaga Bundo, is upbeat. It is appropriate that the final track is Tribute To Sonny Terry and it does exactly what it says on the tin. It is an excellent tribute and a wonderful end to a thoroughly entertaining album.

http://www.great-recordings.com/
http://home.hetnet.nl/~porta/index.html

2008-10-14T12:53:00.000-07:00

Richard Earl – One More Song (Great Blues Recordings).

Richard Earl has shared a stage with great artists such as Little Milton, ZZ Hill and Johnnie Taylor and has forged a successful career with his band, The R&B House Rocka’s. One More Song opens with Henpecked, which has a world weary vocal as you would expect. Come on boys, we’ve all been there. Prominent guitar from Jack Edery and organ from Chris Thibodeaux make for a solid start. Comin’ Back Baby is pure soul and Earl has the classic type of voice for this slow love song. I’ll Be Right Here remains in the soul genre but is more upbeat than its predecessor. My only complaint is that it isn’t imposing enough. Back to slow soul for Baby It’s You and as heartfelt love songs go, it’s ok. Bad News means the blues and Thibodeaux gives it some in the middle. The band plays everything with soul but Earl’s vocal does desert him a bit on this. Blues Over You is a more straightforward blues yet is one of the best tracks and shows that great results can be had when you play it simple. He stays with the blues for His Old Lady And My Old Lady and this tale of bigamy is a slow burner. There is not a lot of pace about this band and Too Many Lovers confirms this. Having said that, the song will have a hypnotic effect on you. One More Song is pretty standard stuff but the excellent closing track, Riding All Night, is the sort of down & dirty blues that I wish he had provided more of.

http://www.great-recordings.com/

David Blue.

2008-10-11T05:12:00.000-07:00

Walter Trout – The Ferry, Glasgow 03/10/2008.

From the opening bars of Buddy Holly’s Not Fade Away, Walter Trout showed why he is considered to be in the world’s top 10 guitarists. He is no stranger to the stage at The Ferry, this being his 10th visit in as many years and he is totally comfortable with the Glasgow crowd. With a set peppered with outstanding tracks from his latest album, The Outsider, Trout and his band, Sammy Avila on keyboards, Rick Knapp on bass and the newest member, Michael Leasure on drums, ripped up the evening. Walter’s voice continues to grow as does his songwriting, as he gets older and his guitar playing is probably the best that it has ever been. This was exemplified by his impromptu recital of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, which was note perfect.The introduction of Andrew Elt on a couple of tracks gave an added dimension to the vocal performance and when Sammy Avila took over lead duties he proved he is no mean singer himself. I’d like to think that there is a passion for the blues in Scotland and Walter Trout certainly brought that out of the crowd at The Ferry. He certainly got the crowd on his side with a quick version of Scotland The Brave. However, in an evening of standout songs, Child Of Another Time and The Next Big Thing were the true highlights.

Post-show interview with Walter Trout @ The Ferry, Glasgow 03/10/2008.

DB – What brings you back to Glasgow again and again?
WT – A van! (much laughter amongst those in attendance)
DB – Very funny, but is it something about Glasgow or The Ferry, in particular?
WT – You know something, it’s just a great audience. You know, you could feel it tonight. You could feel the energy and the enthusiasm of the people. The first time that I played this city was 17 years ago at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut and the people went completely nuts and I thought, this is a great city. Every gig is like that.
DB – Glaswegians are a very hard audience to please but you seem to manage to win them over with no problem.
WT – You know, I’ve never had a problem pleasing them from that first gig in King Tut’s, man.
DB – If Glaswegians don’t like you, they’ll tell you!
WT – That night they went nuts and the manager of the place came out to tell us to stop playing because he thought that they were going to tear the club down. We did about four encores that night.
DB – If they had torn the club down then Oasis would never have been discovered.
WT – Yeah, ‘cause that’s where they got discovered, right?
DB – So the new album. It’s been out for a couple of months?
WT – Yeah.
DB – The title, do you feel like an outsider?
WT – No, I didn’t write that about me. I wrote it about a relative of mine who shall remain nameless, but who I saw at a party at my house for family and friends. I saw him standing across the room and everyone else was having a good time and relating. He was standing by himself and I could see sadness in his eyes. I could see that he felt uncomfortable in social situations and he is still having trouble making friends, a lot of trouble, and this was for him.
DB – Are you pleased with the reaction to the album?
WT – It’s been great.
DB – It’s been high in the blues charts in Europe.
WT – Yeah, and in the States it debuted at number 3 and stayed in the Top 10 for, I think, about 8 or 9 weeks.
DB – Very impressive. You once said and I’m going to quote here, “the blues should not be in a museum”. Do you think that the genre has expanded, say in the last 10 years or so?
WT – It depends on who you listen to. If you listen to people who are on a mission to keep it in a museum, they’re certainly not expanding it and I don’t have a problem with them. What they do is valid; it’s just not what I’m interested in doing. I want to push the envelope a little. I want to feel free of any musical constraints like it has to fit like this or it has to sound like this and that’s why that one verse on Child Of Another Day is about blues purists – “Here comes the guy I’ve met a million times before. He tells me to slow it down, he says remember less is more. He doesn’t understand it, it don’t sound just like it should. It don’t fit his preconceptions so it can’t be any good. But I just ignore him, I don’t care what he said”.
DB – Truer words never spoken. So what do you think of the young pretenders just now, like your stable mate, Joe Bonamassa?
WT – I think he’s great man. I think he’s carrying the torch for this stuff. I think it’s important that there’s young people carrying it on and he’s definitely somebody who is concerned with taking this to a new place, modernising it a little bit, not being stuck in the past, you know. So, I respect him for that, a lot.
DB – I’ve seen Joe twice now and both times he blew me away completely. He is definitely pushing the envelope. He is the young master but he is following after you. I think that you have influenced Joe Bonamassa in a big way.
WT – I think I probably have too and I think that’s kind of evident, you know, and I’m very, very happy if that is true because I feel like I couldn’t have had a better person as a protégé. He’s definitely going his own way with it too. He’s been influenced by a lot of people, I may be one of them, but he is definitely on his own path and God bless him and more power to him. He’s carrying the torch.
DB – Your instrument is the Strat, as is mine although I play very badly. Would you consider using another type of guitar? Could you get that sound from another guitar?
WT – Well you won’t get that sound but on my new album, on a song called You Can’t Have It All, I played a 1962 Gibson 345 through an old Fender Bassman amp and got an old Freddie King kinda sound out of it. But playing live I just like, I just know the Strat. I know how to control it and I’m completely at home with it.
DB – So, how is the touring schedule? Is it hectic just now?
WT – It’s as my old album says, it’s relentless.
DB – And more power to you for that. When do you get a break?
WT – I’m going home in two and a half weeks to vote and I’m home for nine days. Then I come back over and I tour through mid-December and then I’m basically home through March.
DB – So you’ll be back to Glasgow sometime?
WT – Probably the same time next year. It’s kind of a tradition now.
DB – Very much so, the last ten years or so.
WT – Yeah, and always seeming in October.
DB – Taking you back to your Bluesbreakers days. Do you still see any of the guys?
WT – I see them all the time. I get up and play with John Mayall when we play at festivals and I’ve gotten up with Coco and his band and he’s got up and played with my band. We send each other emails all the time. Coco sends me like lots of crazy videos and stuff of people.
DB – The camaraderie is obviously still there so it must have been some band to play in.
WT – It was a hell of a band and I may be biased but I still think in the last thirty years, I think that was Mayall’s best band. When he had me and Coco as duelling guitarists we used to push each other every night.
DB – Yes. I’m a big Clapton fan but it is always better with two guitarists.
WT – Well, yes I think it was for John because he would encourage competition between us and he would get fiery shows every night. It was a duel.
DB – Many people think that Thin Lizzy brought out the dual guitarists but you did it many years before.
WT – Yeah.
DB – Obviously, Sammy is playing tonight and I was speaking to him earlier and he said that he played on the album but John Cleary also played on parts too.
WT – Jon Cleary?
DB – Yeah, I recently reviewed his latest album, Mo Hippa.
WT – Yeah, Jon Cleary’s album was also produced by John Porter, I believe, because actually while we were in the studio John Porter was playing me some cuts and he said “listen to this, I just mixed this for Cleary”. He is an incredible player.
DB – Fantastic.
WT – And I’m glad you call him Cleary. A lot of reviewers and people who have been writing about the album they call him Clearly and I’m like, C’mon.
DB – No, I can read.
WT – (laughter). Yeah, that’s what I mean.
DB – I’ll let you get your food, one last question Walter. You’ve shared a stage with many, many people. Is there anyone that you have not shared a stage with that you would wish to do so?
WT – Yeah, before I die if I could get up and play a song with the Rolling Stones I could die happy. That’d be it.
DB – I’ll arrange it with Mick. I’ll get it sorted out.
WT – Please do. There you go.
DB – Walter Trout, thank you very much.
WT – Thanks Dave.

http://www.waltertrout.com/

David Blue.

2008-09-27T11:54:00.001-07:00

Boo Boo Davis – Name Of The Gane (Black & Tan).

Boo Boo Davis is a true Delta bluesman and one of the last of his generation. A poor childhood meant he couldn’t learn to read or write not that has not kept him down. His latest album for Dutch based Black & Tan opens with Dirty Dog which is, as you would expect from the title, a grungy blues. The pounding beat from drummer John Gerritse is a sign of things to come. I’m Coming Home is even more grungy than the opener. It’s done in a John Lee Hooker style with a fuzzed vocal and added harp from Davis. This highlights how powerful Boo Boo is as a singer. There is some good advice on Stay Away From The Casino and he starts to funk things up a little with some pace also injected. However, the repetition made me take a little time to warm to it. Want Nobody Tell Me How To Live My Life is a more straightforward harmonica and guitar blues and Boo Boo finds a groove on Tryin To Get Ahead. The Chicago blues of the eponymous title track has a prominent harmonica and a beefy vocal.

Who Stole The Booty is a contemporary blues with overcharged guitar and harp. Believe me, this riff will work its way right into your brain. Why You Wanna Do It is more of a soft rock song and although slightly out of kilter with the rest of the album, it does have a very good vocal. Lonely All By Myself is a slow Chicago blues and more than meets the standard with its deep pulsating bass line, even though he doesn’t use a bass player! It’s A Shame is an upbeat blues with harp to the fore. I just love the energy! Throbbing drums herald I’m So Tired and when the world weary guitar and spoken intro join in then we have a song on our hands. It’s conducted at walking pace throughout and Davis produces one of his best vocals. Hot Foot is a funky grinder and he closes with St Louis Woman, loosely played in the St Louis style. He seems to like the fuzz effect on his vocal and he could be accused of using it too much. Nevertheless, this is a great finish to a top class album.

http://www.black-and-tan.com/
http://www.booboodavis.com/

David Blue.

2008-09-27T11:01:00.001-07:00

Matt Andersen – Something In Between (Own Label).

This is Matt Andersen’s first full length album recorded in the UK and he has used Eric Clapton’s post-Cream band (Norman Barrett on guitar, Dave Markee on bass, Henry Spinetti on drums and Dan Cutrona on keyboards) to do so. The big Canadian is also a prolific tourer and has shared a stage with Little Feat and Randy Bachman to name but two. Come By is unashamedly country but with a little Gospel thrown in. The eponymous title track continues with the country theme, acoustically this time and with a characteristically strong vocal. Working Man Blues is back to electric and is a storming blues. There is nothing flamboyant here but it is full of innuendo such as “I’ll be your mechanic, I’ll make your motor run”. He’s swapping electric with acoustic with aplomb and So Gone Now is the real Matt Andersen. Solemn voice and a touching song shows that simple is often best. Stay With Me is not The Faces classic but a country rock effort that is not unpleasant. Better Man Blues is a smooth rolling blues that drips off the tongue and produces some of the strongest guitar work so far.

Lonesome Road sounds like it should be a country song and you won’t be disappointed. It is fast paced and extremely good. John Fogerty’s Wrote A Song For Everyone is folk rock that verges on country and manages to sound like The Band at their height. Broken Man is so heart aching and shows what a consummate songwriter Andersen is. It is just him and his guitar and this is him in his element. Tell Me is country boogie, good time music with a big guitar sound. How I Wish is very, very good country and Baby Come Back Home is a jazzy blues with smooth guitar lines. Bold And Beaten is from the album taster and has that smoky tone to his voice when he needs it. He adds strings to make a great gentle folk/country crossover and an excellent finish to an excellent album..

http://www.stubbyfingers.ca/
David Blue

2008-09-23T12:55:00.001-07:00

Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen – Mo Hippa Live (FHQ).

Erstwhile Bonnie Raitt pianist, Jon Cleary also has a burgeoning solo career ably backed by the wonderfully named Absolute Monster Gentlemen. Cleary is much respected in blues, soul and funk circles and this live album confirms that status. The smooth and funky Go To The Mardi Gras is an updated Professor Longhair song with a great bass line from Cornell Williams. Cleary has a silky voice that just oozes over you and the song is just simply New Orleans summed up in 6 and a half minutes. They step up the funk on People Say and provide ample vocal harmonies at the same time. Jon Cleary is, as we know, an excellent piano player and his tight band helps him to rip it up. Cleary introduces Eddie Christmas on drums and he is a newcomer with a big future as he shines on C’mon Second Line. This is funk and boogie-woogie of the highest order. I first heard Professor Longhair play Tipitina on the Live On The Queen Mary album and have been a fan of his ever since. Cleary’s treatment of the song is more funky but manages to stick to the ethos of the Prof. Cheatin On You is so easy on the ear, as are most of his songs.

Port Street Blues is a slow and slinky barroom blues and Help Me Somebody is very soulful and understated. There is not a whisper in the crowd as Derwin Perkins plays a lovely solo on guitar. He does build things up toward the end of the solo and gets his much deserved praise. Groove Me has us back in the New Orleans groove again. Cleary’s voice is like treacle and his fingers are as quick as Usain Bolt! When U Get Back features electric piano and is soul of the highest standard. This is music to get horizontal to and the jazzy interludes make it a true joy, overall. They finish with the title track and Cleary lets the band have a couple of minutes in the spotlight before he comes in with a grinding groove. Funk, soul, this has got the lot and his voice suits it to a tee. A star has certainly been found in the form of Eddie Christmas but Derwin ‘Big D’ Perkins on guitar and Cornell C. Williams on bass are big, big parts of this band too.

http://www.joncleary.com/
www.myspace.com/joncleary

2008-09-21T14:04:00.000-07:00

Rainer – The Westwood Sessions Volume 1 (OWOM Records).

10 years after his death, Rainer still has a great affect on those who listen to his music. This album, made from tapes recorded 20 years ago and recently discovered in Tucson, sounds as fresh as music being made today. It can be safely assumed that some of these songs were to be included in a follow up to the 1984 album, Barefoot Rock but they were presumably put away somewhere safe and forgotten about when he finally did release his next album in 1992. The opener, Voodoo Music, confirms that Rainer had his own style but this is just guitar and voice. He does produce a full sound, however, on this straightforward start. Mellow Down Easy has him moving onto electric and with a full band. This has a rockabilly feel to it and all of his eccentricity is here. Wayfaring Stranger is a blues rock with a wailing vocal. It builds well and he keeps his guitar understated as he was not one for big solos. Backwater Blues is so energetic and has great slide guitar whereas Mush Mind Blues is the complete opposite of the preceding track. This is a slow, throbbing blues with the only constant being the high standard of slide guitar. It begs the question -- was Rainer the inventor of Alt.blues?

All Done In sees a return to acoustic and a bit of Alt.country this time. He plays it pretty straight on this and produces a great song. He funks it up big style on Fear and it comes out as Talking Heads with slide guitar – very catchy. The very short Just A Little Bit is a shuffling blues version of the famous song covered by many. This is better than most of the versions that I have heard. There is no doubting his feelings on the very atmospheric Zealots Serve Dogmas (acoustic) although it is instrumental only. Every Body Wants To Go To Heaven is an amalgam of David Byrne, Mark Knopfler and Bob Dylan in the vocal delivery and is an excellent song, well executed. Zealots Serve Dogmas is electric this time and is with a full band. Bruce Halper’s drums add that extra dimension. He saves the best for last and I Am A Sinner is a spiritual, powerful blues that demonstrates a certain vulnerability before his guitar comes more and more to the fore.

I can’t wait for Volume 2!!

http://www.owomrecords.com/

David Blue.

2008-09-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

Joe Bonamassa – From Nowhere In Particular (Provogue).

Joe Bonamassa has been hailed as “the new king of the blues” and from what I have seen and heard over the past couple of years, I cannot disagree with that statement. Live albums are not always the best quality but this is a more than ample follow up to his highly acclaimed 2007 album, Sloe Gin. He plunders this and 2006’s You & Me for most of the songs here and it is produced again by the excellent Kevin Shirley. The first CD opens with the electric Bridge To Better Days from You & Me and you couldn’t have a much better introduction to Joe Bonamassa. It’s rocking stuff and he is already playing the crowd. Free’s Walk In My Shadows is a classy walking blues and he has the crowd hanging on his every note. He is so precise on the slow blues of So Many Roads but there is no loss of impact with his power guitar in the live arena. At over 10 minutes, India/Mountain Time is a master class. India is the shorter instrumental intro/outro although it interweaves throughout. This may well become one of Joe’s signature tunes in the vein that Freebird became for Lynyrd Skynyrd for example. John Mayall’s Another Kind Of Love is a funky blues based rocker with a stunning solo although the song is short by Joe’s standards. The title track from his last album, Sloe Gin, reduces the pace a little. I said in my review of that album that this would be a great live track and I was not wrong. This will become another of his signature songs as both power and gentleness shine through. One Of These Days is a throbbing finish to the first CD. There are power chords all over the place as he takes it down in the middle before building it up to a storming slide guitar finish.

The second CD starts with Chris Whitley’s Ball Peen Hammer from his Slow Gin album. It has an acoustic start but it shows the power of the man and is a real crowd pleaser. He follows this up with If Heartaches Were Nickels and stays in the acoustic field. It’s a blues rock and this is what he is best at. There are no big solos here and it is all about the song this time. Woke Up Dreaming is a staple of his live performance and just listen to how fast one man can play an acoustic guitar. Django/Just Got Paid is an epic amalgamation of Joe’s original from You and Me that turns into ZZ Top’s Just Got Paid, a song that he only plays live. He can turn his voice from a whisper to a shout at will. Charley Patton’s High Water Everywhere highlights his acoustic dexterity and superb technique. The song builds slowly as the band pounds away in good style. He gets a big cheer for Asking Around For You so you can tell that this is a fans favourite. This smooth blues shows that he is not all about power but he still finds the space for his incisive guitar and yet another great solo. The set finishes with a medley of Jethro Tull & Yes in the form of A New Day Yesterday/Starship Trooper/Wurm. Seamless transitions are the order of the day and I cannot praise this high enough. This is a guy on the top of his game.

If you haven’t seen Joe Bonamassa live then this will keep you going until you do.

http://www.jbonamassa.com/
http://www.provoguerecords.com/

David Blue.

2008-09-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

Monte Montgomery – Monte Montgomery (Provogue).

Already in the Top 50 All-Time Greatest Guitar Players, Alabama’s Monte Montgomery is a guitar player’s guitarist. This is his second album for Provogue and showcases 11 original Montgomery songs that reinforce his writing talent and brings it to the same level as his renowned guitar playing. River is, like all of Montgomery’s songs, acoustic based. His use of slide is handled well and the song flows like the mighty Amazon itself. He is a strong contender in the guitar stakes with his wicked flurries. The addition of strings on Let’s Go helps to build a wall of sound. Acoustic guitar is his weapon of choice and he pushes the instrument to its limits. It’s all too easy to forget that he is singing too and he has a great rock voice that shouldn’t be allowed to be overwhelmed by his guitar wizardry. There’s a bit of Sammy Hagar in him and none more so than on Everything About You with its harmonics r us chorus. Company You Keep is acoustic rock of the highest order and his style is just so fluid that it washes over you and you come out so refreshed. The ballads are pleasant enough and the first of these, Love’s Last Holiday, is a prime example.

He lays down some slinky moves on Moonlight Tango, which is as sharp as an Argentinean on speed. Can’t Fool Everyone has a distorted vocal and hi-octane guitar. This should be a great live track. Montgomery goes all smooth and sultry on Could’ve Loved You Forever and as with the previous track, the backing vocal fits perfectly. This has a big chorus and epic guitar. Be Still is a classy acoustic rock with an electrifying solo and How Far is another of the ballads that serves as a good counterpoint to the more hectic stuff. Is it me or does everyone do Little Wing these days? However, Montgomery’s instrumental version is unlikely to be bettered. Taking us from delay and reverb effects at the start to over 10 minutes of superb guitar playing he gives us a true epic in every way. As Crocodile Dundee would say “that’s not a guitar solo – this is a guitar solo”. He closes with Midlife Matinee and although he needed to slow down it is a bit of an anti climax. It’s gentle and there’s nothing really wrong with it but he has set such a high standard with some of the previous tracks.

http://www.provoguerecords.com/
http://www.montemontgomery.com/

David Blue.

2008-09-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

Eric Gales – The Story Of My Life (Provogue).

One of five brothers, Eric Gales is from a musical family and released his first album at the age of 16. Six albums later he gives us The Story Of My Life but it is strange that such a relatively young man has chosen to release this title – much the same as people writing autobiographies in their early years. He has many heavyweight fans such as Carlos Santana, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, BB King & Eric Clapton and those names alone should tell you of the talent that Eric Gales has. The follow up to the critically acclaimed The Psychedelic Underground opens with Save Yourself, which is a high impact opener and he has lost none of his power since his last album. His guitar pyrotechnics are just a joy to behold. I Ain’t No Shrink is a funky and slinky blues with the notes just dripping off his guitar. The eponymous title track is a churning blues, plain and simple. Layin’ Down The Blues is sophisticated and Gales has class stamped all over him. The Sound Of Electric Guitar is a festival in your ears so get your fuzz pedals and wah-wah’s out and join in. Gales mimics Jimi Hendrix at the start of Red, White & Blues. He then goes acoustic and turns the whole thing into an 8 and a half minute stadium rocker with a massive electric solo at the end. It has got it all!

Very Educated has staccato guitar over a heavy blues rock. It is a fervent attack with a flurry of notes. Cut And Run is a fast paced rocker with searing guitar that must have him in the forefront of the genre now. Borderline Personality is another strong rocker with obligatory raging solo and You Ain’t The Boss Of Me is a slow Chicago blues that confirms his ability to swap genres at will. These tracks contribute to a very strong finish. Bringin’ The Hammer Down is the last official track of the album. It is a pounding blues rock with guitar wizardry a plenty. There are two bonus tracks. The first is You Don’t Move Me with its funked up bass from Jeremy Colson and Steve Evans’ drums beating the rhythm. Gales tries to keep a lid on things but he just can’t help himself. The second bonus track is Gypsy, a mid-paced soft rocker with the trademark guitar flurries.

Eric Gales is knocking very hard on the door of the top guitarists club.

http://www.provoguerecords.com/

David Blue.

2008-09-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

Various Artists – Great Rockabilly Volume 2( Smith & Co).

Hard on the heels of Great Skiffle Volume 2, here is the Rockabilly version. Some people might find that the two genres often overlap and they would not be wrong. One came from the other and artists tended to change genres like their socks, although Rockabilly tended not to appeal so much to the mass market. There are, of course, elements of Rock N Roll and Country in here too and it is sometimes impossible to distinguish what is what. As with the other albums in this series there is a wide spectrum of artists and standards on offer but the album does show that Rockabilly holds a firm space in the music firmament.

Some of the songs should be taken for what they are – great songs. Danny Wolfe contributes Let’s Flat Get It and the good vocal harmonies and guitar work makes it a top tune. Warner Mack gives us Roc-A-Chicka and if you ignore the novelty parts and concentrate on what is essentially a rocking good song then you have it. Jimmy Lloyd gives us the mid-paced Where The Rio De Rosa Flows and although this is not like the general Rockabilly genre at all, it is very very good and Sid King gives us Good Rockin’ Baby – slow and classy.

As I have said, Country music features highly in the Rockabilly make-up. Bob Luman sings on the Country side both vocally and musically on Make Your Mind Up Baby. But he also contributes Red Hot which is all Rockabilly. Dennis Herrold is heard on the Country influenced Hip Hip Baby – good chorus. Another strong song from Herrold is Make With The Lovin’. Autry Inman’s It Would Be A Doggone Lie is also from the Country side and a good example. Johnny Cash is about as big a name as you can get and Mean Eyed Cat is more Country than Rockabilly. A class act however. Hey Porter is also included but again, why here?

Rock N Roll is also represented and Janis Martin is one of the few women included but Drugstore Rock N Roll is, as the title suggests, more Rock N Roll than rockabilly. Jack Scott contributes Two Timin’ Woman which is a Rock N Roll crossover but it has that Rockabilly essence. Mac Curtis throws in If I Had Me A Woman which is a good crossover from Rock n Roll to Rockabilly. Sleepy LaBeef is another big name and has a deep vocal on the cusp of Rock n Roll with I’m Through whereas Carl Mann is earthy and has the feel on Gonna Rock N Roll Tonight.

Rockabilly is all about energy and defiance so the sheer energy on Bobby Lee Trammell’s Shirley Lee will knock you out. Johnny Carroll has Wild Wild Women which has plenty of whoops and hollers in a great rockabilly style whilst Kenny Parchman shows vitality on Tennessee Zip. Rudy Grayzell’s Ducktail is more like the rockabilly that is well loved by many -- a screaming vocal and manic guitar are the main components. Jimmy Edwards Love Bug Crawl is surely Jerry Lee Lewis inspired and Ray Harris gives us a version of Greenback Dollar, Watch & Chain in which he certainly has the Rockabilly warble. Curtis Johnson gives us Baby Baby and this has all of the components for a top Rockabilly song. Roz Larne also provides a fine example of the genre on Baby Take Me Back. Wayne Williams has the required energy on Red Hot Mama. Jackie Lee Cochran gives us a classic Rockabilly on Hip Shakin’ Mama and Corky Jones’ Hot Dog has that garage made feel to it.

Some of the biggest names of Rock N Roll and Country are here; Marty Robbins is one of those big names and Long Tall Sally is a big song to go with it. It’s not as energetic as Little Richard but who was? Carl Perkins is perhaps the biggest name in Rockabilly and he shows he is the daddy on Put Your Cat Clothes On – class does show. He also contributes Dixiefried, which is a mid-paced Rockabilly classic. Gene Vincent is one of the greats and Woman Love is trademark Vincent. The voice is there on Gonna Back Up Baby and The Bluecats also start to show signs of their class. Buddy Holly gives us I’m Changing All Those Changes and this indicates what was to come from the great man. His other contribution, Rock Around With Ollie Vee is early but his class shines through. Less famous is Billy Barrix who provides a stuttering delivery, no doubt modelled on Holly, on Cool Off Baby. Charlie Feathers delivers another stuttering vocal on Everybody’s Loving My Baby. Ricky Nelson gives us the blues side of Rockabilly on If You Can’t Rock Me. He also has Boppin’ The Blues but should this really be included on an album of Rockabilly songs? Eddie Cochran is one of the biggest names of them all and 20 Flight Rock was one song that crossed over into popular areas. He gives an understated performance here. Roy Orbison is not a name that you would expect to see here but he turns in a great performance on Mean Little Mama. He also gives us (A Cat Called) Domino but this is not so good. Elvis Presley contributes My Baby Left Me and this is pure class from the first note. He also is included with I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone and although it’s not Rockabilly as such, it does show where his roots were. Johnny Burnette is one of the giants of the genre and Rockabilly Boogie is good but not any better than the best of the others. Also gives us Lonesome Train and he is back on form with just enough emotion in the voice. Billy Lee Riley is one of the best known artists and Pearley Lee has just enough defiance in the voice. One of the first Rockabilly songs that I ever heard was his Flying Saucer Rock – a classic from a master.

There is, of course, a down side and Bobby Sisco is too proper and not nearly wild enough on Go Go Go. Al Ferrier’s Hey Baby is tame and Roy Moss sounds like Vic Reeves’ Shooting Stars pub singer on You’re My Big Baby Now. Billy Wallace is docile on Burning The Wind. Wanda Jackson was one of the few women to make the grade but I Gotta Know flits between country and Rockabilly and really there should be no place for this on this album. Hot Dog That Made Him Mad is poor. Collins Kids – Hop, Skip & Jump is not for me. George & Earl – Done Gone is not defiant enough in the vocal. Sammy Masters performs and energetic Pink Cadillac but it is too clean overall. Jay Chevalier is all over the place on Rock N Roll Angel. Narvel Felts is poor on Cry Baby Cry. Buzz Busby puts it all in for the performance on Rock N Roll Fever but he still doesn’t come up to the standards of some of the others. However, the biggest crime of all is Curtis Gordon’s take on Sitting On Top Of The World and shame on him for taking this blues classic and turning it into a circus.

All things considered there are more plus’ than minus’ and it will be a good addition to the audiophile library.

http://www.smithco.nl/

David Blue.

2008-08-15T14:18:00.000-07:00

Oli Brown – Open Road (Ruf Records).

Oli Brown has taken in the influences of the great British blues players of the past and those of his contemporaries such as Aynsley Lister to take up the baton for the 21st century. He has already shared a stage with greats such as Koko Taylor, Walter Trout, John Mayall & Buddy Guy and is ready to take his place in the spotlight. Psycho is a contemporary blues played by a power trio. The rhythm section of Fred Hollis on bass and Simon Dring on drums ably backs Brown’s guitar in its quest for the elusive note. The eponymous title track is a mid-paced grinder with nothing out of the ordinary in the voice. Stone Cold (Roxanne) is a shuffling blues in the Kansas City style and there is no doubting his credentials as he lets it rip on the chorus. The first cover, Can’t Get Next To You has him not really out of first gear yet and this needs a bit of pace injected. It’s another contemporary blues rock with the introduction of Govert Van Der Kolm on organ. Shade Of Grey is slow again and has a spoken vocal intro. It does build a little and turns to the funky side.

All The Kings Horses has a heavy intro and highlights Brown as one of many playing this type of blues at the moment, and he’s certainly not the worst by any manners of means. This has his best guitar work yet and the pounding drums from Billy McLelan breathe life into it as it builds to a fantastic crescendo. Black Betty (yes it is the Ram Jam song) has a drawled vocal and although essentially the same as the Ram Jam cover of Leadbelly’s song, Oli does let himself go -- short and sweet. Missing You is a slow, uncomplicated blues with incisive guitar bursts -- this will be a great live track. New Groove is a beefed up Robert Cray style strolling blues in parts but we have had to wait until Played By The Devil before we get any genuine pace and this is a highlight as he shows how good he really is. Complicated is slowed down again but I’d have rather had him sprinting for the finish although this 21st century blues is a good finish to an intriguing album.

http://www.olibrownband.co.uk/
http://www.rufrecords.de/

David Blue

2008-08-09T10:31:00.001-07:00

Doug MacLeod – The Utrecht Sessions (Black & Tan Records).

Recorded in MacLeod’s favourite European city, The Utrecht Sessions sees a consummate songwriter in his prime. Despite the Scottish name, MacLeod is an American, born and bred, although he now spends a lot of time in Holland where he has mastered one word – Heineken. The album was recorded in such a way that it feels live and MacLeod is in his element. The opener, Horse With No Rider, has top class slide guitar and is an authentic blues in every way. It is very contemporary and he is in good voice. He stays with dobro and slide for This Old River which has an emotion laden vocal – this is what it is all about. MacLeod builds on this with The Addiction To Blues, which is more upbeat and shows a true troubadour. The Long Black Train is a familiar subject matter for blues and country artists and he gets the effect of the shuffling train to a tee – very clean sound. The Demon’s Moan has another wailing vocal and the slide is, as it is throughout, top class. Long Time Road is bouncy and energetic with a very familiar sound.

I Respectfully Decline is soulful and mourning with a simple execution which hides the mastery of his instrument. He is a man confident in his own talent and this Americana is how music should be. That Ain’t Right is a country blues with great finger picking, Coming Your Brand New Day is gentle rhythmic blues and Sheep Of A Different Color is a slow John Lee Hooker style blues. What You Got (Ain’t Necessarily What You Own) keeps up the standard although he does lose it a bit on some of the guitar breaks. Where You’ll Find Me is just one man and his guitar – lovely Americana. The enclosed booklet gives little insights such as the guitar tuning for each song and some musings from MacLeod. For a true live experience you can also buy his DVD – The Blues In Me.

http://www.black-and-tan.com/
http://www.doug-macleod.com/

David Blue.

2008-08-05T13:13:00.001-07:00

Ben Waters – Hurricane (Hypertension).

By his early 20’s Ben Waters (PJ Harvey’s cousin for those of you that like to know that sort of thing) had already played with some of the giants of British rock such as Mick Jagger and Pete Townshend. He also played at Jools Holland’s wedding and led the great boogie-woogie pianist to say “boogie-woogie is alive and well. Ben Waters has got the touch and feel for it”. A few years on sees the release of his first album for Hypertension. The title track does what it says on the tin – a high octane boogie with twinkle fingers Waters on piano. A bit more vocal attack would have set the song up perfectly, especially on the Beach Boys style chorus. Tiny Planet is another boogie with great interaction between Waters’ piano and Clive Ashley’s saxophone. It is a good piece of social commentary. It’s hard to categorise Booker but it builds well and is an homage to James Booker who had a great influence on the young Waters as well as teaching Dr John and Harry Connick Jnr to play piano. The Sky Fell Down is the most commercial song so far and good enough to match chart bands such as The Hoosiers and their ilk. Helicon Boogie has more piano and sax competition with the sax, played by guest Derek Nash, being more than a match on this intriguing instrumental.

Amos Milburn’s Roomin House Movie is a shuffling boogie and just good time music played for the fun of it. Mother Natures Molecules has increased pace and you certainly can’t criticize his energy. There’s a bit of Nick Lowe in his and partner Richard Hymas’ songwriting style. The Wasp is a high paced boogie-woogie with sax taking the part of the wasp. Waters’ muscles on his left arm must be of Popeye proportions. Who U Lay has funky bass from Hymas and keyboards from Waters and is only one step away from a Steely Dan song. He saves one of his slowest songs to finish with and Inconsequential shows that he has more than one tone to his voice. There are touches of Squeeze in this and the sax fade out is top class.

Jools Holland was correct!

http://www.hypertension-music.de/
http://www.benwaters.com/

David Blue.

2008-08-03T04:09:00.000-07:00

Various Artists -- Great British Skiffle Volume 2 (Smith & Co).

I know what you are thinking – how could they get enough tracks to make up a volume 2? You would think that that would be the case but they’ve obviously held over a few top tracks to whet the appetite. Whichever way you think about Skiffle you have to agree that it does have a vital place in British Rock history. There is good and bad and this album has both. From the better Gospel based tracks such as Glory Road by The Vipers (one of the best known bands), Bob Cort’s It Takes A Worried Man To Sing A Worried Song and The City Ramblers Skiffle Group’s Down By The Riverside to the less well performed Toll The Bell Easy from Les Hobeaux Skiffle Group (a very British executed song) and Delta Skiffle Group’s repetitive and second rate Ain’t You Glad, all standards are here. There were many influences on Skiffle and the better tacks include Johnny Duncan’s bluegrass offering, Ella Speed, the Blues of Ken Colyer’s Midnight Hour Blues (just add a washboard and you have Skiffle), Rock n Roll in the form of Dickie Bishop’s No Other Baby, the Country tones of Careless Love by The City Ramblers Skiffle Group, folk from 2.19 Skiffle Group on Texas Lady, boogie-woogie in the form of Bearcat Crawl from Chris Barber and Jazz from Tony Donegan on Yes Suh although the last of these is of particularly poor recording quality.

The one true giant of British Skiffle was, of course, Lonnie Donegan and he has three tracks on offer. He shows us that he was the boss on Midnight Special and Jesse James. However, he is a bit sedate on Stackolee which is Stagolee under a different guise. There are other tracks more associated with Donegan such as Cumberland Gap (The Vipers) and Don’t You Rock Me (Bob Cort) that don’t measure up to his standard. Skiffle influenced many future artists and those include John Lennon who couldn’t have failed to be affected by The Vipers’ Railroad Steamboat, Steamline Train, Hey Lily Lily Lo and Maggie May, part of which ended up on the Let It Be album.

Famous songs include Last Train To San Fernando from Johnny Duncan, New Orleans (House Of The Rising Sun) & The Cotton Song (Cotton Fields), they pronounced their T’s in those days, by Chas McDevitt and Bob Cort’s 6.5 Special. You have to suspend belief at times such as when a very posh British female sings “I was born in East Virginy” on Chas McDevitt’s Green Back Dollar – yeah right! Jimmy Miller tries too hard to be American on Sizzling Hot. All the familiar themes are there including trains in the form of Chas McDevitt’s Freight Train, Sonny Stewarts’s The Northern Line and Railroad Bill by Lea Valley Skiffle Group.

One thing about Skiffle singers was that piercing tone just under the sound barrier that they had and shining examples of that are Johnny Duncan’s Footprints In The Snow and Sonny Stewart’s Black Jack. Ken Colyer’s piano led instrumental, House Rent Stomp has a homemade feel and that, in essence, is what Skiffle was all about. British blues giant Alexis Korner sounds positively amateurish on Roadhouse Stomp but, again it was that which made the genre so widespread. Skiffle really harks back to a previous time and Soho Skiffle’s Give Me A Big Fat Woman would have today’s PC brigade up in arms. Jimmy Jackson’s California Zephyr gives me my biggest problem and, after listening to it a number of times, I am convinced that it reminds me of another, more popular song. Can someone please put me out of my misery?

There is no mistaking the influence that Skiffle had on the musical forms that came after it. This album features some of the best but Frog Island Skiffle Group sum things up on Hand Me Down My Walking Cane. They’ve got the repetition, they’ve got the tone, they’ve got Skiffle!

http://www.smithco.nl/

David Blue.

2008-07-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

Storm Warning – Something Real (Own Label).

Storm Warning are a five piece outfit that draw on their diverse musical backgrounds to produce a fluid sound. On The Road opens with echoes of an ancient forest which leads into a joint guitar and harp attack. It’s modern blues with a gruff vocal from Son Maxwell and Bob Moore’s effortless guitar style that can be dressed up when required. Hard To Be A Man has a bit of bounce to it and man fights back during the laconic lyric. Moore’s Vibrant guitar is a standout. Charlie’s Blues is a return to the guitar and harp duet and they have certainly taken the genre into the 21st century. Ian Salisbury’s keyboards are to the fore here to and Maxwell has lungs of steel on the harp. Blues 101 is a harmonica led jazzy blues with numerous references to blues classics that make it a bit of an homage to the great blues poets.

The eponymous title track is a slow blues with sustained guitar but despite the excellent intro it ultimately fails to deliver – patchy. One Step Forward has a snappy acoustic guitar and harp intro that leads us to a fast paced electric burst and manic keyboards. Lucky Peterson’s Nothing But Smoke, the only cover on offer, is another slow one and Bob Moore excels in these. There is a pronounced bass from Derek White and the song is more traditional than most. I Don’t Know has screeching harp and stays on the jazz side of the blues. They are a tight knit unit and Roger Willis on drums keeps them all together. Long Ride is a funky blues to finish with and Moore gets up a head of steam with some excellent flurries.

There is certainly space at the table for Storm Warning.

http://www.stormwarning.co.uk/

David Blue.

2008-07-22T09:12:00.001-07:00

BB & The Blues Shacks – Unique Taste (Crosscut Records).

BB & The Blues Shacks have been around for over a decade now and have built a reputation as one of Europe’s foremost R&B/Soul/Blues bands Crosscut Records recognised this and signed them in 2001. Unique Taste is the bands fourth release and they are going from strength to strength, following on from the highly acclaimed Live At Vier Linden. The opener, Keep My Promises is a swinging, rolling R&B and shows the band has moved the focus of their sound to celebrate the 60s. The Fool I Am is a bit off beat at times but this shuffler moves along well. The eponymous title track is a bit of a departure for the band with this R&B leading into soul and Motown. It’s very good in its own way and it has some top Hammond organ playing from guest Raphael Wressnig. I Understand is a powerful, slow blues based ballad much in the style of Robert Cray and Three Handed Woman has a machine gun guitar delivery. Three hands, good or bad – discuss. However, when you find out that her third hand is in your wallet then that may make up your mind! Best guitar playing so far. Fool When You’re Cool is classic R&B and harmless fun and the speed is stepped up for Not The One For You, a fast paced bouncing blues/boogie woogie driven by Bernhard Egger’s drums and Andreas Arlt’s guitar. Little Pins is a slow blues with just guitar and Michael Arlt’s voice for the first minute or so. The band then joins in for an archetypal Chicago blues with strong guitar and piano with Michael Arlt just getting down and doing his stuff, as ever.

Anything But You is a slow, punchy R&B with sleazy vocal and organ. You just know what Arlt is talking about on Like A Woman That Just Bought Shoes, don’t you boys. High energy R&B with Dennis Koeckstadt and Raphael Wressnig on piano/keyboards to the fore again. The short and sweet Cut It! has a staccato guitar which heralds a 60s style instrumental whereas Step Back A Little is a strong soul song with more organ heroics. Tears About To Fall is a rock n roll ballad which, despite the lack of tempo, does swing along nicely. Michael Arlt’s harmonica returns but only serves to highlight its scant use during the album. So Glad I’m On Your Mind is a mid-paced pulsating blues with a stinging guitar solo and Too Fast Living is a slow blues much in the vein of Three Hours Past Midnight. The silky harmonica plays off the stark, snappy guitar. Do My Will has plenty of rhythm. Egger’s drums are the heartbeat of the band; piano and guitar take their place in the spotlight whereas the bass remains in the background but pays his way. The closing track, When The Night Comes Down is a slowish swinging blues with the Andreas Arlt’s guitar the star. However, Koeckstadt pushes him to the limit on the piano.

This album is sure to keep BB & The Blues Shakers in the premier league.

http://www.bluesshacks.com/
http://www.crosscut.de/

David Blue.

2008-07-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

Moreland & Arbuckle – 1861 (NorthernBlues Music).

The last two or three years have been a bit of a whirlwind for Kansas City’s Moreland & Arbuckle with performances at several major blues festivals adding to 700 odd gigs in the past five years. They have become renowned for their blistering live performances and are a must see. There is always a nagging feeling for this type of band that they may not be able to turn those electric live performances onto recorded media. Moreland & Arbuckle need not have worried as this, their debut, is a great introduction. Gonna send You Back To Georgia is a heavy duty start with its fast pace, 100% fuzzed slide guitar from Aaron Moreland and harp from Dustin Arbuckle. It’s a great electric blues with Arbuckle also in full voice. Despite the name they are a three piece outfit with drummer Brad Horner making up the trio. Fishin’ Hole is a rootsy blues and confirms that Northern Blues has come up with another star act for their roster. Tell Me Why is mellow and acoustic with Arbuckle’s deep dulcet tones setting it off very well. Chris Wiser guests on organ and joins the harp to introduce Diamond Ring, an earthy, rocking blues. This confirms their status as stars in the making. The quaintly named See My Jumper Hangin’ Out On The Line is a powerful electric blues and The Legend is classic Americana with Arbuckle excelling again on vocals.

Never Far Behind is a fast paced country blues with Moreland’s slide guitar keeping pace with Arbuckle’s vocal. Teasin’ Doney is low key right up to the end where it goes all electric for some strange reason. Not too sure about this one. Please Please Mammy is a Kansas City blues at last, and a good one to boot. Pittsburgh In The Morning, Philadelphia At Night is a classic ‘Woke Up This Morning’ type of blues. It’s grungy and grinding and very heady stuff. Wrong I Do is played on acoustic dobro with sympathetic harp and heartfelt vocal but six and a half minutes of slow jam on Wiser Jam is, unfortunately, ultimately a pointless end to an excellent album.

Their name sounds like a firm of lawyers but don’t let that put you off, this is an excellent band.

http://www.northernblues.com/
http://www.morelandandarbuckle.com/

David Blue.