soul feel to it with Jamie very busy on bass including a lovely bass solo, Clive treating us to some almost Hendrixian guitar, all in all something rather different from the guys including some almost ethereal harp from Adam.

“Something’s Wrong” from Ray is a slow and smoking number which is over 8 minutes of heaven opening with some delicious harp and then running the gamut with the band taking turns to take the spotlight. This number can only be superb played live as must be the up tempo instrumental “Supernatural Ball” again featuring some phased Hammond to confuse your brain if you listen on headphones.

The CD closes with a big surprise which may be a shock for some, yes Bad Town Blues play reggae! Clive has composed a lovely number “Skinny Brown Girl” which has a totally tropical Caribbean feel to it and which Clive’s voice suits very well. This is great way to round off this varied, interesting, exciting and immensely satisfying album. Bad Town Blues are to be congratulated on producing a collection which is a very definite quantum leap from their previous, very good and very well received CD. Make sure you get your copy when it is released soon, you will not be disappointed.

Also published in Blues Matters!

OMAR & THE HOWLERS – Bamboozled – Live in Germany - Ruf

Whilst I have often seen the name, until now I had not heard Omar & the Howlers’ music and what a great opportunity this live CD is to put that omission right! With Omar backed by John Hahn on drums & Barry Bihm on bass, this CD absolutely brims with a live vibe and Texas energy. Barely pausing for breath between each of track which range from the rip-roaring opener ‘Shake For Me’, the swampy ‘Mississippi Hoodoo Man’, the slow & laid back tones of ‘East Side Blues’, a good showcase for Omar’s stinging & expressive guitar playing, to the Bo Diddley style ‘Magic Man’ and the John Lee influenced ‘Boogie Man’. With all the tracks Omar originals bar the final track, a raving rocking set closer, Jerry McCain’s ‘‘Rock n’ Roll Ball’ which must have had the audience going wild, this is one very fine showcase for Omar & his band and certainly one which leaves me wanting to see him live and catch more of his music. It is also great value with more than 74 minutes of music over the 15 nicely varied tracks. And congratulations to Thomas Ruf for once again giving us another cracking live CD. This definitely earns the Digital Blues seal of approval!

Bad Hair Day – Live

Bad Hair Day, now there’s a name and a half for a band! And this is a nice CD containing 10 tracks recorded during rehearsals at Wingray Farm by a band which has grown out of the Hot Hob Jam at Brentwood’s Pam’s Bar, that melting pot of talent which is proving to be something of a spawning pool for new bands. The band comprises two excellent guitarists, Tony Myers and John Edmonds, who also shares vocals, Stevie King on bass & vocals and Roger Woods on drums and it is evident from the outset that these guys know their stuff as they effortlessly tackle rock, jazz, funk and swing numbers, all to great effect.

The opening track is a good rocking version of “I Can Tell” and is followed by the stuff of fantasy, “Black Drawers”, which swings along at fine speed and features excellent guitar from Tony. Major change of pace & style for track three, the gorgeous “Dream Girl”, six and a half minutes of gloriously measured stylishness which builds beautifully and offers up some fine guitar playing from both Tony & John, demonstrating their contrasting styles very well.

Funky stuff is the order of the day on “Put The Shoe On The Other Foot” which leads into an all time favourite, “Seventh Son” and a slow and very moody “Sitting On Top Of The World” which again sees the guitarists in fine form. I am really enjoying this, such great variety.

Keeping the mood laid back, next up is “Eyesight To The Blind” and then its up on your feet again for “Travelling South” and “Too Many Drivers” before rounding off in fine style with a great version of “Key To The Highway”.

This is a great introduction to a new combination of musicians, most of whom are familiar from other bands and who really seem to have gelled most impressively in this incarnation. The playlist on this CD is very varied including, as it does, both familiar and rarely heard covers, all very effectively and interestingly handled. I hear excellent reports of their live performances as well and think we should be hearing quite a bit of Bad Hair Day. Now where did that name come from?!

Bad Town Blues – Down in the Alley

Bad Moon Records BMCD 1010

In my humble opinion, one of the best, if not the best CD of 2002, this debut offering from Essex’s very own Bad Town Blues is a cracker. With band leader and founder Adam Norton playing a very mean harp, Brentwood’s very own guitar meister, the incomparable Clive Mulcahy on guitar and vocals and Chigwell Fats himself, the keyboard maestro, Ray Bartrip in the front line and a rhythm section of Reg Patton on drums and John Cullerton on bass this is a band whose live performances are receiving rave reviews wherever they play. Unusually for a debut CD, all fourteen tracks are self penned by Adam &/or Clive or Ray and what an excellent variety there is including a number of very nice instrumentals.

Clive has a very distinctive voice and this is perhaps at its best on ‘Right This Time’ which also features some really fine tight horns arranged by Mike Thorne at whose studios the CD was recorded and who also mixed the whole thing as well as playing drums on some tracks. Clive also excels on the very entertaining ‘New Age Blues” which features him playing some great slide guitar as well as delivering lyrics with which everyone of a certain age can readily identify.

‘Life in the Slow Lane’ gives Ray Bartrip the opportunity to demonstrate what a very good pianist he is as well as the fact that he has a very fine voice. The lyrics again strike a chord with anyone who is in what is eupemistically referred to as middle age! It is another nice feature of this CD that the vocals are more or less equally shared between Clive & Roy, to great effect.

If you like instrumentals, then there are loads to choose from including the title track, an uptempo romp written by Adam and the excellent ‘Late Night Creeper’, another of Adam’s compositions which demonstrates his self-confessed addiction to Big Walter Horton. There are also some fine boogies which cannot but have your feet tapping such as ‘Summerland Boogie’ and the excellent ‘Chigwell Fats Boogie’

‘Grape & the Grain’ is another fine number which has shades of ZZ Top with Clive on both vocal and guitar duties and demonstrating his rock roots as well as delivering more well observed lyrics.

It is perhaps somewhat ironic that, as Adam told me when he and Clive played live on Digital Blues on Phoenixfm in October 2002 and we gave exclusive first radio plays of some tracks from this CD, Adam started off learning guitar and was taught by Clive but he then heard a Howling Wolf track at a friend’s house and, in a road to Damascus moment, resolved to become a harp player. He bought a harp songbook and subsequently had lessons from Errol Linton and Paul Lamb and has he learned well! Adam’s playing throughout is top flight without being showy or over emphasised.

Clive has played with many people over the years including the Tom Robinson Band and himself made an excellent CD back in the mid-90’s produced by Ray Marquis. He is as at home with rock, boogie woogie, slow blues or acoustic magic, a very talented guitarist as well as a gifted writer and singer. Ray Bartrip, or Chigwell Fats, has played with so many different people over the years but his main claim to fame is being part of the Worrying Kynd, a top club band back in the Sixties. He is an extremely accomplished keyboard player, vocalist and writer who, like Clive, is equally at home playing out and out boogie, slow, moody blues or anything in between.

Anyone who has seen this band will know that when any individual has a solo there is no clash of egos, each player makes room for the soloist and patiently awaits his turn. Very refreshing. If you have not seen them, then you should not miss any opportunity you have to do so soon. If there is any justice, this band will rise to the upper echelons of the Blues and their CD cannot fail to please whatever your taste. I cannot remember a more wide-ranging and varied debut CD and I keep playing it over and over. So will you.

For details of the band’s gigs, personnel and how to get this superb CD, visit their new website at www.badtownblues.com

Blue Touch - Bump

A new CD from Blue Touch which follows on from "Grind". Do I detect a theme here? Of course the band’s talented, sexy and crowd pleasing vocalist, Andrea Maria is now "bumpless" following the birth of her daughter, Anna. Plus, since "Grind", the band have a new guitarist, Neil Sadler who also takes the vocals on one track.

With 12 great tracks, all covers, this is a damn good reminder of Blue Touch as they are live and offers a fine variety ranging from the seductive Cray/Clapton song "Old Love", Lieber/Stoller’s rocking "Kansas City" which features Neil Sadler, an excellent mid-tempo blues treatment of Tom Waits’ "Way Down in the Hole", one of a number of tracks that features some lovely guitar work, Otis Redding’s soulful "I’ve Been Loving You Too Long" underpinned by some gorgeous guitar reverb (I don’t know the technical term!), Johnny Winter’s "Black Cat Bone" done super funky style followed by Rufus Thomas’ classic "Walking The Dog", given the Blue Touch touch, some real old style blues with Alfred Fields’ "County Jail" featuring a guitar riff which has shades of Deep Purple & Led Zep about it and one of four tracks which sees Alan Cleave on vocals.

The CD opens with a cracking version of Al Green’s oft covered "Take Me To The River", which has positively Peter Gunn guitar intro to it, and also features no less than four Robert Johnson songs, "Stop Breaking Down", "Steady Rolling Man", "Rambling" and the wonderful "Crossroads" which opens with and features some gorgeous slide guitar and pounds along at a great pace.

Blue Touch pride themselves on the eclecticism of their set lists and this is more than justified by this excellent CD. Listening to it has brought back loads of great memories of seeing them live and made me eager to see them again, soon! With three people taking the vocals, there is loads of variety whilst the twin guitars of Alan Cleaves & Neil Sadler ensure contrasting guitar breaks and interpretation and enables the band to approach songs from different directions. The rhythm section of Merv Griffin on bass & Hugh Lawrenson on drums keep the whole show rock steady.

The CD was recorded at the No Machine Studios in Wokingham which, by good fortune, Neil owns and runs!!! He engineered and co-produced and a fine job he and everyone else involved have done! Blue Touch’s "Bump" certainly does not grind on the ear!

Bullfrog Blues Machine – Blue Tattoo

From Holland comes a CD by the Bullfrog Blues Machine, “Blue Tattoo” and what a CD! The sleeve opens out to a four page spread and inserted in one page is an 8 page booklet. Copious colour photos plus biographical details about band members Hans Klerken, Chris Janssen, & Mark Spronk, (guitar/vocals, Bass guitar & keyboards respectively) Poor old Harry Steverink the drummer does not get a mention other than a playing credit but then I guess that’s the lot of drummers the world over!!!! The CD contains 12 very varied tracks, most of them written by Hans, but with three contributed by Chris and one by Mark.

This is a most interesting collection which I have enjoyed listening to, especially as many of the lyrics embrace such thought provoking topics as marital struggles (“I Can’t Quit You Baby” a smashing number with a driving bass line and nice keyboards), racial intolerance (“Just Take Care”, a number very much in the Essex Delta style with wailing harp and driving guitar riff which every time I hear it reminds me of the AM5 with keyboards!), what Hans describes as “war-pigs” and “peace-dogs” (“Who’s Fooling Who” a fine up tempo number again featuring wailing harp from guest Ben Bouman) and one which the sleeve describes as being for “blues musicians and all alienated and homeless people” (“Change Your Ways”, a lovely slow blues)

The Hectic Horns are heard on two tracks, one of which, “Simple Life” is a fine romp whilst there is almost a West Indian feel to “John’s Barn Beer” dedicated to a good friend of the band who “brews delicious beer”! “Boogieman” has an almost John Lee Hooker feel to it as well as some great keyboards. “Laid Back” is what it says it is, laid back so far that it is almost horizontal – the song is dedicated to Mark’s first car, “an old orange Ford”! This is certainly a band that would go down well here in Essex and, I venture, all over the UK. How nice it would be if we could see them playing over here. Thanks Chris for sending me the CD. I really am enjoying it and I hope in time others will too. Find out more at

www.bullfrogbluesmachine.nl

www.munichrecords.com

THE CADILLAC KINGS – HIGHWAY 17 – ‘33’ RECORDS 33WM131

Where to start! A new CD from the Cadillac Kings is always welcome and this one is an absolute cracker! It has been some time coming what with the departure of guitarist Paul Morgan and his replacement by Oliver Darling but boy was it worth the wait! ‘33’ Records is a highly regarded jazz label who include Stan Tracey, Clarke Tracey, Tina may & Don Weller amongst their artists and label boss, Paul Jolly, evidently a man of impeccable taste, has taken a shine to the CK’s and included the CD in the “roots/world music” section of his catalogue. It was recorded at the label’s Koolworld Studios in Luton, the engineer for the session being Dave Wooster, until recently the chief concert soundman for Van Morrison, and what a great job he has done.

To me this CD captures superbly what the band is all about, great danceable rhythms, wonderfully, often very witty lyrics, superb musicianship, but above all FUN! From the word go, the gauntlet is laid down with track 1, “Bombshell Blonde”, the opening words could equally apply to the band – “My baby’s got the power” so has the band!

All but two tracks are originals with 9 being vocalist and occasional slide guitarist Mike Thomas’ work, superb harp player Gary Potts is credited with one whilst the bands great keyboard and accordion man, Mike Adcock shares credit with Mike on one track and takes sole credits on another.

The rhythm section of Orlando Shearer on bull fiddle and Roy Webber drums are as solid and tight as ever, keeping the whole thing throbbing along like a good old Detroit V8! Newboy, Oliver darling, is a revelation. Despite his tender years his guitar playing is stunning and always spot on! He always has the right musical phrase at the right time.

I know I will be seen as biased but this is the real stuff. Great rollicking instrumentals such as “Hilde’s Hop” and “Hardtop Boogie”, the Cajun roots of the two “Poorboy” Mike’s are displayed in “Money Talks” whilst Mike T produces lyrics which are worthy of the likes of the real old time bluesmen and women on the innuendo laden “Who’s Bin Lickin’ My Chicken?” “Trick of the Blues” is a Mike Thomas classic, full of the wry humour which is his trademark.

The two covers are of the T-Bone Walker song, “She Is Going To Ruin Me” and Champion Jack Dupree’s “Shake Baby Shake”, taken at about twice the speed of the original but one that will have those dancers up on their feet, both excellent cuts but for me the original material is the dog’s doo-dahs! And keep listening after the “end” of the final track, although officially timed at just under three and a half minutes there is a live track featuring Gary on vocals and harp, Mike A with rollicking keyboards, Roy drumming up a storm and Oliver’s guitar unobtrusively ensuring the rhythm continues to drive on whilst Orlando contributes a smashing bit of double bass playing. After some stage announcements there follows what I think must have been some studio fun and games, well worth a listen.

This then is the CD of the year for me, the one I cannot take off my player, the one which is a perfect pick me up and is guaranteed to get you on your feet, or if you are chair bound to have the old leg jumping! Another superb CD from the Cadillac Kings!

Custom Built – Pete G & the Magnitones

Now here’s a question. What do you get when you take one of the UK’s top harp players, put him in a studio with a damn fine backing band and then get some great guests to join in? Well it sounds to me as if that is a situation custom built for a superb CD and that is just what we have here! Pete Welland’s second CD was released earlier this year and it really is a cracker. Pete is not only a top harp player but is also blessed with a great voice and he uses both talents to great effect on this 14 tracker all bar one of which are penned by Pete and/or the Magnitones drummer, Dave Sims plus one great instrumental, ‘Southill Stomp’, credited to the Magnitones. The only cover is, unsurprisingly, Little Walter’s ‘Don’t Have to Hurt No More’, a man whom Pete acknowledges as one of his major influences.

This CD is a very good taster of what you will get if you catch the band live, something you really should do if you have not done so. Although you won’t get the saxes of Nick Lunt and Lee Badeau which are featured to such effect on tracks such as ‘Another Chance With You’ which also features another of Pete’s great influences, West Weston on piano, or the backing vocals of Fran Wood which grace tracks such as ‘Mend This Broken Heart’, you may well be fortunate enough to catch guests such as West Weston and/or Laurie Garman who share harp solos with Pete on ‘All My Friends Are Here’.

The CD offers variety aplenty with tracks such as Dave Sims’ ‘Another Chance With You’ coming straight from the ‘50’s, superb harp lead romps such as ‘High Spendin’ Mama’, the wonderful ‘Bossman, Bossman’ or the delightful country blues ‘I’ll Be Lovin’ You Tonite’.

Yup, this a CD which is an essential addition to any Blues aficionado’s collection. Get it at gigs or from the band’s website www.magnitones.com. However you get it, go out and get it!

Danny Bryant’s RedEye Band – Shadows Passed – Blues Matters!

In a month when some excellent CD’s reached me Danny Bryant’s second offering on the Blues Matters! label, “Shadows Passed” stands out. This contains all self penned material and a fine variety there is. From the haunting opening title track through to the gorgeous nine minutes of “Danny’s Blues”, the final track, this CD serves to reinforce how Danny has progressed over the last year or two since his first CD. With the introduction of keyboards on numbers such as “Sleep Alone”, a glorious track whose heart wrenching lyrics will strike a chord with anyone who has gone through a relationship break-up, the trio sound is broadened to great effect although, back in trio format, these tracks play just as well live without the keyboards.

Two of the tracks on the CD are dedicated by Danny to Kirby, the haunting and beautiful “One Look”, a fabulous acoustic number which I just keep playing over and over, it is so gorgeous, and “Where The River Ends” which opens with glorious guitar and builds with soaring keyboards and glorious Danny Bryant guitar. There are great up tempo numbers such as “Play To Win (Born To Lose)”, powerful, almost rock ballad style tracks such as “Movin’ On Back To You”. Track seven, “Going Back Home”, starts off with wonderfully “scratchy” old style acoustic guitar before breaking into a typically Danny Bryant rock blues gem.

Danny’s talent is undoubted and his ability and skill grows every time I see him. Word of his great music is spreading and his name is becoming such that he draws bigger and bigger audiences. And yet he has at times to work hard to fill venues in areas where he is less well-known. If you have a chance to catch him live, do not hesitate to grab that chance, I cannot believe that you will be disappointed and you will have availed yourself of the opportunity of seeing a young man who, along with a handful of others, represent the future of British Blues.

And buy the new CD, stick it in the CD player, sit back with your favourite drink and enjoy over three quarters of an hour of glorious, imaginative and beautiful music from Danny Bryant’s RedEyeBand. An excellent second CD from Danny and he and everyone involved with this CD should be proud of what they have produced, this will surely be a treasured part of the record collection of fans and should serve to win Danny even more in the future. The CD is available from Amazon.com and from www.bluesmatters.com or at gigs, which is another good reason to go and catch Danny live!

Danny Bryant’s RedEyeBand – Covering Their Tracks – Blues Matters! BMRCD20046

The eagerly awaited new CD from Danny Bryant, his third on the Blues Matters! label, sees a bit of a change from this oh so talented young man. After the entirely self-penned “Shadows Passed” which some felt was not Bluesy enough, Danny reverts to a mix of covers and original material, the covers being some of the band’s favourites. And so we are treated to 10 fine tracks which include an excellent version of Mr C’s “Old Love”, Popa Chobby’s “Nobody Loves Me Like I Love Myself” Eddie Boyd’s classic “Five Long Years” which features a lovely guitar solo from Danny, done on the first take, a “Hendrix Jam” with Danny and the band jamming in familiar territory, “Blues Before Sunrise”, Leroy Carr’s great number which sees Danny playing some great slide “inspired by Elmore James”.

The standout cover for me, however, is a superb version of Dylan’s “Girl From The North Country” with Danny using an arrangement he learned from his mentor, Walter Trout, to stunning effect. Danny’s guitar literally sings on this track and it is one which I regularly put on repeat play! I love it when Danny gets into this territory, where the volume comes down and he coaxes the sweetest, lilting, ethereal sounds from his guitar and the audience can do nothing but hold their breath and allow the music to wash over them.

The original material, although restricted to four tracks, stands up very well and suggests again how Danny’s song writing skills have moved on. “This Is The Blues” is a wry, tongue-in-cheek riposte to all those who “tear musicians apart for doing what they love”. You cain’t play the blues if you ain’t been down that road! Nice one Danny! It will strike a chord with many who hear it! “Lean On Me is described by Danny as one of the “favourite songs which I have written” and he dedicates it to his lovely and patient fiancé, Kirby.

“Time (To Say Good Bye)” is described as “my attempt to write and play a song in the style of “ Walter Trout and not a bad one either whilst the final track is “Memories”, dedicated to Danny’s grandmother who passed away in 2003. It is one of those fabulous instrumentals that Danny does so well – remember “Purple” on “Watching You?” This is equally gorgeous although there is a phrase in it which reminds me of something else but I can’t think what!!! Soaring and powerful, this is great to chill out to!

Overall, a good and varied CD, very much in the Danny Bryant style, and one which will please his many fans and should win him some more. Mention should also be made of the original artwork on the sleeve. Good work by those concerned!

David Gogo – Live at Deer Lake – Cordova Bay

Newly arrived from Canada is a live CD from David Gogo, a guitarist, singer & songwriter who has been winning awards and great reviews left right & centre. Digital Blues reviewed David’s CD “Skeleton Key” a while back and I was very pleased to receive this new offering, “David Gogo Live at Deer Lake”, sub titled “Official Bootleg Series Volume 1”. This CD contains a great mix of David’s own compositions and covers and serves to demonstrate that the skill and power that is present on his studio recorded material is, if anything, even greater in a live situation. Gogo’s own tracks sit alongside songs by Muddy Waters, James Brown, Willie Dixon and BB King, all given the Gogo treatment. This a really good collection of live Gogo and includes “Sweet Little Angel”, “Louisiana Blues” and a fabulous 10 minute version of “Hoochie Coochie Man” as well as great live versions of David’s “(Just Ask) Jesse James”, “Soul Fever” and the previous CD’s title track “Skeleton Key”. If you liked his studio CD you will love this live one and even if you have not heard the previous CD this is one hell of a good live CD.

Deja Blue – One Of A Kind – No Label

Deja Blue are an Essex band who have been around for a while, quietly making a name for themselves. After recent personnel changes they have ventured into Ray marquis’ Farm Studios to record what I think is their first studio CD. The result is a fine 12 track collection of 11 covers and one original which captures what Deja Blue is all about and conveys very well their authentic sound and approach.

Deja Blue comprises father & son pairing Johnny Kieran on vocals and guitar, John Jr on guitar, Tom Mccree on harp, TC on bass and Malcolm Pounds on drums.

The CD features a good mix of tracks opening with some fine harp from Tom on “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright”, a really good way to kick things off. Other songs covered include Peter Green’s “Merry Go Round”, John Lee Hooker’s “Big Legs, Tight Skirt”, a couple of Bo Diddley cuts, “I Can Tell” & “You Can’t Judge a Book By The Cover”, Elmore James’ “Just Got To Leave” and Otis Span’s “Temperature Is Rising”. Tom comes to the fore again on Little Walter’s “My Babe”, a favourite of the band. The track penned by Johnny, “That Other Man”, sits well amongst these covers.

This CD is a good record of a good band and will, I am sure, be a popular addition to many fans’ collections. Deservedly so, Deja Blue are typical of the many fine, unsung bands plying their trade in the pubs and clubs around Essex and the rest of the UK and, based on this CD and live gigs I have attended, they should be playing at more venues than they are. And happy birthday to Johnny who just turned 60! Congratulations.

Delta Moon – Goin’ Down South – Delta Moon Records – Deep Rush Records – DRD2000

Delta Moon took the UK by storm during a short tour back in 2003 and did the same with their recent return visit which they described on their web-site as the Re-taking of England. I don’t think anyone who loves fine music put up much resistance! So here we have the band’s third CD which follows the fabulous “Delta Moon – Live” a CD so full of energy that you can unplug your CD system and it will still play! The new CD is somewhat more restrained but none the worse for that.

With 11 tracks, there is a good mix of original material as well as some more unusual covers including a fine mid-tempo take on J B Lenoir’s “I Want To Go”, a track that sees Gina Leigh singing some great phrases in unison with guitar, most effective. The title track is a delicious version of R L Burnside’s “Goin’ Down South” with Gina & Tom Gray’s harmonies underplayed by an insistent guitar riff which gives way to the twin slide guitars of Tom & Mark Johnson playing off against or is it with each other. Gorgeous. Perhaps the most surprising cover is a fabulous version of the David Bowie/Iggy Pop song “Nightclubbing” which is underlaid by the most wonderfully sleazy & atmospheric brushed drums and bass over which the slide guitars ooze and sinuously entwine themselves around Tom’s gravely vocals and Gina’s harmonies. This is the track to which I keep coming back, I just love it.

The remaining tracks are penned by band members in various combinations or with the credits being shared by others. Standouts for me are “Stone Cold Man”, written by Tom, Gina & Mark and featuring some beautiful fiddle from Vassar Clements, Tom & Mark’s “Poplar Grove”, a delightfully gentle acoustic number which features some lovely close harmony singing and dreamy guitars and a lovely country style “That’s All She Wrote” which has Gina in cowboy boots, chaps & a frilly shirt (OK I can fantasise!) and features some fine Dobro playing from Mike Aldridge. The song was written by Gina & Mark. “I’ll Die Trying” is a fine up-tempo number penned by Mark & Tom and has drummer Scott Callison drumming up a storm in a very restrained and effective manner and features an instrumental break which sees Jon Schwenke’s bass joining in with the fabulous slide guitars to superb effect. “Nobody Knows”, a number credited to all the band members, starts out with Gina singing in unison with a guitar and creating an almost Indian sound, wonderful, this track has, for me, distinctly psychedelic tinges that definitely takes me back.

All in all it seems to me that this is Delta Moon moving their music forward again, retaining their love for the Blues but bringing in country, Indian and all sorts of other influences to superb effect. I would urge everyone to get hold of this CD, I am sure you will enjoy it. It is a big contrast to the live album so don’t expect more of the same, but nonetheless a great collection of songs. This is 43 minutes of pure delight from a band who have retaken this Englishmen without a drop of blood being spilt. As one of the lines of the very first track say, “It’s alright by me”, very much so. They call their music “traditional blues with a twist” and “Delta billy”, I call it wonderful and I am over the Delta Moon John!!

Don Brewer Blues Project – Voodoo Soul Blues

From Southport, Maine comes a CD brimming with a variety of Blues styles, all very well executed. The Don Brewer Blues Project was conceived by Don Brewer in 2002 in Maine after he had spent 20 years playing blues in New York and Boston. Don also worked at Media Sound in NYC as an assistant engineer with luminaries such as Miles Davis, The Rolling Stones, Steve Khan, The Bee Gees and Scandal.

With each of the 8 tracks written by Don Brewer, who is also the man whose guitar & vocals lead the band, the album opens with a couple of West Coast swing numbers (“Out Last Night” & “Can’t We Get It Right”) before a complete style change to a lovely slow bluesyrock number, “That Way”, one of number of tracks which features some nice organ and keyboards from co-producer of the CD, Bob Colwell, and another one with a slide guitar fest “New York Blues”.

“Downtown Woman” is another lovely slow number which Don dazzling with some power guitar and harmonica player Tommy O’Connell blowing some beautiful and haunting harp underpinned by shimmering Hammond, a tour de force this track.

It’s off to Chicago for “Hurricane, Hurricane”, another fine track with perhaps a degree of added relevance after the blandishments of Katrina and her compatriots. “Foolin’ the Blues” is a mid-tempo rocker featuring more lovely Hammond as well as sax from another guest,, Pat Pepin. The CD concludes with “Dance” a very jazzy number featuring some nice harp from Tommy, some cool piano from Bob and really encapsulates the whole CD in that it demonstrates very well the breadth of skill that all the musicians on this CD possess with their ability to play convincingly in so many different styles. Having named three of the musicians on the CD it would be churlish not to congratulate drummer Marc Perez and bass player Ronny Arsenault who whatever the style, keep the whole thing going most effectively.

All in all a most enjoyable collection of original material from a band who, on this showing, would be good to catch live. Visit the band’s website at www.donbrewerbluesproject.com

Dump That Chump – Live at the BBC – Radio Suffolk Blues Mini-Fest

Dump That Chump are a North Essex/Suffolk based band who seem to specialise in producing live CD’s and this one is of a high standard recorded as it was by the good folk at BBC Radio Suffolk, one of the very few BBC local radio stations who show a genuine interest in and provide support to blues & real r’n’b bands in their area. Congratulations must go to Stephen Foster & the crew for all their efforts but also to the band, John Skelley on vocals & slide guitar, Ian Wall on lead guitar, Ian Rowe on harp, Mick Hanmore on bass, John Benham on drums and Ken Drew on piano.

This CD is definitely live and unlike many such CD’s includes a fair number of stage introductions to the numbers plus plenty of evidence of the fact that everyone was having a ball! The playlist opens with the song after which the band are named, “Dump That Chump” which is dedicated to “the Suffolk girls” who are “the best in the World” and is a fine swinging number that introduces the band to us. Track 2, “Sunnyland” fades in and features some excellent slide guitar from John whilst “One Sweet Letter” is a jive style number with vocals which suggest that Elvis is alive & well in Suffolk! “Stray Cat Strut” is a lovely cover of this classic and is followed by “Fine Brown Frame” which sees Ian blowing his heart out on harp. The band features an excellent Jimmy Reed song, “Annie Maybe” next, played to an almost reggae rhythm followed by Robben Ford number “Start It Up” which starts off at a slower pace to give us all a breather before changing up a gear or two for a brief overtaking manoeuvre then back to cruising speed, a pattern that is effectively repeated throughout the song.

The band’s repertoire is hugely varied as next comes a Nine Below Zero number, “Soft Touch” which again features some lovely harp from Ian. Two to go and next up is a Duke Robillard number which suits the band very well called “Jumpin’ Rockin’ Rhythm” and gives all members the opportunity to give their all! I bet the crowd went wild when this was played, you can almost feel the condensation running down the walls!

All too soon it is time for the last track which is the band’s cover of “Hole in the Wall”, a Bill Wyman & the Rhythm Kings number which finishes to long and loud applause and Stephen Foster’s accolade “so hot they blew a fuse”!

This is an excellent record of a band who just love playing live and very clearly have a ball doing so. The set list features a very varied list of numbers and sources which produces a nice variety of material and anybody who buys this CD can be sure that they will have a ball listening to it and even more so if they also catch the band live.

E2 Blues Band - Demo

East London Band, the E2 Blues Band describe themselves as sounding like “John Lee Hooker backed by the fabulous Thunderbirds” playing “an energetic mix of quality blues, funk and ska”. As if that was not enough to get me curious, I read on and discovered that front man, Cliff Campbell’s first blues band included the likes of Sam Kelly, Giles King & John Kettner. His new band is made up of as yet uncredited music professionals and the line-up includes drums, harp, bass, guitar and keyboards.

Judging by this demo, the band play excellent “covers” but also do some nice stuff of their own which is in the vein of nublues artists such as Michael Messer. The four tracks on the demo comprise a wonderfully mean and moody “I’m Ready” which displays vocalist Cliff’s deep vocal register to great effect. This is followed by “Blues at Sunrise”, a beautifully spare version of this great number with some lovely guitar picking and keyboards, five and a half minutes of sheer heaven!

Third up is one of my all time favourites, “Baby Please Don’t Go”, which is played at a slightly slower tempo than we are perhaps used to, a most effective version. Last is one of the band’s own compositions which definitely falls into the nublues category reminding me of the work of artists such as Little Axe, Rick Holmstrom and Chicken Legs Weaver. This is definitely a band to watch out for. You can hear the three cover tracks from the band’s demo at

http://www.btinternet.com/~john_mc_mahon/E2BLUES/Demosongs/demotracks.htm

EARL GREEN – A DIFFERENT PICTURE

Snakestone Records – SBQ04305CD - 11 Tracks -50.05

I have long admired Earl Green, a man whose singing career has seen him with some of the top bands around.. So a new CD stirred some considerable excitement and it was not unfounded. Working with Jake Zaitz who plays guitar on the CD, Earl has put together a CD containing entirely original material which is both varied and highly enjoyable. He has also gathered around him a selection of musicians which is attribute to the respect he commands in the industry. As well as Jake, Earl is accompanied by Richard Simmons on keys, Jeff Walker on bass and the excellent Evan Jenkins on drums. Guests include Matt Schofield, guitar, Paul Lamb, harp, Nick Payn, saxes & alto flute, Matt Winch, brass, Andy Hamilton, sax, Paul Garraway, conga & percussion and a trio of backing vocalists, Sylvia Arthur, Charlene Kays & Alex Bailey-Dumetz.. The varied material on this CD gives Earl every opportunity to show that his voice is still as strong and rich as ever even as he approaches his 6^th decade. Make no mistake, this is not a pure Blues CD but rather a fine collection of material which combines some great Blues & r’n’b with some funky stuff, some pure soul and plenty more. Particular favourites for me are “She’ll Eat You Up”, a rollocking romp featuring the lovely harp of Paul Lamb, the mid-tempo horn infused soul of “Let That Someone In”, the slow & moody “I Crossed The Line”, the wonderful shuffle that is “Don’t Mess With Me” featuring Matt Schofield, the slow but funky “I Don’t Want This To End”, you’re right, I don’t! But end it must and what a way to finish, a helping of gorgeousness with “Day Dreaming” which features Nick’s at times atmospheric and at times incisive flute and builds gradually with all the musicians having their moment! This track purports to be over 8 minutes long but in fact ends at just under 5 minutes. Patience is rewarded at around 6 minutes with Earl accompanied by acoustic guitar singing back porch style, sounding for all the world like one of the original purveyors of the Blues from way back when, a total contrast to the rest of the CD.

This is fine CD and a welcome release from a man whose apparent gentleness belies the strength and power of his wonderful voice. Definitely a CD to add to your collection, highly recommended

Guy Tortora – Jefferson Drive – Turtledove Records – GTX CD02

As I look through the CD’s that have come in for review over the last few months I am struck by the fantastic variety of the music on them. None more so that this wonderful CD from London based, Pasadena, California native, Guy Tortora with his excellent band. This is Guy’s second CD and is subtitled “Blues & Other Stories” which is a bit like the Ronseal ad, it is what it says on the sleeve! 13 tracks, wonderfully varied, displaying Guy’s great songwriting and guitar picking skills and also the skills of his regular band, Brendan Canty on bass, Neil Littman on drums and the wonderful Janos Bajtala on keyboards, including some very tasty Hammond B3.

Gems such as the incredibly laid back, jazz tinged and beautifully acoustic “Two Fried Eggs” which always makes my mouth water when I hear it. “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” the only cover has this wonderful feeling of four guys sitting in a room having a great time, whilst “Two Wrongs” opens with some haunting guitar playing and Guy’s relaxed vocals which builds slowly as the rest of the band joins in. This is one of a handful of numbers that sees Mike Thorne sit in on drums. Track 7, “Done Got Over”, sees things becoming more funky with some lovely Hammond from Janos and some more great guitar from Guy. Oh I love this CD.

“Watch Over Me” is back to slow and moody and acoustic with some lovely slide guitar. It also sees the man who produced and recorded the CD, Richard Studholme, playing bass, he pops up again on the country tinged “Sometimes She Cries”, this time playing mandolin, is there no end to this man’s talents? There is more fabulous slide on “Early In The Morning”. The CD culminates is a lovely six minute plus mid-tempo track “Blues Take Me Home” which again sees Richard on bass, Steve Thorneycroft on drums, Andy Cleveland, who also plays bass on three other tracks on backing vocals, joined by, Frankie & Bex, who I believe are Guy’s daughters. This song builds to a climax that has a positively gospel feel to it.

Every track on this CD is gorgeous and Guy should be very proud indeed of what he has produced and I have no hesitation in urging you to get your hands on a copy and go catch Guy live, his live performance is every bit as bewitching as this CD, if not more so.

HAIR OF THE DOG – PUTTING THE RHYTHM BACK IN THE BLUES – NO LABEL – 15 TRACKS – 64.05

I first became aware of Hair of the Dog around 18 months ago. With roots in the well known Southend band, the Legendary Undertakers, they have recently played their 100^th gig and released their debut CD and wow, what a cracker! Writing about the first time I caught the band live I said “I came away from this gig having really enjoyed it and with a sense that I had heard something really rather different but not really knowing how it was different.” The guys describe themselves as “A Blues/R&B band unlike any other” and they are not wrong. This CD simply confirms my original opinion and contains 15 tracks, of which three are originals, and offers an astonishing variety of material.

The band’s Essex roots are strong and very potent but there is so much more on offer and for me, throughout the whole piece, the guitar playing of Big Pete Gale is the standout. Like the material the band play, his playing is multi-faceted and spot-on. Although a very dextrous guitarist, he is not a member of the how many notes can I play per second school and effortlessly slips from frantic Essex style numbers such as “Key Love”, a superb thrash that defies you to stay still to the beautifully laid back original instrumental, “Adelaide Blues”, no doubt named after the studio where the CD was recorded and the mean, moody and utterly gorgeous 9 minutes of sheer bliss that is “Driftin” which sees Pete in all sorts of moods, every one superb!

I think this is the standout track for me because all four members of the band shine, Del ‘The Toad’ Stoton’s vocals range from a growling sotto voce to a speaker shaking tornado, Stephen “Cupsey” Cutmore, recently joined drummer formerly with Booze’n’Blues, is laid back and absolutely immaculate with his drumming which, along with Jeff ‘Gnat Bite’ Read’s rock solid bass, provides a perfect foundation to Pete’s guitar.

The CD opens and closes with a brief instrumental “Scuttle Buttin’” and then lays down the band’s credentials with a fabulous Hookeresque “La Grange” , “I Drink Alone” is a great rollicking number as are the excellent “You Don’t Love Me” and “Sugar Turns to Alcohol”, a cautionary tale if ever there was one! Both these tracks feature Del on harmonica and the former features him on jaws harp as well! The self penned “Hair of the Dog” is a great number which contains a verse in which Del introduces the band in song! Nice touch!

And listen to the ends of the tracks, especially track 15 – it ain’t over till its over! There are some lovely touches and the tracks finish rather than fading out! All in all this a terrific CD, very enjoyable and a good record of a good band and certainly one I shall be playing loads.

Hershey & the 12 Bars - Welcome to Hershey

Not yet released - Abacabe Label

It is, for me, a great honour to be asked to review a CD which is still in the making. What I have is a real exclusive, an unlabelled copy of the master of a soon to be released offering from the uniquely off the wall Hershey & the 12 Bars entitled “Welcome to Hershey”, rather apt for a band whose first CD was called “Greatest Hits Volume 2”! This is a rather special collection of tracks for a number of reasons because, although this is a new CD, the cuts on it date back to the 80’s.

Of the 14 tracks, 9 are studio recordings which, Richard Shirman (Hershey) tells me were put down in one day in the Autumn of 1986 with the aid of a polypin of Wadworths 6X (other ales are available!) and another aid or two which served to ensure a pleasant relaxing day was had by all! (No, don’t ask!) They were recorded “live” and mixed by Richard the following day whilst the remaining five tracks were recorded live on April 25^th 1989 at the Prince of Orange in Lower Road, Rotherhithe, one of the top London jazz venues.

For the technically minded, Richard tells me that the live tracks were recorded using a cassette player/recorder which he extracted from his home hi-fi unit (probably a Technics 615) to which he connected a couple of well travelled AKG microphones which were placed either side of the stage and off they went. Considering the somewhat low-tech procedure, the end result is not bad at all.

I know that Hershey & the 12 Bars are not to everyone’s tastes but what is impossible to ignore is the astonishing number of highly talented musicians who have at one time or another been part of the 12 Bars. We usually talk of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers as being the band that all the greats have played in but if you look at the list of musicians on this collection, there are some pretty great names including Nick Payn, Andy Hamilton and Frank Mead on saxes. One time members of the Twelve Bars have also included Sam Kelly, ‘Molly’ Duncan, Ashley Slater and Mel Collins as well as many others who are now spread around bands such as Nine Below Zero & Paul Cox’s Band.

And what a great collection these talented players bring us on this CD. The opening track is “Angel of Mercy” which first appeared on the Blues in Britain 2001 CD and which gives a foretaste of what is to come. “You Upset Me Babe” starts off with an almost Latin rhythm and introduces us to the most wonderful “big” brass sound and features the first of a number of gorgeous trombone solos which have me thinking of Rico Rodriguez from Jools Holland’s band until I remember that Rico was not much more than a boy when this was recorded!!!!! And that Hammond, it turns my legs to jelly!

There follows a moody and smoky slow Blues, “How Blue Can You Get”, featuring some more great Hammond playing from Dave Lennox plus some sax to die for, in fact I think I have actually died and gone to heaven! Six and a half minutes of pure magic. “Asked My Woman”, by contrast, clips along at a fine pace and gives Richard a chance to put his very individual voice to the fore. “44” features a brass section that recreates a totally in tune drunken chorus behind Richard’s vocals and harp as well as Jimmy Roche’s cool guitar, all to great effect.

“Back at the Chicken Shack” is an excellent instrumental which features more great brass with Richard Simmons breaking loose on piano and again one draws inevitable comparisons with the Jools Holland big band sound, and that is absolutely no criticism, quite the opposite. The tempo slows right down again for a great version of “Nobody Knows You When You Are Down & Out” which features another wonderful trombone solo which is followed by some moody guitar.

“Money’s Getting Cheaper” is a fine pacy number whilst “Tiger in Your Tank” should have been used for an advertising campaign!! Back in the days of that campaign the suggestive lyrics would have been lost on us innocents!

And so to the live tracks and they are unmistakably live, but none the worse for that. OK, the balance is not what it could be but considering the method of recording and the lack of sophistication, at least by today’s standards, the recordings stand up very well. There is a lovely, really live feel to them which is often missing from modern “live” recordings.

Richard introduces “Paying For It Now” as being a cautionary tale for young and innocent men like him!!! and this is followed by a great solid version of “Born Under a Bad Sign”. Next up is a track which is over seven minutes of pure glorious blues, the slow and gorgeous “Sweet Sixteen” with the audience conversation in the background simply adding even more atmosphere. More fabulous trombone here from John Bennett, cool keyboards from Richard Simmons, microphone fumbling from Hershey? wailing sax from the amazing Nick Payn, and all the while Chico Greenwood and Al Maclean keep a rock steady rhythm on drums and bass.

The penultimate track is “Playing in the Dirt”, another fine ensemble piece and then we are at the end having turned full circle as we are treated to a live version of the opening track “Angel of Mercy”.

What can I say about this CD that is not apparent from the foregoing? To say I like it is just slightly an understatement. OK, so the tracks are at least 15 years old, so what? The CD contains some absolutely superb musicianship from a band comprising musicians who have gone on to reach the top of their profession and if for no other reason than that, this is surely a must for the collection of anyone who is serious about British Blues and its development. Richard Shirman is unique in the genre, capable of writing very witty lyrics, performing with an energy and gusto which belies his poor health and above all else, producing music which is supremely individual.

There are, therefore, many reasons for buying this CD, not least the fact that Richard needs the money!!! More importantly, this is an excellent CD which captures very special music from a line-up which is unlikely to be seen or heard again although how cool would it be to reassemble the musicians that play here one more time? Now that would be something!

IAN BRIGGS & THE SUPERVAMPERS - BLUES AVENUE

Cobalt Music – CM001 - 13 Tracks - 53.41

Perhaps best known for the sterling work he does sitting alongside Michael Roach, Ian has been playing blues harp for more than 40 years and has been involved with many top UK & US artists. Something I did not know was that Ian has been playing with his band, The Supervampers for some 10 years and judging by this CD they have a very exciting dynamic which produces an excellent sound whatever “style” they are playing. Featuring a great mix of vocal and instrumental numbers evidencing the wide-ranging interests of the band the tracks span the whole blues & jazz spectrum. A variety of vocalists adds even more contrast and variation. Ian dedicates the opening track, a fine up-tempo track called “You’re The One I Play My Harp For”, to his wife whilst the original instrumental which follows, “Strut” features some superb sax & muted trumpet which lend a smoky ‘50’s vibe. Title track, “Blues Avenue” is a lovely down tempo number with some gorgeous Hammond from special guest Anders Olinder who also features on the funky but short “Intermission Riffs I, II, III” which intersperse the CD at various points. Next up is a glorious Andy Christie slow number, “Broken Heart” featuring the superbly soulful vocals of another of Ian’s guests Maggie Reeday together with great sax and harp. Total change for track 6, the highly danceable “Pontiac” which features some fine rocking harp from Ian. Then it is back to a smooth smoky and delicious slow blues “Dangerous Women”, another of Ian’s own compositions featuring some lovely chromatic harp from Ian and great Hammond from Anders. Then we have a wonderful track called “Leaning on the Shovel of Life” which features a harp instrumental very much in the Sonny Terry mould and Ian’s whispered vocal which repeats the song’s title over and over.

No harp player of Ian’s calibre and skill can fail to give acknowledgement to a certain Mr. Horton and Ian doffs his cap with a most unusual slow and gorgeous version of “Easy” – shivers down the spine time for sure!

The variety continues through the last two tracks with the Latin flavoured “Mean To Me” written by guitarist Andy Christie and which features a lovely vocal from Sarah Randle and the glorious standard “Wonderful Time” which sees Ian at his harp blowing best and in a distinctly jazzy mood as he recounts that he “sure had a wonderful time last night, at least they tell me I did!”. Great harp is intermingled with lovely sax and this is a fitting finale to what is a wonderfully varied collection and one which is warmly recommended. For me it is great to hear Ian playing with his band and clearly having a ball. “Blues Avenue” is a very enjoyable stroll through Ian’s musical world

Innes Sibun – Farmhouse Blues

I have heard much of Innes Sibun but never had the pleasure of hearing him before so it was with great anticipation that I received this CD, another new release from Blues Matters! as former Robert Plant guitar man, Innes Sibun makes what I believe is his first, and long overdue, appearance on a UK record label. 11 excellent tracks of which 8 are Sibbun originals with writing credits on two of them being shared with daughters Amy and Daisy (one track each) which is good to see.

The CD kicks off with a real rocker, the funkiest track on the CD and features lyrics mostly written by Amy. Next up is “Speak To Me”, a fine shuffle which leads into a soulful slower paced number, “So Tired of Living” which features some great guitar as well as a lovely tempo change towards the end of the number. And so to the first cover, “Don’t You Lie To Me”, a number with a wonderful ‘50’s vibe with loads of vocal reverb, rocking piano and guitar, oh yes, you can’t sit down to this one, pull on the drainpipes, curl that quiff but don’t step on my blue suede shoes!

A complete contrast with the gorgeous slow & moody instrumental “Desert Rain” which, for me, conjures up memories of the likes of Jonathan Butler & George Benson. Innes says in the sleeve notes that he “wanted to write a chill out jazzy Blues number” and he has, very successfully. The track is dedicated to saxophonist Danny Sheppard “who recently lost his battle with cancer”. This is a fabulous track, possibly my favourite.

It back to funky stuff with “Natural High” featuring lyrics courtesy of Daisy Sibbun and another number for moving to with some lovely bass work from Duncan Leslie. “Mid Life Crisis Blues” is a very pleasant surprise as it is an excellent acoustic number featuring Dobro & mandolin plus guests John Fenlon on harp and Wade Edwards on double bass and lyrics with which all those of us of a certain age will readily identify.

A lovely cover next as Innes stamps his own style on “All Your Love” whilst fully acknowledging the original, nice brass from Ben Plocki & Owain Parker. “I Must Be Crazy” is another lovely slow number with Innes’ voice giving the lyrics a tortured realism as he bewails his addiction to his lady that is driving him crazy – bin there, done that! Even the guitar reflects the pain!

A great drum’n’bass intro brings us to the penultimate track, another fine romp featuring cool piano and stinging guitar and more fabulous bass from Duncan, a great working of Willie Dixon’s excellent “I’m Ready”. The CD rounds off with another up tempo swinger, “Station Blues” which is a fine tot-tapping way to round of this collection from Innes.

Compliments go to Innes and to his band, Rob Brian on drums, Dan Inzani on keyboards and the aforementioned Duncan Leslie on bass. For me a great introduction to a man of whom I had heard much but who I had never heard playing. An omission I am glad to have corrected, this is an excellent CD, full of variety and one I shall be playing a lot, whatever my mood!

Jeremiah Marques & the Blue Aces

Exclusive & unreleased sampler from forthcoming Blue Wax Records release

Jeremiah Marques has been through a number of incarnations and it is, perhaps, in his live performances that his versatility, talent and sheer joy in what he is doing comes over best. Anybody who has caught him live as the Marques Brothers will know that each set is different and there will be blues, reggae and much much more. For this release Jeremiah has gathered around him a troupe of top musicians to produce some simply superb Chicago style Blues.

When I tell you that his great version of Willie Dixon’s ‘I’m Ready’ features Jeremiah backed by – big breath – Pete ‘Sonny’ Nash on piano, Lewis Fielding on guitar, West Weston on harp, Mike Thorne on drums and Ian Jennings on double bass, you begin to get the idea. The same line up is heard on track three, ‘Stockyard Blues’.

The first track, Sonny Boy Williamson’s ‘I Can’t Explain’ sees Jeremiah joined by Big Joe Louis on guitar, Laurie Garman on harp and Matt Radford on bass whilst track four, JLH’s great ‘This Is Hip’, features some great guitar playing from Raul DePedro Marinero, now playing with Paul Lamb & the Kingsnakes, and Fred Pierre Gustave from the Dana Gillespie Band.

I have to say I am a sucker for Blues played this way and the talent surrounding Jeremiah shines through but he is by no means eclipsed by it, his native passion and unique delivery imbues each track with an edge which is pure magic. On the basis of these four tracks, this CD will be one hot record and definitely one to look out for when it is released next year on Blue Wax Records, a company set up by Pete Nash & Mike Thorne.

The Jives – “Wonderful Time”

The Jives are Jeff Chapman, the front man with Essex high energy r’n’b specialists the Roosters and Al E Bye, harpist extraordinaire from the AM5. This duo is a rebirth of a format which was last seen on the circuit back in the 80’s and, from the evidence of this CD, one which has worn very well!. The 13 track CD contains a great variety of covers ranging from Billy Boy Arnold’s “I Wish You Would”, a track which, according to the sleeve notes, the guys originally heard “by the Yardbirds, then made it our own”, “Mystery Train” replete with wailing train siren harp, the folk blues “Riding in the Moonlight” to a pair of Chuck Berry’s, the moody “No Money Down” and the classic “Maybelline”. Along the way are such gems as the only track I know about a biscuit, the wonderfully amusing “Oreo Cookie Blues”, and a stomping take on Robert Johnson’s “Walking Blues” which the sleeve notes suggests has “more than a hint of the Tom Robinson Band”!

Also included is a lovely acoustic and very different version of the “Spider & the Fly”, the flip side of the Stones 1965 smash hit “Satisfaction”, Broonzy’s “Key to the Highway” which features some really great barrelhouse piano from the producer and engineer of the CD, the inimitable Pete Nash, plus the Holly/Petty classic made famous by the aforementioned Rolling Stones, “Not Fade Away”.

This is a really great collection that represents a veritable Who’s Who of traditional Blues and r’n’b performed by two very talented musicians in a style that is always individual but always right. Jeff’s voice is unmistakeable and his guitar playing offers great variety as he using a selection of acoustic, Dobro and electric guitars. Because of the duo and acoustic nature of the CD, Al’s harp playing is obviously more to the fore than in the setting of the AM5 and thus it is far easier to hear what a good player he is, whether providing rhythm backing or taking the lead. I can’t wait to see them live!

Ian Parker – Live - Whilst the Wind - Ruf Records

A real treat this, a live CD from Ian Parker with his cracking band. Recorded in December 2004 at the Bluegarage in Hannover, Germanyand featuring four tracks from his most recent studio CD, four covers and four new and previously unrecorded originals, it kicks off with the most wonderfully moody “Power of the Gospel”, the Ben Harper song which has Ian’s tortured vocals backed by Morg Morgan’s shimmering keyboards and nothing else, a brilliant opener and so atmospheric. This leads straight into a Parker original, "The Love I Have” which gives Ian a chance to give us and the live audience a taste of the power of his guitar playing as well as his vocal and composition skills. More Parker mastery follows with “Misfits and Fools”, another fine cut which sees Ian off on a superb guitar break of the sort so beloved of the audience at his live gigs. Previous CD’s have perhaps not been bluesy enough for some but this collection will not disappoint. “It Hurts a Man” (about the death of Ian’s Grandmother in 2004) is a gorgeous slow moody affair with some guitar sometimes stinging, sometimes soaring, always beautiful and is followed by “The Moral Men”, which sees the band in real Blues territory. There follows “She Cries”, “The Truth Within”, “Feeling Whole Again”, a gorgeous seven plus minute version of what was, for me one of the standout songs from “Inside”, given a somewhat different treatment here, and “By Your Side” a gorgeous slow cut which, at more than 10 minutes, captures the absolute essence of Ian & his band live. This track alone is worth the price of the CD, believe me.

The CD is rounded off by two covers and what a choice, “ She’s All Right”, Muddy Waters’ great track given the Ian Parker treatment to excellent effect, this must have had the audience dancing. Followed by Dave Crosby’s “Almost Cut My Hair” and Peter Green’s “The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown)” to give it its full title brought together in a glorious 11 and a half minutes which provide a perfect finale to this superb CD and leaves me wanting to see Ian playing live soon! Mention must go to Morg Morgan on keyboards, Steve Amadeo on bass and Wayne Proctor on bass who back Ian and are a superbly cohesive and tight unit, the perfect team for Ian. This is an absolute gem of a record which I reckon is an essential addition to anyone’s collection and a great record of a top class live act, playing live!

Johnny Gunner & the Raiders – Stack A’ Records

Take a generous helping of guitar, a heaped spoonful of double bass, a dollop of drums and pour lashings of fat Chicago style harp, stir in a marinade of rock’n’roll, rockabilly, 50’s r’n’b, and pinches of jazzand some Latin influences and what do you have? A fine gumbo called “Stack A’ Records” the latest offering from Johnny Gunner & the Raiders, a cracking four piece outfit who are making a name for themselves both on the jump, jive & boogie circuit as well as on the Blues scene.

This is a really excellent CD, crammed full of variety opening with a great driving version of “Honey Hush” then moving on with the Crudup standard “My Baby Left Me”, Johnny Gunner’s self-penned tale of a love gone wrong, the latin influenced “Reconsider”, the classic “Route 66” done very much in the style of Nat King Cole in his trio days rather than the more familiar Chuck Berry or Rolling Stones take. Cliff Jarman on harp comes to the fore on the self-penned “Chicago Jump” which features some great fat harp sound and also on Papa Lighfoot’s “Mean Old Train” where he also takes the vocal lead.

There is a great take on Eddie Cochrane’s “Pretty Girl” plus a version of “Cotton Picking” which is so aptly described in a review as “wild surf style rock ‘n’ roll played like an overdriven wall of sound” plus, perhaps surprisingly, the band’s own arrangement of the Rogers & Hart classic, “Blue Moon”.

Recorded & produced by the oh so talented Ray Marquis at his Farm Studios, this really is a cracking CD with 13 wonderfully varied tracks which show off the band’s wide repertoire and abilities. I have never seen the band live but on the basis of this CD, I must and soon. Warmly recommended, this is a band of whom we should, if there is any justice, be hearing a great deal more.

Various Artists – Johnny’s Blues

From the Northern Blues label in Canada comes “Johnny’s Blues”, a tribute to Johnny Cash featuring a number of American blues artists performing Johnny Cash numbers, a compilation if you like which makes for most interesting and enjoyable listening with classics such a “Fulsom Prison Blues”, “Train of Love”, “I Walk The Line” and “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”. These are performed by artists such as Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Maria Muldaur, Chris Thomas King (O Brother Where Art Though) and Corey Harris.

There is even an instrumental from Kevin Breit, guitar player for Norah Jones, which is complete with a mandolin orchestra! The whole thing was produced by Colin Linden and I reckon he and the artists have done a great job and produced a CD which is a cutting edge tribute to a man who has become an icon, a status which is well deserved. This is definitely a CD which you should add to your collection for any number of reasons. More details from www.northernblues.com

Little Luke & the Loose Cannon Band

Shootin the Groove – Five & Dime Records

From the word go let me say that if this band is as good live as they are on this CD, then please someone get them on a tour over here, they would blow people away and be go down so well on the Festival circuit.

Hailing from Casper in Wyoming, Jeff ‘Little Luke’ Lucas is a veteran of the music scene having been a member of that select group of top Hammond B3 session players in Tulsa who, back in the 70’s, backed the likes of Eric Clapton, Bob Seeger, Freddie King and Leon Russell to name but a few. Having been absent from the scene since the mid 80’s, Little Luke is back with a great band and a great CD.

If like me you are a lover of the unique sound that only a Hammond can produce, then this CD will soon melt your ice cream sundae. And if you are a sax lover then the contributions of ‘Sax’ Gordon Beadle will leave you panting for more.

Described as “Countrifunkified Rhythm & Blues from the great State of Wyoming”, this CD has something for everyone whether it is the Little Featish rocker ‘Come on Over’, the very amusing ‘Valley of Love’ which is described as ‘slightly irreverent Gary US Bonds/Dion tinged retro r&b’, ‘Kool with the Kopp’ which has a real jazzy swing thing to it, the ‘ lost my guy & gonna die’ jazzy bluesy 30’s style ‘Lose at Love’, one of a number of tracks which features great vocals from Amy Gieske, the band’s bass player. This track also features a fabulous guitar & sax outtro. God I like this CD.

And what about the next three tracks? A superb groove which is the band’s take on the Motown classic ‘Ain’t That Peculiar’ which has vocals which are almost Michael Messer-ish as well as some great intercourse between sax and Hammond, ‘Festive Dog’, an catchy and fun song about Christmas which has a great Latin rhythm and feel to it with Amy’s voice multi-tracked to great effect. My particular favourite is the fabulous ‘Can’t Kill For The Thrill’, described by the band as a ‘sultry night in blues alley’ featuring more fascinating and delicious sax and Hammond interplay. Whenever I play this track people come and ask what it is and who it is by!

This is a standout CD to me and how great to hear such fabulous Hammond playing, thanks Amy for sending it to me. Definitely a contender Digital Blues International Blues CD of 2003.

Little Toby Walker – Live At The Bottleneck – Powerhouse Records – PRO406

Little Toby Walker is another artist who came over from the US, an almost unknown quantity, and in the course of a fairly short tour, excited loads of interest and won an army of fans with his wonderful guitar picking, his great original material, excellent covers and his storytelling. An evening with Little Toby is an experience and here, just such an experience is captured for posterity as Richard Studholme & Steve Thorneycroft of the Tone Zone Studios went down to the Roffen in Rochester, one of the regular homes of the Bottleneck Blues Club, to record Little Toby in front of a knowledgeable and enthusiastic audience.

From the first track, Toby’s own arrangement of “I Know You Rider”, you know you are going to hear some fine finger picking and this continues on track two, Toby’s own composition “Main Street Rag” about Memphis brothels and their inhabitants! A brief anecdote about Blind Lemon Jefferson being a wrestler, a blind Wrestler, leads into a wonderfully laid back version of “Matchbox Blues” which is followed by Big Bill Broonzy’s “Good Liquor” and Toby’s own moody and slow “Baby Who You Waiting For” with some gorgeous guitar.

At Toby’s live shows a number which always puts a knowing smile on faces of many in the audience is the Rev. Billy C Wertz’ wonderful wry and true “Things I Used To Do All Night” – now take me all night to do!

And so the CD rolls on, track after wonderful track. “True Religion”, “Schoolboy Blues”, “Weak Willed”, two gorgeous rags, “Hacksaw Rag” & Cincinnati Row Rag”, “Glory Glory” which sees Toby playing real down & dirty slide, the beautiful “Corrina” and as an encore the fast & furious “Who’s Gonna Be Your Sweetman Tonight”, another Little Toby original.

Oh yes, make no mistake, this CD is a wonderful record of a very talented, singer/songwriter/guitarist and raconteur in live performance and whilst Toby is back in the US it will have to do, but he is back here later this year so go catch him live and see that the CD is no fluke, he is the real thing!

Mark Easton Limousine – Greener

This CD was released in February 2004 although I was fortunate enough to receive an advance copy and so enjoyed it over Christmas. Mark Easton Limousine hail from Bondi Beach in Australia and this is, I believe, Mark’s second CD and it came about after Mark had played four gigs with a dep drummer with whom he gelled so well that he sacked his band and more or less immediately went into the studio with Tony Georgeson to put down the 11 tracks which are on the CD.

The result is an excellent collection displaying a great variety from the hard rocking rock blues of the title track to the delicious “Butterfly” which features some slide guitar to die for. “Long Gone” is one of the tracks that features guests with some nicely controlled harmonica from Chris Gould, a former surfing buddy of Mark’s. The track also includes some more of Mark’s delicious guitar playing.

As if to demonstrate the variety, the mournful and haunting “Prison Cell Blues” starts off very much a semi-acoustic number and grows to feature some more lovely slide guitar as well as straight guitar picking. This is a really good track as is “Tomcat Blues” which features Mark playing bass, guitars and doing the vocals with loads of reverb and through a harp mike or similar. Very moody.

“Spiritual Man” has a distinctly eastern feel to it with the two-minute instrumental introduction leaving me expecting some Indian or Egyptian dancers! Studio engineer Michael Petrou gets the bass playing credit here. As Mark tells it, “he loved the song so much, he wanted to be part of it!” A total contrast is the acoustic “Fall From Grace” which again features some lovely slide from Mark and guest Bob Baird on bass.

This varied collection has something for everyone and is most enjoyable even if I was knocked out by every track. I have come back to the CD time & time again and found something new each time. I really enjoy it and congratulate Mark on producing a damn fine CD. For more details visit his website at www.markeastonlimousine.com.

Motel Kings – Red Light Fever

Hotshot Records ODSCD 1004

Great news for fans of one of Essex’s hottest bands, the Motel Kings are back! After a period where they have not gigged too much they have just released a new CD which has made the wait worthwhile. 12 tracks, 11 self-penned, which run the gamut from smoky, raunchy slow blues through some great rockabilly, jump jive style to straight out and out boogie. The first track is a great in your face Motel Kings standard entitled “Shut Up” with Nick Nichols wailing harp and a mid paced rhythm. Smashing. “Groover” is great up-tempo song with Nick going mad over a rather tasty young lady!

Things ease off slightly for “Pieces”, a number with a nice light touch, a song that is rather gentler than we are accustomed to from these Kings. Some great horns, nice backing vocals and a lovely guitar. “I’m A King” is a fabulous up-tempo number which I can just see being played to a dance-floor full of jivers & Lindyhoppers. The whole thing has a brilliant 50’s feel to it and again the Harlem horns add another dimension.

“Motel Boogie” starts off with some wonderful wailing harp and then a driving rhythm breaks out and we are off. Another one for the jivers this. Some great Hammond chords lead into the really tight & funky “Night into Day” and this in turn gives way to another wild high-speed thrash “In My Arms” which will be another favourite with the dancers. Oh I am really enjoying this CD.

Track eight of 12 and we start off with a crackly piano sound just like my Dad’s old 78’s before we break into a wonderful boogie-woogie number so bewitchingly entitled “Come & Have A Jive (If You Think You Are Hard Enough). I am sitting here at my computer dancing, it’s that sort of number. Hell it’s that sort of CD!

The next track is called “3 Times Fool” and is subtitled (Blues). There is a wonderfully jazzy feel to this with the Reverend Choules using brushes, Johnny Chase’s keyboard skills lending a fabulous lightness of being whilst Nick’s harp playing is a joy. This track leads straight into a completely different version of the song which is more up-tempo and again features the Harlem Horns to great effect including a great bit of muted trumpet.

Last but one track is “Leaving” and this starts off with the most fabulous slide guitar picking conjuring up so many memories and images, but this gives way to another great up tempo number with harp & guitar playing the same riff both in unison and harmony. This is another great track.

The CD concludes with the only number not written by the band, the Radio Kings stomper “It Ain’t Easy” which is given the Motel Kings treatment and storms along in real Essex style. Vintage Motel Kings! This is an excellent CD and well worth the wait. There is smashing variety of material and some terrific ensemble playing. The boys prove again why they are so popular with those who love to dance.

The band has not been gigging a great deal recently and I, for one, hope that this is going to change soon because I would love to hear these numbers live. I defy you to listen to this CD and stay unmoved. The Motel Kings are back, long live the Motel Kings!

Dancing Down the Stony Road – Chris Rea

Jazzee Blue Records

This is without doubt one of the best CD’s it has been my pleasure to hear in a long time. It is never out of my CD player and every time I listen to it I hear something new. Sometimes paying tribute to some of the greats who have influenced him, he has produced a double CD containing a collection of songs, some of which are heartrending in their portrayal of Rea’s brush with mortality and his long road to recovery.

This is surely the CD that he has waited too long to make, apparently, always having to do things the way someone else wanted him to and never being able to go down that Blues road. Sure, we have had hints, we have seen glimpses, we have heard his slide guitar but always under cover of his chart orientated, AOR material, excellent though much of it has been. Rea’s voice is unique and has always had a Blues feel to it, now he has reached his personal Crossroads!

The double CD is definitely one of two halves. The first contains a selection of superb songs which document his brush with death as a result of serious illness and major, high-risk surgery. Hidden behind the title “Easy Rider”, the name which he and two ward mates who did not survive, jokingly gave the night nurse, is a tormented plea for something to “pull this pain and let it go”, a reference to the seven weeks he spent on high doses of morphine. And so this disc continues, the tracks gradually becoming more optimistic and hopeful. Along the way there are references to a 22 year old German girl who gave Rea support & encouragement despite her own many and high risk operations, his Mother and more. There is also a brief moment of in your face slide on the short instrumental, “Segway”.

The second CD sees Rea in a mood that is more contemplative with Gospel influences apparent as the tracks cover themes such as God, pain, loneliness, suffering and evil. Amid the despair of “The Good Lord Talked to Jesus”, there is the hope that “Someday My Peace Will Come”.

This is a stunning CD, the making of which Rea has been quoted as saying was one of the things which he clung to whilst he was so ill, he had to survive so he could make a CD which was him. Thank God he survived and gave us such a stunning work. Rea has been forced to release this CD on an independent label as his normal label would not take the “risk”. Shame on them for not having the guts to support Chris and release what is, in my humble opinion, without doubt, the Blues CD of 2002.

Unfaithfully Yours? - Connie Lush

Blue Rhythm Records

At last, the eagerly awaited new release from Connie Lush together with her stunning backing band, Bluesshouter. And boy was it worth the wait! Just a few weeks after Connie was voted UK Female Blues Singer of the Year for the fifth time in the Blues in Britain poll and, as a result, became a Hall of Fame inductee, a ten track disc featuring no less than eight original compositions plus two great covers of songs that could have been written for Connie has been released.

The playlist kicks off with “Standin”, one of Connie’s own, a good mid-paced number of the sort that she and the band make such a good job of and which goes down so well at live gigs. Johnny has an early opportunity to demonstrate what a very fine guitarist he is with a ringing guitar break.

Track two is “Get It Right” written by ‘er old man, Terry, whose bass playing is frequently nothing less than breathtaking as he plays his bass guitar, clasped close to his chest, and yet produces runs and rhythms which one might more often expect from a stand up bass, only more so! With almost choral backing vocals slightly reminiscent of the Rolling Stones “Sympathy for the Devil” provided by Liverpool group the Christians, probably best known for their 1988 top ten hit version of “Harvest For The World”, this is perhaps a bit of a departure for Connie but it works a dream! Listen, closely to the lyrics, there is a great story going on here and remember, Terry wrote them!

The first cover next, an absolutely fabulous moody version of the Randy Newman song, “Guilty”, a dream of a slow blues featuring some almost Hawaiian sounding guitar from Johnny as well as some deliciously understated Hammond from Henry Priestman, a member of the Christians. Absolutely knockout and certainly one of my favourite tracks.

Next up is a Lush/Lewis composition, “You Can’t Make Me Stay”, a wonderfully smoky torch song with Tony Peer’s muted trumpet producing the perfect dive jazz club feel. I can smell the cigarette smoke and taste the beer as I sit and listen to it.

“Dedicated to You” is credited to Lush, Lewis, Harris & Woodward, that well known Scouse performing collective that practices under the name Connie Lush & Bluesshouter. Yet again, Connie is in great form with a slow funk flavoured number with great backing horns from Alby Donnelly and some more moody Hammond.

Next the first of two songs credited to Connie & Johnny Harris, guitarist extraordinaire. “It Hurts So Bad” is a wonderful slow number which typifies Connie’s amazing ability to charge a song with deep emotion without raising her voice! Again, the Christians and Carla Russell provide superb vocal backing in the chorus whilst held Hammond chords supplement Connie’s voice in the verses as well as providing a lovely laid back instrumental break. The song builds gently and then, unexpectedly, winds down beautifully to end with an a capella chorus featuring Connie & the Christians to excellent effect.

Talking to Connie at the Boogaloo Blues week-end on the Isle of Wight a short while before the CD was released, she told me that this song was written following the death of a dear friend and the raw emotion is there a’plenty, Connie’s heart is clearly on her sleeve.

A drum roll takes us into a fabulous stinging guitar solo from Johnny which, in turn, introduces us to a wonderful slow blues called “Can We Love Again”, another Lush & Lewis composition. A great guitar break from Johnny plus really spirited drumming from Carl make this a future standard which builds to a great climax.

The second cover comes next as Connie gives “I’d Rather Go Blind” the Lush treatment – Johnny’s guitar wails plaintively as Connie leads us into her take on this classic. It could be argued that it is risky to try to cover a song of which there are, arguably, already at least two “definitive” versions. But I am pleased to advise that there is now, in my opinion, a third such version. Johnny’s guitar work is so perfect even down to the wonderful acoustic guitar break in the middle of the number. Connie’s phrasing is, as ever, spot on and this track absolutely drips with emotion and passion.

Terry & Connie wrote “Shoppin”, the next track, a real fast paced funky little number with Terry’s bass guitar running rampant and a wonderful horn and Hammond backing on a song which, at live shows, Connie dedicates to all the ladies in the audience! Listening to the lyrics, it is no wonder! Connie “just loves her pink toes, they go with her clothes!”

Carl, the band’s drummer told me recently they felt originally that this was, perhaps, one of the weaker tracks but that it had gone down really well at live shows and so they had revised their opinion! Quite right too! The audience would have to be close to death to keep still to this. And the lyrics have to be listened to closely so as not to miss the humour!

This excellent CD is rounded off with another of Connie’s own compositions, the title track, “Unfaithfully Yours”, which has Connie in splendidly plaintive mood with Johnny bending his guitar around her vocal and Henry Priestman switching to accordion to provide a very spare and understated backing to Connie’s plaintive and emotion charged vocals.

I freely admit to bias but, given the fact that many others have voted consistently for Connie and her gigs sell out all round the UK & Europe, I am not alone. I think that Connie Lush & Bluesshouter are one of the very best acts on the circuit at the moment and they are much loved by audiences with whom they always mix freely and for whom they always have time.

I promise you that if you half like Connie and her music, you will love this new album. There are some tracks which are typical of the Connie we know & love but she and the band have moved on and with great backing vocals, additional instrumentation and so on, all of which are used to great effect. Connie tells me she would love to promote the CD next year by going on tour with the Christians and the horns but accepts that she would need a bigger van!!!!

Connie, if you and the boys do that tour, I will be one of the first in line to buy tickets! And there will be hundreds, if not thousands of people behind me! Thank you for making your new CD so worthwhile waiting for!

Blues Matters! Sampler No. 1

Blues Matters!

I have seen (or rather heard) the future of British Blues! A while in formulation & production, the eagerly awaited first Sampler from the Blues Matters! record label is well worth the wait. I doubt that anywhere can you find 16 track CD which demonstrates so effectively what a fantastic variety of very fine artists there is around these British Isles doing their bit to keep the Blues alive and to move it on. The first of what Blues Matters! hope will be a series, this CD is not a compilation but is a true sampler containing tracks from artists who have or will be releasing CD’s on the Blues Matters! label. I am told that the aim is to release some 15 different artists albums over the next 12 or so months!

Think back to the sixties when CBS produced the “Fill Your Head With Rock” & The Rock Machine Turns You On” samplers, think of Island’s “You Can All Join In” and all the other fine sampler vinyl LP’s that appeared with tracks taken from various artists’ albums. I know that I bought a number of albums on the strength of tracks heard, albums which I would not have bought without the sampler. This is what these samplers aim to do for the Blues

I was very fortunate during my Digital Blues Matters! programmes on PhoenixFM.com throughout October to be able to give quite a number of tracks from this sampler exclusive first airplay having received all bar one of the tracks on cassette from Alan at BM! What a variety there is, definitely something for everybody!

Scotland’s finest are represented by the wonderfully named Big Girls Blues, a quartet who hail from Dundee and bring us an excellent slow Chicago style “I Won’t Be The One”. Although mainly performing North of the Border, the band have made a number of appearances at Colne, Maryport and Burnley Festivals.

All three of the current BM! artists contribute tracks with Richie Milton & the Lowdown offering “Love Is A Crime”, a track from his next album. It features Richie together with the lovely Linda Hall who shares the vocal and, of course, the band’s fine brass section, all to great effect. The excellent Danny Bryant’s RedEye Band provide an exclusive track which will not be available anywhere else, the wonderfully moody & powerful “Always With Me” written by Danny. Dr Ika also offers up an exclusive track, “Go My Train Go” complete with train sound effects and fabulous blues guitar. God this man is a genius!

An extra special exclusive to the sampler is a track called “After the Rain” which has Danny Bryant & Dr Ika together to fantastic effect. Apparently, Danny, who lives not far away from the good Dr. visited the Ika studios and the two jammed and how! “After The Rain” features the wonderfully moody guitar style of Danny’s “Purple” with Dr Ika’s phenomenal stinging guitar picking. This is a real meeting of guitar heroes and the result is a track which should carry a health warning because listen to it on cans and you may end up with scrambled brains!

From Wales comes Tin Pan Alley, a band in the midst of change, who bring us a straight ahead solid “Blues Is A Feeling” a self penned track which tells it how it is! The Roach Twins Band present a track which must be for the luckiest man around. “Blues For Roy” is simply magical. Running at just more than 6 minutes, the track is a fabulous slow twelve bar Blues instrumental with a rock solid rhythm section giving the guitarist all the space he wants to weave soaring guitar solos which give way to some glorious chromatic harp playing reminiscent of long long ago. Magic!

“Fat Man’s Lament” from Swampnobs, yes that is their name, serves to demonstrate the diversity in the Blues for in amongst the fine electric bands is an acoustic duo of self-confessed nutters whose forthcoming BM! CD will be entitled “The Toilets Are Massive”, (no don’t ask, please). Hailing from just north of Manchester, they bring a heady cocktail of Blues & Humour with songs which are researched back to the period between the late 1800’s and 1929, “Sort of ‘roots’ some would call it” according to Galen, one half of the duo.

From the South Coast come “Reconsider”, that superb band which does not enjoy the exposure or success which they should. Hopefully that will change soon. With a stomping live version of “Right Here”, a track which originally appeared on the band’s late ‘90’s CD “Leaving Bourbon Street” which features the fabulous voice of and was composed by Fliss Dowling, and diplays to great effect the guitar mastery of Mick Downs whose brothers Tim and Jerry are on Hammond & Bass respectively, whilst Rich Ashmore on drums and Andy Flitcroft on sax make up the rest of the band. Catch them if you can and watch out for their forthcoming CD on BM!

More great acoustic blues from Irish band Parchment Farm whose “Down In Mississippi” features a combination of fine guitar and harp. A complete change with Stir Crazy, a band from the High Wycombe area who bring us the romping “The Tease” which is a great number and suggests that this would be an excellent band to see live. From the North West come Bluesline, a five piece with style, if you have seen them live you will know what I mean. “Travellin’” is a fine slow blues which is very tight and has some great guitar. Another band to watch out for.

From London, Mo’ Indigo bring us the fabulous “Trouble Every Day” which makes me even more determined to try to catch them live soon. Yorkshire based The Speakeasy Band provide a fine up tempo number “Don’t Mess With Me” which features some great guitar and a really fine harp workout set against some fine drumming and horns. I think this would be another great band to catch live.

The NorthWest is again represented by the Badge whose leader, Wayne Carrick, penned “Leave You Baby”, a smashing number that bounds along at a steady pace and features a good vocal and some nice harp playing over a solid twelve bar rhythm. I happen to know that this band is looking to come down South to gig so if you are interested, why not contact them?

The sixteenth act on this CD is, I believe, Delta Blues who hail from Leicester, that hotbed of Blues which produced the wonderful Aynsley Lister, BluesMove and Mick Pini to name but a few. I say I believe, because on the version I was given they do not appear and instead there is a track from the excellent Scottish band Lights Out By Nine whose “Feel Like Robert Johnson” features horns and a lovely driving rhythm which, I am told, is to appear, on the second BM! sampler. Delta Blues self-penned number “It Never Goes The Way That You Want” will appear on the first CD and it will, I am sure, be excellent if it is up to the standard of the other tracks! A band of many highly talented individuals and a band who put the emphasis upon entertainment. Look forward to their CD and to their live performances.

I said at the beginning of this review that I had seen the future of British Blues. Perhaps not the entire future because I know that there are literally hundreds of artists & bands out there all doing their thing. On this CD you will get just a taste, but what a taste. So many flavours which tantalise and tempt, leaving you wanting more. And more you shall have when these bands’ CD’s are released on the Blues Matters! label. Until then, savour this Sampler. Play it over and over and decide which CD’s you are going to buy, then give up and buy the lot!

Skeleton Key - David Gogo

Cordova Bay Records – Distributed by Pinnacle

David Gogo was an unknown entity to me until I received a copy of his new CD from Frontier Promotions based up there in deepest Norfolk. Born in British Columbia, Canada, Dvaid started playing ukelele at age 4 and got his first guitar at 5! By the time he had reached High School, where he shared the same music tutor as Diana Krall, he was well on his way to a successful career in music. By 16 he had become a professional musician and some years later he met Stevie Ray Vaughan who encouraged him to become a serious blues artist. Soon afterwards, he formed a band called The Persuaders and within months he was opening for acts such as Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy & Albert Collins. After a European tour supporting the Fabulous Thunderbirds, David signed a record deal with EMI/Capitol.

However, he subsequently moved to Cordova Bay Records, a Canadian independent label and this is his fifth release for them. The album is a fine blend of rock, soul & blues and contains some surprises. A good blend of original material and “covers” the CD starts with a hard rocking track, “(Just Ask) Jesse James” a Gogo composition which is reminiscent of ZZ Top and the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Next comes a wonderful cover of Albert Collins fine instrumental “Backstroke” which rocks along at terrific pace with Gogo’s guitar singing over a vintage Hammond organ. Great stuff as a certain BBC Blues presenter might say!

The mood chills with the plaintive rock ballad style own composition “I Can Still Hear You Crying” which again features a beautiful guitar break and the almost Essex Blues style “Stay Away From My Home”, a fine pacy number with some excellent harp. I could see the AM5 or the Roosters very much at home with this number. The title track, “Skelton Key” is mid-paced number which is not, in my opinion, anywhere near the strongest track as might be expected. There is some nice brass in the mix which adds some depth and texture and David gives us a laid back guitar break which is nice but not great.

The next track, however, is a knockout. Frantic drums lead us into a frenetic version of Otis Spann’s “Walkin’” which I have to say I love. The drummer has a ball and is right up there in front of the mix even having a nice little drum break, something you do not hear too often on recorded material. Oh yes, this is more like it! An excellent track as is the next one, a cover of the great Atlantic original “Reap What You Sow”. Here David shows his years of Blues experience in a magic slow blues with some excellent guitar and organ througout. The track builds and then ebbs and builds and ebbs for all its nearly five & a half minutes with David’s voice sometimes having an almost Gospel feel to it. I would imagine that this a tour de force when played live!

The mood is back to up tempo with a very fine own composition, “Things Are About To Change”. This is out and out blues and very fine blues of the sort that so many of us love to hear. I could see this getting plenty of radio play. Yes I like this as I do the next track, a cover of Willie Dixon’s slow and moody “It Don’t Make Sense (That You Can’t Make Peace)” which has the vocal and some stinging guitar over an insistent and almost menacing repeated 8 note phrase way down in the bass clef from the organ, bass guitar and I think, horns. Fabulous! I shall be playing this one loads.

Two surprises follow, tracks which show an interesting ability to turn numbers from outside the genre into contemporary blues/rock anthems. The first is a most intriguing bluesy version of the Stevie Wonder’s 1970 top ten hit “Signed Sealed Delivered”. Taken at a significantly slower pace than the original, this is a big production number which will not be for Stevie Wonder fans but which is nonetheless most interesting. An even greater surprise follows. A distorted guitar note, a wailing harp, an insistent driving riff, heavy drumming lead us to a vocal deep in the mix, yes, it is Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus”, a fine reworking of their 1989 top twenty hit. And a damn fine treatment of it too.

Then it is back to a Gogo original, “Belgian Moon” a funky number with an unusual title, some lovely organ, bass guitar, drums, lead guitar, the whole nine yards in fact. The final track is a cover of Curtis Mayfield’s “Fool For You”, a song which starts off very much more in the soulful style with slightly distorted backing vocals in the chorus, nice piano phrasing and most effective horns. The number becomes heavier as it progresses with a very strong mid-section featuring strident guitar before drifting off on an almost psychedelic trip becoming positively ethereal with soaring female vocals, guitar and, for all I know unicorns! A most unusual way to finish not only a track but also an album.

So how do we sum this up? In the main I like it a great deal and it is indisputable that there is considerable talent on show. The mood is more rock blues than Blues but there is nothing wrong with that. Some of the treatments are most unusual, particularly that of “Personal Jesus” which works excellently. I am not so sure about “Signed Sealed Delivered” but that may be simply because I loved Stevie Wonder’s original.

As I have said before, if you are going to cover a song, I think you need to bring something new to it. David’s treatment certainly does that, but I am not wholly convinced that it is entirely successful. Nonetheless, I think that there is more than enough good stuff on the CD to make it a recommendation although I know it will not be to everyone’s tastes.

Depot

Demo CD

Don’t you love it when you get mystery packets through the post? A little while ago a CD arrived which was wrapped in a sheet of paper with nothing but a question mark on it. Inside was a CD upon which the only markings on the cover were the name Depot & an e-mail address. Inside were four track titles and that was it. No clue who or where it was from, nothing! Now some would review the CD making some assumptions and get it wrong and include with their review a moan about lack of info. Not this reviewer!

There was an e-mail address so I mailed it and asked for more info and got it! Well enough to tell me that the Depot is a duo comprising Mat Walklate and Andy Pyatt better known as 50% of Manchester based band, the Moochers (the last bit I worked out for myself, it was only the first bit that I got from the e-mail!

So what do we get on this four track mystery CD? First up is a track called “Payday” which features some nice harp, chromatic I think but what do I know, with acoustic guitar and a distinctly Caribbean flavour to it. Most enjoyable and definitely one that has your foot tapping along.

Next up is “Playhouse” which features electric guitar played quite sparely and a very unusual combination of flute and harp over-dubbed providing the instrumental finale to great effect. The third track is “No Big Deal”, that’s not a critique, that’s the title which has a guitar riff which is slightly reminiscent of “Dimples” and sees the guitar and harp trading notes most effectively. This is a bit more up-tempo and jogs along nicely with a very good harp break.

Final track is “Mad With Me” which starts off with harp & guitar again trading notes and then voice and guitar doing the same, all to good effect. There is an almost Cajun feel this number at times and I have to confess it reminds me of something else but the old memory is not what it was so I’m d….d if I know what! The track again bounces along and has a good feel to it.

So that’s it, four tracks featuring Andy Pyatt on guitar and Mat Walklate on vocal, harp and flute and very nice it all is too. If you know the Moochers and/or have heard their CD “Mean Business” then be prepared to be surprised. This is very different. It has a raw, front porch on a hot night feel to it and I would be surprised if Depot were not to be kept very busy playing pubs & clubs & acoustic stages at festivals.

I liked these four tracks; only wish there were more. I enjoyed the stripped down feel & loved the interplay between the two members of the duo and their instruments. This is blues with a very authentic, old style feel but with the inclusion of a flute, with a modern twist. I would have liked to hear more of the flute, such a spiritual instrument &, on the basis of this demo, I would really like to see Depot playing a live set, I think a good time would be had by all. Watch out for the name Depot if you are up in the North West.

PAUL COX - GOOD TO ME

Note Records – NCD 1007 2 – 14 tracks – 60.13

A new release from Paul Cox is always worth waiting for and July 9^th saw the launch of his latest collection “Good To Me”, a selection that sees him in fine voice and features some very welcome guests. The CD kicks off with a fine track “Weekend Blues Man”, which must strike a note with many fellow musicians and is a smashing up tempo number featuring a great horn section (Nick Payn & Matt Winch), the harp of Alan Glen, additional vocals from Val Cowell supplementing Paul’s excellent band comprising Steve Dixon – drums (who also wrote many of the tracks), Al MacLean – Bass and backing vocals, Mike Summerland – guitar & bass and Roger Cotton – keyboards & Hammond. “Middle of Nowhere” is a great number which sees Paul at his rocking best. Complete change of mood for “Dangerous Mood” a slow and dirty duet with Jon ‘Smiggy’ Smyth (no relation!) featuring great guitar from Mike. There is a mid-pace funkiness to “Who You Gonna Lie To?” whilst “Ride A Pony”, is a superbly mean and smoky number which sees Mike playing some more great slide, gorgeous. “Soul & Passion” is a beautiful ballad with Paul accompanied just by piano & Hammond to superb effect. “Fly” is a typical Paul Cox soulful mid-tempo track, lovely.

Next up is a great duet with Paul & Val covering Wilson Pickett’s 1966 smash, “634 5789”, Val’s great voice is a fine blend with Paul’s and they really do an excellent job here. The acoustic & gentle “Only Time Will Tell” is just gorgeous and is followed by the funky “The Forecast Calls For Pain” which, in turn takes us to a slow and moody seven minutes of “Suddenly” which builds in power slowly but surely and must be a live favourite. “Good To Me” starts off with an almost Hendrixian psychedelic guitar and I would say Mike really enjoys this track. Penultimate track “Don’t Think Twice”, has some more superb guitar and has a lovely country blues feel to it, which brings us to the finale, “”Alone In The Dark”, a mid tempo number with a lovely funky feeling.

Congratulations to Paul & all involved with this excellent CD, I really enjoyed it and look forward to catching him live soon. This CD sounds very “Good To Me”!

PAUL LAMB & THE KINGSNAKES – I’M ON A ROLL

United Producers Records – Blue Label – UPRBCD1001 - 16 Tracks – 60.14

I remember the first time I saw Paul Lamb and remember being blown away not only by his great harp playing but also his superb band. With a relatively new line-up which still includes the incomparable rhythm section of Rod Demick on bass and Sonny Below on drums but now boasts the unique Chad Strentz on rhythm guitar and sharing lead vocals with Paul and the magnificently named Raul de Pedro Marinero on guitar, I had been eagerly awaiting the first recording from this unit. “I’m On A Roll” is a stonking selection combining a number of covers – look out for a lovely take on “Baby Please Don’t Go”, a smashing up tempo version of Jimmy Rogers’ “My Baby Don’t Love Me No More” and no Paul Lamb CD would be complete without a bit of Terry & McGhee and what a treat, an almost a capella version of “You Better Mind” featuring the band’s combined voices which lend an almost gospel feel and Paul’s whooping harp playing.

The rest of the tracks are all Lamb, Strentz, Demick, Marinero originals and what variety. There is a lovely instrumental “Swingin” which does what it says on the box and is one of three tracks featuring guest musician, Ryan Lamb, the next generation, an agonisingly beautiful eight minute slow blues, “Adopted Child”, the very jazzy instrumental “Raulin Around”, one of several tracks that features the saxes of Nick Lunt and Lee Badau, the straight ahead blues of “Nomad Blues” and the jump jive beauty that is “Going For It” which does!

This really is a cracking CD and there is something there for all tastes. Yet again, Paul Lamb demonstrates why he & his band win so many awards, deservedly so in my opinion. This is definitely a CD to add to your collection and comes highly recommended

ROMNEY GETTY – FILL IN YOUR GRAY – AUGUSTUS RECORDS

With all the great CD’s I receive from Canada I am left thinking that there must be a phenomenal amount of talent there. This CD is just one example but what an example! 13 tracks which successfully cross a number of boundaries without once alienating the listener. 13 wonderfully varied original tracks featuring Romney on vocals, piano and acoustic guitar, Greg Wilson playing lovely wailing and soulful harp, Mike Churchill on percussion, Jeff Getty (Romney’s brother who also produced & mixed the CD) on lead, electric & bass guitars.

This is a CD which defies pigeonholing and is all the better for that and it belies the fact that it is Romney’s debut CD, there is such an assured touch whatever the style whether it be blues, folk, cajun country or gypsy, yes it is all here. The more I listen to this CD, the more I am convinced that here is another talent that should be selling records by the thousand and receiving regular mainstream, national airplay, who should be headlining festivals rather than playing way down the bill and who should be playing paying gigs rather than hotel bar residencies. Says a lot about the value we put on talent.

My own particular favourites on this CD are the opening track “Roll On” which is pure Bonnie Raitt and wonderful, the superb romping “Goin’ to Texas”, the down & rocky “Delta Dirty” and the gorgeously atmospheric “Waiting For The Day”. Writing in NetrhythmsUK, Michael Mee said of this lady “think Bonnie Raitt meets Janis Joplin, then duck because sparks fly." A very apt description indeed. We should hear a lot more of Romney and she is a not infrequent visitor to the UK so try to catch her live if you can. Visit her website for more details.

6^th August 2005

The Roosters – On The Road

Hailing from that powerhouse of UK Rhythm ‘n’ Blues, the Thames Delta, the Roosters are a great little outfit comprising three very experienced musicians, Jeff Chapman on guitar and vocals, Wayne Bronze on drums & Roger Crowhurst on bass, who have a new CD out called “On The Road”. This offers 14 great tracks of which 7 were laid down at the local Mayland Studios and 7 are live recordings from venues such as the excellent Riga Music Bar in Westcliff on Sea, Saint FM’s studios in Burnham ( recorded no doubt for one of Tim Aves’ shows) and a gig in Belgium. The Roosters describe themselves as “high energy r’n’b” and they certainly do what it says on the tin, this being a very apt description of what you will find on this CD.

Clearly influenced by the Feelgood school of music but with a style which is, for me, unmistakably the Roosters, the band performances can leave the listener breathless as they race their way through classics such as “Route 66”, “Somerhing Else”, “Maybelline” and “Gloria”. The live recordings include great versions of the “Peter Gunn Theme”, “Who Do You Love” and “Boogie Chillun”. Smashing stuff and a very good record of an excellent band who are keeping alive the tradition of Essex Delta r’n’b! This is another band which you should catch live if you have not already done so.

Sam Kelly’s Station House – Sunday Best – RoxbroCD1 – 8 tracks – 35.06

Multi-award winning drummer, Sam Kelly, has pulled together a line-up in Station House which is, quite rightly, going down a storm on the live circuit and which has now produced a fine CD. With the unmistakable voice of the fabulous Root Jackson up front, T J Johnson on guitar and keys, Dave Clark on bass and Sam on drums this CD is a fine collection containing a mix of original material from the pen of Root as well as covers of tracks by the likes of Allan Toussaint – “Happiness” – and Bill Withers – a great reggae style “Lonely Town, Lonely Street”.

The CD really is an excellent showcase for the band as it demonstrates the breadth of material that they play ranging from the almost swing opening & closing track “Too Much Trouble” to the Caribbean rhythms of the aforementioned “Lonely Town, Lonely Street” to the funky bassline of “Happiness”, the rock-blues of “Treat A Dog” and the emotive “Unreal Values”. Root Jackson’s voice is so distinctive and is perfect for this band, although he hands over the microphone to TJ for the excellent “Sing the Blues”. TJ’s guitar work is smashing whatever he is doing whilst Sam shows why he is such an in demand drummer and is repeatedly voted drummer of the year.

The band’s live line-up now includes the prodigious young talent that is Paul Jobson and this CD serves as a perfect taster for what you can expect if you see the band live, something which comes highly recommended. So a great way to find out what Sam Kelly’s Station House are all about and to get some fine roots & blues music at the same time.

Gator Blues – The Screamin’ Ab-Dabs

No label – released January 24^th 2003

The Gator Blues Band play in the traditional South Essex/Thames Delta style, searing guitars, smoking harmonica with 'growl at Joe Public' vocals all backed by solid ball-breaking rhythm. We play some classics and we play some tunes with a difference. Guaranteed you'll hear something that's unfamiliar but none-the-less packing the required groin.

Sometimes fast 'n' furious, sometimes hauntingly mellow but always good entertainment. They are a frantic seat of your pants blues band.”

This is what a visit to the band’s web site will tell you about Gator Blues, a South Essex based band which has been doing the circuit for a few years and has just released its first CD and what a treat it is.

Gator Blues are Mark Sibley, vocals & harp, Dave Lawn, lead guitar, Malcolm @Blast From The Past” Taylor, bass and Roy Saint (Sainty), drums and whilst the description on their web site is not a bad general description, it fails to mention the rather more subtle facets of this band. I recently interviewed Mark Sibley for a Digital Blues programme and beneath the “in yer face” stage image of the band, there is a very thoughtful and extremely imaginative persona, perhaps not very rock’n’roll but what the hell!

This side can be seen, or rather heard, in the lyrics of many of the tracks on this CD, all bar two self-penned by Mark &/or Malcolm or by all the band members. The most significant exception is the now classic Mickey Jupp composition “Standing at the Crossroads Again” which is very appropriate as it is the sort of song that suits the band well and which, in so many ways, gave them direction.

Whilst being a very good example of Essex Delta Blues, the CD has a very individual feel to it if you listen closely for mixed in is a very American flavour with a lot of references to Americana. Mark admits that a lot of the lyrics reflect what is his and the band’s image of the US and that much of the imagery came from his imagination. This serves many of the songs very well because the imagery is spot-on.

My favourite track is “Ain’t The Same Old Blues Any More” a slow tempo number which starts out with the words “Well I never wake up in the morning, I always leave it to the P.M.” and then goes on to bewail the fact that the Blues “ain’t the same anymore” because of the way society has changed so much and the conditions which existed when the early Blues greats were learning their craft simply don’t exist any more. A song which sits beautifully alongside Hershey & the 12 Bars “The Blues Ain’t The Same Any More” .

The Hershey track bemoaned the impact of political correctness upon the Blues and it is a joy to find on the Gator Blues CD a thoroughly un-PC track written by Malcolm entitled “She Talks Too Much”. Having met Mrs. Malcolm I cannot believe it is written about her so it is anybody’s guess who the inspiration is, but it is a very amusing song.

Some of the tracks are the result of an event in the writer’s life which gave the germ of an idea which has been developed with imagination. Mark told me how a very drunken cruise up the Thames from Southend on a Radio Caroline day out became the basis of “Man Overboard” while “Hoolah for the Moolah” was inspired by an advert for HoolaHoops!

The title track, “The Screamin Ab-Dabs” is a fast & furious instrumental which Mark tells me simply defies them putting any lyrics to it and the opening track “Lost on the Way To Hell” in so many ways typifies what is so good about this band as does the excellent “Whatever You Ride”, two tracks that power along in unstoppable fashion.

Mark tells me that his favourite is the seven minute “No Stranger To Danger”, a slow tempo number which gives every member of the band a chance to shine with some fine guitar from Dave Lawn and a nice bass line from Malcolm, a complete contrast to the next track “Book of Tricks” which at barely one minute 40 is reminiscent of some of the 60’s style numbers of Danny & The Juniors and the like.

Influences are apparent but one never feels that the band or its members are slavishly copying. By his own admission, Mark has been influenced by Canned Heat who were one of the bands he listened to early in his musical growth. This shows in some of the harp phrasing – listen to “Lost on the Way to Hell” - but there is never more than a vague hint and the overall performances are enhanced by this.

I know that the band were concerned about the reception this, their first CD, would receive. Judging by the reaction of the audience at the Ship at Leigh on the launch night, I do not think they have any cause to worry. This is a very enjoyable, nicely varied and most thoughtful collection of songs, well played, well fashioned and well recorded by Steve Tsoi at Soundmagic Studio in Great Totham in deepest Essex. In a busy month for new releases, it stands out for me, my congratulations to everyone on a good job well done.

Sean Webster - If Only – Blues Matters!

Wow! A new CD from Sean and what a cracker! This man has made huge strides from his very good debut CD, building on the fine reputation he has earned on the live scene. This CD contains entirely original material and many of the songs are stories of lost or unrequited love with lyrics that are searingly impassioned speaking of many bitter and unhappy experiences which must ring a bell with many a listener. Very much in the blues-rock genre, It really is well nigh impossible to pick any one track that stands out more than another although there are several which must lend themselves to extended live performance, not least “The One”, probably the closest track to what might be called a traditional blues number featuring some great dirty guitar and “So Rare”, over 6 minutes on the CD and a gloriously moody, slow gem which features some very fine guitar from Sean, but then the whole CD does, listen to the final track, “Lie To Me”. There is plenty of texture variation with several numbers featuring acoustic or semi-acoustic interludes. No doubt other reviewers will pick up on the fact that the chorus of the penultimate track, “Music” seem to sum up Sean & his work: “It’s got soul, it’s got rhythm. It takes you whole, you take it with you. It’s the music that I write”, cliched it may be but it is a very apt description of this CD. This really is an excellent CD and on the back of it Sean should see his reputation considerably enhanced, deservedly so. Thank you Sean for your “Music” and congratulations to all involved, especially to Wayne Proctor (Ian Parker’s drummer) who produced, perhaps appropriate as there are similarities between Ian and Sean which is in no way a criticism.

Site Map