Blues Matters 129

SHEMEKIA COPELAND DONE COME TOO FAR

“Powerful, ferocious, clear-eyed and hopeful...She’s in such control of her voice that she can scream at injustices before she soothes with loving hope. It sends shivers up your spine” –LIVING BLUES

CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE MISSISSIPPI SON

“Deep country blues...very personal songs with powerful, incisive lyrics...his guitar playing is pure, unadulterated roots blues...a beautiful masterpiece” –LIVING BLUES

TINSLEY ELLIS DEVIL MAY CARE

“Ellis unleashes the fury...a gunslinging guitarist with blistering chops and gritty vocals” –LIVING BLUES

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GRAMMY AWARD WINNER – BEST CONTEMPORARY BLUES ALBUM “Exceptional album...astonishing creativity” –MOJO

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Contributing Writers:

John Angus

Tim Arnold

Roy Bainton

Adrian Blacklee

Eddy Bonte (Bel)

Colin Campbell

Laura Carbone

Norman Darwen

Paul Davies

Dave Drury

Ben Elliott

Stuart A. Hamilton

Stephen Harrison

Trevor Hodgett

Barry Hopwood

Andy Hughes

Rowland Jones

Adam Kennedy

Jean Knappitt

Brian Kramer

Ben McNair

David Osler

Contributing Photographers:

Arnie Goodman, Adam Kennedy, Laura Carbone plus others credited on page.

Iain Patience

Dom Pipkin

Darrell Sage

Glenn Sargeant

Dave Scott

Graeme Scott

Andy Snipper

Dave Stone

Don Wilcock

Dani Wilde

Steve Yourglivch

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Jon Medina

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CONTENTS

FEATURES & REGULARS

INTERVIEWS

JACK J

HUTCHINSON FINISHING HIS BIGGEST UK TOUR

Jack J Hutchinson is currently in the midst of his biggest UK headline tour to date. Supported by Help Musicians, the run has so far included shows in Edinburgh, Winchester, Blackpool, Milton Keynes, Norwich, Bristol and Newcastle.

The tour is the first to feature Hutchinson’s brand new band, which includes Phil Wilson (Sari Schorr, Bernie Marsden) on drums and Charlie Rachael Kay (Ashley Sherlock) on bass.

Hutchinson comments: “I’ve been blown away by the response so far to the shows. We’ve mixed the set up, playing tracks from my first solo album ‘Paint No Fiction’ and ‘The Hammer Falls’, plus some brand new material that I’ve been writing for my next album. After a chaotic 18 months or so, with band members jumping ship and me contracting Covid during my last tour, it finally feels like a new dawn. I spent some time in the US over the summer, clearing my head and writing new music. That short break also allowed me time to put together a brand new lineup and put simply: the new band have been smashing it. Long may it continue.”

DANI WILDE’S

BLUES WOMEN Phenomenal Bettye Crutcher

October 20th 2022 marked the death of phenomenal rhythm and blues songwriter Bettye Crutcher. Crutcher, who was born in Memphis on 16th September 1939, was the only female staff writer for Stax Records. In the 1960’s she was introduced to fellow Stax composer’s Homer Banks and Raymond Jackson and they formed the successful writing team that became known by those in the industry as ‘We Three.’

Crutcher’s credits with We Three include penning songs for The Staple Singers, Sam & Dave, and Albert King. She also earned a Grammy Award Nomination for ‘Best R&B Song’ for her co-write of “Who’s Making Love” for Johnnie Taylor, which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and No. 1 on the R&B chart in 1968. The financial success of the song was pivotal for STAX who had just ended what had been a hugely successful distribution relationship with ‘Atlantic’ and had lost their biggest star Otis Redding in an airplane accident in December 1967. ‘Who’s Making Love’ sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc that helped to keep the company afloat at the end of the decade.

Crutcher got into song-writing by writing poetry as a child. She also enjoyed music and soon put two-and-two together, developing a gift for composing catchy, soulful and witty toplines from a female perspective. Having separated from her partner, she was a single mother to her three children, and was working as a nurse when she decided to make the bold move of becoming a professional songwriter. In an interview, Crutcher described: “I was never an athlete kid, so writing has always been a friend of mine. As I got older, I wrote just as a hobby, and a friend of mine came by one day and said ‘I can’t believe you’re writing like this and you’re not doing anything with it’.”

Having been rejected by the first few labels she contacted, including Hi Records, she didn’t give up hope. In 1966, Crutcher was offered an audition with Stax who immediately recognised her talent and snapped her up: “I set an appointment at Stax, and David Porter auditioned. He said ‘are you sure you’re not already signed with anybody’, and I said ‘no’. They had this guy there, and his name was Raymond Moore, and David said to him (laughing) ‘we’ve been trying to get

you to write like this for a year!”

David Porter would recall that “When Bettye came into the building, there was a confidence and a comfort in who she was that was amazing to me. She hadn’t been doing records anywhere or anything like that I was aware of. But just listening to her, in our first conversation, I could tell that she could write, she had incredibly creative ideas. There was an energy about her — she was looking for somebody to give her a chance.”

Bettye Crutcher described her song-writing style at the time as being “very sweet and pretty, because the artists I listened to most were Nancy Wilson, Dionne Warwick, and I loved Sam Cooke.” In her audition, David said she would need to adapt her style a little to make sure her songs would work for their artists at Stax.

In particular, Stax needed a hit record for rhythm and blues artist Johnnie Taylor. Crutcher was eager to show just what she could do: “They had been looking for songs for him, but nobody could come up with anything that really suited him or his style… so I wrote this song, Somebody’s Sleeping in My Bed” (in ‘67).

In a 2019 interview she recalled: “Being the only female songwriter for Stax was quite an event ... They talk about the sexist ‘60s, and I really think the guys didn’t think the girls could do that.”

Whilst female artist Carla Thomas and female executive Deanie Parker had composed a few songs for Stax, Crutcher became the only female staff member in an otherwise all-male writing department. Following the success of Somebody’s Sleeping in My Bed, Bettye Crutcher teamed up with young songwriters with Homer Banks and Raymond Jackson. In their first year of writing together, their compositions made $6 million in sales. Crutcher would describe Homer Banks as “The idea man”. In an interview she explained how Banks “would always come to me to finish the song, because he always wanted a female point of view, which I really liked about him.”

This female perspective made Crutcher’s songs unique. When male artists like Johnnie Taylor sang Crutcher’s words, they were able to reach out to a female fanbase who proud-

ly identified with Crutcher and We Three’s witty, assertive, lyrics. Her lyrics were fun and clever with undertones of female empowerment and respect for women:

Johnnie Taylor sang:

“I’ve seen so, so many fellows Fall in that same old bag

Thinking that a woman is made to, To be beat on and treated so bad Oh, fellows, let me ask you something I’m sure that you never even dreamed of, Who’s making love to your old lady While you were out making love”

Who’s making love was a song about a cheating man, but with a clever twist. The lyrics had Taylor warning philandering men that their women might be up to the very same thing.

“I love thinking about women and how they feel about something. So this is kind of the context in which the song was written” Crutcher explained in an interview; “‘Cause you know men at that time felt like they had the freedom to go and do whatever they want, whenever they want. And the girls would stay back, be cool, don’t make up a lot noise about it... I have had so many guys tell me, ‘Girl, you had me going home for real to check on [my woman]!”

The hit song became Stax’s best selling single to date!

“Her perspective was powerful and necessary for the company because we were all male songwriters.” Said Stax Chief Songwriter and Producer David Porter; “She brought that feminine view and understanding, and helped us understand as well.”

The song writing trio of Crutcher, Jackson and Banks went on to write many hit songs including Johnnie Taylor’s ‘Take Care Of Your Homework’ and ‘I Could Never Be President’, as well as Carla Thomas’ ‘I Like What You’re Doing (To Me)’. We Three continued to write together until Raymond Jackson’s sudden death in November 1972. He died in a house fire at just 31 years old. Crutcher continued to co-write. She teamed up with writers including Marvell Thomas, Bobby Manuel and Mack Rice, and evolved her writing style, penning socially aware songs about poverty and war including The Ghetto”, “We’ll Get Over,” and “The Challenge” for The Staple Singers. By the mid 70’s, despite the huge success of The Staple Singers crossing over from Gospel to R&B, Stax found themselves once again in financial hardship. Stax’s last big chart hit was “Woman to Woman” in 1974 from Shirley Brown, which appeared on their

subsidiary label, Truth. Shirley Brown had been introduced to Stax by blues artist Albert King, with whom she had performed in his live review as a teenager – Brown’s range, vocal chops, sass, and virtuosity as a singer are just magnificent on this album. Crutcher new how to write songs to really showcase the unique talent and personality of each artist she wrote for; and she did so for Brown, contributing three co-writes for the Woman to Woman album.

“Bettye had an eye for the universal hook, like a great songwriter does. She saw from a woman’s perspective what could touch everybody,” said Robert Gordon, author of “Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion.”

Around this time, she also began writing songs for artists on other successful labels including Hi artists Ann Peebles and Otis Clay.

In 1974, the year before Stax declared bankruptcy, Crutcher recorded her own solo album for the label entitled Long as You Love Me. The album was not a commercial success, but it does contain some wonderful song writing and has been described as one of Stax’s best kept secrets. Crutcher didn’t have the huge range or power of Shirley Brown, but she was a soulful and sincere vocalist. In the 1990’s “Revenge of the Number” by Trip Hop group Portishead sampled Bettye Crutcher’s “So Lonely Without You” from Crutcher’s solo record on their hit album Numb. Bettye Crutcher’s song writing catalogue has also been sampled by hip hop stars including Wu-Tang Clan, Diddy, and Mary J. Blige.

With the closure of Stax in December 1975, Crutcher fancied a change. Whilst she continued to write for artists including BB King and Bobby Blue Bland throughout the 1980’s, she moved to Nashville and established her own jewellery making and antiques business. She continued her relationship with Stax, visiting its museum to give talks and working with students. To this day, her songs continue to be covered and reinterpreted by artists around the globe. There have been great interpretations of her work by a range of artists from crooner Sammy Davis Jr. and blues man Freddie King to British artists including Joe Cocker and even the Mod-Father, Paul Weller. BB King famously recorded her ‘Take Off Your Shoes’ and, Paul Weller covered Crutcher’s ‘My Whole World Is Falling Down’ in 1995. She continues to be an inspiration to today’s aspiring songwriters both male and female. Crutcher stayed in Nashville until her death in October this year. She was 83 years old.

Saturday, November 5th 2022

The London Palladium, along with The Royal Albert Hall are two of the most iconic venues in the world, not just in England. The Palladium seats around 2,330 people, a perfect size, in my opinion. The London Palladium oozes class, it has a certain je ne sais quoi. Tedeschi Trucks took to the stage at eight, a magnificent-looking 12-piece band complete with two drummers.

They played a lot of new tunes from their four-album release I Am The Moon series, as well as tunes from their amazing back catalogue. Susan Tedeschi has the voice of an angel, so soulful and bluesy, Derek Trucks, the master of slide guitar. The opening tune was, however, not one of theirs, it was I’ve Got A Feeling, by some band called The Beatles. Songs such as Gravity, Take Me As I Am, and Where Are My Friends, proved beyond doubt that Tedeschi Trucks are the best blues/soul band around at the moment. The added splendour of the auditorium only went to highlight what a treat the audience was witnessing.

If that were not enough to bring joy to the audience, the keyboard player then appeared on drums, and the drummer appeared playing guitar and singing. Now that is what I call talented musicians. After an interval of half an hour, the band returned to the stage for another set lasting until eleven. Just before the encores, of which there were two, Tedeschi Trucks belted out How Blue Can You Get, I’m certain that B B King would be looking down and smiling. I’ve seen them perform this on YouTube and heard them do it on an album, but nothing that could match the overwhelming emotions that came from watching them perform it live. I Had to stop taking notes after that, It didn’t seem appropriate. I’d witnessed something close to biblical. If you have not seen these guys before, make it a priority, just thank me later.

WORDS: Stephen Harrison

IMAGE: David McClister

RECORD ROUND-UP

The two vinyls that I have chosen for this issue may not strike you as blues albums that you would normally associate with our magazine. However, these artists have blues within their DNA, albeit a slightly loose connection.

John Martyn and Beth Neilsen Chapman have both dipped their respective toes into the blues at different stages of their careers. Along with folk, country, and Americana, they have crafted songs around all of these genres. I wanted to highlight this in the vinyl section for this issue and tip our hat to very similar bedfellows that have lived alongside each other since the dawn of time.

JOHN MARTYN

THE BEST OF JOHN MARTYN LIVE

Mooncrest Records

Thirteen years ago the world lost one of music’s great talents. John Martyn was and still is, regarded as one of this country’s best singer-songwriters. Fusing jazz, folk, rock, and blues, Martyn produced some great songs. This re-release, some live sets, and some studio sets allow us the opportunity to revisit his legacy. A triple album with guests such as Paul Kossoff, David Gilmour, and Phil Collins goes to show the diversity he had in his locker. Songs from 1975-1990 are featured here, the first one being, Big Muff, recorded at Ther Shaw Theatre, London with David Gilmour guesting on guitar. All the songs on the album were written by Martyn, proving that this was a man of many talents. Some of the tunes have a real 70s vibe about them, especially the live ones. Back in the ’70s, it was customary to play a lot of the songs and extend them by playing an instrumental piece that would sometimes drag the song to almost ten minutes. That may seem a little weird in this day and age, but listening to these elongated pieces of music reminds me of a time when life seemed much more laid back than it is today. Johnny Too Bad, Has a slightly harder edge, the emphasis on more jazz, rock, and blues, with such a wonderful bass line. The crowd at The Town & Country Club was certainly in for a treat this particular evening back in 1986. John Martyn has always had an extraordinary set of musicians around him, whether it be in the studio, or at a gig. This is where the crossover between the genres comes into its own, freedom to just let the music go wherever it wants to. Twenty-five songs over six sides of vinyl are one of life’s pleasures, reminding us of a superb singer-songwriter that left us way too soon. This album could be enjoyed late at night with a single malt whiskey, or on a lazy Sunday with a glass of wine after lunch. Whenever you listen to it, you will be transformed back to a time of great music, from one of the best artists that hover between so many genres and does it with consummate ease.

LP 1

Side 1

Big Muff

Lookin’ On

Couldn’t Love You

More

Side 2

Look At That Girl

The Moment

Johnny Too Bad

Mad Dog Days

Never Let Me Go

LP 2

Side 1

Fine Lines

Head And Heart

Bless The Weather

Pascanel Ways To Cry

Side 2

One Day Without You

I’d Rather Be The Devil

Make No Mistake

Dealer

LP 3

Side1

Outside In My Baby Girl

You Can Discover

Side 2

Man In The Station

Over The Hill

Easy Blues

Spencer The Rover

Black Man At Your Shoulder

BETH NIELSEN CHAPMAN CRAZY TOWN

BNC Records

Crazy Town is the 15th solo album released by Beth Neilsen Chapman. Not exactly a blues artist you might think. And you would be correct in that assumption. Throw in country, folk, a bit of rock, and a smidgen of blues, and there you will find Beth Neilsen Chapman. All of these genres are more closely linked than you may imagine, everything can trace its roots back to the blues and traditional folk music, especially in America. This album was recorded just as the world went into lockdown, like many others, it has only just seen the light of day. Side 1 opens with All Around The World, a very apt title given the circumstances under which the album was written. The one thing that you get with an album from BNC, you never know what exactly you are going to get next. The twisting and turning between genres have become an art form for Beth, enabling her to produce such great lyrics at each turn. 4Leaf Clover has a blues connotation while also dipping its toe into the folk scene. That is the beauty of this album, something for everyone, be it country or a Tom Petty type of tune which harbours a touch of rock “n” roll.

Side 2 starts with The Universe, brilliantly done, with great lyrics, great arrangement, and a warmth that you get when the whole band is let loose, creating songs that make the world seem a far better place. Hey Girl is my favourite track on the album, this is more of a blues tune, almost down-and-dirty blues. Walk You To Heaven is the final track of the album. A lovely almost Irish ballad, that has a final line that I think sums up the songs on this brilliant album.” When they tumble like jewels from the sky.” That is what this album is all about.

Side 1

All Around The World

Put A Woman In Charge

4Leafclover

With Time

Dancin’ With The Past

The Truth

Side 2

The Universe

The Edge

Pocket Of My Past

Hey Girl

Everywhere We Go

Walk You To Heaven

DAVE ARCARI RELEASES NEW ALBUM DEVIL MAY CARE

DEVIL May Care – the new studio album from Dave Arcari – is released on CD and all digital platforms/services on Friday 18 November 2022.

It follows October’s release of a digital single from the album – Meet me in the City – and is Arcari’s seventh full-length album…the first since his Live at Memorial Hall release in 2017. His version of Junior Kimbrough’s hill country classic Meet me in the City and the traditional Nine Pound Hammer are the only covers on the album –the rest of the material is all self-penned and written over the last couple of years.

Other than his fifth album Whisky in my Blood (Blue North Records, Finland – 2013) where Arcari was accompanied by the Hellsinki Hellraisers this is the first time he has featured guest performers on his recordings – something made possible with support from Help Musicians, an independent charity for professional musicians within the UK.

Title track Devil May Care features drums from Chris McMullan of Northen Ireland’s Bonnevilles, Stick to Your Guns has blues harp from his old Radiotones’ bandmate Jim Harcus and his re-write of the Scottish classic Loch Lomond –Loch Lomond (Home) – has violin from Jamie Wilson.

“There’s a few curve balls on this album… some stuff people might be surprised at!” says Arcari.” And it’s been great to have support from Help Musicians without whom the collaborations and extra studio time couldn’t have happened.

The album and UK tour dates are significant indication that Arcari’s touring schedule and creative output is returning to ‘normal’ post-pandemic. DAVEARCARI.COM

WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS 1929 - 1971 - 2022

As with many iconic blues tunes, there is some sort of tragedy attached to them in one way or another. When The Levee Breaks, for those not familiar with the song, is about the devastating floods that destroyed 26,000 sq miles of the Mississippi Basin in 1927.

The original tune was written by Memphis Minnie, or if you believe other tales, by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929. Kansas Joe McCoy certainly did the vocals on the record that was released by Columbia, with Memphis Minnie providing the guitar work, as she was by far the more accomplished guitar player of the two.

Memphis Minnie was already a household name in the blues by 1927, she had been touring the juke joints, and had also recorded for Columbia. Many people, even to this day, believe that the song was written by Kansas Joe McCoy (Charles Sharr Murray being one such person), but the truth is, that it was Lizzie Douglas (Memphis Minnie). She teamed up with Joe McCoy (Kansas) a couple of years after the Great Flood. At an early age, she found herself living on Beale Street, Memphis, after running away from home. So, having lived around The Delta all her life she understood the horrors and total devastation that had besieged such a huge area.

If you listen and study the lyrics, you will see there is a message, not an obvious in-yourface message, but a deeper, more meaningful message. It’s a message of the story of a man who lost his home and family in The Great Flood, the biggest loss that anyone could ever feel, but it has a message of rebirth, of hope, that better things are to come. And of course, after such devastation, that is the only thing people can cling on to.

1971, Led Zeppelin were recording their fourth album at Headley Grange and include When The Levee Breaks. Robert Plant identified with the original lyrics keeping them mostly as they had been written, with Jimmy Page slightly altering the guitar parts as the original was an acoustic song, with the Zeppelin version becoming electric. However, it was the drumming of John Bonham that gave it its very own unique style. In Headley Grange, they set up the drum at the bottom of the staircase with two microphones dangling down from the ceiling that helped to capture a drum beat and rhythm that many

by Steve Harrison

have tried but never matched. The feel and the sentiment of the song remain as Memphis Minnie and Joe McCoy had originally penned it, a rebirth, after the almost biblical events that transpired into one of blues music’s most meaningful songs.

2022.

Doing a tribute album may not strike as something out of the ordinary, we have had albums like this since Moses wore short pants. But when the album is a tribute to Led Zeppelin, that is a different story entirely. The reason that it is such a different kind of tribute album is simple, nobody has ever undertaken such a task before. Step forward, Beth Hart. Beth Hart has long been recognized as one of the greatest female blues singers of all time. In my opinion, she is the greatest female blues artist of all time. This album is not just stepping into the vocal shoes of Robert Plant, this is about entering the world of Led Zeppelin. As I alluded to earlier, nobody has undertaken such a task. Beth’s rendition of When The Levee Breaks is of almost biblical proportions. I don’t say this lightly; not only does she produce phenomenal vocals - that’s a given - she totally immerses herself in the emotion of the song.

Understanding the phrasing of Jimmy Page’s guitar parts that fit so well with Robert Plant’s vocals, but bringing her own phrasing and emotion to the song is another story entirely. Don’t be fooled into thinking that this is just a one-off copy of a well-known blues song, you would be very wide of the mark. This is bringing one of the most defining blues songs to an audience that may not have heard the first two versions. I spoke to Beth about this on the eve of the album being released, she understood the song, understood the meaning and emotion, and the story of the catastrophic events then stamped her own inimitable grace and fervour and produced one of the best covers of a blues song that I will ever have the pleasure of listening to. So, this song lives on, the rebirth is still with us, and it will continue to be with us because we must learn from the past. Music helps us to do that better than anything.

That is why blues music will always be the teacher and we will forever be the student.

Lyrics

If it keeps on rainin’ levee’s goin’ to break

If it keeps on rainin’ levee’s goin’ to break

When the levee breaks, I’ll have no place to stay

Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan, lord

Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan

It’s got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home

Oh well, oh, well, oh well

Don’t it make you feel bad

When you’re tryin’ to find your way home

You don’t know which way to go?

If you’re goin’ down south

They got no work to do

If you’re goin’ to Chicago

A-ah-a-ah-ah

Cryin’ won’t help you, prayin’ won’t do you no good

No, cryin’ won’t help you, prayin’ won’t do you no good

When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move Ooh

All last night sat on the levee and moaned

All last night sat on the levee and moaned

Thinkin’ bout my baby and my happy home

Ah-oh

Ah, ah, ah, ah

Ah, ah, ah, ah

Goin’

I’m goin’ to Chicago

Goin’ to Chicago

Sorry, but I can’t take you, ahhh

Goin’ down, goin’ down now

Goin’ down, goin’ down now

Goin’ down, goin’ down now

Goin’ down, goin’, down now

Goin’, down, goin’, downdown-down-down-down

Goin’, down, goin’ down now

“Firstly, as a new subscriber, I just wanted to say, how much I enjoyed the Aug/Sept issue of ‘Blues Matters’ now it is in A4 format. As requested, I have attached a photo of me with Robert Cray. It was taken outside the Norwich Theatre Royal a few years ago”.

THE BIG-EYED BLUES FESTIVAL

The Big-Eyed Blues has had an interesting history. This is its’ 12th year of existence- first festival post pandemic.

The show has been produced by Beareather Reddy and the Brooklyn Blues Society. It is also the only Brooklyn Blues Festival. In past years, she has had legendary blues acts such as Bobby Rush and Eddy “Chief” Clearwater and has been ahead of the game by presenting King Fish Ingram and King Solomon Hicks when they were both unknowns.

Here is a picture of myself meeting Trevor Babajack Steger after a set that he did, just pre Covid Lockdown, at the ‘Ain’t Nothin but The Blues’ bar in London.

This year’s festival ran for three days and was held in three different locations in Brooklyn. The first night was held in a small interment space called Jalopy -( next store to Jalopy is a classic old bar that has some of the best pints of Guinness in New York).The first nights’ lineup was Junior Mack, Mimi Block ,Keith Gamble and Michael Hill with Pete Cummings . The blues the first night was all acoustic .Both Junior Mack and Michael Hill performed a very interesting set -accompanied by a nice history of where the music came from. Mimi Block is an up and coming violin player and singer who was joined on her set by Keith Gamble on guitar and harp. Keith also sat in on harp with Michael Hill and Pete Cum-

I have been extremely lucky over the last few months and met a few of the Blues stars after recent gigs. Here’s me with When Rivers Meet!

Craig Brown

DO YOU HAVE ANY IMAGES OF YOURSELF WITH A FAMOUS BLUES MUSICIAN?

Send them to us and we’ll try to feature them in the magazine. Tell us your name, who you are with and where you were and you might just appear in these pages!

Send your image and info to: design@bluesmatters.com

mings. The music was solid all night, but the artist that impressed me the most was Keith Gamble. I was not familiar with Keith before the show -everybody should check him out. Night number two of the festival continued at Brooklyn Common right on Flatbush Avenue -the most famous street in Brooklyn.

The show opened up with Clarence Spady a main stay in the blues community in New York City for decades. Clarence gave everybody some great blues guitar sounds .Next up was Beareather Reddy and Brown Liquors Sounds, they brought you back to the sounds of Ma Rainy and Bessy Smith. The third act was Antoinette Montaque an act I was not familiar with before, however she is a must see- the only blues band I had ever seen having a tap dancer ,dancing around to the beat of the music. To end the night was the act everybody was waiting for- Alexis P Suter Band. The highlight of the whole festival was Alexis’s version of “Let it Be”. The final afternoon of The Big-Eyed Blues Festival took place at the Prospect Park Boat house -a beautiful setting. The performance was by classic blues women singing all the classics, Bessie Smith, Lucille Bogan and Memphis Minnie.

ARNIE GOODMAN

Jeff Norman

Eddie Hillion

Johnny Winter Takes Requests

I have to admit, I’ve had a soft spot for Johnny Winter since my youth. Of course, he is a guitar god, but for me in the first few years of my Blues journey as a young man, I was very select in my nourishment and what I took onboard.

Not by measure of any bias issues, this was strictly by timeline and I had little patience for any Blues players at that period after the 1940’s MAYBE 50’s, period. So there were a lot of great Blues/Rock musicians that I didn’t allow into my attention span, there was so much to discover and so little time!

However, after my boss at a Lower East Side New York messenger service made me a tape of this Johnny Winter album he had in his collection, Raising Cain, while delivering a package I somehow mystically crossed paths in the lobby of a residential building with what seemed to be one of the distinct musicians I recalled gracing the cover of that

album, which was in my headphones on my Walkman at that moment. I carefully asked “excuse me sir, is this you?” and handed him the headphones. “Yes it is!” excitedly replied Jon Paris, who was Johnny Winter’s bassist on that very album. While he walked his dog, and I made my delivery very late, we chatted for a while about the Blues, influences and favorite players. He told me in a few days he was playing a show at the downtown Blues dive, Dan Lynch Blues Bar on St Patrick’s Day, and invited me to the gig, tipping me off that some “special guests” would be joining him.

I showed up to Lynch’s early, Jon was still setting up and excitedly greeted me. I took a barstool right in front of the bandstand. It was starting to get fairly crowded in this little bar, when suddenly Johnny Winter came through the door, carrying a big guitar case. He popped the latches, revealing his Gibson Firebird and sat down directly across from me, with just a small divider to place drinks between us. The band then started through a series of comfort-zone level Blues standards and a few songs in, I heard Johnny say under his breath “what should I play now?”. I leaned in slightly and said, “how about some Lightnin’ Hopkins?”.

He gave a smile and a nod and then kicked into a Hopkins classic. For the next few tunes I would make various suggestions that seemed to be right in Johnny’s blues zone; Robert Johnson, Junior Wells, Robert Nighthawk. He graciously complied with a nod and a smile each time and found the songs.

A ridiculously fortunate moment where I got to witness up close and personal Johnny’s love and passion for the Blues in a very candid, friendly, jam atmosphere. After that night Johnny was one of the very few latter-day musicians whose albums became an important part of my collection, along with the likes of Taj Mahal and John Paul Hammond. A few years later when I saw him lovingly embraced onstage by Muddy Waters at one of the most important shows of my Blues life, that was it!

Over the years I’ve seen Johnny many times in concert, been around him backstage a few memorable times, and had a really great conversation with him about shared interests, mutual friends we’d both played with and his love of National resonator guitars. But that precious time on St Patrick’s day where I got to take him in and also interact with him through our mutual deep blues connection, that’s where my soft spot began.

I’ve done a few illustrations of Johnny, but this recent personal favorite captures him in action, intertwined with the Firebird and logo.

THE ILLUSTRATED BLUES OF BRIAN KRAMER

12 STUNNING, ORIGINAL BLUES ART DRAWINGS THAT CAN BE FRAMED WHEN THE YEAR IS UP 35 EURO INCLUDES SHIPPING WHILE SUPPLIES LAST

HOLIDAY GIFT FOR ANY BLUES LOVER!

done come too far

shemekia copeland

with

–Living Blues

“Powerful, ferocious, clear-eyed and hopeful...She’s in such control of her voice that she can scream at injustices before she soothes with loving hope. It sends shivers up your spine.”

special guests Sonny Landreth & Cedric Burnside

BLUES BENDER

The Big Blues Bender is an annual celebration of the blues which is held in the various music venues of one hotel in Las Vegas. With over forty bands, five stages, and music lasting into the early morning hours, the Bender offers an experience which is very similar to a

blues cruise, but on land.

Each year this event combines many of the biggest names in the business with rising newcomers, and this year’s Bender was no exception. At age 86, Buddy Guy is one of the last living legends of the blues, and his performance demonstrated that he still has what it takes to captivate an audience. And Shemekia Copeland continues to carry on her father’s tradition with her heartfelt songs. But the Bender audience was also introduced to some exciting newcomers, such as Eddie 9V, GA-20, Altered Five Blues Band, and Jontavious Willis. They were also treated to informative panel discussions, unique jam sessions, and some stirring gospel music on Sunday morning, featuring such versatile artists as Mr. Sipp (The Mississippi Blues Child) and Thornetta Davis.

The Bender often focuses on a particular theme, such as 2021’s effort to honor the legacy of the “three Kings” of the blues (Freddie King, BB King and Albert King). This year the Bender had a primary focus on the women of the blues, a theme noted by Bender’s Musical Director/ Talent Buyer, Jimmy Carpenter, to be important “since women are past due in receiving their accolades and respect, in the world in general, but also in the blues world. Women were really the originators of the blues, as they were the ones who first recorded it.” The celebration of women began with a panel on Women in the Blues, hosted by Anne Harris, which discussed the many challenges faced by women in the business. But the largest scale tribute to blues women occurred in the “Night for the Queens” celebration.

Shakura S’Aida provided a fascinating historical educational piece interwoven with brilliant performances by Terrie Odabi, Dawn Tyler Watson, Thornetta Davis, Annika Chambers-Deslauriers, Kat Riggins, Cristina Vane, Rae Gordon, and Tierinii Naftaly. Backed by the outstanding Bender Brass band and other guest artists, twenty-two songs were featured. Every song was exceptional, but perhaps the most significant selection was the entire ensemble’s tribute to the socially important song about racism in the US, “Strange Fruit”. Carpenter noted that Billie Holiday’s refusal to give in to pressure not to sing that song resulted in her losing bookings, and even being targeted by the police, and it eventually ended her career. However, other artists, such as Nina Simone, carried on the important message by continuing to perform that song, and the artists at the Bender’s Night for the Queens offered a powerful rendition of it.

Overall, the “Night for the Queens” was a moving and memorable experience and left Bender attendees eagerly anticipating what Carpenter will create for next year’s showcase. But regardless of what he chooses, most attendees knew they would return and were quick to pre-book for next year’s event. More can be learned about this festival by visiting www.bigbluesbender.com

 Anita Schlank  Laura Carbone

JAMIE PORTER

JAMIEPORTERBAND.COM

The Jamie Porter Band is song writing, recording and performing team, father and son Jamie and Danny Porter and their band. Jamie’s background in music began at a young age singing in church and learning the piano, and a diet of gospel and country music influenced from his family. His real passion for music however didn’t develop until he found rock n roll music initially being Gary Moore and Status Quo from some TV shows in his early teens. Convincing his parents to get him a guitar, Jamie soaked up guitar-based music discovering the likes of Whitesnake, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry and Clapton… and followed the trail back to the influences of these bands. ‘ I would be reading and listening, and would find songs that were covered by a band so would check out the original artist, or would read about someone’s influences in an interview so would go and check them out, and that’s how I discovered people like BB King, Buddy Guy, Freddie King, Chuck Berry and their stories and styles’. The list of

guitar influences would probably fill this page, and for a number of years Jamie was finding it hard to find a band that would satisfy his musical needs and he found he was drifting in and out of bands as a guitarist, bassist and vocalist. ‘I left a band I was playing bass in that I put my heart and soul into that ended badly and decided to set up my own project and write my own songs which was around 2012/13. Helped and encouraged by John Craig of The Forge Music Group, plans were made for an album to include reworked tracks from the ‘Sonic Smile’ Album as well as the newly written songs. The resulting 10 track album MMXXI | The Story So Far was released October 8th 2021, and in 2022 they played for the first time at the Cambridge Rock Festival to an appreciative crowd. Currently in rehearsals with a new bass player and drummer, Danny is moving on to keyboards which are his main passion. So expect to hear a different live sound at a venue near you in the not too distant future!

My influences? Clearly the 70s. Skynyrd, Free and company. After 7 years of classical piano lessons, the first band came at the age of 14. Blues piano replaced classical music. Myfirst Blues Band (Sixpack Blues Band) was formed 10 years later in 1988 in Freiburg/ Germany. At the same time, I honed my vocals and discovered my love for Paul Rodgers. His influences can still be heard in my singing today – and it feels good and right. The song ‘Memory Street’ is a tribute to him. We were very happy about his positive reaction.

From 1989 then the Cadillac Blues Band. On the road until 2014. 3 studio albums and a live album. Many gigs/festivals throughout Europe – the highlight was certainly the USA tour in 1996.

The first harbinger/comrade-in-arms for the Blue Deal project is our drummer Jürgen Schneckenburger. A perfect drummer who brings a really cool shuffle and can push the whole band wonderfully in front of him.

Since 2015 we have been tirelessly searching for the right band, the right chemistry. One thing has always been clear: it has to be blues rock – no matter what the mainstream dictates in the charts. Good old handmade music. Handmade is also the Cigar box guitar that has influenced my songwriting for several

years. The song ‘Sewing Machine’ I wrote in Scotland is one of three Cigar box songs on Blue Deal’s ‘Holy Ground’ album.

In 2020, the time had come. I met our guitarist Tom Rollbühler. 30 years younger than me! Oh man, is that possible? Oh yes – of course it works! A dream combination, as has now been shown. We speak the same musical language and now understand each other blindly. His influences are actually the same as mine – rather much further influenced into the present day by guitar heroes like John Mayer or Gary Clark jr. Oh yes – there is also a time after Hendrix and SRV! And Tom embodies that in an ingenious way.

Together with the bassist Grille Roth we had the opportunity to develop songs and song approaches together during the corona time in Grille’s studio and from this our first album ‘Holy Ground’ was created. Many different facets of blues –rock – rock’n’roll – ballads.

In the summer of 2022, our bassist Martin Bürger joined the band and made the setup perfect. He grooves, and has a wonderful

BLUE DEAL

sound. We were thrilled from the first test and now feel complete and rounded. The second album will come and we still have a lot to tell! But first we tour and celebrate the ‘Holy Ground’ album live!

THE CLAUDETTES

THE ZAC SCHULZE GANG

What’s the opposite of locking down, staying in, and yet another mildly satisfying TV night? That would be “going out,” precisely what The Claudettes passionately prescribe with their rich, diverse, riveting new album, The Claudettes Go Out! Due out on October 14, 2022, via Forty Below Records.

Wielding a one-of-a-kind, piano-powered roots-pop sound, The Claudettes merge earthy blues and soul with pop hooks and punk spirit, writing an intriguing new chapter in American roots music. Pianist/songwriter

Johnny Iguana first gained renown as pianist for blues giant Junior Wells and as co-founder of punk-organ band Oh My God. Johnny has toured or recorded with Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Johnny Winter, Derek Trucks, Gary Clark Jr., Shemekia Copeland, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, James Cotton, and more. He has played on three Grammy-nominated albums and earned a 2021 Blues Music Award nomination for Piano Player of the Year. Johnny co-founded The Claudettes with drummer Michael Caskey (Chuck Mangione, Koko Taylor). Caskey is a Downbeat Magazine award winner and a five-time Detroit Music Awards recipient. Michael had previously toured with Johnny’s band Oh My God, as had Claudettes bassist/singer Zach Verdoorn. After hearing Berit Ulseth sing in a Chicago country band, Johnny asked her to join The Claudettes in 2016. Ulseth studied jazz vocal instruction at NYC’s New School and has sung on three of the band’s albums and an EP. The band completed two sessions for the new album. The first session was recorded and co-produced in Chicago by recent Grammy nominee Anthony Gravino (Kurt Elling, Charlie Hunter) and mixed in NYC by Grammy-winning legend Kevin Killen (David Bowie, U2, Elvis Costello). The second session, in Chicago, was helmed by Grammy-winning producer Ted Hutt (Violent Femmes, Old Crow Medicine Show) and mixed in LA by Hutt and Ryan Mall.

The Claudettes Go Out! concludes with the breathtaking “The Show Must Go On (And Then the Show Must End),” a reminder that lives, marriages and bands are precious things we only have for a short while—so savor and treasure these while you have them. “Pandemics and viruses are boring,” says Iguana. “We’ve had it with talking about it, staying home, staying isolated from each other. We did not embrace a move to the virtual. We wrote, and poured our hearts into this, and now we’re touring like mad. We love being together, and we are going out. Listen to this album; it’s the best thing we’ve done.”

The Zac Schulze Gang formed in 2020, have been storming the South Eastern United Kingdom circuit for the last 2 years. Taking their influence from the hard hitting 70s blues rock sound of bands such as Dr Feelgood and Nine Below Zero, the band thrives in energy along with great musicianship and powerful, pacy live performances. There are also influences by Steely Dan, Joe Bonamassa, Rory Gallagher,10CC and many more besides.

The band consisting of lead guitarist and vocalist Zac Schulze 22, brother Ben Schulze on drums 24, and Anthony Greenwell on bass guitar and vocals 24, have been playing together for around 2 years as the Zac Schulze Gang. However, they have been in many bands since the age of 14. They are genre bending. Anthony recently said “We say blues-rock-pop because it is difficult to brand ourselves as one thing. We think we are a blues band because we play a lot of blues music, and all our playing is rooted in blues. Blues fans would probably say we are more rock than blues. It is all good music in the end.” Offering an energetic and fun performance is at the heart of the Zac Schulze gangs live shows. Performing songs such as “Wooly Bully” Nine Below Zero and “Take A Tip” Dr Feelgood, as well as their own original material.

Without any original material out, the band has played the Rory Gallagher festival in Ballyshannon, the Alfold blues and rock festival, the Carlisle Rock and Blues Festival and has had the privilege to support artists such as Connor Selby and the Cinelli Brothers, in which Zac and Anthony feature on the track; Leave It All Behind on their latest album, No Country For Bluesmen. They plan to release their debut E.P. early in 2023. This will feature four original tracks and two covers. The first single from this release is called Ballyshannon Blues, a tribute to the band’s time at the Rory Gallagher Festival.

The band play around four to five gigs a week in the South East, so be sure to check out social media platforms for the dates.

OURTOPALBUMSOF2022

It’s been a few years since we last asked our reviewers to give us a selection of best of Year releases. So, here it is for 2022, a varied catalogue from varied writers with varied tastes and interests but hopefully something here that might appeal to everyone.

It’s interesting to see a few artists and albums cutting through and appearing on a few lists but equally cool to find some real unexpected titles and artists also making the grade with our team.

CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE

Mississippi Son

But what an amazing album. Blues, soul, and gospel. An album of epic proportions.

JOANNE SHAW

TAYLOR

Blues From The Heart

attempted before. Beth Hart has the best blues vocal I’ve ever heard. This album is almost biblical.

DOM MARTIN A Savage Life

there’s the powerful vocal tones of Alice Armstrong on Deep Down Devil. Something for any music lover is here, an upbeat class release.

The best new band on the UK scene collaborating with new and established musicians on an all-original set. Deserved winners of the recent UK Blues Challenge, we wish them well in Memphis in 2023.

KAT RIGGINS Progeny

14 amazing blues tracks from one of the greatest blues artists of all time. Blues albums don’t get much better than this. Bonham- Bullick. Self-Titled This is not an ordinary covers album. These fine tracks are in the much lesser-known category. Each song is delivered with such emotion and a real understanding of what blues music is all about.

Charlie has had a huge amount written about him in the past by others much more eloquent than I. All I will say is that this album, along with his previous, 100 Years Of Blues in conjunction with Elvin Bishop, is a must for any music collection

SISTER COOKIE

In The Blue Corner

A tremendous live album. JST can certainly cut it with the best of them. In great company here, but equal to them all. Bravo.

With Joe Bonamassa guiding her, JST has recorded her most mature and scintillating blues album to date. It not only reveals a guitarist playing at the very top of her game, the quality of songwriting and her vocals reveal a confident artist expanding her musical horizons.

BETH HART A Tribute To Led Zeppelin

This sees Dom bearing his soul and heart on his sleeve as a bluesman, both in songwriting and the passion he sings these songs and plays his guitar, he just has the feeling. It captures a rawness seldom seen in today’s blues recordings, just excellent.

An album straight from his heart and soul. Dark and, at times, deeply unsettling. He really did shock me with the intensity and fire in his music.

THE CINELLI BROTHERS AND THE BRITISH BLUES SUMMIT No Country For Old Blues Men

This is an honest and uplifting set of songs, with a backing band of great ability and well produced. Kat’s vocals are stunning and thought provoking, but she can also belt out the blues on songs like Walk On and Promised Land. Raw passion and an eclectic mix of songs makes this a winner. It is all in the storytelling and she sucks in the listener from start to finish.

EMANUEL CASABLANCA Blood On My Hands

A relatively new artist to me.

This is not just about stepping into the shoes of Robert Plant, this is entering the world of Led Zeppelin. A feat that no one has

The best UK blues collaboration in a long time. You do not just get the amazing musicianship of the wonderful tight band that is the Cinelli Brothers, you get lots more on this brilliant compendium. Redfish Blues Band’s collaboration Better Together is a contender for best single surely if there is still a category. Then

A blues album with a twist of varying musical styes. This man is a name to remember and a supreme guitarist. The whole album deals with the human condition and feelings of despair and loss but also how

we overcome these in song. Whether it be the haunting ballad, Like A Pulse or the shuffle on Testify, this is an outstanding debut release by this singer songwriter and guitarist from Brooklyn.

ROBERT BILLARD & THE COLD CALLS Stop

OURTOPALBUMSOF2022

ELLES BAILEY Shining In The Half Light

I was worried that replacing the bandits with a new line-up would take Wille Edwards in the same ‘arena’ direction as King King did when Alan Nimmo replaced the whole band but the new Bandits seem to be an extension of the old and the music retains the same quality and eliteness that they did before. When The World Stood Still is a terrific Rock album, rooted in the Blues

BILL FILIPIAK Medicine I Need

Another debut album, this time from Canadian singer songwriter and guitarist and his band. Again, this proves blues music is huge church and envelops a lot of distinctive styles, but the song is the vital component. Yes, there are superb guitar solos and various tones and harmonies. But when you hear tunes like, Waiting For The Land To Dry and No Shape For Talking, these conjure up visions of social injustices and depravation. Superb album.

TROY REDFERN Wings Of Salvation

Every step she takes seems to move Elles Bailey a little higher up the league tables and this album continues her development. I love her voice, but she also writes songs that really carry meaning and a sense of ‘here and now’

BRAVE RIVAL Life’s Machine

SHERI ROBERTS GREIMES Bleeding Heart

All harmonica atmosphere. Bill Filipiaks voice is deep, story tellers of old times gone by.

THE LEWIS HAMILTON

BAND

On

The Radio

I loved this album. Reminiscent of Bette Midler with her story telling, charm and personality shining through.

KIRSTEN THEIN Two Sides…

Great debut album from a band that doesn’t do anything that hasn’t been done before but does it with great heart and soul. Live, they are an experience, and they carried the intensity and punch of their live shows on to the album

WILLE & THE BANDITS When The World Stood Still

Almost reinventing slide guitar and throwing out some fiery and incendiary Blues. Every track could be a stage favourite and his voice is just a weapon

The entire album is supported by a plethora of accomplished and acclaimed musicians, but this lady runs the show. Rob Robinson. Holly Water With an intoxicating blend of musical influences including, gospel, sultry soul and rock ‘n’ roll this album is my type of play.

The production on this album is brilliant.

SNOWY WHITE

Driving on the 44

Snowy White emerged from his music cellar hiatus to pour forth another beautiful serving of vintage blues, with notes of jazz-fusion, on this deeply satisfying album.

BERNIE MARSDEN Kings

This series of recordings displays the Tedeschi Trucks Band breadth and control over a range of musical genres and instrumentation. Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks pilot an enchanting journey into their sonic soul taking the listener on a spiritual trip of a lifetime.

DAVID SINCLAIR FOUR Apropos Blues

Carefully polishing the thrones of three blues legends, Bernie Marsden does BB, Freddie, and Albert King proud with his fine execution of choice cuts on this homage to these royal blues greats.

RORY GALLAGHER

Deuce

A tasty morsel of modern British R&B featuring chunky guitar riffs, wailing harps and even a Glasgow rapper on opening track Hip-Hopping. This album updates the much-missed Pub Rock Scene.

THE LOVE LIGHT ORCHESTRA Leave The Light On

DAVID LUMSDEN Rooted In The Blues

JOSE RAMIREZ Major League Blues

A 4 CD box set of Rory Gallagher’s second album, from his remarkable and distinguished discography, with alternate takes, home demos and contemporaneous radio recordings is a pleasure treasure just waiting to be devoured by any Rory or blues fan.

TEDESCHI TRUCK BAND

I Am The Moon

Big 9-piece Memphis band with their wonderful recreation of 50’s soul blues from the Bobby Bland, Lowell Fulson, B B King era. Great new songs plus a few covers.

A Blues/Rock lovers paradise featuring a varied smorgasbord of barrel house piano, hard riffing guitars, rumbling saxes, swirling organs, snarling vocals plus lots of fun and energy.

JOHN MAYALL The Sun is Shining Down

A young man who has paid his dues on the circuit and produced this excellent album of Chicago blues with help from old-timer Jimmy Johnson and the Delmark All-Star Band.

SHEMEKIA COPELAND Done Come Too Far

The British master’s latest featuring a stellar cast of guests who add plenty but never get in the way of Mayall himself who effortlessly outshines them all.

Destined to be Mayall’s final studio album in all probability, here he really performs, helped by his usual band and many interesting wonderful tribute to his role and importance to blues music

Completing a trio of socially conscious albums, Done Come Too Far is Shemekia’s best yet. Duke Robillard They Called It Rhythm & Blues Classic R&B album. Great vocals from Chris Cote, superb horns, and the finest and most versatile guitarist in the blues.

friends, with a final bow as he leaves the blues-stage. This is an album as good as anything he has ever delivered, and a

globally.

IMAGE BY VICTORIA SMITH

LARRY MCCRAY Blues Without You

OURTOPALBUMSOF2022

PAUL JONES The Blues

BERNIE MARSDEN Chess

BONHAM –BULLICK Bonham Bullick

Great to have Larry McCray back after a long absence and sounding terrific on both guitar and vocals; produced by Joe Bonamassa.

DEBBIE BOND Blues Without Borders

In many ways, the title says it all. This is a career retrospective in many ways, as one of the UK’s greatest bluesmen looks over his shoulder and provides an extraordinary range of material, always blues, in three distinct career parts.

Released as part of his “Inspirations” series of albums the others are Kings and Trios. Chess focuses on the music of the likes

Deborah, and her husband Peter, have taken thirteen less-than-obvious Blues and Soul tunes and Blues’d them up for this century. The lassie sure

From Alabama, a blues hotbed, comes a truly strong release with a relevance that never seems to wane. An album that might surprise some but pushes blues along with real passion and underlying optimism.

WALTER TROUT Ride

Trout is on fire here, a real road warrior and blues veteran, Ride is readily one of his finest - if not the finest - release yet from a master blues craftsman.

Twenty-one tracks pulled from all aspects of Paul’s incredible fifty-year career in the crazy

always blues, in three distinct world of music.

has a set of pipes on her of Walter Jacobs, Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon, Elmore James, etc. So arguably these are part of the very foundation of the Blues and most certainly get a big tick from me.

highest quality from Atlanneighbours. Great album Blues Matters thanks our correspondents for their Jean Knappit. Dave Drury;

Colin Campbell; Steve Harrison;

Electric Blues for 2022 of the ta-born Tinsley. Turn it up and simply enjoy entertaining the thoughts here: Paul Davies; Colin Campbell; Steve Harrison; Iain Patience; Andy Snipper. We hope you enjoy exploring this wide range of blues at its best.

IMAGE BY AUSTIN HARGAVE

IMAGE BY ROXANNE DE ROODE

Michael McDermott is a name that is likely to be new to many blues fans. And, it must be said, he himself makes no claim to be a bluesman. But, McDermott is easily one of the USA’s finest modern songwriters and performers as anyone who has heard his recent batch of releases spread over the past five years or so is likely to acknowledge.

With a recently released new album, Saint Paul’s Boulevard, making waves internationally and on the brink of a major arts award in Italy, Blues Matters caught a relaxed McDermott between US gigs and before he headed out to Italy for the awards ceremony.

Originally from Chicago, McDermott grew up in the cauldron of blues music itself, while developing a love for rock’n roll that has remained with him. And his career has seldom followed a typical trajectory, instead veering from success to oblivion and rejection by many major labels as the years passed by. In reality, it’s been a roller-coaster that McDermott draws upon for his often themed albums with lyricism squarely centre-stage coupled to some truly superb rhythmic melody and a voice that can be sensitive and/or abrasive according to the song’s needs.

Whatever he does, McDermott does with passion and power, heartfelt lyrics reflect his own lifestyle choices, ripping through tragedy, despair, optimism and hope. In many ways, McDermott is reminiscent of Springsteen at times, with that same rocky undertone, clever lyrics and a mastery of material that is seldom surpassed. He looks back on his career where money-hungry (greedy) record executives aimed to control him and his output, with a pragmatic shrug and a nod to the vagaries of the music-buying public, while feeling grateful to still be around, out there working and recording against the odds. It’s interesting to note that blockbuster best-selling author Stephen King is a huge fan and describes McDermott in this way – ‘possibly the greatest undiscovered rock and roll talent of the last twenty years!’ A view I personally endorse wholeheartedly.

McDermott recalls kicking off his career and the initial optimism that pulled him through, though he acknowledges the role of the big labels in trying to shape his career and their unrealistic expectations:

“It immediately puts a target on your back, which is unfair, and I got that Bruce thing, the Springsteen thing. But I was just so

young! That was fun, it was cool but then I realized that was all they’d talk about – the new Springsteen, or whatever. I thought, wait, I’m just a kid… but whatever…”

When I ask what he thinks about Stephen King saying, ‘(McDermott)…made me feel so fucking happy to have ears,’ he laughs and plays it down to an extent: “Yea, that was a surprise, I guess. Though the publicity and support I’ve had from him is always solid and welcome!”

After brushes with alcoholism, cocaine-addiction guns, near self-destruction and financial ruin, McDermott found music to be his salvation, a touchstone that kept him sane and provided an impetus to kick back and restart his career with a move out of the city to small-town America.

“It was a bit of the wild west in Willow Springs, but we kinda got out of the city cause we’d just had a baby and I was walking back from the liquor store and saw the strobe-lights everywhere, a guy bleeding in the doorway with a throat slashed, a triple

“It’s been like a career in three acts,” he splutters with laughter, “I started out very young, got signed to a major label when I was twenty; I was immediately successful which was disorienting and, you know, Rolling Stone, the New York Times, Washington Post, they all tipped me and then…almost as if it was over before it began, nothing. I guess I had too much success, too much everything really, too soon. I toiled for a long time and my personal life got kinda messy and marginalized. That went on for ever, it seemed to me for an eternity, and then my manager told me ‘I’ve gotta tell you, I’ve been talking to all the main, big gate-keepers in the music business and when I mention your name they go ‘Oh, Michael McDermott!’ He said there was a lot of nothing, they didn’t want to hear about it. Try a side-project, he suggested, present it as something other than Michael McDermott, maybe that will open doors! ‘ So, I did a project, the Westies (2013-2016), and that kind of worked. People thought the Westies were great but then when they heard it was Michael McDermott, they were, ‘Oh, no…’ Then Willlow Springs came out and that gave me what was almost like a new start really!”

homicide police screeching all over the neighbourhood and then next day I was out in the front yard, I was barefoot and almost stepped on a hypodermic needle. So, yea, we thought, ‘It’s time to move out!’ And we found this little town, Willow Springs, which had been a very corrupt town – the police chief went to jail for murder – but we found a little house in the woods and moved there. I was able to relax a bit, sit down, chill and write a bunch of songs which I recorded there, and we lived there a while.”

The resulting eponymous album, ‘Willow Springs’, features Will Kimbrough on guitar, and was a great success, reaching number one in the Euro-Americana Album Charts back in 2016. It helped cement McDermott’s own place in the expanding world of modern Americana music and gave him a further confidence to keep plugging away against the kicks of the older, established music industry which has at times been less than helpful or favourable to him, as he explains:

McDermott has capitalized on this deserved success and resurrection with a number of further releases, each of which have gained widespread critical acclaim and resulted in him receiving the Tenco Award in October 2022 in Italy, an award whose previous recipients include musical song-writer luminaries such as Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Sting, Elvis Costello, Randy Newman, Jackson Browne and David Crosby. So, clearly, McDermott is a guy to be admired and watched on the international stage. “To have my name alongside these guys, it’s just crazy,” he says with evident pride and a shake of the head.

In 2019, he released ‘What in the World,’ an absolute strormer of a rock-meets-Americana album that again pushed his reputation higher and one which I personally consider to be one of the finest albums of the decade. When I mention this album to him, he again laughs and says surprisingly, perhaps: “You know, I sometimes forget that album came out. It’s like time is elastic and when I go to do set-lists, I forget about ‘What in the World!’ Then I think, oh sure, I should do something from that! It is as if it disappeared into the ether almost immediately!”

Thoughts turn to his ‘wasted’ years, a few years of frustration and addiction. McDermott is brutally frank:

“I did, and somehow or other, I was able

It’s been like a career in three acts

to do it. I had free-time and I made up for lost time by writing music and new songs. I rediscovered the joy again. You know, I’d reached a point where what I was doing worked like this – the show I was doing had meaning cause it led to the party! I’d kind of breeze through the shows and I’d be focused on who was in the room, on who had the coke. It was just a circus. Now, the show’s like my favourite time of the day. I’m not doing Springsteen four-hour shows or anything but I enjoy every minute up there on-stage and I enjoy writing, the craft of it, coming from a place of clarity, it’s really amazing how it works. I pat myself on the back for even being able to produce work after those couple of heavy years. My only regret really is that waste of time!”

“I look back and feel as a writer I was so immersed in the gutter, so to speak, that sometimes it would be like trying to write about me was too difficult cause sometimes you’re too immersed in something to have any perspective. I remember hearing – and thinking myself at times – well, whet’s he gonna write about now he’s sober?! But now I can see those things with far more clarity than when I was immersed in it all! Now, I can see the detail more clearly,” he explains.

WHAT IN THE WORLD

Michael McDermott

Harry P. Traum is unlikely to register with many, a name that slips past with neither a nod nor even a glance, perhaps. Shorten it, however, pulling it together to read Happy Traum, and it rings the bell, bangs the drum and resonates with roots music lovers worldwide.

A New Yorker, Happy is one of those rare guy’s, a musician’s musician. Revered by most in the musical know, he is easily one of the most significant acoustic-roots musicians and guitar pickers of his – and many other – generations. His guitar mastery is without equal or question, and his importance to the development of many world famous – and aspiring – musicians is genuinely astonishing.

Traum recalls with evident glee and deserved wonder and amusement how as a young guitar aspirant himself in late 1950s/early 1960s New York, he picked up a phone book and rang Brownie McGhee to ask for guitar lessons with one of modern blues music’s notable greats.

“At college, New York University, I’d heard Brownie’s Folkways album, Brownie McGhee’s Blues.” I loved it. I rang him up and he said, “Come on down. Let’s see what you can do and I’ll decide.” I spent the next two or three years with Brownie, visiting him every few weeks or so, just playing together. He’d tell me if I was going wrong and I’d ask him to show me what he was doing and where he was going. We’d spend two or three hours like that. It was wonderful. Sometimes Sonny Terry would turn up and we’d all just play along together.”

Back then, as the sixties folk boom began to explode onto the world music stage, bringing with it a remarkable wealth of talent, inspired music and unsurpassed genius, New York was certainly the place to be. Liverpool and the UK music rocket had yet to surface, let alone take off to the stratosphere.

Happy remembers sharing licks and verses with almost everyone of note, then relative newcomers, unknowns before the music industry had even developed. John Sebastian, Maria Muldaur, John Hammond, Rory Block, Mary Travers (Peter, Paul & Mary), Dave Van Ronk, Bill Keith, David Bromberg, Phil Ochs and a rough-edged, fledgling guy, destined to become a lifelong buddy, with a strident voice and desperate desire for success, Bob Dylan.

The late Tom Paley, one of the original members of leading, radical band the New Lost City Ramblers, also gave his time and

encouragement freely to the young Happy Traum. “I remember Tom as a really nice player, a very fine picker. He did a great version of “Railroad Bill,” running through it many times for me, always helpful, never dismissive, bored or irritated..”

At this time, the early 1960s, many of these seminal musicians would meet up, jamming, busking and simply having fun in New York’s Washington Square most weekends. Happy Traum was always there, picking his guitar, alongside his fairly recently passed brother, Artie, and picking the brains and fingers of others who also converged on the park each weekend.

He remembersIzzy Young, who ran the Folklore Centre in the city being around always, and how they all had a run-in with authority when attempts were made to outlaw the weekly music meetings. And he recounts how the young, unknown Bob Dylan – soon to be given his first professional gig thanks to Young – first pitched up in New York in the early sixties: “He’s on one of my Broadside records. I did a duet with him and he wrote the sleeve/liner notes for another with Atlantic Records.”

around this same time.

For many years, he has been involved with what is probably the single, most influential, important roots and blues music teaching resource, Homespun Tapes: “I initially set it up about fifty years ago as Homespun Tapes. We did it all from home, reel-to-reel. Then came cassettes, followed by video and now CD and DVD,” he laughs with evident pleasure. “We’ve got about 200 artists now.”

Of particular pleasure and a source of some evident satisfaction is the fact that one of Traum’s own personal roots music heroes, Pete Seeger, signed over the rights to his famous 5-String Banjo tutorial to Happy’s Homespun operation before he died a few years ago. “I was always a great fan of Pete’s, and it was amazing that he did that. It means a lot to me.”

These days, apart from his teaching and Homespun, Traum still enjoys getting out and about, picking guitar, passing on the music and playing U.S. festivals like Merlefest in North Carolina, and teaching at Jorma Kaukonen’s famed Fur Peace Ranch in the Ohio hills.

Never surprised by Dylan’s extraordinary success, he says: “We are friends. We were real close for about six or seven years and Bob lived nearby (in Woodstock, where Traum has been resident for around 50 years). I did a lot of work with him in the early ‘70s. In 1971, I think, I did the sessions with him that became his Greatest Hits albums. We always got on well together.”

Amongst his other neighbors at the time were John Sebastian – still a resident – and Dylan’s backing band, the Band’s drummer and singer, Levon Helm.Larry Campbell,, another Dylan sideman, and stalwart of the Americana Music Awards annual blast, also lives nearby. The Band’s famous – or infamous – Big Pink house was another local landmark, and spawned Dylan’s famous Basement Tapes album. Traum also recalls working with Beat poet Allen Ginsberg

He believes the music is in a safe place, with young students eager to keep it alive and give it new meaning. And he still derives great pleasure from recording, even as a seasoned veteran. A few months agoTraum released his latest album, There’s A Bright Side Somewhere, an absolute master-class in tasteful fretwork and delicious covers. Recorded mostly without overdubs and as close to live performance as a studio allows, Traum says of the release: “My idea was to play and sing, alive and live in the studio. I have many great friends around who all helped and play on it , including my son, Adam, who’s a very good player, and John Sebastian, Larry Campbell. All live around Woodstock, so I ask for their help. To try capture that wonderful interaction that happens spontaneously with musical friends. There are a few obvious places where overdubs were inevitable, but for the most part the music on this CD reflects the way it happened in the moment – no frills, as honest as I could make it.”

Looking ahead, to what might yet be in store, Happy Traum remains upbeat and optimistic: “I don’t know what the future holds, maybe not much more for me at my age,” he laughs. “But the acoustic music scene seems to be thriving, with some fantastic stuff coming out. It always ebbs and flows. It’s just how it is.”

Geoff Muldaur is a name most will know. With a lifetime of roots music under his belt, he has worked tirelessly for around sixty years, often picking up accolades from his peers while always remaining modest and unassuming despite an astonishing career. From his first steps playing as part of the US legend Jim Kweskin’s Jug Band around New York, he went on to marry fellow-jug bander, Maria Muldaur, and delivered his debut album together with Maria, ‘Pottery Pie’, in 1968. In truth, he’s never stopped playing, performing, recording and spreading his genius since that date.

We managed to pin the guy down for a chat between tours and gigs, at home in the States, where Muldaur was his usual affable self, happy to look back over his remarkable career and chat about his latest, critically acclaimed double album project, His Last Letter. Widely viewed as an extraordinarily ambitious work, His Last Letter, is an eighteen-track tour-de-force recorded in Amsterdam featuring his own compositions mixed with some standards and accompanied by both jazz and classically trained orchestral musicians. The result is an astonishing range of influences, tracks and sweepingly convincing covers of modern Americana musical settings to include a diverse range of interests from playwright Tennessee Williams to blues-jazz giants Jelly Roll Morton and Duke Ellington. All in all, a hard act to follow.

“I’ve been working my new album like crazy, doing shows, preparing Grammy stuff; it just never ends! So, I took a break, did a road-trip with my love; It was beautiful out there. I put in 4900 miles. And I’ve started a new project, so I wanted to clear my palette. It let’s new ideas come in. The Jug Band stuff came out of nowhere, man! Back then, I like to hope it was important to many, not just me,” he laughs, when I refer to his early days with Kweskin.

“We never made it to England, you had skiffle music, so no great interest there back then. Jim Kweskin’s crazy, just crazy. I don’t know how he does it, still playing out on the road. He’s in his eighties, he’s eightytwo! The group was highly influential, that’s where the Grateful Dead picked it from, stared out as a Jug Band. I was very lucky at that time,” he adds with a shake of the head.

Of course, to me, Muldaur is simply a truly wonderful acoustic guitar picker, but when I suggest this, he swiftly contradicts my thinking: “You know, I don’t see myself as much of a guitar picker really. I do play stuff

that nobody else plays, though,” he taps his head and tells me, “It’s this that’s different. It’s what’s in here, that’s what matters.”

We turn to his time playing with blues great Paul Butterfield: “That was just another lucky thing. It was probably the luckiest thing because I learned so much from Paul. He had the keys to the kingdom, man. That guy, Paul, he was way ahead of everybody. Very few white people can say they were up there in the ranks with the very best of the black community in blues music. There’s Stevie Ray Vaughn and very few others. For me, Paul pretty well heads the list. Even now people look back on Paul’s career, he was so influential. It was a pretty crazy time with him back then. I was being a bad boy, I had too many bad habits. And it all fit right in but I had to get out of there before it got me. I had to escape while I could,” he says with clear pleasure. “It was very important to me and I’m still running into people who knew and played with him. Now I’m back in

Mead Lux Lewis’s Honky Tonk Train, a complex piano piece on guitar. I looked at him and said, ‘I should’ve killed you years ago! How can you play that?’ Then I started a thing I had worked out, that’s on this new album, and he heard it and said to me, ‘I don’t know what you’re doing! I said to him, ‘That’s the idea, Richard! I mean, Richard, do you have to know everything? He should have been killed years ago, he’s just too good on the guitar!”

“I’ve enjoyed myself in the UK with varying degrees of success and enjoyment. You know, you can go to some little place and the guy’s great, the people are nice and you get a nice B&B overnight. I’ve played those kind of small gigs and I’ve done the Royal Festival Hall, big and small. I’m hoping to get back to UK next spring.”

“I’m starting to move on in my brain. I finished the last album a while ago, so I’m already in another place. But with ‘Letter’ people have been really nice about it. It’s had some unbelievable reviews. And, you know, I’m so used to not selling too many of these things…I don’t expect to but I’m just so lucky that I get to create music and grow and learn; I’ve always worked for the respect of my peers. I’ve never been into the star game, as you know. And I get to do what I want, I’m just so lucky. I have a patron. Nobody could afford to do what I did in Amsterdam, it was ten years of back and forth; I was back and forth maybe thirty times, man.”

New York, so I meet old buddies who knew me back then. But I’m working on a whole new project.”

Asked when the latest project might see the light of day, Muldaur shrugs, smiles and adds: “Well, you know me…it might be a while. It can take up to ten years! Maybe it can be released posthumously! You know, one of the things about putting out albums is you’re very lucky if you’re curious. I’m learning, learning all the time. I’ve been looking at stuff by Stan Levy, the guy that played drums with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and other people. I had no idea how good he was but now I’m really digging into him. He’s a killer! So, I’m always exploring new musical roads. I think, ‘Holy shit, man. I could do this, this or this!’ I have no regard for idiom which is actually difficult in the UK where it’s very genre-based. You know, they say, ‘I’m a folk guy, I’m a jazz guy, a blues guy.’ And me, I’m all of them!” he says with another laugh.

“Richard Thomson was in the dressing room with me at a concert. He played something unbelievable in that dressing room. It was

It’s often revealing to discover the thoughts of those veterans who are still out there delivering quality music after half a century or more. So, I ask Muldaur if he ever thought he’d still be working that rich roots seam all these years down the line: “Well, when I was working with Butterfield, I thought I’d be dead. But I woke up and stopped my rough and rowdy ways in time. I took some time out and worked in the steel industry for some years, and I cleaned myself up. I did some film music, some jingles and that helps you communicate more with musicians, and learn so much. On this album (His Last Letter) you hear that I sing very well but that’s a miracle. I don’t know how I do it. I’m starting to compose more as I decompose! I can’t imagine I’ll be able to sing this way in two years time. In Amsterdam, those were live recordings; I sang live. I don’t speak much Dutch but I had to see how they reacted to my music, and writing styles. Once again it was a learning experience. They were my teachers. I had the Geoff Muldaur Music School, with only one student -me! They came my way and learned how to swing a little and I came their way and they sort of Europeanised

 Iain Patience  Sacha de Boer

I should’ve killed you years ago

me a little bit! They were such exquisite musicians. I couldn’t have got players like that in New York. I couldn’t have done it. I read (music) slowly but I write well; I have very little schooling and I don’t want it. To hear things in my head and my heart and then figure out what the Hell I’m hearing, you then communicate it by getting into the piano or the guitar. I can decide which instruments do what…I play a little banjo, piano, guitar. If I joined a band tomorrow, I could probably play piano and after six-months I think I could be of real use to them! Clarinet was my first instrument but I’d say I didn’t do too well at it. It’s time for me to let other people do all that hard work and I’ll write notes for them! It’s great to write notes, then hear a great musician play them You know, they make it sound so damn good! I’m such a lucky man to be able to do it without first of all having to do things I don’t want to do! I don’t have to follow current trends, I don’t do that!”

“My parents had jazz music around the house growing up. So, I listened to a lot of that. Then I discovered R&B and I went that way and they went their way too,” he says with a final laugh.

ARMATRADING

 Stephen Harrison  Supplied

Joan Armatrading is celebrating fifty years in the music business. How the hell did that happen? When people say that time flies by, by gum, they’re not kidding. She recently performed at The Asylum Chapel in London, which resulted in a 26-track album, Live At Asylum Chapel.

This was not a normal live gig, no audience was present, just Joan and her amazing band playing songs from her brilliant back catalogue. I was lucky enough to chat with her, the second time that I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with Joan. So, fifty years huh?:

“No, it doesn’t feel like fifty years really, can’t believe it. I don’t know what it feels like really. I was chatting with a friend of mine, and it was like, so how long have we known each other? It’s about the same amount of time since I first started, so sometimes it feels like yesterday. I don’t have the measure of it, it’s a weird feeling,” she laughs.

Discussing such a long and distinguished career, reminded me of an interview I once read with Paul McCartney, he said something along the lines of, ‘we didn’t expect The Beatles to last longer than a couple of years.’ So many artists nowadays have a couple of songs out, maybe record an album, but their so-called career is fleeting at best. So, to have a career spanning five decades is something of a novelty: “ Five years, that’s what I

was told would be my career, I wouldn’t still be doing this in five years. Obviously, I didn’t take any notice of them, I just carried on doing what I was doing.”

“It seems many people had very similar expectations back then, rock “n” roll being the prime example, a flash in the pan, because so many artists had gone before this explosion suddenly burst onto the scene. The new rock “n” roll and pop music were expected to have short lifespans. But you don’t work with that in mind. When you are younger you don’t think about stopping, you just think, this is what I’m doing and that’s it,” again she laughs and shrugs.

The difference between music today and back when Joan started, is almost unrecognizable. It’s not that artists have changed much but the whole music industry has changed. The way artists are perceived now is a world apart from fifty years ago. Attitudes have changed, but for Joan Armatrading, it’s business as usual. I mention that we are so fortunate in 2022, to be still listening to people such as Charly Patton, and Robert Johnson, almost a century after they first started writing and recording those blues songs: But how fantastic that this music has that impact and longevity, and we’ll probably still be listening to those songs a hundred years from now. There is always someone that does something first, but the good thing about it is that someone will always say, I can improve on that, either consciously, or subconsciously. It’s all good stuff, and the last thing that we want is for it to die out.

Carrying on and moving forward are the only things that we can do to keep blues music, or any form of popular music alive. To keep breaking barriers as the early blues guys did, which transcended throughout the decades and turned into rock “n” roll - the rest, as they say, is history.

Eager to discover how and when Joan got started,I ask, was it a song, an artist? Was there a lightbulb moment?:

“No, and I realize that is unusual,” she instantly responds. “ I understand when other people talk about this subject, but in my case, my mum bought a piano and put it in the front room and that is what caught my attention. I know lots of people say, ‘oh it was this record or that record, or seeing someone for the first time.’ The sight of the piano did it for me, I wasn’t really a buyer of records. I wasn’t particularly a fan of anyone. As far as writing goes, I didn’t follow anyone else, I just started writing my own stuff.”

Apart from wanting to write songs because there was a piano in the front room, Joan had a very clear vision of what she wanted to do. However, during the late sixties and early seventies there was another obstacle that female artists, singer songwriters, had to overcome. This was very much a male dominated profession. A male producer or engineer would always dictate to a female artist how a recording session should go. That is until Joan came along, released a couple of albums, gained some experience of recording, and had also appeared in the musical, Hair. This was a groundbreaking experience for all of the cast, and it helped

Joan to develop as a singer/songwriter with her own ideas.

“I have a different approach when it comes to writing songs, sometimes I’ll write on the piano, sometimes on the guitar, I then have a basis for the song, or it may even come from a riff that has suddenly popped into my head. So I don’t always write in the same way. I’ll start with an idea, then think about the

ly about observation, what I see around me, not so much about me,” she says.

I can’t resist telling Joan just how much of an effect Love And Affection had on me personally. I was in high school, listening to Led Zeppelin, then this song appears; not a pop song, not a rock song, just a great song that can’t be pigeon-holed, and that for me sums up Joan Armatrading. Drop The Pilot, is another outstanding song, Listening to Live At The Asylum, I am so pleased that Drop The Pilot is in the set, it’s such an upbeat, happy song, one that makes you want to sing every word. Of course, the album is laden with great songs, covering the whole of her caeer. My all-time favourite, Into The Blues, opens the set.

arrangement and production later. There’s not a set way of it happening.”

Her approach to writing songs, is intriguing. This is what makes Joan Armatrading such a vibrant and enegetic talent. It started at a young age; it must have always been within her DNA, from the off:

” I started writing jokes, funny little limericks, not lyrics as such. I’d never put music to limericks, so I think I was about eleven at that time, but I really started writing in earnest when the piano arrived when I was thirteen or fourteen, and my songs are most-

The Asylum Chapel, is not a music venue as such, It also caters for weddings and various events, even thogh it is a bit delapitated at the moment, it’s a venue for doing stuff. Having said that, the gig was wonderful, no audience, just Joan and her band playing 26 songs. To understand Joan and how she works, writes and performs, be it in the studio or in a live setting, make no mistake, she is in total control of everything. She knows exactly what she wants, where she wants to take a recording, the production, and finished product, is down to Joan, so last word the the lady herself: “ When I do it like that, I’m a control freak, when Prince does it , he’s a ‘genius’.” Again, Joan laughs at the very thought!

Live At The Asylum is released at the end of November.

ASYLUM

sometimes it feels like yesterday

CRYSTAL SHAWANDA

BLUES ISWHEREIBELONG

JUNO Canadian Award winner for outstanding blues album Crystal Shawanda is highly established as one of the leading female blues singers in North America. Starting her career as a Country singer, she followed her musical dream of keeping blues music alive. Her recently released eighth studio album, Midnight Blues, recently launched to considerable international acclaim, again exhibits her distinct vocal qualities.

The first topic I raise is life on the road; Crystal responds frankly before we turn to her personal history for context: “I enjoy touring and playing live, connecting with the fans, getting to dance with them, that’s what it’s all about.”

“I am an Indigenous First Nation native, from Wiikwemkoong on Manitoulin Island in Ontario, Canada. I grew up with a family that listened to all styles of music. They were music fans, no specific genre. It was either good or bad music! I always wanted to sing, soon as I could make a noise. I was on stage at six years old, it’s all I’ve ever done, never looked back, and never had a plan B! I moved to Nashville when I was sixteen. At that time, I was singing Country music, but my heart always took me to the blues genre. It became undeniable that I had to sing the blues,” she explains.

And so, I ask, how was that transition from country to blues? “A lot of people think it’s a difficult move, but I felt it was a natural progression to my musical journey. I grew up listening to Hank Williams Senior and he learned everything he knew from a blues man, on songs like Lovesick Blues. He did a cover of My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It which was originally a blues song. I would cover these as well bringing out the bluesy undertones in these songs. I wanted to make music, to make people happy and get them to forget life’s stresses for that moment. I listened to Muddy Waters, BB King, and Etta James. I love Dorothy Moore, Big Mamma Thornton as well. Koko Taylor is probably my all-time favourite - but still discovering old voices. Yesterday I listened to Sugar Pie DeSanto. How did I miss her, wow!”

“Nashville is the melting pot of music in America for me. When I moved there first, The Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar was there. I would hang out and listen to the bands play. A favourite was the Stacy Mitchhart Band, Stacy is still a great mentor for me. The cool thing about Nashville is no matter what style of music you want to do; you can find it there! When I switched to blues music, I described it as ‘Letting a bird out of a cage.’ I could spread my wings. Whereas, when I was singing purely country, I restrained myself, my producer told me to hold back, don’t want to scare people away! Switching to blues, I could be myself! When I play the blues, I’m not hiding anymore. I can be myself! All genres are crossing, country, blues, and Americana. I’m finding people who get me, I’m trying to figure out who I am and where I belong. My shows appeal to all ages and my meet-andgreet is always interesting, I’m honouring the roots of blues without copying. Every colour, age,

 Colin Campbell  Nora Canfield

and gender, I am proud of my fan base! Recently, we have been doing some presentations relating to Blues In Schools. It went great, the kids enjoyed it I hopefully have encouraged them to find out about this genre.”

But what, to Crystal, made blues the outstanding genre, I ask: “My brother listened to a lot of blues music, that’s who first got me into the blues. Overall, though, when growing up I witnessed a lot of sadness, depression, alcoholism, and suicide relating to my family and my own community. By the time I was ten, I already had experienced a lot of death in my lifetime. When I heard blues music, I connected to that eternal sadness in the delivery of that musical style. A deep-seated grief that lies within each blues song. It’s the music that healed me again and again! There are times when I got depressed and had a drink problem when I was younger, it was music that literally saved my life! The roots of the blues for me had that connection with the community I was raised in. There are a lot of Indigenous artists that flock towards blues music. We connected to that oppression; we knew what it was like to be in that place. Representation is hard to find in artists, Buffy Saint Marie is probably the most famous. Our generational trauma has got the best of us. I feel part of the new wave of artists and feel inspired by the black community who rose together and supported each other. Blues is a healer, we’re all connected. I have a song, ‘The Whole World’s Got The Blues.’ After I sing this to kids, I explain no matter what you are, we all get the blues! The blues is for everyone! I encourage kids to listen to blues playlists and more accessibly to give people a chance.”

together and supported each other. Blues

love the stage, hate the road, hate the business.

rollercoaster. Live shows are very personal! You means success to me. If I can hold on to my parents’

The best advice Crystal has had is that Music heals. That’s what blues is all about: “You have to love the stage, hate the road, hate the business. It’s always got me through the hard times! I try to give a high-energy show. I want people to have fun. We do some soul-bearing ballads, an emotional rollercoaster. Live shows are very personal! You never know when it’s going to be your last show, so you have to give everything! But quality of life means success to me. If I can hold on to my parents’ family values as well, that’s true success. Winning the JUNO award was amazing though.

Final words go to Crystal about the future and reaching out to new listeners: “If you have not heard of me, give me a listen. Those who have come and seen me on tour - thanks for everything so far. I’m aiming to do a UK tour as well, it’s a dream of mine. Nice speaking to you, thank you, Colin. We’re about an hour from Nashville pretty close now, we travel with the whole family, it’s like a travelling circus, excited about coming back home. Cheers!”

mine. Nice speaking to you, thank you, Colin. We’re

LOVE THE STAGE HATE THE ROAD HATE THE BUSINESS

crystalshawanda.co

FINDING THE COMMON GROUND

Speaking to Canadian roots, rock and blues band, it fast becomes clear their genrebending music fits no pigeonholed category. It’s just all positive and they all have a common goal to entertain and keep their brand of music fresh whilst reinterpreting their personal influences.

I catch them at a hectic time during a tour in Germany on a zoom call, shared by all the group members, who are: Chris Medhurst (Vocals and guitar), Ross Hayes Citrullo. (Lead guitar), Ben Spiller (Bass guitar) and Adam Cannon (Drums). Assorted topics were discussed in an upbeat relaxed chat.

We start by looking at the background and roots of the band: It started as a project Chris came out with, and then the other band members joined, including their friend and session organ player Miles (Miles Evans-Branagh). The five became the group. It all came together and clicked. Influences

in the band are from 60s and 70s and also newer bands like The Black Crows. Vocally, they are influenced by Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Chris Cornell, Joe Cocker, rock, and soul voices.

Chris outlines the thinking: “We have individual influences, but we needed to find a common ground for all those influences. To do that, we found bands we could all model ourselves around. Chris with his love for soul and blues artists and Ross, Adam, and Ben with a liking for rock and roll, when you combine the two things it comes out as a Southern roots rock genre. That is where we found most connection with the music and audience. Through that on the record you get small pockets of influences coming through.”

We then discuss audiences, demographics: “There is a difference between Canadian and European, the European seem older and grew up on the type of music we are influenced by. In Canada and USA, we’re seeing younger ages. It’s too early to tell as we’re breaking into musical markets for the first time. You can base it off advertising on Facebook but until you play in front of people that’s when you begin to know. It’s resonating towards an older audience, but our goal is to introduce our type of rock and roll to a different audience. We want to also bring rock and soul back into the mainstream.”

We talk about specifically where the blues music element fits in with the band philosophy. Chris again steps in here: “Vocally my influencers, like Joe Cocker, took that classical blues singer approach and applied it to the rock and roll scene. We think we do that pretty well.”

 Colin Campbell  Supplied

Discussion about Blues Festivals and where the band fit-in on a line up follows: “There was a feeling older blues people only see the blues in one way. The blues does not just have to be like this, seems to be our consensus.”

This spurred on the topic of how we listen to music nowadays. With so many formats, just how can you keep music fresh.

Chris: “With the younger generation, people are trying to find their own path. With me, I have to think; does the music fit lyrically and have meaning to me. It is all about the musicianship. There are so many options out there, such a wide audience you can reach out to. I think there is a market there, for sure. Someone like Joe Bonamassa is doing the standard blues thing but interjecting this with making blues current and relevant. He’s reaching into the youthful audience as well. If we can do this and keep true to our rock roots that is good as well.”

Blues-rock, as opposed to traditional blues music, seems more popular at present in many minds, so we explore that theme:

“One of the reasons for that is there are a lot of listeners new and old to the genre. They like it when music doesn’t necessarily take you in a particular direction. I like it when I listen to a song that takes me to a place I

was not anticipating. I come from an artistic family, my Uncle was an Examiner for the Royal Observatory, on piano. My father is a visual artist. I grew up listening to The Beatles, Allman Brothers and Joe Cocker, King Crimson, all different kinds of stuff. I learned to sing out of a need to write songs. I started performing at age fourteen. I’ve had some vocal lessons, but the majority of my singing is influenced by trying to express myself.”

Adam adds his thoughts: “Vocal influences were what I listened to growing up, wanting to do what they do. I have memories of lyingn bed playing on a stage when that seemed a child’s dream, and here we are in Germany doing just that. We consider ourselves fortunate. All our musical experiences started with listening to great bands and deciding we wanted to share that with people.”

Adam talks about touring with the band and the heavy schedule. “It has been a new thing playing every night. Back home we play twice a week. The good part is we are getting better the further we go. We’re finding another gear. Everything is going so fast you have to stay grounded and do whatever routine that keeps you sane, I guess. I love playing every night. I’m the weirdest one in the band on and off stage!

Onstage, Chris sums it up: ”I try to get into

every song and share what we are experiencing onstage with the people watching. Some of my favourite bands I’ve seen live seem like they are taking you on a journey. You want people to hear something different live other than listening to a recording. We try and share the energy and have fun on stage.”

Ross adds: “Some people you look out to in the audience who don’t seem they are enjoying the music are the most enthusiastic after the show!”

Advice-wise on career paths, Ross explains his; “My guitar teacher told me at a young age, ‘you are not Jimmy Page, you have to be your own person.’ From this, you have to make your own path and your own style. You can’t just copy someone’s sound. So, while we wear our influences on our sleeves, it’s important that is not what we as a band totally identify with.”

Chris concludes with a pertinent thought: ” Do it because you love it. You’re doing something because you truly love doing it!”

“The Commoners new album ‘Find A Better Way’, released by Gypsy Soul Records, is available from www.thecommoners.ca The band embark on a co-headline UK tour with Troy Redfern from April 13-29th 2023.

Do it because you love it!

John Nemeth has been recording since 2002, releasing ten albums along the way. As a singer and harmonica player, he has collected numerous awards, hardly surprising given the talent

he has in abundance.

He has just released an album, ‘Maybe The Last Time,’ which was recorded before major jaw amputation surgery, hence the title. We chat about his surgery, recovery, Buddy Guy’s Legends Club, an Indian Restaurant in Boise, Idaho, and of course his career in blues music.

My first live experience with John Nemeth came about in 2017 when my wife and I travelled across America as part of a Route 66 Road trip. On our second day in Chicago, we met up with Facebook friends who had bought tickets to go to Buddy’s that night. John Nemeth was the headline act, a night I won’t forget, as I recount the

about

Road trip. On our second that tale to him:

“That’s such a great story man, and isn’t it such a wonderful place. I love that place, stations of the cross, stations of the blues man,” he quips. The most important thing at the moment for John is recovery from the surgery to his jaw, as a harmonica player, and singer, this could be a career-ending

defining moment.

JOHN NEMETH MAYBE AT LAST

but it was fast-moving, but they

They got it out. Now I have a dead

“I had the surgery, don’t I look great? (lol) I’m feeling good, I’m gonna get some new teeth in November, no wait, I don’t get the teeth in November, I get the screws in, and then I’ll get the choppers later. I got a tumour in my jaw, it’s pure meanness, the meanness got me, but it was fast-moving, but they spotted it real quick at the Dentist’s office, they just happened to have a new X-Ray machine. They got it out. Now I have a dead man’s bone in my jaw.”

The album, Maybe The Last Time, brings together some of John’s closest friends in the music business, Elvin Bishop, Kid Andersen, Willy Jordan, and Alabama Mike. Elvin Bishop plays on all tracks and wrote most of them, while Kid Andersen played on and produced the album, so it was very much a coming together of friends to help John

played on and produced the album, so it was very through this tough time.

“Me and Elvin, have always played great together, from day one. I’ve been on a bunch of his records, and he’s been on a few of mine. I’ve

together, from day one. I’ve been on a bunch of

 Stephen Harrison  Laura Carbone

worked with Kid Andersen a lot over the years, he actually engineered a lot of my records. He arranged the whole thing, mixed it, and engineered it. He’s so good. That’s a big chunk of sound that he gets.”

One thing that I absolutely love about this album, apart from the music, of course, It was recorded live; live at Kid Andersen’s house. An album recorded in a live situation, for me, brings extra zest, a bit more vitality to the proceedings:

“I can’t do it another way, my whole life that’s how I’ve done it. I guess I like being in the moment, I’ve gotta be right in the moment, I don’t like going back, I have done that in the past, I have a home studio, I’d play the instruments before I sing. Man, I just hated my voice, hated my groove, playing with music that had already been cut.”

The history between John and Kid Andersen goes back a long way, back to the Biscuits And Blues Club in San Fransisco. “ I didn’t realize there was a blues club in the neighbourhood, I lived on Pine And Mason in San Fransisco, and four blocks down there was a blues club, so I went down and saw

a week. I was playing, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, that was the main stuff that I’d play. Then over time, I’d discover other blues guys like William Clarke, Mark Hummel, and that’s how I became aware of Junior Watson.”

The big break for John, began when he joined Junior Watson’s band in 2000, as well as fronting his own band, The Jacks, around the same time.

“Junior Watson was playing guitar on Mark Hummel’s ‘Hard Lovin’1990,’ and when I heard that guitar playing, I was like, man, that is some great guitar playing, and then I heard him on a William Clarke record. He had a very recognizable sound, he was pretty unique. Then, by chance, I heard that he was going to be staying the night at a hotel in Boise, where I was working during the week. I put together a gig, and I opened the show for him, It was really cool. The folks in Boise wouldn’t know about Junior Watson, but they sure knew about Canned Heat. He played with Canned Heat, so it ended up a packed house on a Monday night. I opened the show for him, and he asked me to sit in with him. Then, a few weeks later, I got a call

Willis, and he had two bodyguards with him. I’ve never seen a better entrance in my life,. I’m still surprised I can see.”

As with a lot of musicians from the blues world, Nemeth loves to chat about small blues clubs, some that he has played, others where he just likes to hang out, this for me, is the heart and soul of blues music. It’s not about big-time bands or large venues where the audience is so far away, it’s about where it all began for these musicians, where they cut their teeth, learned their craft. John Nemeth comes from that background, he was a fan first, and a musician later.

“There are some great blues clubs just outside of Memphis, I’ve been meaning to go to, but I’ve not had a chance. But I can see some the same guys, they play down at Memphis Sounds in downtown Memphis. I saw, Percy Wiggins, Spencer Wiggins, Don Bryant, and William Bell all on the same show at that club, and they each did, twenty minutes, it was like a good-old-fashioned head-cutting contest. Oh, man, what a show that was. I remember William Bell telling everybody in the audience that he cut, You Don’t Miss Your Water, with Howard Grimes, and Howard Grimes was only twelve years old, so when you’re happy, you have it right.”

Kid Andersen play for the first time. He was so good, just the best, playing some great guitar. He came over and introduced himself, invited me to sit in and jam with him. We did Sweet Sixteen by B B King. Man, after that it was all over. We’d hit it off and never looked back.”

The friendship and camaraderie that exists between John and Kid have carried on since that fateful first meeting. Kid plays, and produces all of John’s albums and will continue to do so in the future. Even if, as John mentioned, he records with another, Kid Andersen will still be a huge part of any project. John has also been friends and recorded with Elvin Bishop for many many years, having first met somewhere in Northern California. So, this latest album is a coming together of true friends.

Born and raised in Boise, Idaho, John Nemeth formed his very first band there, not surprisingly:

”It’s a great dancing town, they like to dance,. I was playing college bars, listening to Little Walter - there’s, like, four college bars, three or four other clubs. I could play five night’s

from him to go out on tour. He turned me onto a lot of people in the Bay area when I first moved down to San Fransisco from Boise.”

Our chat had ranged from starting out at small blues clubs in Idaho, an Indian restaurant in Idaho, watching old western movies, discussing the merits, or lack of, actors such as Ronald Reagan and Clint Eastwood, then John slipped this virtually unknown piece of trivia into the conversation:

“I used to go to Sun Valley, and play for Bruce Willis. (He had a brief musical thing back in the day). My band backed him up one time, and it was great. He stole the show, man. He had the entrance of all entrances, in front of the club he had one of those huge floodlights, one of those that will shoot like 2000 feet into the air,” John laughs. “He had one of those. At one point during the show, the whole room fills with fog, and stage smoke, you can’t see anything. Then these two doors open, and they turn that giant light on! I swear, I still have scars on my eyes from that. All I could see were three figures, standing in the doorway. One of the figures was Bruce

After having the traumatic surgery on his jaw, going through recovery, and putting out ‘Maybe The Last Time,’ you could be forgiven for thinking John Nemeth would be taking it easy, laying low for a while. Not a chance.

“I’ve got plans for about fifty more albums (lol). I’ve probably got around twenty songs in the can that I recorded before the surgery. Right after I’d done the latest album, I recorded some music with the guy’s that I tour with a lot, The Bluedreamers. We have about ten tunes ready to go, and I have a live album with The Bluedreamers due to be released in the not too distant future, hopefully around February time. It was the last coast-to-coast tour before I had my surgery, we’d done a lot of gigs.”

So the future does look good for John Nemeth. A true blues musician, a great singer, a guy who gets it. ‘Maybe The Last Time,’ is one hell of an album, recorded with great friends, I’m certain that this will definitely not be the last time we hear from John Nemeth.

johnnemeth.com

I’ve never seen a better entrance in my life

LIVE MUSIC

WHEN RIVERS MEET

EMMA WILSON

THE MILK MEN

CHRIS BEVINGTON ORG.

VAN MORRISON

BETH HART

KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD

JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR

KING KING

ROOTS MUSIC REPORT’S BLUES ALBUM CHART

Modern musical partnerships are no new things. Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash; Duane and Gregg Allman; Doc and Merle Watson; Simon and Garfunkel; Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge—you get the picture. With Nashville treasures and general US recording remarkables Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, you again have the real deal, a pair of seemingly intuitive musicians, singer-songwriters and all round stellar performers who seem to have arrived on the scene already fully formed.

In 2019, after a year of touring, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams returned to their adopted hometown in Woodstock, NY, to celebrate with a performance at Levon Helm Studios, a historic and dual-purposed recording studio and live music venue founded by the legendary Levon Helm. It’s a space with which the duo were intimately familiar and at ease in having played countless shows there with the Midnight Ramble Band, an outfit fronted by Helm with whom Campbell served as a bandleader for over a decade. Joining Campbell and Williams are some longtime friends and stellar musicians: Jesse Murphy—a gifted improviser who also provides a rock-solid foundation—appears on bass, tuba and harmony vocals. Justin Guip has held the drummer’s chair with Campbell and Williams since their earliest shows and has recorded and mixed all their albums since their self-titled debut. Special guest, Levon Helm alumnus, Brian Mitchell rounds out the group on keyboards, accordion and harmonica.

Grabbing the chance to speak with both Campbell and Williams at home in world-festival-famous Woodstock, New York, approaching the release of their latest album, Live at Levon’s, in February 2023, it became readily apparent that this pair do almost everything together, including interviews. Both are in relaxed mode, even though about to hit the road promoting the new album, and a US-wide tour that they both agree will be tiring at times.

Live At Levon’s!, will be released February 3, 2023 via Royal Potato Family. The jubilant 12-track collection was recorded at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY on September 20 and 21, 2019 in front of an adoring hometown crowd and features a selection of previously unreleased new songs, old favorites that allow the band to stretch out, plus a handful of unexpected covers

Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams and their band have a reputation for a high level of musicality that’s in full display on Live at

Levon’s! with warmth, joy and spontaneity jumping out of the album’s grooves. No matter which genre they’re swimming in, this band knows how to rock, swing and shred while always serving the song first. Campbell, a world class guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, has revealed himself as a songwriting force, while Williams’ vocal performances offer up her trademark fragility and ferocity, as she interprets each lyric with emotional nuance and raw honesty. His knowledge and love of the music of the late, great Rev Gary Davis, is well-known and frequently features in his recordings; here, the album opener is the buoyant Davis track, Let Us Get Together.

“This thing that Teresa and I do, though born on the back porch in Tennessee, was honed for public consumption during the wonderful years we spent making music in Levon’s barn,” explains Campbell. “There’s magic between those wooden walls, a comfortable environment where there’s no distance between performer and audience. Any event in there is a complete communal experience where there’s no hierarchy, no pressure or attempt at inhibition, just a great place to enjoy all the benefits of music making. When the idea came up for us to do a live record there was no question as to what the venue should be.”

“I’ll never forget the first time I experienced performing as a child and knew my lot in life was set. The only reason I am a singer is because of the indefinable spark that happens with the giving and receiving of your most intimate selves, back and forth, between the artist on stage and the audience there in the room,” adds Williams. “If I can’t see the audience because of lighting, it almost becomes even more spiritual, because it’s all just feeling them—us together in the moment. And each performance/audience has its own personality. If you can drop the thinking and just ‘be’ with them and this sharing of your most intimate selves, there’s no describing the transcendence.”

Campbell confirms he used to enjoy the touring, and has been all over—much of it with Bob Dylan’s band—and can still enjoy hitting new towns, people and places along the way: “Though I dig being at home, sometimes it’s still cool to see new places, people; and that’s a benefit,” he sighs.

Williams, on the other hand, finds she misses the family connections when out on the road: “I have deep connections back home in West Tennessee and I don’t want to miss time with my family, even though it’s great to be out touring, working. I’m a walking contradiction.”

“I love getting onstage for a two hour

set, doing exactly what I want to do with exactly who I want to do it with,’ said Campbell (who has worked with Dylan, Hot Tuna, Paul Simon, Phil Leish, Levon Helm, Mavis Staples, Buddy & Julie Miller and is a stalwart of the Americana Awards annual house band), with a nod to his long-time partner, Williams.

Looking back to his time as director and band member at the late Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble, he suggested that the passing of Helm in 2012 provided the impetus for the pair to take to the road and pursue their own musical path: “We have an immediate commonality in the love for the music. After Levon passed, we had to sit back and think about things, what to do next. We decided to try for ourselves, to put it together and give it a go,” he recalls. And with the evident success of the duo’s first eponymous album in 2015, nobody is likely to take issue with that thought.

Now, in 2022, with a new album, and the influence and importance of the late Levon Helm clearly captured within it and its title, the pair again show their extraordinary musical journey through life and love coming to the forefront.

“There was always music around me, as a kid in West Tennessee,” adds Williams, warming to the theme. “We do have a commonality there. I grew up listening to Loretta Lynn, the coal-miner’s daughter, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, a mix of rockabilly, country and blues. Every evening after supper, we’d all get together and listen to, play and make music. Even when out working on the farm, hauling cotton, my brother would have a radio strapped to his belt playing all the time. Then I met Larry. It was like we were made for each other.”

Campbell reckons the songwriting process leading to the new album, Live at Levon’s, took around 18 months and confirms he was still putting finishing touches to a few songs when they went into the studio to record it: “Songs just come at you from all sorts of unexpected places. This time round I wanted one that was deeper, more meaningful as a song-writer than the last one. I wanted it to express something more important, to look at things I’d experienced and witnessed over the years. To reflect the role of Levon in our lives too.”

Williams agrees with this background thinking: “Last time, there were some difficult, dark things going around. We wanted to deal with issues like addiction that are everywhere and devastating in their effects. We have so many good friends who have been affected by this. Everybody knows somebody who has been affected.

 Iain Patience  Supplied

We wanted to do it for them. We don’t want to romanticize Larry’s experience. We don’t all have a Keith Richard’s gene,” she adds with a shrug and laugh.

“I didn’t want to be just another musician writing about or complaining about addiction. That’s been done many times and it’s a common theme in the music world. I wanted a rounded album that looked at dark themes but also worked on every level. It is part based on my early experiences. Teresa had to manage a take on what was going on inside my head, to understand my thoughts,” Campbell says, describing the writing and recording process.

With the new album in the bag, Campbell and Williams may well have an award-winner with a release that echoes their commonality passionately and clearly.

LARRY CAMPBELL & TERESA WILLIAMS

Living with Levon

Ivy Ford is one of the new breed of Chicago blues players, a young lady with a stunning voice that hits the spot with ease, assurance and power pretty much every time. For much of the summer of 2022, Ford could be found touring Europe, with France almost a homefrom-home in recent months. Currently working a ‘Chicago Way’ tour in France (again!), Ford is sharing the stage with Alligator Records, Toronzo Cannon - whose album title gives the tour its own moniker - and young trad-bluesman, Joey J Sace to sellout venues across the land. Blues Matters talked to Ford on a day off, when she had the chance to relax and take in the sights and pleasures of the country without the need to prepare for a necessary sound-check or performance.

Ford may be a relative youngster in the Chi-

cago blues scene but that could be misleading in many ways. This is no naive newcomer, this lady has paid her dues pushing through the hard, even ruthless, blues machine based in the Windy City. She has worked with many established names on the Illinois and international blues circuit and even opened for the legendary Buddy Guy at his downtown Legends Club, an event she recalls with clarity and evident pride: “It was amazing. You know, I met so many great musicians there, and Buddy. I consider them friends now! John Primer and stuff like that. It’s a real thrill that they consider me part of it, it’s just incredible!”

“I started playing guitar when I was about twenty or twenty-one years old. I played bass and saxophone, before. I always had music around growing up. My father was a

professional musician, not blues, but more generally. My mother had lots of music, blues and soul around. So, I listened to that all the time,” she explains. So, I lead on to ask how hard did she find it to break into the blues scene in Chicago, of all places:

“I’m sure there must be issues around there, but in honesty, me personally, I don’t let them get in my way. I don’t really give a damn, as they say. It encouraged me –encourages me even more so really. Even on this French tour I’m on now,with all men on the road, I’ve no problems. Sometimes, the guys I work with were there even before I was born, so that’s how it is, I guess! Usually the normal narrative is there but I enjoy the challenge, it just makes me get better! There are always some who’ll look at me and say, ‘Hey, I told you so!’ But again, that just

 Iain Patience  Jan Venning

IVY FORD HARVESTING THE ROOTS

makes me push ahead more The obstacles that present themselves, I just use them as motivation. Call me stubborn! “

I have three main albums out right now, though I have a deep album that came out in, I believe, 2013/14. That was a live album from the suburbs of Chicago but it was a covers album. But now, with my own stuff, those are studio albums. I’m fine now in the studio but I prefer doing live shows whenever I can. The energy and getting feedback from the audience is something you don’t get in the studio, so it’s a learning curve and I enjoy and respect the process of the studio. But now with more experience, I feel I can use studio tools when I need them but really, now I understand the different processes needed for studio work and live performance. They’re both the same and different, at the same time!”

“There was a club, actually a bowling alley with a bar, and there used to be a jam there. More established musicians would go to that open jam and I met a guy, JB Ritchie, who was known for his fine guitar playing – he’s passed now. He had a sincere like for my talent and he’d already played at Buddy Guy’s, been a Chicago staple for over thirty years. He introduced me to a lot of musicians I now know and he’d take me to Buddy Guy’s and help me. He got me into Rosa’s Lounge; and a few weeks later, the bookers for Buddy’s had saw me and called me and said, ‘We like what you do, do you have a band, could you do an opener for one of our shows?’ It turned out to be a January gig, opening for Buddy Guy! And the rest is history after that!” she says with deserved pride and delight, of that life-changing gig and moment.

Like many others, Ford found the Pandemic a huge difficulty, as she explains in detail:

“At the time, I was just about to release my third album, ‘Club 27’ and had release parties all lined up. It was a huge damper. At first, we all thought, ‘well okay, everything’s gonna shut down for maybe two or three weeks’ – and then here we are two years later! It was difficult, financially and crea-

tively. I did live-streams just from my house, on computer. It was a way to connect and keep everything sort of going. Then Tony, from Rosa’s (Lounge), came along and asked if I’d mind coming in and doing a streamed set with my band from Rosa’s. He said they’d sell tickets online and that helped a bit, it stimulated some revenue then when things were slowly opening up again I was probably one of the first five people they called again to play and perform there. So, it was a huge positive thing. It was a hardship and I know I’m not the only one to be hit hard by it all! I’m used to working at least four or five shows a week, to suddenly have nothing was mentally challenging, like a fish trying to survive out of water!”

didn’t know what it was all about then! But it was such a great learning experience; meeting people from all over the world, all there for the same thing. That was fascinating, so enriching to be a part of it all. We made it to the semi-finals that year, 2018, I think it was. Then the following year when we did it again, I was just about to release my second album, ‘Harvesting My Roots’ and that was the music we competed with, all from that second album, so career-wise it was great. I almost had this amazing chance for free-advertising, plugging and promoting it. By then I knew a lot of blues people, and radio people and the like. So, it was a great networking opportunity. Then we made it into the finals and played the big theatre, which was great; the song we ended with on that set was ‘Harvesting My Roots’, the title track of the album! The IBC’s a bit like Disneyland for blues musicians and lovers, a week-long break that’s fun too; It was definitely a great positive experience for me and my band! Professionally for networking and pure promotion.”

Asked about her personal musical favourites, Ford is expansive: “One of my personal favourite albums is Buddy Guy’s Rhythm & Blues, it came out around 2013, it’s my favourite studio album of Buddy’s; then I’m a huge Freddie King fan, just love his stuff so much! But I really started out listening to those old blues artists like Billie Holliday, Ma Rainey and Memphis Minnie, all those real traditional blues greats – so I listen to them still; all that Race Records stuff too, I like it all, but I lean more to the electric stuff, I think. And anything Freddie King, anything at all. And I’m biased towards Buddy Guy for the obvious, real reason!” she says with a laugh.

“I did the IBC at Memphis twice. I’d just had my daughter, first time, I was working so hard then. I was asked to do it and I really

“I’m hoping to get out another album as soon as possible. During the pandemic – it’s not gone yet, of course – but I had the material for a new album but I’ve been out travelling and performing. That’s a good problem to have but I had to put writing on the back-burner cause I started getting shows again! It’s there, enough for a new album, but it’s a matter of making enough hours!”

Ford generally plays a Buddy Guy Guy Polka Dot Fender Strat, and I can’t resist asking what the man himself might think about that one: “My groom on my wedding day gave that guitar to me. I now joke about that time in my life: I got a beautiful child out of it and I got a beautiful guitar. It’s true. It’s a real Buddy Guy Fender guitar, matching numbers. Often you can’t get them except for from Buddy and Legends and that kind of thing. I don’t know what strings he must have pulled to get me that one! And then my first show at Legends, Buddy was there. He came up on stage, gave me a big hug and said that guitar looks pretty good on you and you play it pretty good too. So, he gave me his blessing!”

It turned out to be a gig, opening for Buddy Guy!

PLAY YOUR BLUES AWAY

THE 1962 ‘BLUESBREAKER’

Add soul to your sound with authentic 1960s valve warmth. The 1962 truly encapsulates the spirit of the blues. A 30W icon made in the UK.

Produced by Joe Bonamassa & Josh Smith

PAUL Jones

Paul Jones needs no introduction. One of the UK’s greatest bluesmen, he has been rolling through the blues world for the past sixty years and still shows no sign of stopping just yet. Earlier this year, the famed Blues Band, which Jones fronted, decided it was time to hang up their instruments and quit the road, though most members remain active working on various other solo and band projects. For over thirty years he presented the hugely influential UK BBC Radio 2 Blues Show, an absolute essential for blues lovers everywhere, handing over the reins to Cerys Matthews, almost reluctantly it seems, in 20XX. Now working as a soloist, he also remains an integral part of the Manfreds on the road.

It’s hard not to think ‘maybe I should bow, or curtsy to this guy’ when speaking again, he is after all absolute blues royalty! But, then again, Jones would never appreciate or expect such a gesture; he is firmly rooted in a musical tradition that goes back to the days before the Stones burst on the scene and blues was being played in small venues like Eel Pie Island and The Flamingo in London’s Soho. This is a man who Brian Jones and Keef asked to become singer with a band they were forming; he turned that down and

says they would not have been the Stones with him up front: “It was only when Mick joined that they became the Rolling Stones, it wouldn’t have been the same band with me!”

So, how is he enjoying semi-retirement, I ask: “Leaving the Blues Band is not the same thing as retiring,” he quips, before adding, “It (retirement) is so far off it doesn’t exist. I never will do it!” With a new album, ‘The Blues’ recently released, I ask how he selected material for the project given his career longevity:

“If you count it up it would be one third Manfred Mann; one third Blues Band, and one third me. What happened was Corona Virus happened. All of a sudden my busy life was one of gentle meditation, strolling walks up the country lanes of Surrey. I thought I must do something constructive, I thought I’d make a list of all the songs I’ve written; and as I was doing it, I thought, this could be an album, if I stick with just the blues ones, I can make an album out of this and put it out on Umbrella, a label co-owned by all the members of Manfred Mann in the 1962 to 66 period when we actually got together, plus Mike D’Abo.”

After such a long time, a lifetime in truth, as a mucian, I suggest maybe it gets tiring:

“I think it’s actually good for us! The Manfreds autumn tour starts soon (October) so inevitably I’ll be doing some of the songs then on tour. So being on the road and having a new album out is all of kind of exciting really!”

“I just think that after forty-three years, it was time to let it (The Blues Band) go. I also had other jobs coming in and working with a big band, that started with a couple of gigs and developed. That’s great fun. I’ve also been doing some gigs with John Etheridge, the main man from Soft Machine. I’m not spreading myself thin, because it’s only from time to time, so I have the time to devote to all these projects, bands and players. All taken together, Big bands, small bands, John Etheridge and so on, it’s all conspired to make me think to get out of something, and the Blues Band seemed to be the best option.”

I mention the BBC Blues Show, his broadcast home for over thirty years: “That was a bit of a blow to be honest. I really thought I was going to be there till I popped my clogs! But, no, that wasn’t to be. The funny thing is, when I look back on it, I can’t understand for the life of me how I was able to do that and all the other stuff! Protecting the blues bands of Britain from bad music meant filling the airways with good music, as I see it!”

 Iain Patience  Supplied

Starting out as a sixties youngster and pop-icon, he has a history that’s truly extraordinary. Asked about how he turned to harmonica, Paul responds, explain why he chose one particular number as his BBC show swan-song:

“Sonny Boy Williamson’s ‘Mighty Long Time,’ it was.” Then thinking of the new album and the road ahead, he continues, “In fact, my song ‘Sonny Boy Williamson’ (from ‘The Blues’) is inspired by Sonny’s ‘Mighty Long Time.’ That’s why it’s just me and the bass because Sonny’s was exactly just that! I mean Sonny Boy’s voice… and years later, I discovered it wasn’t even a bass! It was a man going, ‘bam, bam, bam,’ etc;, sounding just like a bass! So, I thought, I know what I’ll do, I’ll get a real bass. Jack Bruce and I were just leaving Manfred Mann at the time, so I said to him, ‘I’ve got a job I’d like you to do. I had to run through a few hoops to get him, negotiate with Cream’s manager, Stigwood. But that was alright, we got there. And I actually did it live with Jack.”

Jones looks back, recalling a memorable gig with many old, good friends:

“ It’s like Norman Beaker, he used to do electric tribute concerts at the Opera House in Buxton, or ‘Booxton,’ as he called it. So, one year after the Alexis Korner Tribute Concert, Jack was there, augmented by Chris Barber on Trombone, Dick Hextall Smith on saxophone; so it was just great. We had a nice gig – there’s a live version of it out somewhere – but that was problematic cause I got to the gig and discovered that my ‘A’ Harmonica which I wanted to play in cross harp position, one of the reeds had dropped about a quarter-tone in pitch. I hurriedly took it to pieces and filed the reed till it came up to proper

Brian Jones…showed me a magic garden

pitch, walked onto the stage with Jack. We started playing and it dropped again! I had to nurse it all along, using that reed! It was alright, you wouldn’t know, but Jack did!”

With guitar music really taking over as a principal instrument in the sixties, I’m curious about why he bucked that trend and turned to harp instead. The response

is detailed, passionate and amusing:

“In the wake of Lonnie Donegan’s ‘Rock Island Line,’ I was one of the three or four million youngsters in Britain who persuaded their parents to buy them an acoustic guitar. I learnt the three chords – as someone once said, E, A oh my goodness, what’s that other one! And learned how to do ‘Worried Man Blues!’ And one or two other skiffle classics; anyway, I remember having a birthday party, my parents were in Malta at the time – my father was in the Navy – and I took my guitar to a party and there was a girl there I had a bit of a crush on - to be honest, she was lovely. She was a big lass and she sat on my guitar! I like to think she did it by accident… but I never played the guitar again!,” he says with a happy, near-mischevious chuckle. “But that wasn’t when I took up harmonica; I took that up because I heard Junior Wells. We were in Plymouth at the time, Pete Russel’s Hot Record Store in Plymouth – it sounded the kind of place I’d like hanging around, so I did; from time to time I’d have enough money to buy a Sonny Terry record or Big Bill Broonzy. One day, he said to me, ‘You like blues, what do you think of this?’ He put on a T-Bone Walker record. I’d never heard anything so beautiful in my life!”

“Atlantic Records had persuaded T-Bone to record in Chicago and Willie Dixon was on bass and I can’t remember who else was on it except that Junior Wells was on harmonica!

It was unusual for T-Bone to have a harmonica on record but he did and the song that absolutely grabbed me by the short and curlies was called ‘Play On, Little Girl!’ Years later I recorded it with Otis Grande with Pete Brown producing.”

“Wanting to play like Junior Wells, was immediate, so next thing I went to a music shop and bought a harmonica. But, could I get anything like Junior Wells out of it? No, I couldn’t! But it was Brian Jones who said to me, ‘You’re doing it all wrong, you’re playing the harp in the wrong key!’ I said, it’s a C Harp, I’m playing it in C! He said, ‘That’s where you’re going wrong. To play blues, you’ve got to play a C Harp in G - a fifth above the key.’ What we now call second position. In those days, we just called it cross-harp. So, Brian Jones showed me cross-harp and it was like he’d showed me a magic garden!”

The rest, as they say, is (remarkable!) history…

MANFRED MANN

FLANG DANG DOODLE ANDY FAIRWEATHER LOW

Andy Fairweather Low is possibly one of those recognized names that doesn’t truly fully register with many. And yet, this guy from Wales is without doubt one of the most important and significant musicians of a generation. Now drifting towards receipt of his pension, he remains as important as ever, touring, writing and generating excellent music on a near-daily basis.

with Clapton on the promotional tours for the album, also worked with Old Slowhand in creating the arrangements of many of the tracks, including the wonderful version of ‘Layla’, a CD centerpiece in many ways.

remain very good friends. “We were supposed to be going on the road but then Eric got Covid. Then when he rearranged, I had dates fixed with my band, so it didn’t happen. He asked about doing another tour but for now I can’t do it.”

And although Fairweather Low has been at the top of the musical tree for the better part of half a century now, he somehow also manages to remain just below the popular radar, a largely self-induced state of affairs from a guy who seems to thrive on diffidence and unaffected charisma.

Since his days as frontman and writer with sixties pop band Amen Corner, Fair-weather Low has continued to play and compose near-instant hit music from his Welsh hideaway. Back then he had smash hits ‘If Paradise Is Half As Nice’ ; ‘Bend Me, Shape Me’ and countless other winners, songs that are still loved and sung by many. After a quiet period in the seventies and into the eighties, he again burst onto the stage with another huge hit, an unexpected smash in pre-Xmas UK, 1985, with the cleverly crafted lyrics still heard being chorused by raucous holidaymakers in bars from Birmingham to Benidorm, and amid Karaoke chaos the world over, ‘Wide Eyed And Legless’.

For the past near twenty years, he has been the guitarist sideman of choice for one of the world’s acknowledged guitar greats,

And Fairweather Low’s career just doesn’t splutter to what would be a remarkable achievement and close here either. Apart from his impressive and entirely enviable work with Clapton, he has also toured, recorded and played with most of the world’s leading music royalty: George Harrison; Van Morrison – “Playing with Van’s a bit of a right of passage for many musicians,” he quips tantalisingly; Tom Jones; The BeeGees; Roger Waters’ Pink Floyd; Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings; Pete Townshend and the Who; Chris Rea; Paul Carrack; Brian Wilson. The list seems endless.

These days, he’s also at home fronting his own band once again with Andy Fairweather Low & The Low Riders, a sparkling fourpiece outfit with an effortless blend of R&B and Soul-rich material, much of it straight from the pen of this instant Celtic hitmaker. Indeed, as he confirms, he’s just pulled off the road in the UK with this pet project band, due to personal reasons, bringing the tour to an unexpected halt.

Fairweather Low and the Low Riders have a new album due out soon. ‘Flang Dang’ features a wide range of styles, as might be expected from this guy with his varied background. Blues, rock, Ska, soul and even

For some years, Fairweather Low has also been a mainstay with Bill Wyman and The Rhythm Kings on an international platform: “I always enjoy going out, playing with Bill and the guys,’ he says, before adding: “It was the Stones that made me a musician, really. On the 28th of February, 1964, I went to see the Stones play. At the time I was drifting a bit, a secondary-modern guy with no real ambition or future. Then I saw the Stones and they were fabulous. I thought that’s what I want to do. I was hooked. I never looked back from that day on. It genuinely changed my life. It all started with that, and I can’t stop doing it, he laughs. “It’s a fabulous feeling and I love it.”

And, unlike most, he did indeed go out and not just do it, but do it in spades, even to the extent of now playing with their former bassist when the chance arises and his own touring schedules permit. When Wyman produced his well-received, autobiographical coffee-table-cum-scrapbook of memories and photographs etc., about his life and career a few years ago, Fairweather Low was able to open it at the very page where Wyman displays the set-list and date of this seminal event in Fairweather Low’s life in 1964, a date, a set and a gig he has never forgotten.

Eric Clapton. Now Clapton’s clearly a guy who knows a thing or two about guitars and music in general. But interestingly, in particular, he chooses Fairweather Low both on the road as tour sideman and in the studio. Indeed, he even goes as far as to partly credit the Welshman with the success of one of his biggest selling albums, the famed ‘Unplugged’ release which has now sold in excess of 14 million copies worldwide. Fairweather Low, who toured as a band member

old-style Amen Corneresque pop all get a look-in, as Andy passionately confirms when I mention Ska:

“Just look back - Top Rank 1965, Prince Buster was playing right next to Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin. All incredibly important, fabulously melodic, rhythmic. It was a whole new country, it was a whole thing. It was pretty special music.”

Fairweather Low has frequently shared the stage with his old ‘boss’, Eric Clapton. And after twenty years in his band, he says they

But, strange to think with the benefit of hindsight, it could all have gone so very differently, muses Fairweather Low: ‘ Punk finished me. I’d just recorded the old Cliff Richard hit, ‘Travelling Light’ when The Sex Pistols released their original, infamous single, ‘God Save The Queen.’ I had a seven-year contract/ recording deal in its first year. But when this happened, basically I was done and dusted. I even sold off my equipment - needs mustfor cash to keep going, including my Hillman Imp.’

But never one to say die, the Welshman kept faith with the music, writing and playing locally while always practicing guitar, as he still does on a daily basis today: “I’m not a natural guitarist, not like Eric (Clapton). I have to work on it every day. Eric doesn’t.”

He acknowledges the change in his fortunes came about when the late Beatle George

 Iain Patience  Supplied

Harrison made contact and asked if he could play a bit of slide guitar on the ‘Material World’ live tour project in Japan. “I just said, yea. Then I thought to myself. I don’t play slide, though I knew with work I probably could. Still, I didn’t want to turn up and look a fool so I decided to come clean with George and phoned to tell him I didn’t play slide. He said fine but come up to Friars Park (Harrison’s English home) for a cup of tea anyway.” From there, doors, many gilt-edged, began opening for him, with offers from Roger Waters to join Pink Floyd, where he played before a 400,000 crowd while being the first band-member to be bricked behind The Wall at a live concert in Berlin, and many other top names.

‘What was lovely about George Harrison,’ he adds,’ is he was a great guy. Really decent and incredibly generous. ‘I’ve never met you and I’ve never seen you play but everyone seems to like you,’ he said. He eventually told me I hadn’t been the first choice for the slide guitar-work on ‘Material World’. I’d been the seventh choice, but he also said, I’d been the right choice.”

I can’t resist asking what he feels now, when he plays with these world-famous names. Andy, laughs and launches into an immediate explanation: “It’s pretty overwhelming really. It’s like playing with George (Harrison) you never forget that he’s a Beatle, it was just always there. I try not to think of it cause it’s too bizarre – you know to be playing, say, Route 66 with Bill (Wyman) and Charlie (Watts). It was what I dreamed of doing. I really did. I remember dreaming of playing with the Blueflames, and then there I was playing with Georgie (Fame). An then there’s dreaming of playing the Albert Hall with Eric. And it happened. In fact he booked us, the Low Riders, to open for him at the Albert Hall. It’s just amazing!”

When I suggest he must be one of the busiest sidemen, session players in the business, Andy dismisses the thought saying he is selective now in what he’ll play for others, not wanting to just be in the background providing very basic input: “I always think it’s like this,” he says with another laugh. “In any team you’ll have the centre-forwards, the midfielders, and at the back, essential, the goalkeeper. I’m really a goalkeeper. I’m just another brick in the wall!”

Of course, it’s impossible to chat to Fairweather Low without raising the spectre, the elephant in the room, of his work with Eric Clapton. Again, chance or serendipity had a role to play in this development. “I was in a rehearsal room in London with Eric and a few others. We stopped for a short break and Eric casually asked if I could join him at the Royal Albert Hall on his next tour. Anoth-

er life-changing moment, I knew at once.”

Clapton has often said he considers Fairweather Low to have been the architect of the success of the “Unplugged’ album, in particular. This is a credit most musicians would virtually kill or die for. Not so Fairweather Low, who instead adopts his customary self-deprecating approach to his life and career: “Eric gives me too much credit for ‘Unplugged’. In reality, I helped a bit but the arrangements were something I just worked on. I worked at his home, doing it, and we got on well together. The thing about Eric is he’s an absolutely fabulous electric guitar player. He was wary about acoustic to some extent but he wanted a version of the old Robert Johnson song ‘Malted Milk’ included. It’s not an easy number and I asked if he really wanted to try it. He said yea, so I put that

together for him. I said, okay, if you really must, I’ll work on it. The rest is history, as they say. It was a success and the album and tours were both great fun.”

And what about ‘Layla’? I ask the veteran Welsh wizard: “Oh, Layla! Playing that every night was killing me at times. But, tell you what, I can sit there on-stage with Eric and in reality I don’t see what’s going on. That’s because I’m too much a part of it. I don’t have the perspective, the audience’s view, if you like. But one track I can sit and watch him play all night, forever, is when he picks up the acoustic and plays ‘Nobody Wants To Know You When You’re Down And Out.’ His picking and his voice are perfect, every time, for me. I always enjoy that one.”

www.andyfairweatherlow.com

This Boston, Massachusetts, trio are both a throw-back and one of the launch pads for a growing real blues revivalist movement. Their third album, Crackdown, has just been released, the original (in every way) follow up to 2019’s debut Lonely Soul, with the brilliant Hound Dog Taylor tribute album, Try It You Might Like It , sandwiched in between.

I’ve been lucky enough to see the band live and they play with an energy and drive that is reminiscent of the best early new wave bands but also the raw Chicago blues of Hound Dog himself and guys like Magic Slim and JB Hutto. Those guys weren’t making it up, they were the real deal. The other noticeable thing at a GA-20 show is the healthy breadth of audience, young music fans mix shoulder to shoulder with wizened old bluesers like me.

The band was formed in 2018 by guitarists Pat Faherty and Matt Stubbs. Pat had been a long-time fan of classic blues and early rock ‘n’ roll while Matt had already established himself in the blues community having toured as guitarist for Charlie Musselwhite for a decade, also having played with James Cotton, John Hammond and James Harman amongst others. He had also gained recognition on the Boston scene with his rock band The Antiguas. Early shows included a harp player and original drummer Chris Anzelone before the present line up of two guitars, with Tim Carman on drums, settled in early 2019 - another similarity with Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers. As well as being lovers of classic roots music, the guys are aficionados of vintage music gear too, thus the band name, GA-20 being a Gibson Amp manufactured between 1950 and ‘61.

The band released their first single in December 2018, Naggin’ On My Mind. It included guests Charlie Musselwhite on harp and Luther Dickinson on slide guitar. The sessions in the studio at this time would eventually form the bulk of their debut Lonely Soul album, released late 2019 and produced by Matt. Without a huge promotional budget, it peaked at no2 in the Billboard Blues chart. The Hound Dog album came out in the Summer of 2021 in collaboration with Alligator Records celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Hound Dog and Alligator debut album release and GA-20s own label Karma Chief. They recorded that through the pandemic, but what I hadn’t realised was that Crackdown had already been recorded as the follow up to Lonely Soul but held back because the band badly wanted to be able to tour in support of the release.

I recently got to talk to the band members ahead of their UK dates in November about Crackdown and the Hound Dog album. I started by suggesting that to these ears it felt a little experimental in places, exploring more than classic Chicago blues.

Matt replied: “I don’t know about experimental; we were listening to other kinds of music on the edge of classic Chicago blues when we made it. Country blues, rock n roll etc, so some influences got in there that weren’t just Chicago blues. Dry Run, perhaps, has a Lazy Lester vibe; Fairweather Friend started out as a kinda rock n roll riff but ended up more Hill Country blues. As well as those By My Lonesome is upbeat pure rock n roll garage band, and the instrumental title track almost edges on being jazzy.”

I make the point that following on from the successful Hound Dog release, it would have been easy to make the follow up another high energy Chicago blues style album but that I thought Crackdown explored other areas and was more interesting because of it. At that point Matt explained that Crackdown was recorded prior to the Hound Dog album:

“Crackdown is actually the follow up to Lonely Soul. We were getting ready to put it out when everything shut down due to the pandemic and we decided to wait and put it out when we could do proper touring behind it. The Hound Dog thing just happened out of chance, everything was locked down so it’s a different sounding record for sure,” he explains.

Did that mean that without lockdown the Hound Dog record wouldn’t have happened, I ask?

Matt continues: “I don’t think so. The way that happened was we played Chicago shortly before it shut down, and Bruce Iglauer of Alligator Records came to see us and liked the band. So, he was looking to do something with some younger bands but we were already signed to Colemine Records, so I got the labels to release it together. It made sense because it was Hound Dogs 50th Anniversary of his first release, which was also the anniversary of the label as well. So, I don’t think it ever would have happened if it wasn’t for the pandemic.”

That being so it certainly worked out well, the Hound Dog release went straight to no1 in the Billboard Blues chart and brought the band to the attention of new fans.

Matt explains: “For sure, our label Colemine is mainly a soul label so they have a different reach. So, when Lonely Soul came out

it might not have reached all the hard-core blues fans. But with Hound Dog stylistically and having Alligator behind it, it did reach the hard-core blues fans.”

As I mentioned earlier, the band does appeal to younger fans too, something the blues as a genre needs to survive.

Pat picks up on that: “We get lots of young fans talk to us after shows and they often say ‘we like what you’re doing, it sounds great, what kind of music is that?’ They actually don’t know that it’s blues, they have never had exposure to it. So when they hear someone playing Chicago blues they don’t know. We recently toured with Monophonics and there was a great reception and appreciation from that audience. Multiple times on the last tour I’ve had young people come and ask me who should I be listening to? I write down a list of maybe 20 names or so, people off the top of my head because they like what we sound like, but they don’t know that we are playing our attempt at traditional Chicago blues.”

It reminds me of my own journey into discovering blues as a young music fan. I loved bands like Cream, Led Zeppelin and, of course, The Rolling Stones; and it was reading interviews with them that lead me to hear Muddy, Wolf etc, but I wanted to dig deeper and find more. Hound Dog Taylor was a big eyes and ears opener for me, it was so raw and real. They were the punk rockers of their day. They lived it and played with a hard-edged energy that in many ways went missing in more recent incarnations of blues. Bands like GA-20 are re-introducing that.

“Thank you, I appreciate you picking up on that,”’ says Pat, “you mention that in relation to guys like Hound Dog, and Tim and I have a punk-rock background when we were growing up so I don’t doubt that kind of mentality and vibe are coming through in the way we are playing, not only Hound Dog songs but our own songs.”

“Punk rock that swings!” adds Tim, with a laugh.

 Steve Yourglvich  Supplied

it’s a different sounding record for sure

Pat continues about Hound Dog: “You talk about Hound Dog having that raw edginess, actually, those parts are hard parts to play. You try to piece those parts together, and Tim finds the same with the parts Ted Harvey plays, those phrases, those lines are not easy to pull off. By the 90s perhaps people had lost sight of how intricate some of that earlier stuff is.”

It’s been increasingly mentioned in different media that there is a revivalist movement of younger artists returning to more traditional blues but giving it a modern twist. GA-20 are often cited as being among the spearheads of this.

Matt gives his thoughts on it: “There are bands like Daddy Long Legs who are perhaps a bit more rock n roll. We really identify with people like Jontavious Willis and Cedric Burnside, they do straight up traditional blues. You know Country music and Bluegrass have all had these revivals of the traditional sounds, and they are having, at least here in The States, really big festivals, big folk festivals etc, whereas in my view Blues hasn’t had that yet, where young bands are playing that traditional way to audiences that might not have been exposed to it before, who might like it. And making records in a classic way, at least classic sounding records. A lot of modern blues bands approach it, like it’s mostly about the guitar solo. You know we play guitar solos but it’s mostly about the songs.”

So, what’s next on the agenda for GA-20? It seems these hard-working bluesmen already have another album almost ready to go, hopefully it will see the light of day in the earlier part of next Spring. This one will be a live recording released via Colemine Records.

Whisper it… but the band just might be back in the UK next Summer too.

For all things GA-20 check out ga20band.com

BIG BLUES REVIEWS

MALAYA BLUE BLUE CREDENTIALS

Blue Heart Records

Guided by the legendary Dennis Walker and with bassist Richard Cousins on board beefing up the Robert Cray connections, Norfolk’s Malaya Blue has recorded her most significant album to date. The sassily sung “Another grey morning and you stumble in”, on the opening track Your Act Has Worn Thin, reveals Malaya laying down her credentials as a blues performer of note. Wrong Kind Of Love backs this up with funky blues guitar and Hammond keyboard intermingling

GA-20 CRACKDOWN

COLEMINE/ KARMA CHIEF

Although Crackdown follows fast on the heels of GA-20s hugely successful album of Hound Dog Taylor covers it was in fact recorded prior to that release and is the natural follow up to debut album Lonely Soul. This Boston USA based band comprises two guitarists in Matt Stubbs and Pat Faherty who both love early classic Chicago blues and vintage gear, they are supported by the solid drumming of Tim Carman and create a very authentic sound. That being said they aren’t afraid to add different elements into the mix of their high energy performances. A case in point is opener Fairweather Friend, Pat vocalising over a hypnotic Mississippi Hill Country beat. Dry Run is next, a slow almost country feel but with soulful blues enveloping it. Easy On The Eyes is more akin to garage rock with an intoxicating guitar riff throughout. Title track Crackdown is actually an instrumental with the sounds of a late-night audience added to the mix. Matt Stubbs playing is

BEN LEVIN TAKE YOUR TIME VIZZTONE

on this deep groove track. Taking the tempo down on the mid-album track, Oh, What A Fool, showcases Malaya’s vocal range on this heartache ballad and especially on I Can’t Find No Love’s slow-burning blues. The Time We Had further raises the blues balladry up a notch and is complimented by Curious and I’m Having Dreams. Proving that she can belt out a blues wail, the steely blues edge to Good Intentions, Bad Results and the swampy feel to Bring Me Your Sin also finds Brett Lucas letting loose on guitar to crank up a blues rock belter. However, the best is saved to almost the last as the pleading penultimate track Howlin’ Mercy finds Malaya baring her soul before the final track Messin’ Around ends this skilful album on a fun high note. On Blue Credentials, Malaya Blue is in very fine voice and is maturing as a blues artist.

Paul Davies

When someone is referred to as a blues veteran at the age of twenty-two, you know that they are going to be pretty damn good. Step forward, Ben Levin. He may not be on the tip of your tongue right now, but it won’t be long before he’s the talk of the blues world. He started playing the piano at the tender age of seven and has turned into one of the best blues pianists around. Take Your Time is the third album that Ben Levin has recorded for VizzTone, and what an album this is. Levin has some legendary artists with him on this album, Bob

sublime, Tim opens the thing up and, in many ways, this captures the essence of the band, raw but controlled, retro but bang up to date. Just Because follows and it could be a big band ballad, but it isn’t, it’s sassy and soulful. It’s the only cover on the album, originally a slow dance tune by Lloyd Price. By My Lonesome cranks the garage rock’n’roll levels up again, full of urgency. I Let Someone In is pure blues bursting with vibrato guitar and could sit comfortably on any of the classic Alligator releases of the 70’s. I thought I detected some jazzy vibes infiltrating the jangling guitar motifs on Double Gettin’. Gone For Good is my personal favourite track, its pure Chicago electric blues, so much so I was convinced it must be a cover when I first heard it. Wonderful interplay between the guitars that Hound Dog and Brewer Phillips would’ve been proud of. The album closes with the slow acoustic Fairweather Friend (Final Goodbye) brilliantly bookending with the opener. The whole album isn’t long, coming in at just under thirty minutes, but it’s concise, lean and void of unnecessary soloing, it’s the songs that count and GA-20 deliver with aplomb.

STEVE YOURGLIVCH

Stroger being one of them Stroger and Levin gel so well together here, as do the rest of the ensemble. Take Your Time is the opening track with Levin taking the lead vocals as well as the obligatory piano duties. Piano-led blues has always been close to my heart, so this is almost a gift from the gods. Bob Stroger also takes lead vocals on a couple of tracks, one being the exceptionally cool, Jazzman Blues. It’s easy to see the influence that Stroger has had on his young friend, the two of them combining so well on this particular tune. Another guest on the album is Lil’ Jimmy Reed, a fine guitarist, and singer, the whole album keeps on throwing up musical gems, it’s extraordinary to find so much young talent

on one album. Longer Hours, Shorter Pay, has an intro that is unique to the blues, one, two, you know what to do. If memory serves me correctly, this was first used by a member of Ma Rainey’s band, I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong. It just fits so well, especially on that song. If you regard yourself as a true blues fan, you must add this to your collection, if you don’t, I’m afraid we can’t be friends. Trust me, you’ll love it.

STEPHEN HARRISON

CROSBY TYLER

DON’T CALL THE LAW ON ME INDEPENDENT

in very fine voice and is maturing as a blues artist

MISSISSIPPI MACDONALD HEAVY STATE LOVING BLUES

APM Records

Oliver Macdonald (Mississippi) was born in London, England, but from the first phrasing of his vocals on Howlin’Wolf, the opening track, you could be forgiven for thinking that he does in fact hail from the Delta. The soul, funk, and blues vibe emanate so easily from Macdonald, giving you that feeling of being right there in the Delta. One track in, I’m hooked on this album already. Throughout the album, Lucy Dearing’s backing vocals shine through on every song, but the one that really caught my attention was, Blind Leading The Blind, with guest vocalist, Vanesse Thomas. Her voice attaches itself so well to this tune, comfortably aiding and abetting the dulcet tones of Macdonald. This is a true blues album in every sense of the word, with the wonderful playing of the guitar by Macdonald, and also, Phil Dearing, as if that wasn’t

lively story-songs with deep-rooted Americana, then Crosby Tyler is a name to look out for.

BEN

MACNAIR

PATRIK JANSSON GAME CHANGER

SNEAKY FOOT RECORDS

enough, Dearing also produced the album. Going back to my original statement about the vocal talents of Macdonald, if someone makes you think that they originate from a place thousands of miles away from their actual birthplace just because of the phrasing, that in my mind spells an artist that needs to be taken seriously. That’s what this album makes you do, sit and listen carefully, take it all in, and take it seriously because this is one hell of an album. If I had to choose one song as a favourite, it is so hard to do when everyone is a gem, it would be, I’ll Understand. Gospel and blues combine on this song as identical twins do with telepathy. This is the brightest of gems that sit in the crown that is laden full of them. Blues For Albert is the final song, and Macdonald tells a very short tale of where his blues journey began, at a record store in London hoping to get enough money to buy an album by Albert Collins. Now we know where his story begins, long may it continue.

STEPHEN HARRISON

The sounds of Americana are all over Don’t Call The Law On Me. There is the countryish pedal steel guitar, the driving drums and bass, the tight harmony vocals, but there is also something of an escapist nature to the album. It starts with the roaring country rock of the title track, a police siren introduces the piece, before the band wade in. With a voice that is part Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, the outlaw spirit is evident throughout the album. All the songs are originals, written by the singer-songwriter and guitarist Crosby Tyler, with Mike Khalli on pedal steel and electric guitar, and violinist Aubrey Richmond adding colour to the driving drums of Dale Daniel and bassist Jeff Turmes. Trucker on the

Road is a haunting rocker, with sublime violin and pedal steel, and The Family I Never Had is a lament for the decisions that road musicians have to make for their careers. 18 Wheels of Steel is a bluesy rocker, with something of ZZ Top’s soundscapes. Born a Bad Boy is an acoustic reverie, with slow moving chords, and an atmosphere of longing melancholy. Peace, Love and Beer is another lively tune, but it perhaps owes to much of a debt to Dylan’s You Ain’t Going Nowhere. This is an album full of narrative storytelling songs that blends songcraft with well recorded soundscapes. None of the songs outstay their welcome, and it rewards repeated listening. If you are looking for an album that blends

The blurb that came with this new release from Patrik Jansson describes him as a “musical genius, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, video director etc.”. I could not comment but I would say of this new release that he is playing some damn fine blues/rock tinged with several other forms and the album is a fine listen from start to finish. Aside from some guest appearances and horns, he plays everything here, guitars, basses, drums, keyboards, vocals, production, and wrote all the music and lyrics. He can tear it up as he does on numbers like the opener, I Still Want You, full on power rock with a bluesy tinge and passionate vocal styling, excellent guitar solo as well, and Show Me Your Love Is Real. Then he can also show a tender side as he does on A Wonder Of Nature where he starts with a an acoustic and slides into a loving blues ballad. Elsewhere, he touches on cod-reggae with Time To Make Some Changes, rock with Feel Bad Boogie and instrumental with the pretty but light Rays Of The Sun. He has a jazzy piece, Somethings Gotta Give, replete with horns (Tommy Scheller) and a drum solo, and he can even do a Santana-like Latin tinged rocker in Leave Me Alone. There is really nothing here that offends or sounds ‘off’ but I struggle to find the soul of his music, the thing that is really Patrik Jansson. Every track is in a different form and there is no one piece that hasn’t been done before. It’s a very good album, very listenable and great as a wakener to night out, but ultimately there is something that he needs to make his own.

ANDY SNIPPER

GENE MCDANIELS TOWER OF STRENGTH ACROBAT

A gospel and jazz singer from Omaha who moved to

Kansas City when signed by Liberty Records and teamed up with producer Snuff Garrett. This double album is sub-titled The Singles & Albums collection 1959-62. He burst onto the chart scene in 1961 with the USA No. 3 hit A Hundred Pounds Of Clay which was a catchy number in a pop/R&B style featuring smooth vocals and cascading strings. This was followed up by a string of hits including the big band backed Chip Chip and the ballad Another Tear Falls. McDaniel’s has a fine voice, and the arrangements and production quality are superb. Spanish Lace has a Latin flavour and features mariachi style trumpet flourishes. There is a cover of Elvis Presley’s smoochy ballad Love Me Tender and the Nat King Cole hit Autumn Leaves. Inevitably the hit singles dried up and McDaniel’s explored a variety of musical territory and started performing

T J WALKER HALFWAY TO SOMEWHERE

Great American Songbook standards and his own interpretations of current hits of the day. Featured here are tracks like It’s All In The Game, Portrait Of My Love, Three Coins In The Fountain and Love Is A Many Splendored Thing. Classic movie songs The Sound Of Music, Look For The Silver Lining and Gone With The Wind are also included. My personal favourite tracks are the earlier UK hits Tower Of Strength and Point Of No Return which both feature more forceful vocals and fulsome big band backing with a horn section. Gene McDaniel’s was a fine and versatile singer who went on to have a long and successful career in the music business. This is a good compilation of his earlier material and includes all the hits.

Halfway To Somewhere is one of those rare albums that transcends genres, you can’t actually pin it down as to what, if anything, it leans towards. I digress, this album combines, Americana, folk, and country, and dips its toes gently into the blues. All ten songs are written by Walker, showcasing his numerous talents alongside singer, and guitarist. From the first beat of the drum opening of, Dreamcatcher, I got the distinct feeling of Native Americans, and not just because of the title. It had that kind of feel at the start, then it opens up into Americana meets the blues. As we are all aware, these two make excellent bedfellows and this song further proves the point. The three people making up this album, T J Walker (guitar, vocals) Mike Drinkwater ( keyboards, backing vocals), and Ralph “ Ginger” Millington (drums, backing vocals) are as tight a band as you could wish to hear. This album

can’t be pigeonholed, and that is what I like about it the most. The Right Time, and If I Still Had You, both lean towards country music, simple but effective, not sugary, more beef jerky. The main talking point of the album in my view should be the brilliant songwriting that Walker has produced, smooth, mellow, but full of intensity. Small Town Bar, the final track on the album, is my standout track. This has a rockier edge, brilliant guitar work, great lyrics, and a song that makes you move your hips be it sitting down or standing. If you like a pinch of this, a smidgen of that, this album will appeal to you. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

DAVE DRURY

STEPHEN HARRISON

the brightest of gems that sit in the crown that is laden full of them

If you like a pinch of this, a smidgen of that, this album will appeal to you

MISSISSIPPI MACDONALD

STATE

BLUES”

PAUL GURNEY BLUE HORIZON TAILGATOR MUSIC

BUDDY GUY THE BLUES DON’T LIE

RCA Records

At 86 years old, the majority of people have long since retired, enjoying a slower and more peaceful way of life. That is unless your name is Buddy Guy. After the phenomenal success of his last album, The Blues Is Alive And Well, he’s recorded yet another magnificent album full of some of the best stuff I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. Together with award-winning producer Tom Hambridge, Buddy Guy has wowed us all one more time. The opening track, I Let My Guitar Do The Talking, is almost the story of his life when you come to think about it. It is what you would expect from Buddy Guy, blues, but blues in a gumbo. By gumbo, I mean, everything is in the pot, blues, soul, funk, and a touch of rock, all go into this album. Providing a helping hand are some special guests such as Reese Wynans, Michael Rhodes, James Taylor, and the amazing, Mavis Staples. Apart from this being a brilliant album of blues, it also raises serious questions as to what is going on in the world, Gunsmoke Blues being one very harrowing example. It relates to the

Paul Gurney is a singer, guitarist, songwriter and bandleader from New Zealand, and this is his second solo album. He was a founder member and frontman of The DeSotos in 2004 (described on their website as purveying “rock infused country blues”) and on this, his second solo set, he certainly displays a rather nifty line in Americana, which is obvious from even the most cursory listen to this album. The legendary Neil Young came to mind a couple of times, especially on the suitably delicate Fragile (nice banjo here too) and in the vocals for Moonlight Waltz, a slow number with some fine mandolin by Paul himself, and, more subtly perhaps, for the closing Windows. The opening Someplace Else has a rather unusual, almost African-sounding introduction and Belong recalls an early 60s pop ballad in structure. And is Ricochet referencing Deep Purple’s classic Sweet Child In Time in its lyrics? Off-set against these though are tracks like Misunderstood, which put me in mind of the venerable classic I’d Rather Go Blind with its strong southern soul feel, aided and abetted by some fine pedal steel guitar playing by Neil Watson, and the title track, which is nothing to do with Mike Vernon’s famed record label, but which is actually a fine, affecting piece of classy Americana. If it’s just the blues pure and simple that you want though (more or less, anyway), do lend an ear to the easy grooving Perfect Space or the boogying Trouble. Blue Horizon is a rather fine release all round.

NORMAN DARWEN

singer and guitarist Eddy Undertow. His sidekicks are, bassist John Eckstrom and drummer Dave Tavel. This release was recorded just before lockdown in 2020 at John Vanderslice’s Studio and produced by him. These are songs about, love, death, loneliness, and all washed down with a dose of anger, but all songs are raw and have their own identity. Kingdom Come With Me opens the release, with a laid-back arrangement, punctuated by some fine guitar playing and gritty vocal delivery. Rain Catch Flame is grungier, some incendiary slide tones on this. Riding On Into The Light is an acoustic treat mellowing the tone with some Americana feel, great harmonies here even violin in the background. Skeletone Machine the title tune has a heavy groove to it and philosophical lyrics. Shakedown In The Street is a melodic tune with catchy refrains, Eddy’s vocals strong and upbeat. Soft Soft Sea is stripped back blues, a beautiful and haunting vocal delivery, a standout track. Ride Out The Night returns to a dark moody atmospheric tune, a twisted love song. Love you More, has a nod to Tom Waits on this one, another mellow tune. Stained Glass Eyes has tinges of Country blues. Last song, Still Looking For You is a purely acoustic track and emphasizes Eddy’s expressive and emotive vocals. A brilliant debut release.

COLIN CAMPBELL

LARA TAUBMAN OL’ KENTUCKY LIGHT

ATOMIC RECORD COMPANY

Light continues the theme of laid-back Americana, rather putting me in mind of Emmylou Harris, and Linda Rondstadt. Not that Lara is trying to copy these wonderful artists, not by a long chalk, it’s the mood that is created that helps the mind think about other people in a nod to the past sort of way. There are many wonderful musicians on this album, Etienne Lytle (piano and Hammond) and Walter Parks ( electric guitar and baritone guitar) respectively. I allude to the fact that this is by no means a blues album, an Americana album, yes, but let us not kid ourselves that these two genres are not comfortable bedfellows, to begin with. As with folk and country music, blues and Americana share similar paths and a common language in many respects. Listening to this album and the lyrics and vocals, there is no doubt in my mind that Lara Taubman could indeed deliver a fullon blues album. But, if she produces another album in a similar vane to this one, I, for one, will not be disappointed.

STEPHEN HARRISON

ROB HERON & THE TEA PARTY ORCHESTRA

THE PARTY’S OVER

TEA PAD RECORDS CD

ever-increasing shooting attacks in schools in America, a subject that shows no signs of abating. It is not just a protest type of song, but a warning that this can’t be allowed to continue told through the lyrics from a blues point of view. Apart from touching on subjects close to everyone’s hearts the album reels off song after song played by the finest musicians. Buddy Guy’s voice is still as powerful as it ever was, his guitar playing still as poignant. If I was asked to pick out a favourite tune, I doubt that I could, but if a gun were to be held to my head, I would have to go with, Rabbit Blood. It is the bluesiest of blues, with lyrics that reach into your very soul, “ a plate of cheese and crackers, with a glass of mad dog wine, kicked off her slippers”. Poetry, in the form of the blues. The final track, I’m A King Bee ends with Buddy asking,” is that enough? Until the next album Buddy, yes, that’s enough.

SWEET UNDERTOW SKELETONE MACHINE

MOTHER WEST RECORDS

Always exciting to hear new music and new bands. Here is a three piece from San Francisco with their debut release of ten original songs, all loosely blues based with a grungy underground feel that makes the songs feel more real and honest. The band was the idea of lead

If you are expecting a blues album or blues/rock album then this is not for you. If, however, you want an Americana album with great songs, great lyrics, and a female artist with a brilliant vocal tone, then this album is right up your alley. Darkness Before Dawn introduces the album sweetly and melodically. The tone and the lyrics immediately put me in mind what the title is all about, that weird, mellow and hazy time of the day that this song is all about. Sometimes the title can spell out exactly the feelings within just a few words what the artist is writing, in this case, Lara Taubman herself. The title track, Ol’ Kentucky

You want to smile, have a good time and a laugh? You want a chunky mix of masterful retro, zydeco/ Cajun-flavoured fun? Well, here’s the band for you. Just one look at the CD’s cover, with Rob Heron sitting in full clown make-up on a horrendous old red vinyl sofa, and you can hear the music before you hit the ‘play’ button. Yes, in many ways this is a party album, bluesy, jazzy, countryfied fun, and we start at the end with the wonderful, comical Go Home, The Party’s Over and travel like passengers in a Wells Fargo stagecoach through the wild west of music with the Frankie Laine-flavoured (now there’s a retro reference for ya) The Horse that You Rode in On. Remind Me Tomorrow, with the band vocalizing the refrain has a kind of Southern soul feel, plus Ben Powling’s fine tenor sax. This is the kind of band you perhaps thought didn’t exist – the lyrics, the humour, the sheer mastery of differing rhythmic styles put you in mind of some

STEPHEN HARRISON

is that enough?

Until the next album Buddy, yes, that’s enough

ANGELA STREHLI ACE OF BLUES

Antone’s Records

While starting on her journey in blues music, Angela Strehli also cultivated a safe passage to many already-established artists and those on their way to becoming household names at Antone’s Club, Texas. On Ace Of Blues, she pays homage to the blues masters that she has met and shaped her musical adventures with these grand interpretations. Bobby Bland’s Two Steps Away From The Blues opens this album of a dozen songs with Strehli remaining faithful to the original version as she does on all these tunes. Elmore James’ Person To Person is a song that never quite made the cut into her live set. One can only wonder why, if it wasn’t for the overflowing choice of Elmore James songs to select from as she nails this version and makes it her own.What is noticeably remarkable is the strength of Strehli’s voice admirably holding down these long in the sharp tooth songs with a delicious bite.

section lifting the song and Jeremiah’s vocals smoothly intertwine with guitar soloing. Every song is multi layered on this stunning release, on Ball And Chain he is joined by Brandon Santini on harmonica, laid back blues was never better. Skippin’ School sees him bringing soul blues to the fore peppered with great tones. Hot Diggity Dog is a funky number with great guitar riff, a feelgood tune. The Squeeze has some great guitar hooks melting to a horn infused infectious groove, superb. Hot Blooded Love has a Latino style to the guitar playing and fine vocal harmonies. Sweet Misery has a mellow vibe to it, very catchy then it explodes into a band jam. Quicksand has a funky groove and amazing saxophone riff, the band rocking now and then some slide guitar tones. The Band is a fusion of funk, blues and soul, a real treat. His most experimental release to date, a masterpiece.

COLIN CAMPBELL

KENNY

WAYNE SHEPERD TROUBLE IS…25

Provogue/Mascot

Check out Ace’s (Angela’s nickname) low howling on Howling Wolf’s Howling’ For My Darling and you will find yourself howling with delight at her interpretation. Similarly, Muddy Waters’ I Love The Life I Live swings blues-fully as does her take on Jimmy Reed’s Take Out Some Insurance dancefloor blues belter. She follows a similar line on even more judicious song selections. However, all wonderful experiences must come to an end and this magnum blues opus finishes with an emotional SRV. Recorded and released on her previous solo album, Blue Highway, Strehli revisits this self-penned tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan who played his first show in her famous co-owned club Antone’s. It’s where Jimmy Vaughan also started his musical odyssey. Angela Strehli delivers a bravura performance on this track as she does throughout Ace Of Blues which exudes the few takes as possible live feel ambience in which it was recorded.

PAUL DAVIES

BJORN HAMRIN & … CODA PARAPLY

of the old Mississippi jug band sounds. And this is drinking music. The track

The Doctor Told Me (if I have another whisky I’ll die) rambles joyously like a bunch of drunken New Orleans sailors as the brass section takes control. This band have already appeared three times on BBC Radio 4’s Loose Ends and graced the airwaves of Six Music with Marc Riley and Huey Morgan. They’re on tour until late December so if broken Britain, viruses, Brexit and our bad joke of a government are getting you down, The Tea Party Orchestra offer all the antibiotics you need. The Party’s not over, it’s just beginning.

ROY BAINTON

JEREMIAH JOHNSON

HI FI DRIVE BY

RUF RECORDS

Jeremiah is noted for his masterful guitar techniques mixing blues and rock. He takes a new slant musically on his new release. As hinted by the title, this has every instrument held in a well calibrated form. This due in part to the production team of Paul Niehaus and Tom Maloney who also play guitars and keyboards on this release, drummer is Joe Meyer. It’s all about the songs and their meaning here. Opening with the rocking bluesy 68 Coupe Deville featuring Victor Wainwright on piano, this is no holds barred fun. Ball And Chain has a great horn

What doesn’t come out in the magazine is that the three dots above are three different colours according to which band is accompanying this Swedish veteran singer and harmonica player (though his blues harp playing is quite sparse on this set). Involved are The Templeman Brothers Band, Grizzly, and Peder Af Ugglas, the latter a multi-instrumentalist and engineer. Having written that though, there is a very strong consistency of sound to this set, all the more remarkable as the sixteen songs are not all blues, there is a fine cover of Townes Van Zandt’s Flyin’ Shoes and several numbers that veer more towards rock (though not generally the heavier side). The majority of the tracks are blues, however. Björn has a very fine voice, lived-in, a little grizzled and extremely expressive. He can recall John Lee Hooker at times, which is fitting enough as so too can his accompanists – they can do the boogie just fine, but they also go beyond that. Expect too to hear traces of BB King, Howling Wolf, Robert Johnson, Skip James (lizasten to the almost wordless, eerie-sounding

Consider this if you will, you are nineteen years of age, you are in a studio with a large part of the Double Trouble studio band, and you are going to cut a record. Pretty daunting, I’m sure you will admit, but not to Kenny Wayne Sheperd. Most of the original studio band have reconvened for this 25th-anniversary recording of this great album, except for Tommy Shannon, who has retired from the music scene. Blue On Black is one of my favourite KWS tracks, so It’s nice to listen to it again from a studio perspective rather than in a live setting. Of course, both studio and live tracks from this album fill the heart with glee, but Blue On Black is one of those tunes that always seem to tug at the heartstrings a little harder. Another tune that I had actually forgotten was on the album, but once again, this really gives me goosebumps, is Everything Is Broken. A while ago I discovered a YouTube performance by Bonnie Raitt and Shery Crow doing a storming version of this tune, then lo-and-behold, up it pops again. KWS, at such a young age, was able to deliver these tunes, alongside some great musicians, who, let’s be honest, were and still are at the top of their game, but he still had to have the confidence, and ability to be on the same level as these guys.

relive a small moment in time when the world discovered Kenny Wayne Sheperd

Fast forward to 2022, KWS goes on a nationwide American tour performing this album in its entirety, finally ending up where it all began, Shreveport, Louisiana. The original studio where the album was cut is sadly no longer there, but this anniversary edition certainly makes up for those lost memories. If you like blues, blues/rock, and plenty of shaking-your-ass music, then don’t waste any time, go get this album, and relive a small moment in time when the world discovered Kenny Wayne Sheperd.

Strehli’s voice admirably holding down these long in the sharp tooth songs with a delicious bite

STEPHEN HARRISON

JOAN ARMATRADING

ME, MYSELF, I-LIVE AT THE ASYLUM CHAPEL

BMG

It seems remarkable that Joan Armatrading is celebrating her 50th year in the music industry. She has become an iconic singer-songwriter, and that accolade is richly deserved. Be it, folk, pop, soul, reggae, or blues music, Joan Armatrading has done it all. Live At The Asylum, is a celebration of all the aforementioned genres, and a celebration of a unique talent. She opens the set with one of my all-time favourite tracks, Into The Blues, taken from the album of the same name, which was released in 2007. Now you would not normally associate Joan with the blues, well go check out that album, it’ll blow your mind. This opener is so full of life, her band hit the ground running with Joan’s vocals as blues as you can get. Not only is Joan a tremendous songwriter, but she’s also a very credible musician, as is demonstrated by each tune on this live album. A live album should be a collection of your most famous songs, the ones that the audience knows off-by-heart, a party if you like. Well, that is exactly what you get here, tune after tune, high-quality playing, and the band hitting the groove, this is one of the best live albums I’ve had the pleasure of listening to in a long time. All The Way From America, from the Me, Myself, I album is such a brilliant song. What any live album worth it’s salt should also do is remind you of things, and memories, some good, some bad, this hits the bullseye with every song. I would have loved to be at this gig, especially when the audience was treated to a real rocker in, Heading Back To New York City. Reggae and rock combined so well with her inimitable vocal style, you can feel the energy of the crowd surging through the album. Of course, no Joan Armatrading gig would be complete without her most iconic son, Love And Affection. Even after all these years, this song still gives me goosebumps. It is one of those songs that will still be enjoyed fifty years from now. A classic if ever there was one. Add to the list, Drop The Pilot, Me, Myself, I, and what you have is a live album fully laden with timeless classic songs. Celebrate the fifty-year career of one of Britain’s finest-ever singer-songwriters.

STEPHEN HARRISON

Over Younder (sic) and maybe Taj Mahal among others, and Step It Up And Go is a fine piano-led pounder, rather like Champion Jack Dupree’s efforts with UK blues bands of the 60s and 70s, and the stripped –down cover of Willie Dixon’s Wang Dang Doodle that closes the album makes for a finale that stays long in the memory. Be aware that these are not just pastiches or copies; these guys create a modern sound that draws on the traditional blues for the most part, but Björn has certainly developed his own approach. He certainly deserves credit for this, and indeed for this thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining release.

NORMAN DARWEN

JOE HICKS THE BEST I CAN DO AT THE TIME ABSOLUTE

Bluesy pop at its best this is not going to be an album for the die hard raw blues aficionados out there but this has its place and that is due to the attention to the story line and the influences of blues and folk threading through the musicianship. Some persistent encouragement from producer Sam Winfield resulted in Joe writing his first full length album and with Joshua Regal on bass, Ed Broad on drums, Tom Millar on Percussion and Sam Winfield on keys the album is well produced and holds 11 great tracks. Some more bluesy than others but none the less the folk/blues influence keeps cropping up. In 2017 having been named Artist of the week by BBC introducing and a Clash track of the day single Joe quickly saw his Spotify streams climb to over 3 million, Mirror Mirror, with a guitar riff straight from the influence of John Mayer has already received some critical acclaim and Joe wrote every song on the album. Alive and Weightless are Blues and Beautiful…. Joe explains his beautifully written songs as an expression of the emotional peaks and troughs, as humans, we go through at times, taking control of them and ultimately using hope to rise above them.

JEAN KNAPPITT

RALLI ROCK LOCKED UP & BLUE?

CONTRAMUSIKPRODUCTION

Ralli Rock was born in Germany, nowadays he lives in Saarland, and besides his solo activities he occasionally performs with his hometown band “Black Hole Ravens” just for the fun. Ralli was visiting distant relatives in Australia when the worldwide lock down was declared, so he formed a small temporary band with whiskey bootlegger friends. Finally back home Rallie along with co-songwriter and producer Ralf Rabendorn set about recording those and a few more songs with a retro sound. Recorded in analogue using old mic’s, old instruments and old recording techniques, with Rallie playing all instruments including the Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Organ, Drums & Percussion, Harmonica, Synth, Bass and piano. Locked Up & Blue? the second release from Ralli contains thirteen original tracks, kicking off with the punchy blues rocker Old Laughing Stock, featuring some intense gritty vocals and soaring guitar riffs. On the slower A River, he takes you on a personal journey with ragged gritty vocals that are rich with feeling and angst. The catchy I Feel Blue, is an uptempo folk blues that will soon have you up on the dance floor, whilst A Big Black Heart is a full on chugging rocker with plenty of guitar riffing. Fire Of Dispair is another catchy mid tempo blues rocker about loves salvation to happiness. The closest we get to a ballad is (I Know).

The Meaning Of The Blues, a heartfelt raw emotive blues played and sung with passion, there is a change of tempo for U R Comin’ Home a percussion driven rootsy rock that has a Dylan feel to it. There is a variety of styles and tempo that keeps the album fresh and interesting, and I look forward to seeing where Ralli goes from here, well worth a listen.

SHIRL

BOB CORRITORE & FRIENDS YOU SHOCKED ME

VIZZTONE/SWMAF CD

When this treasure dropped from the jiffy bag, I knew that an album had arrived which in blues terms, would outshine everything else this year. And 16 tracks, too. I’ve been a follower for some time of Bob Corritore’s work as a blues photo archivist on Facebook. But that’s just one facet to this terrific, dedicated and authentic bluesman. As a harmonica player (he plays harp on every track here) he achieves that fat, dirty sound you hear on some early Chicago discs, and from Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. It’s that old electrical odd chance which gave us this sound – those Chicago taxi drivers used The Green Bullet mic, also known as the model 520 introduced in1949 by Shure Brothers Inc. of Chicago. It was intended for use as a high-quality public-address microphone. But cup it in your hands with your Hohner Blues harp and pump it through a 50-watt amp and the hairs on your neck get an erection.

Corritore’s a fine blues performer, and on this album, he’s joined by a dozen friends listed on the brilliant 50s retro horror comic sleeve, among them Diunna, Stroger, Steady Rollin’ and Rawls. Bob not only rocks like hell, but also delivers masterful slow blues like the epic Somebody Stole my Love from Me. You’ll dance your socks off to snappy outings like Blinded where the pile-driving harp stabs along with a forceful brass section. The track Josephine sung by guest Sugaray Rayford rolls along like a blues bulldozer and features spine-tingling guitar solos from Kid Ramoa and Johnny Main. If this album was a restaurant meal, it wouldn’t be a salad. This is meat’n’two veg, gravy and dumplings. If you’re on a diet, just play it twice a day and you’ll never feel hungry.

ROY BAINTON

GERRY JABLONSKI AND THE ELECTRIC BAND 105

INDEPENDENT

The Scottish band’s fifth album release is an intense forty minutes, no doubt influenced by the recording session starting as Russia

THE COMMONERS FIND A BETTER WAY

Gypsy Soul Records

The Commoners new release is full to the brim of varying music styles incorporating nine solid track mixing roots, soul, blues, and Southern Rock influences. This Canadian four piece comprise: Chris Medhurst on lead vocals and guitar, Ben Spiller on bass, Ross Hayes Citrullo on lead guitar and Adam Cannon. They are joined by organist Miles Evans-Branagh on some tracks also. The ethos is to entertain and connect with their audience with soulful vocals, high energy guitar licks and great harmonies. From the first note of first track, Find A Better Way, the listener is hooked and sets the pace on this rocking anthemic tune, guitar tones are sonic. Fill My Cup features emotive vocals with powerful back up from Chantal Williams. Too Much, gives a chance for the band to rock out, full of slide and soaring vocals, superb Naturally, slows the pace, a great song well crafted, the organ arrangement, harmonies and lead vocals make this a highlight.

but a definite winner for the band’s fans.

JOHN MITCHELL

THR3E 30 DAY HOP & HEY, MR BARTENDER

I Won’t, brings a Country feel with Michael Eckert on lap steel adding to the build up to the bridge in the song. Deadlines, has a feelgood chorus and the energy in this tune is palpable, this band is tight. Hangin’ On Again is the longest tune, dealing with love and loss and accentuates the band’s artistry. Final tune, Alive slows the tempo on this countrified ballad, Chris Medhurst’s vocals so strong on this hypnotic track. A band to be reckoned with, this is a stunningly beautiful release, highly recommended.

invaded Ukraine. The war added to the themes and overall feel of the album. Those familiar with the band will know that their style tends to be at the heavier end of the bluesrock spectrum and opener Breaking The Stones features coruscating guitar riffs and aggressive harp from Peter Narojczyk as Gerry bemoans the high cost of daily living as he awaits the weekend with impatience before he finds himself embroiled in a Strange Love, another heavy track. The slowpaced, moody Hard Road makes direct reference to the current situation in Ukraine as the band shows us a more subtle side before a fine tribute to one of Gerry’s influences, Koss (Paul Kossoff). Working off a riff that Koss would definitely have recognised, the lyrics reference Free titles like Wishing Well, The Stealer and The Hunter, the harp adding an additional blues feel to an impressive

track. Jagged riffs and strident harp underpin Tiny Thoughts, about mental health issues, before the rocking Goddamn, previously issued as a single last year. The sterling work of the rhythm section is particularly evident on this one as bassist Grigor Leslie and drummer Lewis Fraser both add harmony vocals as well as keeping up an intense bottom end. Breaking The Code is a rock ballad (with some language that will prevent radio play) and Peter playing in a lower register, another solid track. The band takes a harsh look at environmental issues in Heavy Water, a track that builds in intensity from a quiet start to a furious finish. The final cut is the only non-original, an adaptation of a traditional Scottish folk tune, Dark Island, which is perhaps Gerry’s Star-Spangled Banner moment as his guitars play the tune on their own, amongst the feedback. A heavy album, in some ways an angry album,

THE JUJUBES RAGING MOON INDEPENDENT

The latest recording from this multi-talented trio sees them dipping into the traditional blues genre with their distinctive stripped back take. They comprise, Nikki Brooks on vocals, Sandy Michie on bass and Pete Sim on lap steel guitar and harmonica. The cast also includes OC Thomas on percussion. Ten tracks, six originals and four covers make up a stunning repertoire on an amazing release. Sultry vocals mix with raw dirty slide on the opener Wang Dang Doodle and sets the tone. Crocodile is a slow bluesy tune and incorporates banjo work well. You Ain’t So Bad has groove and meaning and lots of attitude, the ending is interesting. True Religion is raw, and harmonies are superb on this traditional tune. The Last Thing show’s the band’s dark side a ballad with a stomping beat. High Fever Blues, the Bukka White tune is hauntingly beautiful, with vocals and two guitars, fingerpicking of the highest degree. Somebody’s Got To Go, the Big Bill Broonzy tune again has slide guitar melting with sultry vocals, a feature of the whole release. Make Me Cry is a reflective slow tune delivered well. Last tune is Something More, an upbeat tune sampling

Cat Black Music & Independent

Okay with two albums, one band and twenty-two cracking bits of music it doesn’t really get much better than this. The title track from the debut album 30 Day Hop opens up full of pounding drums and bass sounding like something out of early seventies Rock and I loved it. Referencing being incarcerated down on, perhaps, Parchment Farm or some such institution. This is solid, no-frills blues, to be enjoyed at high volumes in some sweaty dive and Drive Like Crazy with its wailing harp is top drawer stuff. The pace is just relentless as Matter Of Time and Blues For The Modern Man continues this masterclass on how to entertain. Walking drops the tempo a tad into a deeper mellow groove with a good blend of lead guitar and keys.

This is solid, no-frills blues

All tracks are in-house compositions, which I like to see, as it displays a confidence within a band that knows what they are. In this case an absolutely nofrills modern band firmly drawing on the influences of those who have been down this road before. Fast forward to the latest release from THR3E and we find a band consolidating their sound. Sheer confidence oozes from Hey, Mr Bartender to the extent that we now hear the band self-producing. There is still a rawness, and a simplicity to THR3E which benefits tracks Paint The Town Red, Do That Walk and Sometime Long Time. We have to wait until the final cut before the album title is mentioned on the almost acoustic Waitin’ On A Call. To coin a phrase ‘I wouldn’t like to slide a cigarette paper between these releases’. You will just have to try and buy but you won’t be disappointed.

GRAEME SCOTT

COLIN CAMPBELL

this is a stunningly beautiful release

ROADHOUSE 2000 MILES

Dark Road Records

To say that this band has suffered personal setbacks and in some cases, tragedies are something of an understatement. From the loss of a member to life-changing events, Roadhouse has seen it all in a very short space of time. Add to that, Covid, and you start to see that the making of an album would be nigh-on impossible. Wrong, Roadhouse has risen like a phoenix and recorded 2000 Miles.

As the band leader, Gary Boner has grabbed the bull by the horns, rallied the troops, and shown us all what a top band these guys are. The album opens with the title track, 2000 Miles. Great rock, blues/rock riff to open the song with Boner and Mandie G delivering really powerful vocals that make you think, ok, this band is back with a vengeance. It’s more of an opening statement than a song,

Pete Sim’s sublime lap steel guitar work. Dark, moody, well-crafted songs, the essence of blues, full of raw emotion. A release to savour and play on repeat, then catch them live, you will not be disappointed.

COLIN CAMPBELL

CANDY DULFER WE NEVER STOP THE FUNK GARAGE/MASCOT

GRANT DERMODY BEHIND THE SUN INDEPENDENT

swiftly followed by, Better Days if I’m not mistaken was written with everything that has happened at the forefront of the mind, whilst the lyrics suggest that the best is yet to come. On this album, there is something that I’ve never encountered before, the same song delivered by different members of the band twice. Believe (1) sees Mandie G and Robin Bibi combine lyrics and music as if they have known each other for a hundred years, Bibi, on slide guitar makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. Believe (2) sees Gary Boner, Kelly Marie, and Danny Gwilym deliver their version.

Both versions are magnificent, sweet, and soft, full of emotion. The thing that grabs me is that in each version there are differing emotions from the band that comes through, the same song but within a different frame if you like. I’ve never encountered this before, so a tip of the hat to Gary and the band. Blues and blues/ rock is adequately covered on 2000 Miles, my favourite being Steamboat Song, a sure-fire winner when it makes its maiden voyage in a live setting. Do yourself two favours, buy the album, and go to see this band live. You will not be disappointed.

STEPHEN HARRISON

Known by many for her worldwide number one smash hit Lily Was Here which still finds airplay across the radio waves, Candy Dulfer became the saxophonist du jour for many established artists. Her collaborations with Van Morrison, Mavis Staples, Pink Floyd and Aretha Franklin are somewhat overshadowed by her tenure in Prince’s NPG band. With smooth and bouncy funk to the fore, this musical association clearly influences everything on We Never Stop.With that in mind, the funky 70’s vibe of the album’s starter song reboots (platform) a George Clinton and Funkadelic vibe that Prince later defined and in whose band Candy Dulfer blew her sassy sax tones. Mo’ Seats At The Table smoothly delivers a cocktail of ‘yacht jazz’ conjuring visions of a cloudless azure sky with its calm sea of sounds floating beneath Dulfer’s breezy sax play. With Chic funk legend Nile Rodgers brought onboard for Jammin’ Tonight and Convergency, anyone who buys into this release knows that they are checking into a party album of elite musical interplay. The arrangements in themselves are a masterclass of this heady genre. Elsewhere, Dulfer has further wrangled in a high calibre of established talented musicians such as former Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and David Sanborn bass player Marcus Miller on The Walls. It’s an effortless sounding song which will undoubtedly find airplay on smooth radio stations as will most of this album’s easy-listening funky tracks. Candy Dulfer’s unquestionable ability on the saxophone is laid bare in the choral and solo sphere of sounds on We Never Stop. A perfect musical companion, any time of the day or night, for anybody who takes their delights from this jazz, funk and fusion genre.

PAUL DAVIES

The new release by singer songwriter and harmonica player Grant Dermody is his fifth solo one and his best to date. Fifteen songs, nine originals, mixed in a gumbo of Louisiana style musical tones. There is also Gospel and Chicago blues notes peppered around this stunning release. Something here for any music lover. The musicians are all Louisiana inhabitants that make this a more organic homemade production. These include Dirk Powell guitarist, Corey Ledet on accordion, Lee Allen Zeno on bass and drummer Gerard St Julien and an array of backing singers. Trouble No More starts the groove going on this boogie laden tune full of harmonica tones, great rhythm, and emotional vocals. Don’t Boss Me also has that lived in feel, then the piano kicks in and the party starts. Forgive Me has mellow tones, sung with complete emotion and visceral lyrics with a superb guitar solo for good measure. Lost John is a harmonica instrumental great tones here, mesmeric in delivery. New Orleans vibes and funky riffs take, Clotilda’s Got Soul to a different level punctuated with harmonica and super rhythm section. Footsteps In The Hall is stomping blues with a Hill country feel. Other songs like Tell Me and She Come Running are full on blues tunes keeping the pace and tone driving. Time Ain’t Due brings the Gospel side in and hits the listener with blistering harmonies. This has a raw live feel throughout the recording and is just so good. It finishes with Otis Rush’s So Many Roads, just the best version yet. If blues is a feeling, Grant feels every note.

COLIN CAMPBELL

JOHN PRIMER HARD TIMES

BLUES HOUSE PRODUCTIONS

John Primer has a CV second to none, starting with Willie Dixon and Junior Wells, he was Muddy Waters’ last guitarist and then band leader for Magic Slim for ten years. Since the mid-nineties John has led his own aptly named Real Deal Band, producing a

string of high quality, traditional Chicago electric blues albums. After the pandemic lockdown John was ready to record and the result is a most satisfying baker’s dozen set of originals. John’s regular band is himself on guitar and vocals, Steve Bell (son of Carey, brother of Lurrie) on harp, Dave Forte on bass and Lenny Media on drums, ably supported by Johnny Iguana on keys and Rick Kreher on second guitar. The music covers all the bases of Chicago blues, from the frenetic pace of I Won’t Sweat It and All Alone to slow blues Hot Meal which is sufficiently extended for everyone to take their time over their solos. Highlights are many, but do check out John’s slide playing, in acoustic style on the title track and full-blown electric on his tribute to his adopted home Chicago; both are outstanding and feature fine barrelhouse piano from Johnny Iguana. Steve Bell’s harp work is solid throughout, one good example being his solo on Sugar Mama, and John’s vocals are also excellent, nowhere better than on the angst-filled blues You Mean So Much To Me. The album is bookended by the exciting, fast-paced You Got What I Want and the classic Chicago sound of Whiskey which sounds uncannily like John’s old boss, Muddy Waters. John’s 17-year-old daughter Aliya makes her recording debut here, singing convincingly on a rolling, soulful tune that is sure to resonate with many today, Tough Times. On the basis of this track, Aliya Primer is a name to watch out for, but in the meanwhile let’s celebrate another fine disc by her dad. Anyone needing a fix of terrific Chicago blues need look no further than this album which comes strongly recommended!

JOHN MITCHELL

THE REEDCUTTERS LIFE’S TOO SHORT

PALATINE RECORDS

Young Northwest based band with their own brand of bar-room Blues/Rock, Alt. Country and R&B with a mini-album seven track taster for their forthcoming full album. Opening track, It’s All About You is a fiery rocker with Jonny Poole belting out the vocals and brother Jake matching him with sturdy guitar

there are differing emotions from the band that comes through

THE MIGHTY SOUL DRIVERS

I’LL CARRY YOU HOME

Hog Heaven Records

We pride ourselves on our diversity here at BM Towers. If it’s related to the blues, we’ll take it, and that includes a wonderful incarnation of the southern soul bands that did, and do, set Memphis and surrounding areas alight. Thus, we are delighted to point your ears in the direction of The Mighty Soul Drivers in general, and their lead vocalist Bob Orsi in particular.

you can always enjoy the sound and atmosphere

As a full-blooded group of like-minded musicians and singers lay down the blues-and-soul funky sound of the late sixties Temptations classic I Can’t Get Next To You, he lays is full-throated prophesies over the top to stunning effect. The title track, which follows, is again played with a deep and compete understanding of how to put emotions through speakers and into listening ears. When you see a title like Cry To Me on the sleeve of an album that is shaping up like this one, you know this is going to be some heart-tugging blues, perfectly executed, with everyone restraining themselves down to allow the vocal to soar and shine. Parking Lot Blues follows that deep furrow of southern soul-based blues, with the full set of accompaniments, the brass, the Hammond, the harmony vocals, they are all there, and they all mix and match to carry the song home. If you are lucky enough to visit any of the bars and honkey-tonks that specialise in this kind of music, then this is exactly the kind of band playing exactly the sort of songs that make your visit a dream come true. In the meantime, you can always enjoy the sound and atmosphere of The Mighty Soul Drivers, who have managed to distil all that atmosphere and feeling into one wonderful collection of songs and put them all on this album for you to enjoy. But if you have the chance, why not move up country a piece, and see if you can locate this band in their New England base, you will be very very glad you did.

ANDY HUGHES

CRYSTAL

SHAWANDA MIDNIGHT BLUES

True North Records

licks. Falling For You Again charges out of the blocks at breakneck speed with Jonny howling and the band racing to the finish with energy and enthusiasm. Dark Angel features wailing harmonica, insistent guitar riffs and a tale of a brief onenight encounter, or was it a dream? This is raw, rough & ready, exciting music full of good short pithy songs with catchy hooks, passion, feeling and energy – just as I like it. It reminds me of the wonderful pub rock scene with bands like Any Trouble, Ducks De Luxe, Tyla Gang, Graham Parker and Dr Feelgood. The pace drops slightly for Lock And Key but picks up again for the hard riffing As Lovers Do. Hanging On The Wire completes the listed tracks but there is an unlisted

bonus track, which may be called Walk Away featuring anxious vocals from Jonny and melodic guitar work. A very promising promo debut and I look forward to hearing the full album.

DAVE DRURY

CROSBY TYLER DON’T CALL THE LAW ON ME INDEPENDENT

The sounds of Americana are all over Don’t Call The Law On Me. There is the countryish pedal steel guitar, the driving drums and bass, the tight harmony vocals, but there is also something of an escapist nature to the album. It starts with the roaring country rock of the title track, a police

siren introduces the piece, before the band wade in. With a voice that is part Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, the outlaw spirit is evident throughout the album. All the songs are originals, written by the singer-songwriter and guitarist Crosby Tyler, with Mike Khalli on pedal steel and electric guitar, and violinist Aubrey Richmond adding colour to the driving drums of Dale Daniel and bassist Jeff Turmes. Trucker on the Road is a haunting rocker, with sublime violin and pedal steel, and The Family I Never Had is a lament for the decisions that road musicians have to make for their careers. 18 Wheels of Steel is a bluesy rocker, with something of ZZ Top’s soundscapes. Born a Bad Boy is an acoustic reverie,

Career wise Crystal now chooses the blues route to her musical style, this even though she moved to Nashville. Well, it is blues music’s gain because this talented female singer has all the right credentials on her newest release. Ten well-crafted songs mixing, blues soul and a bit of Gospel all showcasing her amazing vocal range. First track; Midnight Blues hits the listener with rocking sassiness and firm groove and fine harmonies. What Kind Of Man Is This; justifies her place as a powerful vocalist without forcing her vocals and there are some great guitar licks, the narrative in the middle is jaw dropping to listen to. Rumpshaker, has that foot stomping blues beat a real dancefloor filler.

A stunning release, no fillers

How Bad Do You Want It, slows the pace and shows Crystal’s soul side with sweet vocals punctuated by a big band sound. Why Do I Love You, is a slower ballad, a song to wrap the listener around on a wintry night, her vocals sweet as vintage whisky. Her interpretation of Howlin Wolf’s Evil is divine, full of passion holding onto every word and note, harmonica tones soar with the tune, superb. I Want My Soul Back brings the Gospel tones. Her take on Celine Dion’s That’s Just The Women In Me is another highlight. Hold Me, features a boogie woogie take accentuating fine backing harmonies. Last song, Take A Little Walk To The Moon has a gentle refrain, blues meets soul, with some lap steel waltz arrangement. A stunning release, no fillers.

COLIN CAMPBELL

with slow moving chords, longing melancholy. Peace, lively tune, but it perhaps owes to much of a debt to

Nowhere. This is an album full of narrative storytelling songs that blends songcraft with well recorded soundscapes. None of the songs

listening. If you are looking

pleaser. A must for anyone’s collection.

COLIN CAMPBELL

BLUE DEAL HOLY GROUND INDEPENDENT

lively story-songs with then Crosby Tyler is a name to look out for.

deep-rooted Americana,

BEN MACNAIR

CALL JOHN NEMETH

MAY BE THE LAST TIME

Nola Blue Records

I had the enormous pleasure of seeing John Nemeth perform live at none other than Buddy Guy’s Legends Club in Chicago in 2017 at the start of our Route 66 road trip. From that moment on, I have been a huge fan of his work as a singer, singer/songwriter, and of course as a fantastic blues harmonica player. May Be The Last Time was recorded just before John underwent complex surgery on his jaw. As a singer and harmonica player, I don’t need to tell you how important the outcome of the surgery is. At the point of writing this, I understand that John is recovering well, and I’m sure we all send him our very best regards. On this album, John is joined by Elvin Bishop, who writes a few songs, and plays lead guitar on all tracks. The opening track, The Last Time is a take on the original, albeit slightly tweaked by John, Elvin Bishop, and Kid Anderson.

Rock Bottom sees Elvin Bishop do what he does best, play guitar as if his life depended on it. I’m already in love with this album by this second track. It feels as though the choice of material reflects the mood at the time of recording, It’s worth noting that the album was recorded live. The feel of a live recording in a studio dispenses with the dubs and overdubs, the need for clinical perfection. Listening to the background chatter in-between songs gives you a warm feeling of friends enjoying the best of the blues. Feeling Good, written by J B Lenoir, does what it says on the tin, as do all of the tracks to be fair. This is a feel-good, gospel, blues, boogie jump and shouts kinda album. That’s the best way that I can describe it. Shake Your Hips, the penultimate track, epitomizes everything about this collaboration. A magnificent blues album. Fingers crossed that this is not the Last time.

STEPHEN HARRISON

Meghan Parnell on lead vocals and Dave Barnes on lead guitar are the driving force of this seven-piece Canadian roots rock soul band. They are joined by; Bruce McCarthy on drums, Mike Meusel on Bass, John Kervin on Keys, Stephen Dyte on trumpet, and Julian Nalli on tenor saxophone. Eleven tracks full of energy, punchy lyrics and vocals awash with scintillating tones and passion. Starting with an infusion of funk riffs, Falls Away sets the musical bar high and it stays throughout, strong vocals on this rocky anthemic tune. Lover Slow Down shows their mellow sound, raspy vocals, a great song. Remain, is a breath-taking title track, well crafted, sultry strong melodic vocal delivery makes this tune rise, peppered with horn section to melt into. Let Me Be Wrong has soul, great back beat and great harmonies. Left Behind, is full of swampy grooves a powerful song. More funk on Sea We Swim accentuates the rhythm section, divine. Ties That Bind, again has a Southern soul take with jazzy toned guitar. Fortune slows the tempo on a roots based gritty tune, powerful harmonies. Go Alone is punchy, rocky with some groove to it. The hauntingly beautiful tones to Locked, just are spine tingling, Meghan’s vocals show an emotion that is just true and honest, a true blues inspired tune with added Stax vibes, then they add a choir, this song is amazing multi layered. Bring It Back, finishes with an up-tempo feelgood song a crowd

Blue Deal are a hard rocking four-piece blues band from Germany. They comprise, Joe Fischer, vocals, keys, and guitar. Rhythm section is Martin Burger on bass and Jurgen Schneckenburger on drums and guitarist and vocalist and guitarist Tom Rollbuhler. They originally formed in the Southern Black Forest and their musical style varies with each song on their new release of ten rocking blues tunes. Influences seem to include Free, and the vocalist certainly doffs his cap to Paul Rodgers, as noted on the opener Love What You Have, smoky vocals with a superb backbeat. Holy Ground is a slow bluesy number, great vocals lift this tune, and it just grows to a crescendo of sound full of rhythm, excellent guitar solo. Standing On The Corner is another slow tempo tune that bursts into a blues shuffle at the bridge. Miss You is a sweet ballad, funky bass line, then the organ takes this to another level. Witch combines some great guitar work with heavy grooves. Go, slows the tempo down, catchy chorus on this one, then the band gets into its groove. Sewing Machine is full of slide with Joe on his cigar box guitar, a blues stomper with a funky backbeat. Memory street is a rocky tune full of rhythm and sweet tones. Suicide Boogie says what it means, a toe tapper. Last song is, Three Dollars and probably the highlight, superb slide guitar mixes with gritty vocals, hauntingly raw. Well-crafted songs by a creative band on the rise.

COLIN CAMPBELL

THE HUNGRY WILLIAMS LET’S GO!

ROCHELLE RECORDS

New Orleans is a huge distance from Wisconsin, but The Hungry Williams’ leader John Carr has long held a fascination for New Orleans R&B music and wanted a band that swung like the music he so admired. That is the essence of The Hungry Williams, named after one of the Crescent

City’s greatest drummers, Charles ‘Hungry’ Williams. On their second album they continue to mix originals and covers drawn mainly from the 50’s and early 60’s. The band is led by John on drums with Kelli Gonzalez on vocals, Joe Vent on guitar, Jack Stewart on keys and Mike Sieger on bass; the band is augmented by tenor and baritone saxes on most tracks, and they provide most of the solos. Mardi Gras Day has the second line rhythms of New Orleans, augmented by the saxes and trumpet, while Movin’ On is pianist Stewart’s tribute to Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew. Kelli sings superbly on the band’s version of Lavern Baker’s, You’d Better Find Yourself Another Fool and Big Maybelle’s One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show, giving that familiar song plenty of ‘sass’. Gee Baby is another classic piece of NO music, more solid vocals from all the band on this one and another sax solo to savour. Boss Man has jaunty rhythms and Kelli insists that Big Mouth Betty is not autobiographical! Maybe not, but it’s a fun song with some witty lyrics about someone who “never stops to take a breath”. Oooh-Wow was written by Fats Domino’s guitarist, Roy Montrell, so it is appropriate that guitarist Joe Vent handles the lyrics before Kelli returns with Then I’ll Believe, another ‘strolling’ rhythm with a fine sax break. The album closes with the inventive and comic 669 (Across The Street From The Beast): “He may not have a pitchfork and tail, man you ought to hear him howl and wail”. A good blend of originals and covers: if you enjoy swinging New Orleans music, you should definitely investigate The Hungry Williams.

JOHN MITCHELL THE MYSTIX TRUVINE MYSTIX EYES RECORDS

This is album number eight released by the band who were formed in 2002, it is crammed full of authentic blues material interspersed with small doses of Americana. The band members are not spring chickens but have all graduated from the Boston area music scene and have performed with a variety of named artists during their careers. They are now putting this

This is a feel-good, gospel, blues, boogie jump and shout kinda album

DELMARK RECORDS

JIMMY CARPENTER THE LOUISIANA RECORD

Gulf Coast Records

Blues music award winning saxophone player Jimmy Carpenter goes nostalgic on his new release. He has gone back to New Orleans and recorded eleven tracks of some of his favourite artists that have influenced his musical journey. Joining him are, Mike Zito on guitars, Casandra Falconer on bass, John Gros on keyboards and organ and Wayne Maureau on drums. Recorded as live at Dockside Studios in Lafayette with David Farrell. Laid back grooves, intermingle with wonderful melodies throughout these eleven tunes. They all have that New Orleans feel of authenticity from the start. I Hear You Knocking sets the tone a feelgood reinterpretation of a classic tune, Fats Domino licks abound. I Got Loaded, the Camille Bob tune is full of Louisiana spice and groove. Barefootin’ keeps the groove going, wonderful boogie woogie piano. A true highlight is the soulful All Of These Things, a true tribute to Alain Toussaint, beautifully arranged sung with such emotion, saxophone riffs fill the song with raptures. Travelin’ Mood ups the tempo with a rhythm and blues swagger.

Cry to me is another highlight full of soul and vigour bringing this Bert Russell song a new old time feel. Other songs like, Pouring Water On A Drowning Man with a pulsating organ groove change the vibe. Sam Cooke’s, Bring It On Home To Me is sublime and is sung with joy with a great backbeat. Last track takes us to Mardi Gras with the instrumental, by saxophone player Lee Allen, Rockin’ At Cosimo’s. A wonderful feelgood release full of great tunes, what’s not to like.

experience to good use in the Mystix band format. Jo Lily is a standout vocalist, totally commanding with a deep gruff but warm pitch sitting somewhere between Tom Waits and the late John Campbell. Although on the track Up Jumped The Devil, he introduces a Roger Chapman style “Vibrato” in his vocal delivery. The other band members include three guitarists although I believe Bobby Keyes and Stu Kimball are the main established players, a fine rhythm section is led by drummer Marco Giovino who has also produced the album. There are some cracking songs on show, most memorable are the opening track Satisfy You and Midnight In Mississippi which incorporate the work of the guitarists either via some subtle slide or more straight forward lead guitar work. Jo’s vocals on both are sublime, they create

a dark menacing texture which the band feed from. There are no composer details on the artwork but the songs feel like originals although on previous albums the band have covered some little known Blues and Gospel songs from the distant past. The final two tracks move the sound more into “Swamp Blues” territory which are very atmospheric, benefiting from the inclusion of several guest Horn players and slow spoken vocals from Jo. This album is one of the most complete and consistent I have heard in a long time; I just can’t stop playing it.

ADRIAN

This album could almost be considered a family affair. The Taylor household is steeped in Chicago blues history. Dad Eddie and mum Vera were blues artists in their own right, the mantle has now fallen to Demetria. When your dad taught Jimmy Reed to play guitar, you kinda know that your life is going to be within the blues. This album also has a fantastic bunch of musicians backing Demetria, what could possibly go wrong with this album? The answer is absolutely nothing. This is one hell of a blues album from start to finish. The majority of the tunes are penned by Mike Wheeler and Larry Willaims who play guitar and bass. 83 Highway opens the album in a fine blues style. Billy Flynn plays such a beautiful guitar on this track, so bluesy, it’s a brilliant tune to kickstart the album. As well as Wheeler and Williams, there are tracks by her mum, Vera Williams, and also one co-written by Demetria herself, Young Gun Taylor, a very apt title given the family history. As well as some fine blues, there are also trips along the funk and soul highway that are just as delightful. But it’s the blues that resonates mainly throughout the album. You Belong To Me is a song written by Samuel Gene Maghett aka, “Magic Sam”. What a wonderful tune this is, it’s no wonder that he was referred to as “ the late, great Magic Sam” in the first Blues Brothers movie. Doin’ What I’m Supposed To Do is a truly wonderful blues album. To say that it has been a pleasure to listen to it is an understatement of epic proportions. Don’t hesitate, go get the album. You’ll be glad I told you so.

STEPHEN HARRISON

IVY GOLD LIVE AT THE JOVEL INDEPENDENT

Despite mother nature’s attempts over the past two years to shut down the live circuit, there’s a lot of high-quality musicianship treading the boards right now, and this double treat of CD/DVD is a prime example. Ivy Gold are a slick, skilled blues rock quintet fronted by the statuesque Manou, a powerful vocalist who really communicates with the audience whilst putting this reviewer at

times in mind of Florence and the Machine. The band includes powerhouse drummer Tal Bergman, (late of Billy Idol and Joe Bonamassa), superb ex-Avalon guitarist Sebastian Eder, U.S. bassist Kevin Moore (Jennifer Rush) with Anders Olinder on the keyboards. The CD’s a fine, well produced recording, but with the high-quality

CLIFF STEVENS BETTER DAYS

Independent

creative standards on display with the DVD, you get a great feel for Ivy Gold as a live act. Recorded live in Munster, this superb performance features eleven powerful tracks plus two bonus tracks. From the word ‘go’ as Manou swerves into the opener,

Cliff Stevens is a Montreal based blues rock guitarist who is a songwriter and producer of this his fifth solo release, comprising twelve well-crafted songs by an undoubted musical talent. He draws his inspiration for playing from such players as Rory Gallagher and Eric Clapton, some tones noted in his guitar work here. There is blues, rock, acoustic country vibes throughout. The opener, Better Days, is a positive tune with Stevens raspy vocals sitting well over consummate guitar playing and Eric Suave adds organ to this upbeat tune. Passion introduces acoustic slide then the band joins in and adds more flavours.

twelve well-crafted songs by an undoubted musical talent

The rhythm section of Serge Dionne on bass and Sam Harrison on drums keeps a steady pace and Kim Feeney’s backing vocals is a treat. Pat Loiselle on harmonica also lifts this song. No Room Left, brings some funk to the release. I Believe, slows the tempo exceptionally smooth delivery duetting on a song of hope. Heard You Knocking has amazing guitar tones and shows Cliff can really play without overplaying. Time for Me To Go is full on Texas shuffle, great groove. Light Of An Angel is a lovely ballad dedicated to his brother, very evocative lyrics. I Love You Still, is a slow blues number, BB King tones here, his vocals are never better than on this number. True Love has some more hard driven piano playing and a catchy tune. You Hurt Me is a classic blues riff. Final tune is a finger picking acoustic instrumental called Slim Picking.

COLIN CAMPBELL

BLACKLEE

TAYLOR DOIN’ WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO DO

COLIN CAMPBELL

A wonderful feelgood release full of great tunes

This Is My Time, you realize what a lucky bunch of Munster folk were on that night of November 8, 2021. The songs are epic, sweeping compositions such as the powerful Six Dusty Winds, We Are One and even on the CD you get a video clip, plus track 8 also on the CD offering that rarity, a drum solo(!) which, in the hands of Tal Bergman flies high and proud. As a singer, Manou has yet to achieve the wider industry recognition she deserves, but this release will no doubt solve that requirement. All told, this is top-notch blues rock of supreme eminence, so let’s keep our eyes and ears open for Ivy Gold, they’re what live music is all about.

ROY BAINTON

MARCUS KING

YOUNG BLOOD

SPINEFARM RECORDS

This is South Carolina’s Marcus King’s second solo

OLIVER DARLING

LEE’S BLUES

APM RECORDS

release. This is a rockier and more emotional album than his first. Here he deals with a lot of his own health problems and self-reflecting mood changes, there was a time that it was thought this may be his last one. On these powerful eleven tunes, his lyricism takes the listener on that soul searching journey. It’s Too Late starts things off with a Texas blues strutting tune, he attacks that guitar with venom like his gritty vocals. Lie Lie Lie, stays with the Southern rock vibe and chugging guitar riff blending with screaming vocals. Rescue Me is full of swampy blues inflections, his vocals bend the song into an epic track of many emotional layers. Rhythm is the thing on, Pain, drummer Chris St Hilaire and bass guitarist Nick Movshon get their groove on. Good And Gone is a rocky tune with an uplifting chorus. Funky grooves galore on, Blood

On The Tracks a very catchy tune. Hard Working Man doffs its cap to influencers such as Steve Miller. Aim High, has a heavy bass groove that morphs into a full-on blues rock powerful tune for the band to rock out to. Dark Cloud has a comforting feeling, soaring guitar vibes matched by Marcus’s vocals it’s hypnotic at times. Whisper is anthemic, bold and funky. Finally, Marcus ties things together emotionally on Blues Worse Than I Ever Had. This tune exemplifies the essence of blues music as a genre.

COLIN CAMPBELL

LAURA TATE

SMOKEY TANGO

BLUE HEAT

Oliver Darling squares the circle with an album of acoustic blues that is simultaneously stylistically based on the post-war giants of the genre but still somehow manages to sound fresh. The cover versions, namely Skip James’ immortal Devil Got My Woman and Big Bill Broonzy’s Glory of Love, probably give you some idea of the guitarist’s primary range of reference. Indeed, the album title references Broonzy’s real name, Lee Conley Bradley. But Darling’s own compositions demonstrate a rare versatility that takes him far beyond standard folk club territory. Got Love, for instance, displays an obvious acquaintance with early 1950s Muddy Waters, while Don’t Think I’m That Crazy Anymore restates a Robert Johnson riff and Honeybee (You Should Be) is built around the Bo Diddley beat.

Laura was born and bred in Texas and uses New Orleans musical influences for her latest album, which is a mix of Soul, Blues and Jazz and even includes a surprise, with a funky version of Deep Purple’s classic song Smoke On The Water. This version has a Hammond B 3 Organ as the lead instrument although Billy Watts does add some tasty slide guitar albeit not covering the iconic riff element. The album opens with a sultry cover of the Neville Brothers Yellow Moon with its Voodoo rhythms, aided by some delightful percussion work by Jeff Paris. The title song Smokey Tango conjures up the atmosphere of a Smokey basement jazz club with the piano to the fore, this sound is replicated across most of the album, which includes some tastefully selected songs from a variety of writers across the twelve tracks. The album

has been produced by songwriter and musician Terry Wilson who spent some time back in the 1970’s as a member of Back Street Crawler. He does superbly keeping everything tight and focussed, even taking time out to write Rougarou which is one of the album highlights with some subtle slide guitar played by Terry. Laura Tate is very talented lady who not only performs her music but has acted on stage and Television, as well as some production work on musical videos and documentaries; this album highlights the passion and perfection she puts into her music. There is an edge to her vocal which makes it perfect for the Jazz and Blues material she performs, the supporting musicians are top notch and together they have delivered an excellent album of Jazzy Blues music.

ADRIAN BLACKLEE

THE RON KRAEMER TRIO WITH THE NASHVILLE KATS

SARASOTA SWING

PPP RECORDS

Ron Kraemer is a guitarist who has relocated from New Jersey to Florida, where his formation of a new trio was able to continue gigging during the pandemic, thanks to a number of outdoor venues looking for smaller bands to play. This collection is really not labelled correctly, it should be called ‘The Reggie Murray And Friends Band Play Formulaic Sax Workouts Album’ because that is what it is. Really, only Track

3, The Craw, actually allows Ron Kraemer to shine with some sublime blues guitar that would fit right in with either of the late, great Roy Buchanan’s first two albums. After a few cuts, the feeling that the approach on this album has been badly misjudged becomes more and more obvious. Even the track Bo Knows, in that distinctive Didley time signature was completely swamped by yet more anodyne sax noodling’s. The accompanying press release refers to Reggie Murray making ‘the occasional visit …’, in which case the word ‘occasional’ has clearly got lost in translation, and probably ‘visit’ means something else as well, because this is not a ‘visit, it’s unpacking and moving in. Frankly, by the end of the album, the endless generic saxophone sound dominating absolutely everything else began to really wear thin. It only added to the overall feeling that there is a big difference between inviting a musician to guest on an album and add some flavour and diversity, and simply letting them completely take over the entre record, which is sadly what has happened here. It’s a shame, because with some restraint, and direction, this could have been a much better record overall. But we must consider it on what is, not what might have been. I would be delighted to hear more from Ron Kraemer, even with his trio, but I would strongly suggest that that the Nashville Cats are not invited along, they, well at least one of them anyway, are guests who very much outstay their welcome.

ANDY HUGHES

The lyrics to Worried About Your Woman, a declaration of intent to nick a mate’s girlfriend, have a clear autobiographical ring about them, and benefits from uncredited backing vocals and piano. Champagne And Caviar even gets us into the realm of jazz, with a chord sequence slightly reminiscent of Santa Baby. She’s My Baby is the love child issue of an illicit tryst between rockabilly and Cajun, and I’m Your Guy gives Darling a chance to show off his quasi-ragtime fingerpicking chops. All recorded in lo-fi analogue too. Darling is probably best known for his work with Imelda May in recent years. But Lee’s Blues conclusively proves his work can stand alone too.

DAVID OSLER

Lee’s Blues conclusively proves his work can stand alone too!

AARON LIDDARD

NYLON MAN

Independent

More jazz than blues here but something for any music lover. Composer, songwriter, saxophonist, keyboard player Aaron Liddard has released an astounding album full of different layers and tones. Having worked with Amy Winehouse, Prince and Sugaray Rayford his knowledge of music knows no bounds. Here he assembled forty-two musicians for this twelve-year project. He puts passion and feeling into every note and gets the most from his assembled band. The title corresponds to three cities that have influenced his musical journey, New York, London, and Manchester. The opener is a homage to Chick Corea, Corean Castaway, Giulia Marelli’s vocals soar over particularly well-arranged string driven tones. Frisco features more amazing vocals, this time from Carleen Anderson with a catchy groove to this tune.

Together Forever has many textures and rhythms, the beat is hypnotic, a lovely duet. Chicken Soup changes the tone with some clever bass lines merging seamlessly with Aaron’s piano playing a fun tune to play. Thru Your Eyes, highlights some eerie vocals from Giulia to an electronic backbeat rhythm. Apples And Pears is peppered with saxophone notes with a funky blues groove, a highlight. My Kinda; is another multi layered tune very diverse. Catfood, is exciting Cuban rhythm meets British funk. Snowdrops, has a laid-back vibe punctuated by saxophone and Marelli soaring vocals. Manana brings Latino jazz rhythms, Aaron taking to the flute, great violin by Omar Puente. Tempo changes on the haunting love ballad, Beautiful with vocals and keys. Rap meets jazz and bluesy notes on this cacophony of musical tones.

COLIN CAMPBELL

ROSEDALE JUNCTION

THE LAST RODEO

CENTER BLOCK RECORDS

There is blues, Southern rock, Americana on this new release of nine originals produced and featuring multi musician Toby Soriero. He has a cast of wonderful musicians joining him, including Roger Smith on keyboards, Jim Riley on drums, Kristin Lawler on vocals and Vito Gutilla on violin. A heady mix of talent on this eclectic release. Dancing devils starts the tone, a haunting tale full of dark moody expressions.

The Legend Of Dog Cat

Elliot is a narrative about memories of a drunken man, melodic tones, and moody vocal delivery so good then keyboards burst the song into life. Loan Me

A Dime, is a reinterpretation of a Fenton

Robinson with soaring bluesy guitar tones mixing with emotional vocals from Kristin, then a superb horn arrangement, sublime melodies. Hard Road Blues is more up-tempo full of pedal steel on this country blues ballad. Little Long Haired Angel brings violin to the show on this melancholic tune. Rhythm In The Sky has an Americana feel with wistful violin playing and clear vocals, harmonies are great. Goin’ Down To Walpole is another violin infused tune, vocals are well delivered and fit this moody tune, almost hypnotic in atmosphere, a good soundscape. The Last Rodeo track, slows the tempo with saxophone taking centre stage but also there are jazzy blues tones to the female vocal delivery on this tune of wondering what the future holds, blending the releases’ theme together. It ends with an acoustic version of Rhythm In The Sky. A musical odyssey taking the listener on a journey of discovery, wonderful release.

COLIN CAMPBELL

GEOFF MULDAUR HIS LAST LETTER

Moon River Music

This double album is not what you might expect from Geoff Muldaur, or maybe it’s exactly what you would expect. Having been part of Paul Butterfield’s Better Days Band, Muldaur has spread the word of folk and blues music as much as anyone. This double album features some brilliant old blues and jazz songs, mostly the ones that are not automatically on the tip of your tongue. It’s compilations like this that get my journalistic juices flowing. To be taken back in time, to the world of simple folk, jazz, and blues. The album opens with, Black Horse Blues, written by Blind Lemon Jefferson in 1926, and has been covered by the likes of Bessie Smith and Ida Cox. What makes this album unique is the fact that Geoff Muldaur has added Clarinet, Bassoon, French Horn, and Cello to the mix. The sound and arrangement are magnificent. There are songs by Jelly Roll Morton, Thomas “ Fats” Waller, Duke Ellington, and J.B.Lenoir included here.

The mix of traditional blues and jazz, accompanied by a wonderful horn section and great orchestral arrangement turns this into a trip down memory lane, the likes of which you would never imagine. On top of all this, you have the brilliant vocals of Muldaur himself, twisting and turning through dixie-land jazz, and smokey bar-room blues. Boll Weevil Holler, is a tune that I had completely forgotten about. To hear it being reproduced in this fashion is one of life’s little pleasures. Add to that a lovely little ditty by Jimmie Rodgers, and what you are left with is a truly wonderful album of great tunes. I listened to this album early in the morning, otherwise, I would have been solely tempted to pour myself a rather large single malt to add to the ambiance. I digress, This is just a wonderful album crammed full of brilliant songs, brilliantly arranged. To finish the album off, a bit of operatic singing courtesy of Lady Clarion McFadden. This has made me a very happy man indeed.

STEPHEN HARRISON

an astounding album full of different layers and tones

This is just a wonderful album crammed full of brilliant songs

INDEPENDENT BLUES BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION

“This is just a wonderful album crammed full of brilliant songs, brilliantly arranged”

– Blues Matters

“This is undoubtedly the most annotated and sympathetically presented new music release of 2022”

– Folk Radio UK

“Features sumptuous music, sound and packaging”

– Americana UK

“The arrangements are imaginative and subtly textured, the playing is impeccable and the music has a lovely, refreshing quality ★★★★”

– RNR

“The book is worth the money alone, but the music it houses is priceless”

– Folking

Double-LP in slipcase and gatefold sleeve with 40-page book

80-page book with two CDs