Blues Matters 133

OTIS GRAND

Words and drawing by

Brian Kramer

I’ll tell you a funny story. Maybe about 20 years ago I was given the opportunity to seek and book international Blues artists at the oldest Jazz & Blues club in Sweden; Stampen.

The bar had been raised a bit more on the Blues scene with the advent and success of my weekly jam sessions (which was non-existent before) more folks were turning out to listen to good Blues and I had some connections outside the normal parameters.

Most touring Blues artists with a measure of success don’t get to play Stockholm because venues didn’t want to take the risk with a sizable guarantee, when they can rely on a local artist for half the money, but in collaboration with the new owners of Stampen to attract international players, it was worth the efforts.

I got the call from a mutual friend in Norway that the great Otis Grand was doing a Scandinavian tour, was playing a local festival and wanted another date in Stockholm, so we struck a deal and I booked a date for him and the band. I was also playing the same festival the day before and met up with him to discuss specifics and witnessed a stellar set of top drawer Blues guitar that evoked all the “Kings” and beyond. A straight shooter, no bullshit guy, did his time in the Oakland Bay area, CA. Hard but professional. This would be one of our first high profile Blues artists I arranged and I wanted it to be a success and prove that we can get a full house with middle of the road, visiting Blues greats.

After his festival set he greeted some fans, including a young, nine year old kid that looked him straight in the eye and said, “I hear more B.B in your playing than anybody else”. Otis took his hand, smiled and said ”You know your Blues”.

Next day I greeted Otis at Club Stamp en, which houses the wares of it’s original local as a pawn shop with artifacts and old instruments displayed and dangling from every corner. It’s a cozy, legendary place that boasts the best of Sweden’s jazz artists since opening in 1965.

Otis took one look around and was visibly displeased, started complaining immediate ly about the stage, the sound system, the size of the venue seemed almost habitual him. He became harsh and was more than dating for a huge owner came Haddad, with

and I introduced them, but Otis was still in this rant about how he didn’t think the venue was suitable and threatened to cancel the gig. Josef turned to his partner/cousin and muttered something in their home language and walked off into the back office. Otis was sort of stopped in his tracks and distracted by this for a moment, then turned to me and asked “The owners, where are they from?” I replied “They are Lebanese, I believe”.

Otis nodded to himself, quickly turned and went into the office leaving me to think this is absolutely not good, and this gig is most likely doomed to be cancelled.

I waited politely outside the closed office, didn’t hear any shouting. In fact I think I detected some kind of laughter. After making a call and bracing myself to do some damage control, I carefully opened the door, only to witness Otis and Josef sitting on the sofa, laughing with the fragrance of apple and spice wafting in the air as they shared a smoke from Josef’s personal hookah together.

Josef then proclaims to me joyfully “Brian, It’s OK, Otis is from my country, from Beirut!”

READERS WITH THE STARS

Got an image and a story of you meeting one of the stars of the blues? Send it into design@bluesmatters.com and you may just find your mugshot in the next issue of Blues Matters!

“This is me with Ric Lee of Ten Years After, taken at the Butlins Blues & Rock weekend in January 2023. I first met Ric, through a mutual friend, way back in 1967. I now live in Spain but I came over to England in January purposely to see Ten Years After. They are a great band to see live, catch them at a gig or festival in you can”

- Alan Abbott

“Me with Paul Jones on the final ‘Blues Band’ tour in February 2022, and with Eric Bibb on his recent ’Ridin’ tour of the UK, in May 2023. Both phenomenal gigs!

- Jeff Norman

ALAN WHITE | 6.5.1949 – 10.6.2023

Alan White left us on Saturday 10th June 2023 at the age of 74 after having been ill for some time.

His LinkedIn profile describes him as a ‘Blues and gospel researcher, freelance photographer, exhibitor and website publisher specialising in blues and gospel music. Originator of www.earlyblues.com , one of the longest continuously running blues sites on the net comprising a vast range of blues material: the ‘UK and European Blues Festival Guide’, blues festival photographs and reviews, blues tours and gigs, artist and band interviews, history of the blues in essays and articles, blues research projects, reference lists, recommended blues books, magazines CDs, DVDs, and blues radio stations, travelogues, general blues news items, a blues shopping mall, blues recipes, blues resting places, links to other blues sites, discussion forums and guestbook views.’

What this fails to mention is Alan’s passion for research and the garnering of information and history about, not just the Blues but also gospel, the Underground railroad during the era of slavery in the USA, and Early R’n’B (the real r’n’b that is!) for each of which Alan created a dedicated and informative website. Alan was also an emeritus member of the Board of the UK Blues Federation (UKBF) having been a founding member of the organisation joining Ashwyn Smyth, the Federation’s founder, and the original board to work so hard to get the organisation up and running back in 2015.

He was also the Federation’s archivist and took on the curatorship of the British Blues Archive when this was amalgamated with and brought under the umbrella of the Federation some years ago.

With all this material, Alan’s suite of websites

has become the place to go for interviews, often very rare ones, early historical material and so much more and he always took great pleasure in being able to help by responding to queries from all over the World, often from students whose studies had lead them to the Blues, authors and journalists looking for source material or general information or, indeed, other researchers.

Alan was the very definition of an ‘Unsung Hero’ in the blues sphere in the UK. His support for artists, venues, indeed anybody involved in the genre, was unstinting whether it be by category sponsorship at the UK Blues Awards, helping young, up and coming bands with a website, doing the same for festivals, doing interviews or just offering moral support to artists when they needed it the most, Alan was there. And yet so many people reading this will probably be saying ‘Alan who?’ We have lost someone very special, a unique figure on the UK blues scene and, today, the world is a worse place because Alan is no longer with us. I will miss him, his friendly and wise support and help, especially when it came to the UKBF, his knowledge, his skills, but above all, his friendship.

My thoughts and condolences go out to his wife Christine who, although not, in Alan’s words, ‘a blues fanatic’, has supported Alan, his passion and his friends who shared his ‘fanaticism’, as well as his family.

Rest in peace Alan. Thank you for all you have done for us and thank you, above all, for your friendship.

Find out more about Alan here: https:// www.earlyblues.com/Alan%20White.htm and whilst you are there, spend some time browsing and feasting upon the cornucopia of material on his websites.

Celebrating the Rhythm and Soul

The sun-drenched shores of Broadbeach, located on the stunning Gold Coast of Australia, come alive each year with the intoxicating sounds of blues music during the much-anticipated Blues on Broadbeach festival. This vibrant celebration of rhythm and soul has become a staple event, attracting music enthusiasts from all corners of the globe. With its world-class lineup, electrifying performances, and breathtaking coastal backdrop, the festival has firmly established itself as a must-attend event on the international blues calendar.

A Musical Extravaganza:

Blues on Broadbeach is a four-day extravaganza that showcases an impressive array of blues talent, ranging from seasoned performers to emerging artists. The festival embraces the broad spectrum of blues music, encompassing various styles such as delta blues, Chicago blues, soul blues, and more. With multiple stages scattered throughout the heart of Broadbeach, attendees are treated to a diverse program that caters to every musical preference.

World-Class Lineup:

One of the festival’s biggest draws is its exceptional lineup of both local and international artists. Renowned blues musicians grace the stages, sharing their passion and

talent with eager crowds. From guitar virtuosos to soulful vocalists, the festival delivers an unforgettable experience for music enthusiasts. Previous editions have seen performances by celebrated artists such as Buddy Guy, Keb’ Mo’, Beth Hart, and Walter Trout, among many others. The festival’s commitment to showcasing established and emerging talent ensures a unique and dynamic program every year.

Enchanting Atmosphere:

Blues on Broadbeach not only captivates audiences with its exceptional music but also offers a remarkable atmosphere that adds to the overall experience. The festival takes place amidst the vibrant streets, pristine beaches, and sparkling waters of Broadbeach, creating an enchanting backdrop for the performances. Attendees can soak in the coastal vibes, savor delicious local cuisine, browse market stalls, and indulge in a range of cultural experiences. The festival truly transforms the area into a haven for music lovers and creates an infectious sense of community.

Beyond the Blues:

While the Blues on Broadbeach festival primarily celebrates blues music, it also incorporates a variety of other genres and entertainment options to keep attendees entertained. The program often includes performances from artists representing related genres such as jazz, roots, and rock ‘n’ roll, adding further diversity and depth to the

festival experience. Additionally, workshops, jam sessions, and interactive activities are organized, allowing festivalgoers to actively participate in the musical magic.

Community Engagement:

Blues on Broadbeach is more than just a music festival; it’s a celebration that brings the local community together. As the festival has grown in popularity, it has fostered a strong bond between residents, businesses, and music lovers alike. The festival showcases local talent, supports local businesses, and contributes to the vibrant cultural fabric of the Gold Coast region. It serves as a platform for emerging artists to showcase their skills and provides opportunities for collaboration and artistic growth.

Blues on Broadbeach is an iconic festival that blends the power of blues music with the natural beauty of the Gold Coast. With its world-class lineup, captivating atmosphere, and community engagement, the festival has earned its place as a premier event on the international blues scene. Whether you’re a dedicated blues fan or simply someone seeking an unforgettable musical experience, Blues on Broadbeach promises to transport you on a soul-stirring journey of rhythm and harmony against a backdrop of sun, sand, and sea.

With next year’s date set for 16-19 May 2024, it’s time to start planning your trip!

 Giovanni Tagliari

PHENOMENAL BLUES WOMEN IN WORLD WAR 2

By: Dani Wilde

During World War 2, Blues and Jazz music were incredibly popular and many talented women came to the forefront of these genres.

In 1941, America entered the war, and many blues artists whom we now know as household names were drafted. BB King served in the U.S. Army, but was released from duty after being deemed “essential to the war economy” based on his experience as a tractor driver (having grown up working the fields on a Mississippi plantation). Bluesman Jimmy Reed was drafted into the U.S. Navy. Reed was discharged in 1945 and went on to release his hit songs Baby what you want me to do, and Bright lights big city. Elmore James was also drafted into the Navy. In July 1944, he participated as a coxswain, sailing the landing ships during the invasion of Guam (Japan). 51 Navy servicemen lost their lives at Guam, and a further 206 were injured. Thankfully, Elmore James returned safely home to Mississippi in time for Xmas in 1945 and settled with his brother, who owned an electric shop. In this shop, Elmore James created his signature electrical guitar sound; he used parts from the shop, combined with an unusual placement of two DeArmond pickups. And he hotwired his amplifier to achieve a unique powerful and distorted sound.

African American men faced racial discrimination within the WW2 military, including segregation and being given lower rank positions. Despite this, these brave blues-men made important contributions to the war effort before shaping the evolution of blues

music in the post-war era.

But how did Blues, Gospel and Jazz Women play a role in WW2?

Let’s explore the wartime contributions of Blues women Alberta Hunter, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Billie Holiday.

ALBERTA HUNTER

When America joined WW2, Alberta Hunter, who was in her forties at the time and already a seasoned blues performer, volunteered her time and talent to help the effort by taking part in bond drives, public events and United Service Organizations (USO) shows both at home and abroad.

The USO put Alberta Hunter in charge of African American Unit 342 – a group of musicians and dancers called The Rhythm Rascals. The Rhythm Rascals travelled to the “forgotten” China-Burma-India (CBI) theatre, becoming the African American entertainers to visit there. Here, American soldiers, 60% of whom were African Americans, were building a a 1,079-mile highway known as ‘the Ledo Road’ through the mountains to aid in the war effort against Japan. The road would become a crucial supply line, enabling Western Allies to deliver supplies to China 1,133 of the soldiers involved in the work would die from enemy attacks, disease, drowning and accidents.

The soldiers were longing for home, and so much excitement was created when the CBI

Newspaper announced:

“Hepcat “cat” operators and truck drivers who “truck on down” the Ledo Road have a treat in store for them when USO unit No. 32, (sic) an all-Negro revue of sweet, swing and jive music, comes their way for a 22-day stand two weeks hence.”

The performances were greatly received. Hunter became known for her kindness, listening to the soldier’s stories, and bringing them news of home. She encouraged Americans at home to continue to write letters of encouragement to the troops. Hunter continued to tour with the USO for a year including tours of occupied Japan and Korea. Sometimes she performed at small impromptu venues such as in the back of trucks in the jungle with only torches to light the ‘stage’, sometimes to injured servicemen in hospitals and at other times, bases with several thousand troops.

“She was worth waiting for as she cajoled, ‘Talk to me boys.’ For thirty minutes, she sang, stuttered and talked as GIs tore up the benches and yelled for more. Her final number, Basin Street, had every man in the Bowl hanging limply on the ropes as the show closed.”

- Slipstream Newspaper review Alberta Hunter in 1945

After the war, Hunter, who had a passion for helping those less fortunate, trained to become a nurse. She fabricated a high school diploma and lied about her age to undertake the training. She then worked at a New York hospital for 20 years. When Hunter retired, her colleagues thought she was the expected retirement age of 70 – She was actually 82! And at this grand age, she decided to start singing again. Hunter got back in the studio and made four new records. She built up a new, younger fanbase and held a popular residency at Greenwich Village club until her death in 1984.

SISTER ROSETTA THARPE

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was an innovative Gospel Artist and pioneer of Rock & Roll guitar who recorded a number of ‘Victory discs’ during World War 2. V-Discs were double-sided, 78 Records that contained popular songs of the day and songs to inspire morale. They were distributed for free to sol-

diers serving in World War II. Often, V-Discs contained spoken-word introductions by musicians wishing good luck and prayers for the troops. In 1943, Glenn Miller introduced a record stating: “This is Captain Glenn Miller speaking for the Army Air Force’s Training Command Orchestra and we hope that you soldiers of the Allied forces enjoy these V-Discs that we’re making just for you.”

In 1938, at the age of 23, Sister Rosetta Tharpe rose to fame having released four sides for Decca Records backed by Lucky Millinder’s jazz orchestra. She had a fantastic voice but could more than match her vocal abilities with her virtuosic guitar skills. In this era, flashy guitar playing was seen as a masculine trait, and Tharpe was often offered the intended compliment that she could “play like a man. ” This she did on her hit song “Rock Me”, which would influence the likes of Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley, paving the way for Rock and Roll over a decade ahead of its time! She also inspired post war electric blues stars.

During the war, Tharpe’s music would be played on the Armed Forces Radio Service’s Jubilee broadcasts. She was one of only two gospel artists to record V-discs (The Golden Gate Quartet being the other). One of her V-Disc recordings was a version of her hit song Rock Me. The lyrics of the uplifting gospel track brought comfort and hope to US troops serving away from home:

“You hold me in the bosom Till storms of life is over Rock me in the cradle of our love”

BILLIE HOLIDAY

Billie Holiday performed 9 songs for the V-Disc war programme which were greatly appreciated by troops overseas. Holiday helped to draw attention to the issues of racism and discrimination in the military and in society. In her autobiography she spoke about her most famous song ‘Strange Fruit’ which is about lynchings and racism in the Southern States of America:

“It reminds me of how Pop died,” she said of the song. “But I have to keep singing it, not only because people ask for it, but because 20 years after Pop died, the things that killed him are still happening in the South.”

Holiday’s father Clarence had fought for his country in WW1 where he was exposed to mustard gas. This caused him to develop a severe lung disorder. After the war, he was turned away whilst in desperate need from his local hospital because he was a Black man. He was finally admitted to the Jim Crow ward of a Veterans Hospital, but by then his pneumonia had worsened and with-

out antibiotics, his illness had become fatal. Two years later, Billie Holiday would begin to perform “Strange Fruit” in her father’s memory.

During World War 2, there were a few popular songs that perfectly captured the mood of the time. One of the most notable was “I’ll Be Seeing You,” which was famously recorded by Bing Crosby, Jo Stafford and many others; however my favourite version was sung by Jazz and Blues great Billie Holiday. The song became an anthem of the war, portaying the reality of wartime separations and loss.

“I’ll be Seeing You” was composed by songwriting duo Sammy Fain and Irving Kahle in 1938 for a Broadway musical comedy called “Right This Way. When war struck, the lyrics of separation and loss took on a far greater meaning as soldiers and civilians said their goodbyes. Young evacuees also said their goodbyes as they left their families and cities. Many were apart for years, and many never made it back to each other. With nearly a million American and British lives lost, this heartfelt ballad struck a chord with so many in the war era, who related on a deep level to the lyrics.

“I’ll be seeing you

In all the old familiar places

That this heart of mine embraces

All day through

In that small cafe

The park across the way

The children’s carousel

The chestnut trees

The wishing well

I’ll be seeing you

In every lovely summer’s day

In everything that’s light and gay

I’ll always think of you that way

I’ll find you in the morning sun

And when the night is new

I’ll be looking at the moon

But I’ll be seeing you”

Holiday’s interpretation is especially emotive with her quivering melancholy vibrato. Today, “I’ll Be Seeing You” is considered a classic, and Holiday’s version is widely regarded as one of the best. Her ability to infuse a song with raw emotion and her distinctive voice made her one of the greatest jazz singers of all time.

Alberta Hunter, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Billie Holiday used their music to bring people together, to lift spirits, and to inspire change. Their impact on the world of blues, gospel and jazz music is still felt today, and their legacy is an important reminder of the power of music to connect us all, even in the midst of war.

THE UK BLUES FEDERATION PRESENTS EXCITING LINEUP OF EVENTS FOR UK BLUES FANS

The UK Blues Federation is thrilled to announce two highly anticipated events that will captivate blues fans across the country. Mark your calendars for The UK Blues Challenge on 30th September and The UK Blues Awards 2024 on 25th April next year. These exceptional showcases will bring together talented musicians and dedicated blues enthusiasts for unforgettable evenings of soulful music and celebration.

Kicking off the festivities, The UK Blues Challenge, scheduled for 30th September, is set to determine the band that will proudly represent the United Kingdom in The International Blues Challenge in Memphis and The European Blues Challenge in Portugal, to be held in 2024. This momentous event will take place at The Marshall Studios, renowned for its exceptional live room equipped with a full stage, professional-grade PA system, mesmerizing lighting, and an array of exquisite boutique Marshall amplification.

“The UK Blues Challenge is an incredible platform for talented blues bands to showcase their skills and passion. We are excited to witness the energy and talent that will emerge from this year’s competition”

Following the success of the sold-out UK Blues Awards 2023, The UK Blues Federation is proud to announce that the 2024 edition will be held at The Stables in Milton Keynes on 25th April. The Stables, known for its larger capacity and esteemed reputation, is the perfect venue to accommodate the growing popularity of this prestigious event. Attendees can expect an unforgettable night filled with outstanding performances and well-deserved recognition of exceptional artists in the blues genre.

“We are delighted to bring the UK Blues Awards back for another sensational evening of celebration and recognition. The Stables in Milton Keynes provides the ideal setting to honor the remarkable talents within the blues community”

Tickets for both The UK Blues Challenge and The UK Blues Awards 2024 are now available for purchase. To secure your spot at these remarkable events, visit www.solidentertainments.com. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the best of British blues and support your favorite musicians as they embark on an international journey.

RECORD ROUND-UP

CHUCK BERRY

ROCKIN’ AT THE HOPS

Many albums have had a huge influence on impressionable young people, especially in the late 50s and early 60s, in the world of Rock “n” Roll and Blues. Live At Newport (Muddy Waters), Live At The Regal (B.B. King), and King Of The Delta Blues Singers (Robert Johnson) immediately spring to mind. Rockin’ At The Hops can sit quite easily by the side of these albums. This was Chuck’s fourth album on the legendary Chess Masters Label, with a band of some of the greatest musicians the world has ever seen. Johnnie Johnson (Piano), Matt “ Guitar “ Murphy (Guitar), Wille Dixon (Bass), Fred Below (Drums), L.C. Davies (Tenor Sax), and of course, Charles Edward Anderson Berry (Guitar and Vocals). Every aspiring musician of that era could not have escaped listening to this album. Every guitarist and singer/ songwriter that emerged in the early 60s will, at some point, have wanted to be Chuck Berry. Not only has Chuck Berry defined Rock “n” Roll with numbers such as Bye Bye Johnny, Too Pooped To Pop, Let It Rock, he also brought blues to the attention of this highly impressionable generation by covering tunes like Worried Life Blues ( Maceo Merriweather) and Driftin’ Blues ( Charles Brown and Johnny Moore). People in the 60s could be forgiven for thinking that Elvis Presley had turned the world upside down as the king of Rock “n” Roll; Chuck Berry had been doing this for years before Elvis arrived on the scene. His great lyrics, great guitar playing, and of course, his unique duck walk on stage had caught the attention of everyone in the Western world. Robert Plant once said that Led Zeppelin were the sons of Howlin’ Wolf and The Rolling Stones were sons of Chuck Berry, and how right he was. This brings me to another confirmation of how influential this album was. Keith Richards and Mick Jagger had known each other since early childhood at school; they both originate from Dartford, Kent. Having lost touch for a few years, a fateful meeting on a train would help define blues music for the next 60 years. Mick Jagger happened to walk into the same carriage that Keith was sitting in; under Mick’s arm were two albums, The Best Of Muddy Waters and Rockin’ At The Hops, by Chuck Berry. The rest, as they say, is history.

THE BLUES BAND

OFFICIAL BLUES BAND BOOTLEG ALBUM

In 1979 a few well-known and well-travelled blues artists were in musical limbo; all were still successful in their own right, both collectively and in solo work. A chance phone call from Paul Jones to his friend and colleague, Tom McGuiness, was to create a band that has lasted for over forty years. Paul, ‘Do you fancy getting a band together to play some blues’? Tom certainly did want to get a band together. A few phone calls later, Dave Kelly, Gary Fletcher, and Hughie Flint joined what was to become, The Blues Band. Between the five members. They had all, at some stage in their careers, been a part of the Great British Blues Boom, playing with the likes of Alexis Korner, John Mayall, Eric Clapton, and John McVie. Listening to this debut album by the band, it seems almost as if they gathered in a studio, started jamming to blues classics such as Boom Boom ( Out Wnt The Lights), and somebody pressed record. That may well not have been the case, although I love the notion that it could have happened like that; the album has the sound and feel of old friends jamming, enjoying the songs, then deciding, hey, let’s do this for real. They chose songs that had been written by blues stalwarts such as Elmore James ( Talk To Me Baby), Two Bones And A Pick (T. Bone Walker), and Death Letter ( Edward James “Son” House). Each member of the band, apart from Hughie Flint, takes a turn on vocal duties, Paul Jones delivering harmonica on every track, blowing as if his very life depends on it. Dave Kelly (Guitars), Tom McGuiness (Guitars), and Gary Fletcher (Bass) play so well, making this debut album one of the most outstanding blues albums of the last four decades. If you have ever had the pleasure of seeing these guys performing live, you will understand how well they gel, the rhythm of the band is a joy to behold. What started life as a bit of a get-together to run through some old blues tunes has turned out to be an album that has stood the test of time and will endure the test of time for many more years to come.

Roseanne Reid

Roseanne Reid’s world has changed in some dramatic ways since she released her hugely acclaimed first album Trails, and not just because of what she calls the “weird dream” of the lockdown years. But those changes have only helped to inform its delightful follow-up, as the widely admired Scottish singer-songwriter invites us to Lawside.

Last summer, Roseanne and her wife became the proud parents of a baby boy, who has, of course, reshaped their lives in the most joyful (and exhausting) ways. Much of the new record was written before he came along, but the maturity and confidence in her song craft and delivery is there for all to hear, from the infectious, horn-laden opening single “Call It Love” to beautiful and tender pieces such as “All I Need,” Shine On” and “Made Just For You.” There was another tangible change in the way she created the record. Whereas Trails was made in Brooklyn with producer Teddy Thompson in a lightning five-day burst, Lawside was closer to home in every sense. It was recorded in Perth, just south of Dundee, with producer, musician and fellow Scot David Macfarlane, and in a way that very much suited Reid’s new life. “Dave owns the studio in Perth, so he’s the engineer there as well,” she explains. “He’s just a multi-talented guy, and a multi-instrumentalist, so he played on the album as well. It’s fantastic to have someone

David Deacon

We live in a world that increasingly celebrates youth and beauty in snapshots and doctors’ reality to taste, all while ignoring the value to be found in people and things with age, history and experience. Accomplished Guelph, Canadian, Ontario-based blues/roots singer-songwriter David Deacon is eschewing instant aesthetics with his provocative new single “California Has No Winter”, released in tandem with his new album “Four” - both available now. Soaking in the sunshiny tropes of the Golden State and delivering knowingly dark, spoken verses å la Leonard Cohen, Deacon points a poetic finger at the see through superficiality of today’s youth culture in his new release - and he certainly can. After five decades of creating poetry, music and visual art, careers as a race car driver, an advertising executive and a businessman and almost losing his life in a terrible motorcycle accident, turning a critical, musical eye on our modern societal state of affairs is Deacon’s hard won right. “‘California Has No Winter’ is an observation about the thinness of the veneer of American youth culture, which stresses the beauty of the moment and has so little charity for the long term, the historic, the aging, the difficult,” explains Deacon. “It is my soft, non-belligerent, and very short version of Ginsberg’s ‘Howl’.” While Allen Ginsberg’s 3-part opus is a voluminous hallmark of beat

like that just down the road. “It’s been a much more prolonged process, but that’s worked well for me, especially with the wee one. It’s meant I’ve not had to be away for the whole week. I can commit to a half day here and a half day there, so it’s more manageable for family life.” She adds with a laugh: “I just think to myself every day, ‘Where did the day go?! What did I do with my time before I had a kid?’” What she did, as we know, was build a reputation as one of the most sensitive and

original young artists on the roots music scene. Born in Leith and raised in Edinburgh, Roseanne grew up in music, the eldest daughter of the Proclaimers’ Craig Reid, and was taking her own first artistic steps by the age of 12, when she learned guitar, moving on to early performances at local folk clubs and open mic nights. “My mum taught me my first three chords, and it went from there,” she recalls. “It was a very smooth transition from the initial thinking of ‘This is cool and I enjoy doing it’ to ‘This is what I want to dedicate myself to.’” She took inspiration variously from Bob Dylan, Martha Wainwright and Peter, Paul and Mary, pursuing a folk path that led her, in 2014, to New York’s Catskill Mountains, and Camp Copperhead, the songwriting workshop run by another of her guiding lights, Steve Earle. On open mic night, she overcame her nervousness to perform her song “Amy” in front of him, and all the aspiring writers present. Such is the strength of Earle’s endorsement and enthusiasm for her talent that he readily agreed to duet with Roseanne on another highlight of the Trails album, “Sweet Annie.” That beguiling track has gone on to amass three quarters of a million streams on Spotify alone. “It was recorded in Perth, just south of Dundee, with producer, musician and fellow Scot David Macfarlane, and in a way that very much suited Reid’s new life.”

poetry, Deacon’s artistic observations are delivered in a tidier, four-and-a-half-minute song that packs its own, slow burn punch. Deacon’s softly commanding, world-weary baritone juxtaposed with an octave-higher female vocal rises into a crescendo in the outro, insistently asking “without seasons, without signs, how do we know when it’s over?” A very good question we should all ask ourselves from time to time. While it certainly looks perfect on the surface, there’s a dark side to that shiny California coin. “It seemed to me that images of nature are perhaps the best possible way to contrast the idea of an eternal summer of life and the consequences of actually living that way both culturally and politically,” notes Deacon. “I think the main starting point about writing songs for me is sorting out whether in my mind the song is a story or whether it’s a poem,” notes Deacon. “For example, the song ‘Poetry’ is a poem. That probably didn’t surprise you, did it? The song ‘Hard Time’ is the story that happened after the poem. They are both about the same woman, the same relationship but they were from different times and different points of view.” It’s those different points of view about personal events and world perspectives that only an artist with David Deacon’s history and experience could possibly gather and turn into the poetry of his fourth album. With renewed vigor and

creative spirit, the fourth time is the charm for this blues and roots journeyman. The album “Four” featuring the focus single “California Has No Winter” is available now.

Bluesland Horn Band

Western Canada’s The Bluesland Horn Band is an eight-piece group in the classic tradition whose members have graced the stages of festivals and shows throughout North America. The band’s repertoire of originals and covers ranges through styles such as classic Memphis-style R&B, blues, and second line New Orleans grooves with a touch of gospel and country swing.

Blues fans may remember the band who toured from 1998 to 2004, releasing one album called 1st Street. The band was reformed in 2013 and released an album called Down In New Orleans which landed in the top 10 mostplayed blues album on Canadian radio for 2014. The album Radio Waves was released in 2016 and went to number one on the Canadian Blues Radio Network. The band has two pay-per-view tv specials to their credit and their fourth album Let’s Go Dancing was that summer’s #1 album for Canadian radio play in the roots/folk/blues genre.

On June 16th, The Bluesland Horn Band will be releasing their sixth album, aptly titled SIX. Featuring ten original and refreshing compositions, SIX is a soulful and bluesy listening experience from start to finish. Starting with “My Old Truck”, a swampy, sexy Louisiana-style love song, followed by “Creole Queen” a funky

horn piece in celebration of New Orleans and their famous steam-boats. “Shuffle In the Attic” is a straight-up blues shuffle instrumental, while “Rock My Roll” is reminiscent of a steamy Rolling Stones vibe.

“Keep the Devil Behind” presents an atmospheric blues chiller at the crossroads. The instrumental “Alley Shuffle” is an energetic straight-up blues shuffle, leading to a heartfelt blues ballad emanating from covid-based in-

Backbone Blues Band’s story began around a dozen years ago in a field. Two bandmates having a beer and talking music at the Blues on the Farm festival. ‘My sister’s been going to the King Biscuit Festival for years’ says one. ‘We should go!’

Later that year the fledgling band made its first trip to the Mississippi Delta, cementing a love for the music and firing a desire to make Backbone a band that plays the blues in its

own style - faithful to the genre but distinctive and entertaining in its delivery. More than ten years on, and with as many trips to the Biscuit in that time, the band has earned friends and plaudits both sides of the Atlantic. Their fourth album ‘old new borrowed blues’ (see review) enjoyed extensive radio coverage on blues shows and was extremely well received. Something of a watershed recording, it represents an homage to much missed lead singer Duncan Highet, whose passing left the

trospection called “Holy Water”. Moving on to track eight, the up-tempo shuffle “Not Ready” is all about staying young with music. “Solitaire” is a gorgeous orchestral piece, inspired by the beauty of the hummingbird. The album closes with a story about a rebel leaving old ways behind called “So Long, Goodbye”.

SIX is an incredible release bursting with great lyrics, musicality, and vocals from this group of talented musicians dedicated to keeping blues music alive and well.

Backbone Blues Band

band mourning the loss of a great friend. It also signposted the band’s way forward, with guitarist Tony Seaman stepping in to the lead vocal role, and new members Luke (Duncan’s son) on bass, and guitarist Martin Spellman bringing their own talents to the Backbone sound. Steve Pearce on keys and Martin Jezzard on drums complete the band personnel. This year’s trip to the Delta will see the band making their second main stage appearance at the Biscuit - we believe the only non-US band to have played the festival more than onceand includes a return to Morgan Freeman’s iconic Ground Zero blues club in Clarksdale, where the band’s performances have enjoyed an enthusiastic following.

In the U.K. the band have built a reputation for delivering their blues in an entertaining and engaging style, with performances at a number of festivals and blues clubs, including the award-winning Tuesday Blues at the 100 Club. They’re already booked for the Looe festival on their return from the States, and for Blackpool’s inaugural blues festival in early ‘24. Catch them if you can, live or on recordyou’ll like what you hear!

Lone Bear

Sandino Borges a.k.a. Lone Bear’s first contact with music was through Capoeira (an Afro-Brazilian form of martial art) at the age of eight. He then picked up the bass guitar when he was 13 years old and started a rock band with his cousins which lasted through his teenage years. He later swapped the bass guitar for an acoustic guitar when his band broke up, taught himself the harmonica and fell deeply in love with the early blues. He is now based in Scotland; plays Early Blues and Country Rag on a resonator guitar, banjo, blues harmonica, and kazoo, with classics ranging from the ‘20s to the ‘60s as well as his own compositions.

The multi-instrumentalist has toured in twenty countries across five continents performing at countless venues and recorded internationally with five studio albums and a live DVD produced in Brazil. His latest album was recorded live in Clarksdale, Mississippi at the renowned Juke Joint Festival 2018, and across his discography more than 10,000 CDs have been sold worldwide. Performing live, the multi-instrumentalist is a captivating storyteller as he shares an authentic repertoire of spirited tunes and rogue tales from the Deep South. Since his last album recorded in 2018, Lone Bear has this year launched a new single “Winter Blues”, which is about his first

Deke McGee

Deke McGee is a Scottish Saxophonist, Singer, Song-Writer, Session Musician and since the age of 13 has been hooked on Rhythm n’ Blues Saxophone after hearing Bill Doggett’s ‘Honky Tonk’ played by the legendary Clifford Scott. He began studying the sound and the stylings of all the great Swing and Rhythm n’ Blues horn men of that era; such as Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, Herschel Evans, Lee Allen, Sil Austin, Red Prysock, Big Al Sears, Plas Johnson, Sam ‘the man’ Taylor and the great Texas Tenor King Curtis.

Deke has honed his craft for more than four decades and has travelled the world sharing stages with some of the biggest names in the business…Buddy Guy, Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, Hamish Stuart, Phil Guy, Lazy Lester, Sugar Blue, Zoot Money, Otis Grand, George Melly, and many more.

Deke subscribes to the philosophy of letting the music breathe and not “trying too hard”. Keep something in reserve for when you need it but be true to the song. Rest assured, when it’s time to show an audience what he can do, the roof is well and truly lifted and this is true for the talent that he surrounds himself with. Deke’s band are a group of hand-picked masters of their craft with a like-minded attitude

experience and struggle in the wintertime in Scotland. The single is available on all major streaming platforms.

Since moving and performing in Scotland, his influences have broadened, and Lone Bear is excited to expand the traditional musical boundaries that the blues genre has conformed to in the past. He collaborated on an album with Dr. Alec Cooper, arguably one of Scotland’s finest Sitar players, which led to an experiment fusing elements of traditional blues with Indian music.

“Now my hopes are; to start new projects and bands in the electric blues style and try to mix it with Latin music (Peruvian cumbia, salsa, guajira and more) which I’ve been missing a lot since I left Brazil. I think this fusion would be something more unique that I can relate to, and I would be able to spread and share my South American roots through another style of music. Bringing two music scenes together (Blues and Latin) will hopefully encourage audiences around the world to listen to and learn about other music genres and cultures. For further information: lonebearblues. square.site

and a passion and desire to put on the best show of their lives… every time.

The set consists mainly of original material, and is best described as a New Orleans, Fats Domino, Jimmy Vaughan, Jump Blues, Vintage R&B Gumbo with a sprinkle of gallus Glasgow wit & repartee seasoning.

Some heart-felt story-telling from Deke’s personal life are mixed up with some classic love songs, some interpretations of prohibition and by-gone eras finished off by some other truly unexplainable iconic lyrics where you may not understand what the song is about but you will feel it in your soul regardless.

Deke and the band have a style all of their own and have several configurations that they can turn to depending on the show and the size of the stage. From a stripped back duo, to a raw and powerful 5 piece all the way up to an 8-piece band with a full 3-piece horn section. As Deke says It’s all about the quality. “Giving the audience the best show possible at all costs.” This has been apparent, with all the shows that the Deke McGee band have delivered in this new line-up so far, with every gig being sold out in record time.

With every show the guys put on, the band

and the music get better and better and there are definitely big things ahead.

For further information see website: www.dekemcgee.com

LIVE THE BLUES WEAR THE BLUES

WWW.BLUESMATTERS.COM/SHOP

JOHNNY SHINES’ GUITAR

Johnny Shines needs no introduction to blues lovers. Often –maybe too often – mentioned as Robert Johnson’s pal on the streets, he had a remarkable voice and mastery of blues in his on right, oeasily one of the greatest bluesmen ever. Blues Matters’ great friends from Alabama, Debbie Bond and Rick Ascherson, are currently on tour in France and visiting UK shortly. Debbie played with the late Johnny Shines until his death in 1990.

Now she is on a mission, as she explains exclusively here:

”I am very excited to be off on a tour in the UK and France, running from July to October, and the tour this year has an added mission.

When I moved to Alabama in 1979, I amazingly managed to connect with the late, great Johnny Shines, and went on to share my band with him until his death in 1992. Fast forward to 2005, where I was playing with the legendary Alabama bluesman, Willie King, at the wonderful Cognac Blues Festival. It was at the festival that I first met Jacques Garcia, founder of the Maison du Blues, and creator of a museum and venue now located in Châtres-sur-Cher, France. Over the years, the museum has curated the only existing exhibition on Alabama blues in the world. On one of Jacques’ many visits to Alabama, he was able to purchase Johnny Shines’ long-treasured acoustic guitar.

This year, Rick and I have the venerable blues mission of transporting the instrument from Alabama to Jacques’ museum in France. Although I am sad that Johnny’s guitar didn’t end up in Alabama, I am deeply thankful it will be in a public space where it can be enjoyed by thousands of blues lovers. “

Mike Greenblatt, author of Woodstock: Back To Yasgur’s Farm, speaks to fellow Hendrix-Head Greg Sover, about HIS-STORY, Sover’s fourth album, due July 21 on his own Grounded Soul Records.

MG: Congratulations. I just finished listening to all 10 tracks of HIS-STORY. You’re really moving the music forward. Your intention is clear. The Jimi connection is strong. You got some great guys with you. I was lucky enough to see Jimi jam with Sly Stone at a small Greenwich Village club in 1969. I love what you did with “Manic Depression,” complete with Band Of Gypsies bassist Billy Cox. And what a rarity you pulling out Jimi’s “Remember”!

GS: It was only released in Europe originally, and posthumously in the States. Jimi wanted to redo that song with Billy Cox but his untimely death stopped that from happening. Billy suggested we do that one. The word through the grapevine is that it’s been collecting dust in the vault.

MG: I can’t imagine how Billy must’ve felt when Jimi passes so unexpectedly considering the musical plans they had together.

GS: It still gets to him to this day. You could hear it when he speaks about Jimi. It goes beyond missing his good friend. Billy was truly devastated. It was so abrupt. Don’t forget how close they were. They were in the Army together. They were friends when Jimi was with Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding in the Experience. They were best friends when he and Jimi were with drummer Buddy Miles in The Band Of Gypsies. You don’t talk to Billy nowadays about that subject. I asked him once and that was it.

MG: God knows what they could’ve done together had Jimi lived. The song itself is a surprisingly sweet melodic upbeat tune. You said when you first heard it, the original guitar solo by Jimi “was so underplayed, I could hardly make it out.”

GS: That’s correct. There was a solo section where you could profoundly hear the beginning but you had to strain to hear exactly what he was doing at the tail end of it. It was just so hard to hear. I don’t know if it was a mixing thing or not. I’m prety sure he was playing something that he had clean in his mind at the time but it was just so buried in the mix. Not that I had to make up my own solo, but I had to really concentrate to hear what he was trying to do. So I put my own personal spin on that.

MG: Billy Cox has been already quoted as saying that Jimi would’ve loved what you did with it. How’d you get to hook up with him?

GS: Through our managers. I had this crazy idea about recording a cover of “Manic Depression.” I mean, that song just fit the album so well in terms not only musically but on topic and what I was trying to talk about lyrically. So my manager reached out to his manager and Billy reached back out to us. We went to Nashville from my home base of Philadelphia, met up with him, and found he was such a cool guy. We met his family and friends too. We wound up doing a video together.

MG: You really made “Manic Depression” come alive. That’s a song ripe for interpretation, especially today.

GS: That’s a lot of heart right there in that particular song. I didn’t want to just show the listener that I could play Jimi Hendrix. I wanted to show how I could listen to Jimi Hendrix to come up with something both on course as well as adding modern flair. Pay atention to the tradition. Not rearrange. Not making it obscure, but adding a modern twist to what Jimi brought to the table to make me love that song in the first place. There’s some true chaos going on in that song.

MG: It’s almost as if Jimi’s ghost is a spectral presence hovering over these 10 tracks, not just the two covers with Cox. Your lyrics for “Freedom Part #2” delve into the Black experience of trying to live peacefully in America. Jimi wrote and recorded the original “Freedom” as a credo of personal liberation with Cox and drummer Mitch Mitchell just months before he died in London September 18, 1970. It was released posthumously as the opening track on The Cry Of Love, March 5, 1971.

GS: Along with that experience, it’s the whole “fight for freedom” aspect. I’ve observed that whenever somebody does something in the name of freedom, they’re either ridiculed or cancelled out. The song is about our freedoms, the protests, the necessary reaction to things, like how football player Colin Kaepernick—whether you agree with him or not—had the freedom to take a knee during the National Anthem in protest at how Blacks are treated in this country. He was ridiculed for that. There’s been other instances as well. I was atacking a society that rails against such personal values when I wrote “is freedom mine? Is freedom free? Because look at the pain freedom’s costing me!” I mean, think about it, if every time we make an act of freedom like Colin Kaepernick did at the expense of his career, you’re put down or made fun of. You’re ridiculed. You’re cancelled and not existent anymore. That knee one player took kinda started everything. He made a

major sacrifice for what he believed.

MG: That’s the mark of a great piece of music, that you can expound upon important themes, yet make it sound so damn good that it’s leti to the listener as to whether they want to go deep to truly understand or just wanna groove at the impeccable playing on a more surface level. Both are valid. Similarly, “Dark House” is so damn mysterious and dramatic, no wonder you made it the opening track! It sets the scene, so to speak, for the rest of the record.

GS: Yeah, that’s why it’s the opener. I have a core audience now. I wanted to give them a litle something different. I’ve been in a blues-rock bag for so long, it was time. “Dark House” is a true story. My mom had passed away. I had to take care of the house. There were times I just had to leave and stay with a friend overnight but I’d always have to return to that dark house. The lights were out. It had no power. My aunt—living there at the time—would light candles. I’m Haitian, and I used a Haitian vernacular that most people won’t understand but it means “you can’t hide.”

MG: It’s very cinematic.

GS: Thank you for that. Plus I thought it sounded cool. It’s like you said. Most will dig the vibe without knowing the meaning but that’s cool too.

MG: That duality of just good rockin’ music or music-with-message is up to the listener. You got it goin’ on both ways. “Temptation” has a Stevie Ray Vaughan Texas blues vibe to it.

GS: I’m a huge Stevie Ray fan. I remember learning blues guitar from a good friend of mine in Philadelphia who used to tell me, “don’t play too much of that SRV stuff.” To me, I still think you get a splash of Philly in it but it does give out that reminder as far as pure sound of what its roots are.

MG: Stevie Ray loved Jimi. Covered him up amongst the best of anybody. Over and above Billy Cox, you got some real heavyweights in your band: David Uosikkinen, the drummer of The Hooters, and bassist Kenny Aaronson who’s played with everyone from Bob Dylan, Rick Derringer and Billy Idol to Joan Jet and Hall & Oates.

GS: We’ve played only a few shows together but boy do they fit! I was introduced to Dave and Kenny and we kinda just hit it off. We’re cut from the same musical cloth. That rock’n’roll/classic rock/blues cloth. So we dug each other immediately from that end of things. They’re such a pleasure to play with. Love those guys. That Kenny—beyond

who he’s played with—is one bad-ass player. Oh my goodness! The guy can play! He can really shred on that bass. I asked him about playing with Dylan and he just said Dylan stays to himself and doesn’t interact much offstage with the guys in his band.

MG: I heard you don’t speak to him unless he speaks to you first. And you’re told beforehand to avoid eye contact.

GS: Kenny told me he keeps to himself. A lot of artists, once they reach a certain level, are like that. Not sure, though, if there’s any artist who has reached Bob’s particular lev el. He’s above an icon. I don’t know what the designation would be for someone like him.

MG: You’ve played guitar in so many bands. Tell me about playing guitar in boxer Joe Frazier’s band. That’s a real Philly thing!

GS: Unfortunately, it was all in rehearsal. Before we had our first gig, he had to go to the hospital. And he passed away shortly thereafter. I won my audition and was really psyched. It’s a shame. I was ready to go, man. I mean, he seemed fine. I was talking to him and he had this really young girlfriend at his side. Next thing I hear, he’s really sick. And he didn’t make it. I only got to rehearse with him once atier the audition.

MG: Where was that picture taken of you and your red Strat on the cover of HIS-STORY?

GS: Nashville in front of an HBCU [Historically Black College or University]. On Jefferson Street, just a few doors down, there was a “Batle of the Guitars” that Jimi was in and lost because of equipment failure. I don’t even think he was Jimi Hendrix yet. He probably was still Jimmy James at the time. The guy who won just happened to have a beter amp. So he won by default. A lot of great musicians passed by that street. It’s a historic location.

MG: So HIS-STORY is com ing out on your own label, Grounded Soul.

GS: Yes, my manager and I own the label. He’s my partner in this project. We’re trying to make it into a real label, not just an avenue for myself. I mean, I do want to get estab

lished a litle more with my own record but we hope to sign other artists at some point. I like the concept of keeping the legacy going, and helping a whole lot of artists on the way up. Help them not to make some of the mistakes I’ve made. Give them the kind of opportunities I didn’t have.

MG: I understand you co-produced HIS-STORY as well. Tell us of the creative

redo the solos until they’re just right. I’m very proud of this album.

MG: It’s your fourth.

GS: I’m proud of Songs of a Renegade in 2016, Jubilee in 2018 and Parade in 2020. But HIS-STORY shows the growth. I was kinda still figuring things out on the first two. Parade shows some understanding of the process, at least to me, although I was

You don’t get a name like The Hitman, without being able to play the hits. At least that was the case with Russ “Hitman” Alexander. The New York native earned his moniker as a sideman performing all over the US. Although the gifted guitarist, singer, and songwriter can play a multitude of musical styles, from orchestral swing to country, jazz and rock, his heart has always been in the blues.

Things have been building so far for the Hitman Blues Band during 2023. “There haven’t been as many gigs as we would have liked to have had here in the US, but we don’t have an agent here, so it does make it a little bit tougher to get gigs. But things have been picking up. And now after COVID, things are opening up again,” explains Russ. “We have this album out now, which is kind of a compilation of cover tunes that we have done on all the past albums and one new one, which is our version of Kris Kristofferson’s Sunday Morning Coming Down. It’s kind of an in-the-middle album, while we are finishing writing stuff for the next original album.”

The Hitman Blues Band will be returning to the UK in July to play at Birmingham Jazz and Blues Festival, along with Upton Blues Festival and The Hope Tavern Blues Festival. This will be the first of two transatlantic trips to the UK for the US-based blues outfit. For Russell, his connection with the UK runs deep. “I love the country. I love the people. My mom was English. She grew up in wartime London. So, she was there for the Blitz and the whole thing. I had a lot of relatives there, but unfortunately, most of them have passed away,” explains Russ.

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which was last July, we all got very ill, and I lost my voice twice, which was rough,” he says. “We randomly met very heartwarming people. There was one woman in Birmingham. We were playing in St Peters’ Square. And I’ve played a lot of places in my life, but this was the first time I’ve played in a Graveyard – that was different. When we finished the show, this woman came up to me and said, I was having an awful day. And I came along, and I went, Holy crap, it’s the Hitman Blues Band. And she didn’t realise we were playing there, and she said, I’ve been listening to your stuff for years, you just made my day. And we all just felt so great about that.” Even though the group hails from the US, they have a multitude of British blues influences.

“Anybody who grew up in the late 60s, or early 70s is going to be influenced by Clapton and Page. And some people were really big over there and didn’t quite translate over here in the US,” he says. “Guys, like Rory Gallagher. I remember when I was a kid, I had friends who were like, you’ve got to hear this guy. And I have always been a big Johnny Winter fan. And I was like, what

Band UK dates will be Russ Alexander (guitar, vocals) and his wife Joanne Alexander (backing vocals). The remainder of the band, including a two-part horn section will be UK musicians. Ian Salisbury will feature on keys and Chris Sharley on drums. “I’m using my agent Derek White on bass. Derek has played bass with me before on some things, which is great. And for the horns, I really could not justify the expense to bring my horn players for this tour. I could not make the numbers work. I’m using Andy Compton on the trombone who played with us last July when my regular trombonist had to go home in the middle of the tour for a few days. And what a top-notch pro this guy is; nothing was a problem. And Julian Greaves, who is a great sax player. I haven’t worked with him before, but I’m looking forward to it. I’ve heard his stuff, and he’s a monster player. So, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

“He had that same intensity, that same kind of dedication”

When you live in a place, sometimes you don’t appreciate what you have on your doorstep. “I’m born and raised in New York City. But, I’ve never actually gone to the Statue of Liberty, I’ve been by it a bunch of times, but I’ve never actually gone there,” he says. “I love the fact that we have been able to drive around the UK for tours, and we have been able to see more of the country than some of the people who have been born and raised there.”

The group has been performing in Europe and the UK for the last 15 years. And with each return visit, the Hitman Blues Band can feel the momentum building on this side of the pond. “On the last tour that we did,

is this? Is he some kind of Johnny Winter ripoff; oh boy, was I wrong. He had that same intensity, that same kind of dedication.”

Of course, British Blues also helped to connect rock and roll with the genre we love so much. “One thing Clapton did, was he acted as some kind of a bridge between some of the Chicago blues people like Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy, and what we consider to be rock and roll. He was quite empathetic to keeping the voice there but turning it into more of a rock genre.”

The lineup for the upcoming Hitman Blues

The Hitman Blues Band’s last studio album, Not My Circus, Not My Monkey was released in 2021. “The song itself Not My Circus, Not My Monkey, came about in 2017. My bass player couldn’t make a tour, and I hired another guy who I had worked with quite a bit. And he was able to do the tour. One day I said something to him, and he answered, not my circus, not my monkey. And I had never heard that phrase before,” he says. “The song wrote itself. I wrote about situations I’ve been in with sometimes people I barely knew, who wanted to drag me into their little private hell. And, the only answer I could give in this situation was not my circus, not my monkey. Go and find somebody else. And it’s a great song, it’s a lot of fun.”

With Hitman Blues Band’s July dates just around the corner, the band are already looking to their second UK run of the summer. Russell concludes: “We are going back to the UK at the end of August. We’re doing a few dates between August 25th and September 10th.”

For further details regarding the upcoming Hitman Blues Band Tour and their new album “Hey, can you guys play”, please visit https://hitmanbluesband.com.

Furthermore, if you sign up to the band’s mailing list at the website, you will be sent a free five song sampler and a regular quarterly newsletter.

Adam Kennedy  Laurence Harvey

QUEEN OF THE HILL NIECIE

Born in Detroit, Niecie has travelled far and wide in her career, having lived and played in Chicago, Las Vegas, Boston, and Nashville. The powerhouse vocalist and songwriter talked with Blues Matters during a break at her home in Detroit via the wonders of technology.

A confident independent artist, we discuss her musical career, her newest release, Queen Of The Hill, and more in this light-hearted chat.

“It goes back to my mom being an influence. She was a concert pianist. Music filled the house; she jammed on the keys at family gatherings. My father liked the big band jazz sound, he liked ZZ Top also, so I had a lot of influences. At a young age I got into musical theatre, that gave me that theatre voice that people say I have! At sixteen I was in some bands doing rock, we would call classic rock now, Journey, Styx that type of sound. When I was in Boston that’s when I got serious and started at Berklee college Of Music doing the affiliate programme. That’s when I took on the stage name Niecie back in the 90s, I was thirty then (Despite everything, she will not reveal her full name.) First band was a blues rock one. This gave me my rock edge to my musical style. Coming from Detroit, I got heavy R&B and soul influences. The Detroit music scene is having a revival, there’s a good feel about playing venues, hell I’ve been in this business since I was sixteen. I love festivals and being outdoors. Intimate settings like listening rooms are cool to connect with your fans that’s cool too!”

“When living in Boston I was on the road with a rock band. We were in Lincoln Nebraska at a Club on the University strip. That’s where the famous Zoo Bar is. I was on a break; this gentleman came up to me - it was Magic Slim! He had heard me sing and he said, ‘You need to play the blues, come on up and sit in with us.’ We were ready to go onstage, I had to tell the band to play instrumentals, I went away to play with him! The blues took over my soul then. Magic Slim told me to be true to yourself and your sound. He was old-school blues, no fabrication! As well as Magic Slim, Koko Taylor was an influence.

 Colin Campbell  Anna Henderson

She was a mentor; we did a concert including Detroit women and Chicago women in Detroit. I always use her quote about me, ‘Watch out for Niecie, she reminds me of me in my younger years.’ Etta James, Big Mama Thornton, Bonnie Raitt are also influences. Everybody is an influence on me, we all start out at zero.”

Niecie still sees the music business as a male dominated genre, as she explains:

“We must work twenty times harder than the men to even get noticed sometimes. It’s across working life in general. Whatever genre of music, blues, rock, females were five percent. It’s better because of the digital age but we’re still the underdogs. At festivals there will be one or two women. I don’t know why because a lot of music fans want variety in the line ups. It’s still tough, because all the women are competing for a place in the line-up.”

With that latter thought in place, her advice to newcomers is straightforward:

“Get ready for the bumps and bruises! It’s not an easy business. Don’t fear rejection. There will be people who love you and those who do not. You must gravitate to those who like your music. Persevere, get ready for not sleeping for days! I work all day and night at this, whether publicity, writing, interacting with my fans, it’s non-stop! My mentors told me to be your authentic self! I’m me! In the band I’m the personality manager, we’re all artistes, sometimes you need to reel some members in!”

“I’d love to win a Grammy, I’ve been nominated. But for an independent musician this is so hard. Hitting the Billboard charts because that’s about sales! In life just doing what I do is success to me. The fans motivate me to keep on doing the music. It’s all about sharing! I build a force field around me, but what keeps me happy is gratitude. We all have regrets we complain about, but it perpetuates. I say Hi to people and some folk feel this is a threat! I’ll pick up the phone before texting somebody. There’s too much technology some good, some bad. Society in general

are on the defensive these days especially on social media. As artists, sometimes it is good to use these platforms to get a message out, but I don’t post much regarding music. I use it because I’m an advocate for Cancer Research and ASPCA for the animals. Even though I appear outgoing, I’m a very private person.”

“Been singing since I was eight, not telling you my age now! I belonged to the choir. I was a backing singer sometimes lead singer. That gave me a taste of doing both jobs. I learned my stagecraft then. A lot of people say I’m a comedian, but I don’t know it! I give a lot of my back story when playing live. A lot of people can connect to that. I just interact with the crowd, call, and response. You’ve got to have fun, especially with blues music. Some songs I write are quirky, the fans love that. Goofy lyrics are good! Songs come from anywhere I can be in my car and use a microphone and store ideas. Sometimes we have a songwriting circle and throw ideas around in a group. Waiting For The Shoe To Drop from my Trouble With A Capital T album was written when sitting around a bonfire, so they can be written anywhere! Analog is the way to go, love the tone! Our music has lots of grooves, it’s raw and soulful. I have a variety of styles that blend in, contemporary blues tones, so to speak! Emotion, catchy lyrics, and groove all go into making a good song. In the blues genre people like a physical copy of your material, it’s hard to autograph a thumb drive in this digital age! I still love playing live that’s where the connection is. My songs have more modern grooves, I have a lot of younger fans. I went to a birthday party the sixteen-year-olds were playing my music from my first album, I love the connection, it’s all good. I did a lot of musicals, Cabaret, Anything Goes. I was a professional dancer for twenty years which is originally why I went to college for. Life took another path. With musical theatre the singing, acting, and dancing all came into play. I had a lot of fun!

I’m a late blues bloomer!”

“I was doing a benefit gig for the veterans of war. There were a few acts, so we had time to rest. I went to the buffet and had meatballs. One got stuck in my throat. I couldn’t

breathe I went to the rest room. God had a nurse in the next stall, she helped me get it out, but I was still having problems breathing, then I got called to the stage. I sang Love Me Like a Man and there’s a section when I do this big power note. When I did this, the rest of the meatball came out and hit one of the people then it landed on the floor! That was the meatball gig.”

I ask about the new album and its genesis: “We had a lot of time to make the album due to Covid. It was a couple of years in the making due to other things. It was a lot of fun, I brought Ger Hoffman into co-write and play bass guitar on a lot of the tunes. He came up with some quirky lyrics, we have the same background. It was produced by Allmans Brothers keyboard player Johnny Neel, he’s a genius. We have different grooves and styles on this one.”

Looking ahead, Niecie confirms: “I’ve been up in Detroit, but my team is in Nashville, going there this weekend to write some songs. I want to put a single out to submit for the Grammy Awards. I’m hoping for a new release to come out next spring if things go well. I’ve signed with a new book ing agent for USA and Canada, still looking at Europe and UK, but there are Brexit issues. Performing in Netherlands at an award ceremony. A lot of venues are charg ing more but our expenses are high also. I’m happy with having less things on the books but more quality gigs, that’s where the money lies!! I’d love to play the North Atlantic Blues Festival. When I do public ity, I try to target the younger generation, some people because of what music they grew up with or what their friends listened to, then they hear the blues and go, wow. A lot of the old school classic rock guys have been doing the blues, you have to get it to the right ears!”

For further information see website: https://niecie.net/

CRAZY TOWN TIME

BETH NIELSEN CHAPMAN

Beth Nielsen Chapman is one of those astonishingly talented Nashville singer-songwriters with a huge back catalogue of songs and albums that have earned Grammy nominations and lade her the envy of many of her musical peers. With songs picked-up, recorded and covered by the likes of Elton John, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Bette Midler, Waylon Jennings, Olivia Newton-John and many more. With a UK tour in the pipeline, Blues Matters caught Beth at home in Nashville for a chat.

With so many great, international artists covering her material, I ask how it feels. Beth laughs, shakes her head in near disbelief, and says: “You know, it’s really unbelievable at times. When I read some of my Bios out there, I ask myself, is that really me!”

“It’s been a wonderful thing. Terry Wogan and Bob Harris, folks at Radio 2 really helped me build an audience so I just come back to the UK every year. I remember my booking agent calling and asking if I was coming over because I was getting lots of

cover; Terry Wogan talking about me on the radio so ‘you need to get over here and tour’ So I was like OK; at the time I had never heard of Eva Cassisy but he would play Eva Cassidy then Sand and Water, and he’d say ‘These two girls, these two voices are like sisters.’ And I was thinking, ‘Eva who…?’ Then I looked her up and I thought, Oh my God! What a compliment.”

“I love writing songs, many for other people; that’s been a huge joy for me.” So I’m curious about whether she prefers writing to performing:

“It’s kinda like asking somebody ‘Do you prefer to eat or sleep?’ Because it’s so intertwined and one depends on the other. If I write and don’t perform for a long while then I kinda yearn to go out and perform. But when I’m out performing on tour then I’m yearning to get home and write again. I’m never totally satisfied wherever I am but I feel really enriched by both sides of that so it’s not something I can imagine separating and picking only one! “

And she expands on the theme: “I started writing songs with my little guitar when I was about eleven, playing in church, then playing weddings and parties, so I forgot to go to college because I was doing that stuff when I was really young. Then I got my first deal, then another and ended up recording my first album in 1980. I was 21 or something and it was produced at Muscle Shoals with all those legendary guys there; that album came out, very much a singer-songwriter album, disco hit and the world changed; I was an unmarried mother with a baby who swore she was never gonna write another song. I was just mad at the world cause my record flopped. Then I went to see the movie Coal Miner’s Daughter, about Loretta Lynn. My husband had been trying to get me back to writing cause I was miserable, and I saw a scene where Loretta Lynn has this song coming through – she’s planting potatoes and kids are climbing all over her but she has this song in her, so I thought if she could do that, I should just get off my butt!”

“So it all started with writing songs and my voice was always a part of it and it was another ten years before I made my next record; I had a lot of time to hone the songwriting thing and that’s why I found myself writing for other people; you see I wasn’t just writing songs that were just for me, I found it fulfilling to write for other people “

“John Prine was my biggest hero. He never recorded one of my songs but one time I tricked him into singing background vocals. His wife, Fiona, said, ‘He doesn’t sing background vocals.’ I thought, OK, got in the studio and I pulled down the melody and pushed up the background vocals. He arrived, he loved the song so he agreed to come and sing but he thought he was going to sing the melody! I said ‘I’ve changed the melody just slightly, John,’ and he goes, ‘Sure, but that’s not as good as your original melody.’ So, I said let’s get it down one time then go back maybe. So I tricked him into it, singing a melody he thought sucked; then when he came in the control room I chqnged it all, played it back and said, ‘Now, John, you’re singing harmony.’ He turned round and said , ‘Well, I’ll be damned!’ He was so proud of himself, it was just great.”

“It’s like John Hiatt, another favourite. I feel like I’ve been very lucky to work with so many of these greats. Robert Plant is another - I’ve gotten to have dinner with him a couple of times and he’s good friends with Bob Harris and Trudie Myerscough Harris, who manages me, and we have the most delightful conversations with him not having to be Robert Plant! He’s interested and fascinated by so many things. He pulls stuff out of people in many ways and I don’t think he gets credit for that enough. It’s hard to understand that the stature he’s had as an artist and at times he doesn’t take himself seriously,” she says with a wistful laugh.

“I’ve never known where I’m going, and that’s my good spot, that’s my happy place! When I teach workshops on creativity, when I start every song I’m walking out to the edge of the cliff of what I can do, I’m hanging one foot over the cliff and I don’t know what happens after this! I’ve gotta let go of this cliff sooner or later and I just go out. And that’s where most energy and creative wisdom lies; I think of it like this giant thing that’s all around us and it’s like oxygen, if we’re in the same room you can’t not have oxygen when I have it! And I think it’s one of the things humans struggle with, the right to be creative! “

“I’m passionate about teaching cause I love to see the change in them, the look in their eyes when they think ‘Yea, can I do that!’ It might be painting, or music, or writing a song, or baking; it doesn’t matter what it is, you can choose your passion and not to have creative ways to live is one of the great sadnesses.”

“Nashville to me is like a vortex. There’s an energetic pull of creative flow here that’s up and running everywhere. It’s like being on a fast cycle all the time. You do have to step out of it – I used to go down to Music Row every day, signed to Warner brothers Publishing, then I signed to different publishers, and I’d be out on the street asking ‘who’s around, what’s happening today’ Those were such fun days but now I’m travelling back and forth, doing the artist career and so I don’t get down to take the pulse of Music Row but I know it’s still going. If you’re a young songwriter, it’s a fantastic place to be.”

“I played Merlefest one of the last years Doc Watson was alive. I was talking to Steve Buckingham and the headliner was Dolly Parton. I was backstage looking for Steve, her producer, and I just wanted to say hello to Dolly – I don’t really know her but just wanted to say hello. I asked if she was around and he said, ‘Oh, she’s gone off to get a hamburger!’ I said, ‘By herself!’ and he said, ‘Yea, she just takes the wig off and nobody recognizes her! ‘And sure enough, she just

went off, got a hamburger and came right back! I just loved that. She’s amazing!”

Recalling how she started playing guitar, Beth explains: “My dad got a guitar for Fathers Day and my mom stuck it in the closet. I found it, got in there with a little tuner thing, pipes. We were living in Germany and I couldn’t find any books in English, so I just figured out where to put my fingers, to sound good, and I just named them like, say, X or something. So I taught myself the chords but without knowing the names of them. It was very weird but I loved music and Bob Dylan, The Beatles, all that was happening on the radio. I was always just looking for great songs. I feel sorry for young people today, it’s all gotta be some genre or other, it’s hard to find the sense of community there used to be with music, I think. I do all different kinds of music really, I guess. I’ve done some unusual records.”

“I’ve been fortunate as a writer to have made enough income to be able to do whatever I want as an artist.”

And Beth confirms she’s also a huge fan of another US singer-songwriter, Lucinda Williams, now a resident of the Ville: “It’s all amazing to me – Ray Kennedy my producer on this last album, Crazy Town, has done all Lucinda’s major records too. He produced Car Wheels on a Gravel Road and even having had a stroke, she’s still out there, doing amazingly well. She’s really a songwriter’s songwriter. I was recording with Ray in between her sessions with him recording her new album, Stories from a Rock ‘n Roll Heart. So I got to hear a lot of it as it was going on. I was talking to her about playing guitar following her stroke, she’s not playing much yet, and I said well look Dolly Parton’s got enormous fingernails but she just puts them down on the fretboard and gets on with it! She said, ‘I’m getting there, I’m getting there!’ But she has her husband, Tom, and her band all help her bridge the gap, I think. I told her I’d be happy to play guitar for her anytime! “

Beth also confirms her love of Blues-cum-Americana master Keb Mo, a near neighbour, and is credited with co-writing a track on his last album!

With a UK tour about to kick-off, I ask again about her love of working in the UK. She quips half-seriously: “From the minute you step off the plane you can get a proper cup of tea!” before adding, “ I love the audiences and I feel that I’ve grown up with them, and now they’re bringing grandchildren, their kids to gigs, and it’s just lovely.”

Jimmy Regal And The Royals have been together for around eight years. This three-piece band based in London consists of Joff Watkins (Vocals and Harmonica), Corin Williams (Guitars), and Andrew “Sammy” Samuels (Drums). I recently caught up with the band to talk about their latest album, ‘First And Last Stop’, blues, and everything in between.

First And Last Stop features twelve original tunes penned by the band, an album full to the brim with blues, soul, and a hint of gospel. The sound and feel of a band comprising a fullblown horn section, but this is just not so; it’s three guys showing how immensely talented they are. I was keen to find out how they met and started on the blues road, a road they have travelled with confidence and an ear for great music.

(Corin) “I met Andrew through a mutual friend about ten years ago at some kind of Americana thing, and we were in a band called Sweet Bullets. We’d done some gigs around London, and we then found ourselves on the same bill as Joff. I knew of his reputation as a brilliant harp player, and I was slightly in awe of him really. We found that we had very similar tastes in music. I’d done some mixing on a CD for him; there was lots of Mississippi stuff on there. I said, ‘look, I know this drummer; how about we give it a go and see where it takes us?’ It turned into something special after a while, so we just kept going.”

(Andrew) “We knew that it worked after a short time. Corin, I think, always had a vision of what he wanted to do with the band. Corin and I hit it off style-wise; he plays guitars and bass. Then when we heard Joff, everything slotted into place. We were going to do the Sweet Bullets gig up in Camden, and at that stage, we probably knew about eight songs between us, but we managed to bang out some blues on the night. We actually had people dancing on the tables. If you ever see us live, people love the energy of it, it’s hard and raw. We are not the most delicate souls in the world. We always try to play with intensity.”

(Corin) “We’ve actually got a soul ballad now, so we do have some delicate songs.”

(Andrew) “Do you know what? We are actually responsible for at least a dozen people being banned for Ain’t Nothing But The Blues bar in central London.”

Within the first few minutes of our conversation I had the feeling I’d known them for years. The way they interact with each other, bouncing off one another, I immediately got

an image of what this band would be like in live performance - fun, raucous, on the edge. Having listened to the album and loved every second of every track, I kinda knew that these were good-time guys with bucketloads of talent.

(Andrew) “We could have the audience telling us which song they want us to play so that they can dance on the tables (lol).”

I was interested to find out how the band got its name, seeing as no one in the band is called Jimmy, but it does have a very bluesy edge to it, very Deep South.

(Joff) “I had that knocking around in my head; at the first gig, we’d got a few names banging around, and I just said, what about Jimmy Reed And The Royals? Which went to Jimmy Regal And The Royals very quickly as we did the gig at The Monarch pub. And it’s a very retro-sounding name.”

(Corin) “We’re a South London band with an American-sounding name but also with a West African feel and groove to our music, and we try to reflect where we are, South London. The bus on the cover of the album is actually a Crystal Palace bus, the number 3.”

Having listened to the album before I chatted with the guys, I was even more eager to chat with them. The album is so good, a bonafide blues album. It’s like going to a favourite restaurant and seeing everything you love on the menu. That’s how good this album is. A blues Sunday lunch with all the trimmings washed down with very expensive red wine, and not receiving a bill.”

(Corin) “I started off in the late eighties, early nineties, in a sort of Rockabilly band, which I love, but I get really bored with just that one rhythm. There are very few groups that can contain that one level of sound without deviating at all. I’ve always been interested in getting more rhythm in there because places like Senegal have these kinds of rhythms in their DNA, so I want to keep changing the rhythms, which drives everyone mad, but we get there in the end.”

It was interesting to hear the guys talking about the West African influences that are a huge part of blues culture. This often gets forgotten when blues music is debated or talked about, but the essence of the blues, the creativity of blues music, came straight out of Africa; it wasn’t the Mississippi Delta; the Delta was where it made its home. There is a huge difference.

(Corin) “That’s right, the rhythms and background have been there in Africa since the dawn of time.”

(Joff) “You also hear it in Latin American music as well You can hear where it all comes from, even from Mali. These influences are right there.”

tar, his approach to the guitar. Tthat’s what made me want to pick up a guitar. “

you can’t keep doing shuffles in E

Apart from the African influences, I wanted to scratch the surface a bit more and find what inspired these guys on a more mainstream level, the Delta influences, New Orleans, and Chicago.

(Joff) “Ooh, blimey, I’d have to say all the classic blues guys. I love B.B. King, I love Muddy Waters. And all the harmonica players, Little Walter, Big Walter Horton, all those guys. I like the swing part of blues, Dr. John, the New Orleans stuff, Professor Longhair.”

(Corin) “The northern Mississippi guys such as R.L. Burnside, we supported his incredible grandson by the way, his playing was so fluid, and as a drummer, he was really good.”

(Andrew) “I turned up for the gig, and I was quite intimidated by him and his set-up. He let me use his kit and set it up to suit my style. He was like, ‘use my drums, set it up any way you want,’ such a nice guy. He said, ‘just leave it like that at the end of your set, I’ll take care of it,’ and he did. He didn’t change the kit at all when he started playing; he blew it away. Amazing technique. It was a treat to watch him play and sing.”

(Corin) “In New Orleans, Little Freddie King blows me away. The way he picks up his guitar, the way he handles and plays the gui-

I find we’re all singing from the same hymn sheet as regards our fascination with blues music and its origins. Something else we have in common is our shared enthusiasm for more intimate venues as opposed to arenas. To be able to watch a blues artist up close is one of life’s pleasures.

(Andrew) “When you are doing a three-hour set that also sharpens you up. You have to bring you’re A-Game, especially with the audience right on top of you. It brings out the best in you. If you do a festival set, or 45 minutes or an hour, that’s great, but when you have to do a three-hour set, you can’t keep doing shuffles in E.”

(Joff) “The hardest thing about being a three-piece is to try and keep it interesting. That’s a big challenge at our gigs. So we try and mix it up with a harmonica solo or a guitar solo. But it has to be relevant.”

(Corin) “What we do is sometimes Joff will play his harmonica through the bass pedal, which makes it sound like a Tuba. You get a whole different sound coming through the harmonica.”

This pretty much explains the sound of the album and the sheer artistry that has gone into the writing and making of First And Last Stop. It has the sound and feel of a band with its own horn section and a fantastic blues, soul and gospel feel to it. That is the beauty of the album. Jimmy Regal And The Royals is one hell of a blues band, and First And Last Stop is one hell of a blues album. I predict a big future for these guys.

First And Last Stop on Lunaria Records is available soon.

A WINNING HAND

Their name is Bond. Grace and Aaron Bond, and they make the kind of heavy blues music that will put lead in your belly, but also the sweetest ballads that fill stomachs with butterflies. Music is their bond and, as in all successful marriages, the harmonious division of labour in creating music, Aaron writes the lyrics and Grace most of the music, riffs etc, is reflected on their third and new album on which they have the licence to thrill. Just ask the fans who voted them Best UK Blues Group of The Year three years running.

Workshopping the songs that make up their raucous and romantic new album - their third in little more than three years - Aces Are High in the studio, confirms that they have cooked up a surfeit of familiar ingredients in their blues kitchen. There’s a lot going on within this tight stripped-back approach as Aaron explains the origin of the album’s title:

“Everything in life is a gamble to a certain extent. We feel that we have laid our cards on the table and we’re literally covering up our trumps with everything that we’re doing. We’re just enjoying everything, and our aces are definitely high.”

This upbeat and joyously confident feeling is a much-deserved result of having taken a somewhat serpentine route to the blues-rock stardom that they are currently enjoying. It’s evident that their personal romantic chemistry as husband and wife translates through the music they create. There’s a crunching freshly laid hot tarmac under steel-capped cowboy boot gritty tone to the riffs. They collide with airily beautiful melodies producing a mash up contrasting feel to Aces Are High’s ten tracks. It’s a compelling blues record of the divine kind.

However, to get here it has been a rapid and hard-earned ride from obscure beginnings as Grace details:

“We were actually called Holmes & Bond previously, Holmes was my maiden name, and when we got married, we felt we wanted to change it. We wanted something a bit more creative than Bond & Bond”, she continues, “So, we kept playing around with the word ‘rivers’ like flowing and everything’s easy. It just moves together in the right direction. Then we went out to Sardinia, to record some music out there, and we were overlooking a ravine where two rivers met, and it just felt like it was the right name.”

Finding the right name to hang their feted music came a little while after their first meeting. I’m curious to know what they were

 Paul Davies  Laurence Harvey, Will Carter, Jon Sturdy, Richard Davies

doing in their separate lives before they became one in a manner of speaking:

“I was a PA and a barmaid and that’s where we met. I was behind the bar,” says Grace, “and you were sort of in building work”, as Aaron takes up his part in their backstory: “Yes, and I was also in a rock band or two. The first time we met in the pub, on the jukebox was an Elvis song playing and someone said, ‘Oh, bloody Elvis I can’t stand all that sort of thing’. And we said, ‘hang on a minute’...and that’s how we really got chatting”. So, as fate would have it, the King of Rock ‘N’ Roll, who himself was partial to the blues, brought Grace and Aaron - coincidentally Elvis’ middle name - together.

Although music was their first shared love, it took some time for them to realise their potential as a musical duo as Grace reveals: “Ages! Like five or six years until we started doing music together as we were both on

our own projects and quite consumed by that and neither of us were songwriters; we didn’t write songs and had never written songs. So, when we started doing stuff together, we knew we wanted it to be original. It was a long process to learn to write songs and how we do that together and hone our skills. I do the music now, and Aaron writes the lyrics, and it took a long time to sort of work out our roles.”

Aaron nods in agreement as Grace continues: “We’ve sort of been writing for about fifteen years, then everything really got serious in 2019 when we were finding our sound. We’d recorded loads of music, but we were never that confident to go for it and push it out into the world,” says Grace as Aaron interjects, “Acoustic, wasn’t it”. Grace adds: “We started writing this new stuff, and we really loved it and believed in it. It changed everything because I’m confident enough to now let everyone hear this. So

that sort of all changed.”

Everything certainly did change for the Bonds as they reveal the inspiration behind Perfect Stranger, one of the many banging blues tunes that make up Aces Are High: “Perfect Stranger is about when we met,” confirms Aaron, “We both met back in my old local pub in Downham Market, Norfolk. At first, we were strangers just dying to meet someone.”

Grace vocalises further: “When we first saw each other, we thought we’d met before. It was like we were strangers, but it was weird as our first conversation was, ‘So where do I know you from’? We just spent ages trying to work it out. So, we thought it was like a perfect stranger.” And they recall the first song that they tried to write together: “We used to love a programme called Ice Road Truckers”, chuckles Aaron and Grace, “and we wrote a song about these truckers.” This hu-

morous memory instructed Aaron and Grace in their songwriting process as I enquire into whether they argue about their roles as Aaron ponders: “We did for a long time to start with and to get our actual way of writing together took a while. Then we discovered that we could have an idea and then separately do our thing, come back together, and then try it out. And if we liked it, we carried on and if we didn’t, we scrapped it.”

Grace concurs: “When we were first writing, you’re sort of weighed down with insecurities because you’re throwing something creative out for someone straight away to have their opinion on. You can easily become quite tetchy. It was getting through that and getting used to it, sharing stuff and not being too precious about it.”

There’s a visceral raw energy throughout Aces Are High as Aaron details their sound working method: “I think one of the things that we always wanted was the raw sound. It’s kind of like throwing it back to the old-school way of recording in an open room. Getting guitars done in one take and the vocals and things like that. Using old-style reverb literally walking away from a microphone.” Grace adds: “It’s all-natural reverb. There were no vocal booths as we were in The Boathouse Studios that’s got the windows open. You can hear the birds singing,” she continues, “We don’t like a lot of overdubs. We like it almost like a Garage Band sound. We want it to sound real because there’s nothing that beats live music. We don’t want anything too polished because it loses the energy.”

Although busy gigging their headline shows, the flow of songwriting appears to have come quickly: “We were writing, on and off, for the whole end of 2022; about three months,” Grace shares, “We were in the studio for about three months and co-wrote some of the songs with our producer Adam Bowers.”

They both share a funny story about this album’s final song 5 Minutes Until Midnight: “We had this song, and we were going with it and then gradually we just didn’t like the song. It got to the day before the masters had to go to Abbey Road and we sat there and our producer said, ‘You don’t like it, do you’? And we were like, ‘No, we have never put a song on a record that we don’t love,” they add further, “Adam said, ‘Let’s do another one’. So, Five Minutes Until Midnight we worked on it all the way through the night. If we put something out that we don’t love, then we might as well just give up.”

As well as the crunchy and raw bite to most of the ten tracks, there is an Americana feel to the ballads - Trail To Avalon, Golden, By Your Side - which is something they are keen to explore further: “One of the genres that really inspired us over the years has been Americana’” states Aaron, “In fact, we were kind of in

the Americana scene before 2019 with bands like the Civil Wars and the kind of the stuff that they were doing, which was so amazing. We really wanted to emulate that a little bit before 2019.” Grace continues: “We’ve got mandolin and violin and also a lot of harmonies that just give it that flavour. I guess all our influences just leak into whatever we do. They’re just there. So that’s cool.”

“We don’t want anything too polished”

Spinning back down the years, Grace reveals the moment she became aware of the powerful effect her outstanding voice has on listeners: “I’ve always been music-obsessed, mostly singing, right from day one I was obsessed with singing. Then I started with flute, clarinet, saxophone and piccolo and went through the woodwind family as a kid. I started playing the piano at age four. Then in my 20s, I started playing violin, then landed with the mandolin, because it’s the same tuning. I’ve stuck with them. I’m not classically trained. I’m mostly self-taught with both of those. As long I can translate something as I’m singing it, then I just want to play it.”

Grace opens to me about finding her voice: “If we go back very early, I remember having a Stylistics tape in the car when I was a kid that I used to sing along to and, in primary school, I was known as ‘Grace the singer’. So, it’s part of my identity, to be honest.” She admits that Paul Rodgers is her all-time favourite singer. On the other hand, Aaron strums a mighty mean guitar as he shares with me his guitar influences: “John Lee Hooker is my favourite to start with and Slash from Guns N’ Roses, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Robert Johnson. All the greats as they’re all so inspiring.” Originally a singer, Aaron eventually picked up an acoustic guitar for a few years then, back in 2019, he got his first electric guitar and started playing slide straightaway. With three garlanded albums under their belt, including Aces Are High, and with Grace’s sister now managing them making it a tight family bond, there is no bluffing onstage or on record.

When Rivers Meet continue to play a strong hand holding all the aces.

When Rivers Meet’s new album “Aces Are High” is released on September 8th via www. whenriversmeet.co.uk

Blues Matters had the privilege of speaking to this true guitar virtuoso. With fingers that effortlessly dance across the strings, Welch has carved a formidable path in the realm of blues and rock music, leaving audiences in awe with his masterful technique, soulful expressions, and undeniable stage presence.



Colin Campbell  JQ Welch

NOTHING BUT TIME

He talks from Boston about the life and musical journey of this extraordinary artist, and his remarkable career and the passion that continues to drive him forward. He has a new release, Nothing But Time, on Gulf Coast records.

“I was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. Started playing guitar at eight years old. I had an older cousin who played Beatles songs, I thought that was the coolest thing ever. My dad had a great 60s record collection including Beatles and Stones, Dylan, Clapton. I got into his collection. I was always somebody who would compulsively read, this went from liner notes to books about music and guitar magazines. He had some blues records but me as a confused kid trying to get into music was when I first heard John Lennon’s voice, he had such an emotional edge to his singing. When I heard blues musicians, such as BB King and Albert King I heard music that had that emotional edge. It didn’t have that external baggage. Now I hear that though my opinion is somewhat nuanced now. At the time I felt it was the most intense music I had ever heard and had all the answers. At eleven I played in some blues jams.

Thirteen I started playing professionally. The turning point was when I was hired for the opening of the first House Of Blues Club in Cambridge Massachusetts. This was where Dan Ackroyd, MC for the night gave me the nickname Monster Mike. I also played with so many of my heroes, Junior wells and the Blues Brothers Band, Steve Cropper, and the likes. After this there was no turning back it’s what I wanted to do, be a musician. Then I fronted my own band and made a few records. In 2001 I joined Sugar Ray and The Bluetones did some sideman work. I was in and out that band for sixteen years. I made a couple of solo records during this time. In 2016 I made an album with Mike Ledbetter, who tragically passed away at the start of 2019. Then the pandemic happened. Just as people were getting back out to play, I got sick, long Covid put me back about a year and a half, then I made a new record and here I am. It’s like a leap of faith, I still get exhausted quickly but going

forward and promoting this album and doing gigs again is also a leap of faith. I knew making the record this would be the start of the process. In 2024 I’ll be back on the road touring, at least that is the plan!”

Asked how the Mike Ledbetter death hit his playing,, Welch says:” I did a show in France recently that went very well. I go to Norway soon, then next year I go on The Legendary R&B Cruise. Last time I played this was a fortnight after Mike Ledbetter died. It was supposed to be the Welch Ledbetter Connection and we had a bunch of guests; Curtis Salgado and I sang. It felt like all my friends were sharing a lifeline with me, after the bottom fell out of my world. Going back on stage was necessary, because left to my own devices I would have retreated into myself. Those first six months after he died, I kept working and people were supportive. It was the only way to cope with this inexplicable event happening. I started

“keep things as stripped down as possible”

like moving forward in 2020 but then Covid struck, and I took this seriously as I have older family members. My mantra then was Don’t murder mom. In 2021 I went to a festival in Denmark, that’s where I met with Kid Anderson who encouraged me to make a record. It has been a stop and start process.”

So, why did the Mike Zito connection come about, I ask:

“If Mike Zito at Gulf Coast Records hadn’t been so supportive of all this, I would not have been able to make the new record. We got to know each other he had talked to me about his new label. Over the pandemic, he hooked me up with this guitar online lesson and I did that. I got a warm feeling from him. He is universally respected. I could talk honestly with him and say this is where I am. To come back playing I needed a record. I could trust his instincts. I usually produce

records and am involved with that side. I felt I made a more personally relevant record because it freed me to put myself into it and not worry about booking the studio and stuff.”

Welch approaches the song-writing in this way, prepping an album for release: “This comes from a combination of lyrics, an idea for a song. The songs on this record are straight blues. I would like to play something that feels like this, do I have lyrics for this. At first, I was having writer’s block I was not sure I could come up with new songs for this album. Then when I started, something unlocked, maybe having a reason to do this. When I am writing I do very detailed demos. The tracks on my Bandcamp page are from demos. I do this because I need to know how to feel to play and sing over a band and feel I have a structure. The ideas that people had for this record were better than the demos I had!”

Recording Nothing But Time was a challenge but fruitful, he reckons: “We had the core band of myself, Bob Welsh on piano, Kid Andersen on organ and bass and Fabrice Bessouat on drums. Kid wanted Jerry Jemmott on bass for some songs. I love him, he played bass on BB King’s Thrill Is Gone. The day we played with Jerry, which was the third one tracking, Jerry turned up, he was not intimidating he was excited and there to play.”

Mike continues: “I practice singing the way I do with any instrument, like my guitar playing. I spent so long listening to singers like Sugar Ray Norcia and Mike Ledbetter that I knew coming back to being a singer, I had to be in the best shape possible, especially having been sick. I wanted to make sure I’d get the edge of my physical ability. With guitar playing you can set aside a guitar you can’t do that with your larynx. Mike Ledbetter trained as an opera singer and could sing anything. His technique set himself up to tell the story he was singing. Having Kid producing the album, I had someone in the studio who could be the arbiter if the song was going to be the final take. If I was producing, I may have been too self-con-

scious and tried to make things perfect. I was always interested in the guitar as an expressive force. There’s something about playing a guitar that appeals to misfit little children, I don’t know what it was, but it felt right.”

And is the blues alive and well, I wonder: “I think it’s just as necessary to have people using the blues as an abstract springboard for whatever they want to do in music. I feel I inhabit the middle between traditional and blues rock. My taste is such that I am not doing twenty-minute guitar marathons. I feel sometimes the blues mentality is to keep things as stripped down as possible. I can’t pretend I would not have heard Robert Johnson without hearing Eric Clapton first.”

“The first advice I got when I went on stage was pragmatic and not career advice. I was at a blues jam and the host pointed to my volume amp on the guitar. See that. Turn it way down when you’re playing rhythm. You can play as loud as you want soloing. That is why singers like playing with me. Gerry Portnoy told me to learn to sleep sitting up because if you don’t do that you won’t survive in this business long enough to get good.”

“I’ve had heart to hearts with Ronnie Earl. I’ve known him since I was twelve. He is a mentor; he has been someone I can trust to talk about anything outside music and a career. He’s also someone I heard make his own sound and influenced what I wanted to do as a musician. He is a guiding light in showing me how to express myself in traditional based music, cannot praise him enough.”

For further information see website: monstermikewelch.com

albanydown

IN THE ASHES... PHOENIX STYLE!

Albany Down have a new album, Born In The Ashes coming out on September 1st, and they will be hoping that like the Phoenix of mythology it signals a renewal and rebirth. Indeed, those are the subject matter of much of the album’s lyrics, penned by founder member, vocalist and guitarist Paul Turley.

Steve Yourglivch  Rob Blackham (studio) and John Bull (live)

He’s seen a few changes since the band made quite an impression with their debut album South Of The City back in 2011. This was followed in 2013 with Not Over Yet, and 2016’s The Outer Reach release. Now, after changes of personal down the years and having endured the tribulations of lockdown Paul is back with Ben Atkins on bass and drummer Pete Hancock.

I received the new album to review, which you’ll find elsewhere in this issue, and gave Paul a call to talk about the latest stage in Albany Down history. The album kicks off with a real rocker of a track entitled Always Want What You Can’t Have. I mentioned to Paul that the album contained a lot of songs about change and renewal.

‘’ Yes indeed, in 2017, just after the last line up broke up, I went through a lot of personal changes too. I started a new job, and my daughter was born. Plus of course on top of that we had the unprecedented impact of the pandemic, so there was a lot of turbulence and change happening in my life. So

own thing. As I said my daughter was born in 2017 too so I really took about a year out. At that point I wrote those first two tracks that we recorded. The rest I worked on over the last three years. Through that early period, I knew I wanted to keep going and keep something together. I wasn’t quite sure what form it would take, there wasn’t a big grand plan, but I knew I wanted to keep doing something basically. I never sit down and think OK I’m going to write a song now, they just come to me and demand to be written. Sometimes it might just be a title for a song, so I write that down and it nags at you until you do something with it. Often the music is just playing around in my head, or a riff will come out if I’m playing around with the guitar. Usually for me it’s the music that comes first, unless as I said it’s a song title, which can form part of the chorus, so I write around that.’’

The album is released at the beginning of September so that should mark the relaunch of Albany Down as a force on the UK Blues circuit.

that certainly is reflected in my writing, Also the idea of how change is going to affect things moving forwards.’’

The album certainly isn’t negative about going through change, there are some great upbeat moments, especially the tracks Let Your Love Shine, which closes the record, and I’ll Come Running.

‘’Yeah, it’s good having those tracks on there too. We actually recorded it in two sessions with a bit of a gap in between. The opener Always Want and Let Your Love Shine were the first two tracks we recorded in 2020, the rest last year. It’s great they kinda bookend the album even though they were written earlier, I think they really fit with everything else. They were tracks I sort of had in my back pocket waiting to do something with.’’

I wondered if this album had started to develop straight after its predecessor back in 2017.

‘’Well pretty much after Not Over Yet some of the other band members decided to leave. Paul, the previous singer now lives in Canada and the others wanted to do their

writing in. The songs will take you where they want and I guess also it depends a bit on what I’m listening to at the time. This probably has a more rock album feel than our previous releases.’’

There is certainly some outstanding guitar playing going on, and on two tracks there are some great horn sections, plus two super ballads.

‘Yes, Greg Haver (producer) put the horn players together, he really had the right contacts for that. It gives those songs something extra. The ballads were great to do, I always love playing those slower numbers although it’s always hard to know where to fit ballads into a live show, you don’t want the energy levels to drop too much. As a guitarist my influences at roots level are pretty much what you would expect, Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Beck and Clapton but lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Mastodon and Baroness, more heavy metal, hard rock stuff. We enjoyed recording Reflections, there’s certainly some Hendrix inspiration at play there.’’

I mentioned to Paul how I thought the track Kingdom Of The Blind reminded me of NWOBHM.

‘’Haa, yes, that one was written by Pete Hancock the drummer. He brought that pretty much complete to the session. We messed around with the lyrics a bit, a very classic

‘’Absolutely, let’s see where it takes us. We’ve got gigs lined up for September and October and we’re working on dates for November onwards. There’s lists up on the webpages etc. Obviously we’ll be promoting the new release so expect to hear a lot of songs from that but we’ll also fit in the best of the older stuff too. We’ve still got some long term followers out there.’’

I have to say I found the new album to be a good listen and it will certainly appeal to fans of blues rock, but the emphasis is definitely more to the rock side. Blues purists probably won’t feel at home.

‘’ I think that’s fair comment. I never really try to think too hard about what genre I’m

bit, change the intro maybe, or revamp and extend the chorus. It’s good to hear different sounds in the studio. Producer Greg Haver is great, he always brings good ideas to the table.’’

Indeed, Greg has been on board right from the beginning and brings a wealth of experience having worked in the studio with the likes of Manic Street Preachers and Super Furry Animals.

Check out my track by track review in this issue to get more of a detailed idea of the album but I think this will put Albany Down front and centre in the UK blues rock community.

NICK MOSS BAND

Blues Matters spoke with lead singer, master blues guitarist, songwriter of Chicago based band The Nick Moss Band recently. He has a new release, Get Your Back Into It out on Alligator Records

Nick explains his background, what inspired him and what turned him into a leading US bluesman:

“It was just the music that called to me the most. I grew up in a household where my mom and dad listened to a lot of music. My mom was a beautician, my dad’s a pipe fitter, a true-blue collar family. I have an older brother, he’s three and a half years older than me, Joe. On Saturday mornings, it was chore day for us. You can play records while you clean! One week my brother Joe would pick the music then I got to pick, that was a big deal going through my mom and dad’s record collection. I can remember starting around six or seven years old, being able to go and buy my own records because; my mom and dad bought me a record player for Christmas one year. a Mickey Mouse one. When my uncle found out that my mom had bought a record player for me, he started buying records by The Beatles, and Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. I remember being so excited by all that music and blues in particular. My mom grew up on the south side of Chicago in the southern suburbs. BB King was one of her favourites, Muddy Waters also. She had the album, Indianola Mississippi Seeds. I saw this cover with that watermelon, with a guitar neck sticking into it, and an amplifier on the cover, my mind didn’t compute, but I just thought it was cool looking for whatever reason. Whenever that record came on, whatever I was doing in the house, I would just stop instantly. I could just feel this electrical buzz in my body for whatever reason. I had to know what that was. I remember that’s BB King! I was like, What’s a BB King? I just followed the music. My parents had bought us both guitars. My brother is still the better musician, as far as technically speaking. But I just watched he’d be in his room practicing guitar. When he would leave and go with his friends, I’d sneak in there and grab his guitar and try and emulate what he was playing.”

He recalls the prevalence of guitar guys in his hood like this:”There are always a million guitar players in the neighbourhood.

Maybe a third of them wants to be a drummer, but nobody wants to be a bass player! One day Joe bought me a bass and an amp at a garage sale, he literally threw it in my lap. He said, you want to play something play this because we need a bass player in our band. Ron LaVette, the drummer, and my brother played down in the basement jamming away. My brother showed me what note to play. I just learned how to play guitar that way. I would just stare at my brother’s hands or his friend’s hands while they were playing. When they would leave, I put the bass down and I’d go grab his guitar. Skipping ahead, I finally got into blues bands later in life, even as a bass player, I went on the road with Willie Smith, with his legendary blues band, and the guitar player was Willie Greeson, still, one of my favourite guitar players. We roomed together after gigs. I’d be up to three or four in the morning, practicing that turnaround. I still consider myself a better bass player than a guitar player. I love playing bass. I’m very fortunate that I have one of the best bass players on the planet in my band, so I don’t have to worry about it. Also, one of the best harmonica players, Dennis Gruenling.”

As a song¨writer, he has his way of doing it, as he explains: “For me, I collect a lot of information in my head. Just driving around. I see things. One of my favourite sources of inspiration are church signs, Southern Baptist Church. As I passed by one in West Virginia the sign outside read there’s a high cost to low living and I was like, that’s great. I’m going to use that for the title of an album which I did! Yeah, sometimes I’ll have a groove, or I got to do something with that kind of shuffle and then it’s about writing a song around that.”

“When I was younger, I couldn’t wait to get to the next level of musicianship. But as I look back now, I enjoyed every moment of that ascent, like even the failures, that gave me a sense of accomplishment. Everything that I have listened to, has taught me something. I’ve told some of the guys in my band, some of the younger guys, you can learn a lot from artists you don’t even like when you go to see them. I’ve gone to things I’m like, wow, I do that sometimes man is that how bad it sounds! I can tell you for certain that my style is based on the old school blues format. I really got my education as

far as feeling and time playing with Willie Smith starting as a bass player then moving over to guitar. Then playing with Jimmy Rogers, his setup was two guitars, bass, harmonica piano and drums, like the old school Muddy Waters way. I’m not a fan of bands that play just their own parts, it just sounds so sterile, it doesn’t sound organic. I like glorious chaos! You must have some kind of ability to tell yourself, I know what I’m doing!”

He reflects on his journey so far in this way: “Charlie Baty was one of my idols, one of the first guys I ever met on the blues scene, who really encouraged me, him and Rick Estrin were so cool when I was a young kid. They would let me get up and play with them. I just remember one night, like Charlie said, we call you up for a reason, because you do what you do. It was just like, matter of fact, you do what you do, and I do what I do. This made me feel confident enough to go, I’m just going to play what I play. This is what I planned. If they don’t like it, they’ll never ask me this again.

Playing with Jimmy Rogers, Willie Smith and all those guys, honed my ability to lead a band and to guide things. I’ve been fortunate to have musicians that I can play with and have some kind of simpatico relationship with them as far as the music goes on and off the stage. Sure, we have really had great guys in the band, I think that’s one of the things, first of all, playing that type of blues playing a very traditional bass blues, there’s not a lot of guys doing it, the pool was small to choose from. So, you know where to look and who you can work with. I think the biggest thing is I’m not a natural front guy. I’m not an over-the-top front guy. I know, guys who can jump up and down on stage and wear these pinstripe suits and roll around on the ground and just be over the top with the audience in their mannerisms and their personality and stuff. I’m not that guy. I’ve never been that guy. Going back to Rick Estrin, I love his stage patter and stage presence. I asked him how you get that comfortable on stage and you make people listen to you. He goes, “How are you listening to yourself talk right now. Nick, you’re engaging as hell. You’re charming as hell, just be the guy that you are right now on stage!”

What happens on the road stays there

 Colin Campbell  Howard Greenblatt

but Nick shares this anecdote about a late great, Pinetop Perkins:

“We did a New Year’s Eve show up in Canada. An old venue, they had strippers by day and blues by night. I was playing bass, I got sick and progressively sicker until New Year’s and I passed out on stage, I couldn’t even stand I had to sit in the chair and play bass. I couldn’t breathe. I passed out literally while playing. I remember Pinetop and Willie Smith as I opened my eyes standing over me, they both kind of helped me up and walked me backstage. They told me that I had passed out. I could have been dead! Willie said he noticed the bass guitar moving up and down on your belly, I knew you were still alive. I remember they took me to my room. My teeth were chattering. I remember like four in the morning, getting this knock on the door and Pinetop saying, you need to go to the hospital now. He took out 20 Canadian dollars. He handed it to me. And he said call a taxi right now and he watched me call a taxi from my room on the phone, I had pneumonia. I got an emergency room in the Hospital. I just remember Pinetop and Willie knocking on my door every six hours talking to me, reassuring

me. Those stories show they were human as well as performers.”

With a new release: Get Your Back Into It, Nick says it all came together pretty easily:

“I recorded this at my home studio. We wanted to record at Kid Andersen’s like the last release Lucky Guy but Covid and time passing stopped that. Bruce Iglauer suggested recording tracks and sending them to Dennis to finish but I like to have the guy in the room, we feed off that way. I told Bruce, you signed me based on the work I had done before, well over thirteen records of my own, so I just wanted to make it here myself. We did it, Dennis and the guys came over. We broke in a new drummer Pierce Downer and got the songs together and had a ball playing them. It was

like everything we had repressed for three years just came out. There’s stuff that didn’t make the record. Bruce was surprised with the three instrumentals. He was more concerned that Alligator label was making LPs and are all these songs going to fit. I had to do a bit of trimming on some. There’s Jump Blues, Chicago Blues even a tribute to Jimmy Johnson.”

Final Words to Blues Matters readers and blues fans in general goes to Nick: “I respect the blues tradition so much, I know the people that read your magazine do too. I can say this truly and honestly, that, like, everyone over there, first, you guys brought it back to America and helped a younger generation re-establish what it was in America. That’s another thing I respect. I’ve had a lot of fun in the UK, we played in England and Wales. I played in Scotland; I played in Ireland. But it’s been a long time since then. So, the final thing I’d say is, Hey, bring me back to play in the UK.”

For further details see website: www.nickmossband.com

DOM MARTIN

TOBY WALKER

SARI SCHORR

SAYCE & TROY REDFERN

DEBBIE BOND

Blues Matters recently chatted to a true musical force to be reckoned with—Selwyn Birchwood. Hailing from the vibrant blues scene, Selwyn Birchwood has captivated audiences around the world with his electrifying performances and masterful command over the guitar. With a distinctive sound that seamlessly blends traditional blues roots with contemporary elements, Birchwood’s talent knows no bounds, he is a contemporary bluesman constantly evolving the genre.

From his soulful vocals to his impeccable song writing and lap steel guitar playing, he has earned critical acclaim and numerous accolades. We discussed his musical career, his electric swamp funkin’ blues and his new release, Exorcist, on Alligator Records.

We start with a laugh about the warm weather in Florida and turn to the start of touring Germany, before going onto discuss his background, being a blues musician, and associated influences on his career.

“Man, I started playing guitar when I was twelve or thirteen. I was mimicking the music that was on the radio, but I got bored with that pretty quickly. A friend of mine loaned me a Jimi Hendrix album and that turned my world upside down. This opened me up to a lot of different sounds. I really wanted to find out what would drive someone to write that kind of music. When I looked back on his bio, I found all those old blues guys, Muddy Waters, BB King, and Buddy Guy. Buddy was playing in my hometown,. I was not prepared for what I was witnessing. I said, whatever this is that’s what I want to learn. This has come full circle now, fast forward twenty years later, I’ve got Buddy Guy’s producer Tom Hambridge producing my albums! I still have the ticket stub from watching Buddy twenty years ago. August 2023, I was standing on the stage with him playing! “

Selwyn did not come from a musical family; he describes himself as being the black sheep in that regard. He explains: “ I always liked music. I watched cartoons when I was younger and was able to identify the tunes as being jazz or blues, swing. My ears tuned into this. I listen to all sorts of music not purely blues. Good music is good music! I was nine years old when I first bought CDs, one was The Coasters the other was White Zombie. I’ve always had an eclectic taste in music! I was introduced to the blues mainly by listening to Buddy Guy. With this musical style, if you don’t have someone to introduce you to it, you have to figure a different way. Opening that show with Buddy Guy was T Model Ford, so I got a big doze of blues in one night. Didn’t know what I was listening to, but I just loved it!”

“I first started playing at twelve or thir-

teen years old, I learned this after going to school. My sister suggested I start playing, she told me about this band and the members being geeks and you should start playing. Theory-wise I wish I’d joined a band, but I listened to records and learned to listen to my favourite artists and took that approach. I was nineteen when I got my first paid gig. Going on stage is what I like to do, it was reaffirming to know I got paid for doing this! I come from a humble background. I must have got fifty dollars for that first gig playing for four hours! I thought I was a millionaire. I’m blessed to be doing this full time and only my profession. I’d always be doing music no matter how life turned out!”

Selwyn confirms his primary influence was also his personal mentor: “My mentor, Sonny Rhodes, was a great help. I wandered around worrying about getting better when I was a kid. He said you’re the best Selwyn Birchwood, no one can be better. He encouraged me to be myself, that’s what I shoot for. I now have confidence in my sound and who I am. This is the music I want to hear when I turn on the radio. It’s got emotions, storytelling, everything I want to hear on a record. Blues music is a style that I get a feeling from that I don’t from any other musical form. It’s hard to explain, it whittles down to the relatability for me.”

He goes on to outline the recording process behind his latest release on Alligator Records:

“We recorded this at the same studio as the last album Living In A Burning House, Phat Planet studio with Tom Hambridge. I have a different keyboard player and drummer, otherwise I have my same touring band on this album. Song writing is always different, a melody first, chorus. I’m always searching for lyrics. This is my sixth album of all original music and I pride myself on writing songs. When people hear me, hopefully they find a band that sounds like me. You’d be hard pressed to hear a band that sounds like my band! That should be the goal, I feel nowadays people feel content at imitating the sounds that others have come up with. That’s the first step! The second should be to create and innovate, that’s where I want to get to and with the new album that’s

what we’ve done! All the songs have now been road tested and the response has been huge. The people have not heard anything like this, it feels different when you put your own neck on the chopping block, but not been cut yet!”

We consider the audience reaction, how it can differ across countries and continents:

“American audiences tend to listen with their eyes. Europe audiences, listen with their ears. It’s not uncommon to see some people in a European audience isolating with their eyes closed. The crowd are respectful of the stage. America, it is more of a party atmosphere. In Europe you don’t know if the audience likes you until there is a roar and standing ovation at the end. We need to get back to the UK sometime!

Played in the Mediterranean Sea on the blues cruise. That was great, playing on board with Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith - awesome. I got to see other acts there, something I don’t get to do much. The connection with the audience is amazing.”

Selwyn closes by giving us his personal view on being a successful bluesman these days:

“People buy my music. It’s great to have people coming up quoting my lyrics and how they relate to the songs. That feels like success to me. I’m just trying to write the best music I can, I try to put on the best live show that I can. If I’m not enjoying it, you won’t see me anymore!” he adds with a laugh, before adding, “If I had a to make a wish foundation, I’d be doing what I am now, performing and travelling, writing my own music. People are on board with the sounds I’m making, I’m grateful for that. I call my music electric-swamp-funkin’-blues. It has an eclectic feel to it. We have a full schedule of touring with the album. I want the album to be heard, it’s my strongest work so far.”

Last words go to Selwyn: “I look forward to getting out to see you all again. Check out the new album, your new favourite album of the year! “

For further information see website: www.selwynbirchwood.com

 Colin Campbell  Laura Carbone

ROBERT JON & THE WRECK

It’s the Fourth of July, American Independence Day, and a genial Robert Jon Burrison is looking well settled sitting in the storeroom at his favourite brewery, Docent Brewing in San Juan Capistrano, California, drinking a glass of craft IPA ale.

As the stout leader of Robert John And The Wreck, whose latest - and eighth - studio album, Ride Into The Light, raises their already well-regarded profile – flick to the reviews section - the band is playing a show later at the brewery and the aperitif is this revealing interview with Blues Matters Magazine.

It’s ten years since their debut album, Fire Started, blazed a trail leading to the recent sunny-side-up vibes of single, West Coast Eyes, alerting fans to more fresh music.

Ride into the Light is graced with a team of legendary producers and released on Journeyman Records, as well as the impresario for pulling this project together, Joe Bonamassa also produces a couple of tracks with Josh Smith as Robert Jon details:

“We just had a relationship with the team; conversations for quite a few years. This started pre-pandemic, and then we had a pandemic, so there’s been a lot of talks and knowing each

other, and it finally came to fruition and made sense for both parties.” He continues: “ We already had the songs; we came in and just recorded how we would normally. It wasn’t a huge switch in who we are and what we do. It’s about having another set of ears there.”

As a hard-gigging band, I wonder when they get the time to write songs? Robert Jon puts me straight on this: “We kind of went piece by piece. We had two songs, recorded those, and had two songs come up after that. It wasn’t like we had these eight songs and here’s what we’re gonna record. It was a moving piece of work,” he says, “I mean, some of those songs were older songs that we didn’t find a feel for and then finally found a feel for. We always have a slew of songs on the back burner that we work on that never find their way, it just takes time. Sometimes, they find their way when you least expect it.”

There is a prestigious roll call of producers taking turns to produce a couple of songs apiece on this recording and Robert Jon reveals to me how this esteemed scenario came about: “We had known Kevin Shirley from cruises - Joe Bonamassa’s Blues Cruises - in the past. So, we probably knew Kevin the best out of all the producers we worked with. It was just natural and felt normal compared to walking into the room with Don (Was), or Dave (Cobb), who we’ve never met in our lives before. So, it was

great.”

He expands upon how the hook-up with in-demand veteran producer Don Was, who produced album tracks Who Can You Love and Come At Me, occurred: “Yeah, we had a blast. I mean, we got word that we had the opportunity to do it. And I think we’re still processing it. He’s a legend with the amount of work he’s done in his life. So, getting in the room, the first five minutes, you’re like ‘Where am I’? But, then you’re there for a reason. You’re there to get something done,’ enthuses this frontman. “Working with him ‘was’ a real treat. His goal was to bring the best out of the band, that the band had to offer. And it felt comfortable with him and natural in a way. We hope to work with everybody again.” Taking a swig from his steadily decreasing glass of ale, Robert Jon further warms to the recent memory of working with Don: “He’s in the room with us when we’re recording and his method is really getting the vibe of what the band has to offer,” he continues, “Not too much focused on if the amps are set right or if every note is completely correct. It’s more about the vibe that we’re trying to give off and capturing what that best relates to when you’re tracking and recording.”

Each producer has their singular working methods as this leader of The Wreck ex-

 Paul Davies  Rob Bondurant

plains: “We worked on the songs a lot more with Dave Cobb. Just narrowing down where we’re getting heavy and where we’re cutting down. Dave’s in the room with us on the shaker. We didn’t use a click track for that as Dave is the click in the room, almost like a director in the middle of the room,” he laughs. “He’s pointing at you when it’s your time to hit that part and it’s all done quickly with Dave. We get in the corner; we talk about the song for about twenty minutes, and what we changed, then we go record it. It’s not a lot. We rehearse that for an hour, then we’ll track it. Hey, let’s do it. It’s time.”

Listening closely to all the songs that constitute Ride Into The Light, it’s crystal clear that the core of each is recorded live: “There’s obviously some overdubs on guitar and vocals and stuff like that, but we’re all in the room doing the main rhythm tracking together and everything,” states Robert Jon.

Given their prolific output of now eight studio albums in ten years, songwriting is still a hard worked but rewarding process: “Writing is not easy,” he says seriously. “It takes time. It takes effort and there are a lot of songs that don’t make it.” He ponders, “No, I wouldn’t say it’s easy at all. It’s something you got you to work on and continue to work on your whole life. If you hear something in your head, or someone else hears something in their head, you try

your best to portray that and write the best song you can. But I wouldn’t say it’s ‘easy’.”

Recorded at the legendary Sunset Sound Studios, listening to the summery warm vibes of Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith helmed single West Coast Eyes, breezing in like a graceful swan of a song with all the hard work going on beneath, this is a mature album of laid back West Coast vibes and southern fried grit as the main Wreck man says: “Well, we’re from the West Coast and we didn’t really have a song that kind of spoke to that. We wrote that song with Tom Hambridge in Nashville.,” he furthers, “We weren’t even on the West Coast at the time, but we were missing the West Coast. So, it was kind of thinking about being back home, what we grew up with and what we knew and that’s what it is about.”

2023 is the tenth anniversary of Robert Jon And The Wrecks’ debut album, Fire Started, and they have come a long way on this continuing musical adventure as Robert Jon wistfully reminds me of his and this band’s beginnings: “I was just a solo artist playing in coffee shops, and wherever I could, and writing silly little songs,” he chuckles. “Then I went on a West Coast tour, a long time ago, just playing coffee shops and maybe a college. Nothing extravagant. I met Andrew (Espantman) by then in college and I was like, ‘I’m going on a tour’ and he’s like, ‘I want to come’ so he

came along and played the drums on that tour and a couple other my buddies, who were never in the band, came along and dabbled on guitar and bass and everything. And this made it work. From then on, the cast of characters that’s been in and out of the band changes as people’s lives evolve and move forward with what they want in their lives and in their careers. But we’re at a place now with the band at the top of their league right now. We are all on the same mission and it’s working great. I’m excited for the future and for what’s to come.”

What’s to come is a set of Autumn UK and European dates as a very upbeat Robert Jon also lets me in on a secret: “We have a lot of the next album recorded, too. There’s definitely more new music on the horizon with a whole new album ready to be released.”

With a hot-shot guitarist in Henry James Schneekluth firmly established in their ranks, who has held his own jamming with Joe Bonamassa on his cruise ships outings, this band has all bases covered to be a modern Allman Bros, Little Feat and Eagles even rolled into one hell of a mighty music package. The Kevin Shirley directed title track, Ride Into The Light, like the rest of this rich recording, augurs a very bright future indeed for this band of cool West Coast brothers.

This was originally to be an interview with Pete Brown to discuss his latest album, The Shadow Club - a who’s who of the blues and blues/rock world as guests. Sadly, Pete lost his long battle with cancer shortly before we could get together for a chat. Thankfully, one of his dear friends, who also plays on the album, Malcolm Bruce, agreed to chat about the album, and the long,distinguished career Pete had, including his time with Cream as collaborator on many of the band’s songs with his dad, (Jack Bruce).

The album, The Shadow Club, written and produced by Pete Brown and John Donaldson, with recording started on the album in March and now almost ready to launch.

“Pete hadn’t been well for a while, but he was a trouper right to the end, he had incredible dignity and a huge amount of hope that he was going to beat it, until right at the very end. He went really quickly, I remember we were all sitting in the studio with him about six weeks ago. I think it’s part of the grieving process where you can almost feel the person right next to you.”

“The idea or concept of the album was by and large down to Pete, he had known Malcolm ever since he was a child, during his writing work with Cream, Pete wanted to make a record, and Arnie (Goodman) had been a long time friend, Pete had this idea of making an album with a lot of the friends, and a couple of guys’s he didn’t know so well. That’s basically how it all came together. I think Pete was the first guy they signed (Flat

MALCOLM BRUCE HEAVENLY CREAM IN THE SHADOWS

Iron Recordings). He’d been writing predominately with John Donaldson. Up to that point, I don’t think he’d released a record for a long time, so I guess the musical juices were flowing again.”

I’d previously met the guys from Flat Iron Recordings in London in January, they were very excited about Pete ‘s project, especially when they found out the likes of Clem Clempson, Joe Bonamassa, and Eric Clapton were mentioned as possible guests on the album.

“We were in the studio for ten days, Clem Clempson came in, followed by a couple of guys, then the special guests came along, so it was a kind of fitting swan song for Pete with Eric and Joe Bonamassa. I think Bobby Rush sang on one song. As far as Eric goes, their friendship goes back to about 1956 or something, and he’d been writing with Bonamassa recently and they had both been involved with as yet an unreleased album we recorded at Abbey Road called Cream Acoustic, but now they might be calling it Heavenly Cream. It’s a really good record, Ginger plays on a couple of tracks. I think they were his last ever recordings.”

The thing that strikes me about this album, and the musicians who are involved with it is the sense of closeness between everyone and the regard in which Pete Brown was and is still revered. As Malcolm explains, they all have a history of one sort or another, especially as writers:

“Joe played a gig with my dad in London.

Pete was there with a whole bunch of people, they both loved blues and blues/rock, so it wasn’t difficult when the time came to get as many people involved as he did. When we were cutting the album at Abbey Road (Heavenly Cream), Joe would have a guy bringing him Les Paul after Les Paul during the takes. He’d play one for a few seconds, ‘No don’t like the tone of this,’ then get handed another - ‘No, don’t like the tone of this.’ That’s how it was for most of that day.”

Another thing that strikes me about the whole concept of making this album is the fact this album will be a lasting memorial for Pete Brown. In the music world, the name Pete Brown is revered, as a songwriter, and as a poet. But the wider outside world, may not have had his name on the tip of their respective tongues. But those that had known him for decades could not hold him in greater esteem.

“You look at Pete, who was probably best known as being my dad’s collaborator, but again, Pete is a legend. He had a completely unique approach to songwriting. So, yea, anything we can do to make that part of a historical record. This is a funny game. History is written by the winners, and things can sometimes get left by the roadside; things are moving so quickly, who knows what the music world will be like in the next ten years.”

We briefly chat about what the music industry could be like, say, within the next decade:

“It’s because we are fans, as well as musicians, that we want and need to keep

 Steve Harrison  Supplied

making records the way that we have always done. Technology is a great thing and has provided us with many helpful and useful tools within the realms of say a studio environment, but we can’t let go of the human input which always needs to be there. Unless it’s like me and you, listening to an album, or in your case reviewing and listening to an album, a lot of people will listen to something for about 12 seconds and then skip to the next track. We are living in a culture where everything is so quick and intense. Music used to take you out of that stuff. I suppose it still does to a point. Music for the love of music is what it’s all about. It doesn’t matter if it’s Stravinsky or Robert Johnson or whoever.”

From the dawn of time, music has always been there to take you to another place, to free the mind, or to heal what ails you. Whether it be the small Jazz clubs in Glasgow, where a young Jack Bruce was learning his trade, or the Blues clubs in London where a young and impressionable Eric Clapton began to cut his teeth, in much the same way as Pete Brown did, but what made Pete stand out to both a young Jack and Eric was the fact that he would, and could merge the two worlds between Blues and Jazz, throw Ginger Baker into the mix, and London and England, and soon after the world, had a new genre thrust upon it, the world of blues/rock incorporating Jazz.

“When you are a kid of 20 or 21, you are not really conscious of what you are doing, or the correct way of going about things. That’s how you learn your craft. It was the baby-boomer generation shifting everything in s the same way as things are shifting now. I don’t quite know where it’s heading. Back in the late 50s and early 60s, it was a new and exciting time. It was straight after the Second World War, the class system was breaking down. They became a musical family, you would have to throw Dick Hextall Smith in there because he influenced so many people around that time. Dick came from a more intellectual background, he was very well-read, and he understood a broader spectrum of music which had a big impact on my dad. That whole family of musicians just kind of happened, it’s hard to tell what they did share and didn’t share. Originally Pete was going to be Ginger’s collaborator, but that didn’t quite work out. My mum wrote a song with Ginger, and Pete moved over to work with my dad.”

At the start of this chat with Malcolm, it was to find out about the album that Pete Brown and his many luminary musician friends had made, and quite rightly so, I, for one, am eagerly awaiting its release. It will be a fitting memorial to the astonishing career of a true musician and poet. Sadly there are fewer and fewer of his ilk left. That’s why this album will be so important. Hopefully, it will encourage and spur on another generation of songwriters to keep this thing of ours, blues and blues/rock and jazz at the forefront of whatever is to be. I can’t let this interview with Malcolm Bruce end without a final quote about Cream, after all, they were at the heart of what has manifested itself into this album.

Jack Bruce: ‘Cream was a Jazz band, we just didn’t tell Eric!’

Graham Nash, a name to conjure with for sure. Bluesman? – never! Mega-star – absolutely. Nash is a man, now in his eighties, who has been at the top of the global musical tree for around sixty years, since he was a teenager.

His first real forays into the musical world saw him as a founder and principal song-writer with hugely significant UK band, The Hollies. There, alongside lead-guitarist, Tony Hicks, and his old pal, Allan Clarke, he wrote a string of immensely popular Pop hits in the 1960s, often challenging the Beatles and the Stones for top of chart positions.

Later, of course, as he explains here, he moved on to the States where he was a founding member of one of the world’s truly magnificent bands, Crosby, Stills & Nash –later to become even bigger – if that’s even possible – with the addition of Canadian guitarist, writer and performer, Neil Young, to become Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, generally known by their acronym initials, CSNY. We had the chance to catch up with Graham out on the road in the USA promoting his new release, ‘Now’, an album that is wonderful and holds CSNY harmonies and lyrical beauty at its heart.

Nash is seldom, if ever, seen playing electric guitar, unlike his former band buddies, especially Neil Young and Stephen Stills; I raise the obvious question about why this seems to be the case, does he have a preference for acoustic music generally:

“I do prefer being acoustic player to being electric; I enjoy playing acoustic music more than electric. I think acoustics are more personal, they strike your heart, directly, in the right place. I love acoustic music. I leave electric to the guys who can play electric guitar, it’s really that simple to me.”

Being old enough to remember the Hollies, I can’t resist asking why he split from them. Graham explains, concisely:

“I was having a little difficulty with the Hollies; I had written a few songs, one in particular, called King Midas in Reverse. I thought we made a pretty good record of it but it didn’t get into the Top Ten like Hollies singles normally did. So I was a little upset with the Hollies. So then I went to Las Angeles and when I really heard me and David (Crosby) and Stephen (Stills) sing together, that sound made it, made me change my life!”

When I say that CSN was undoubtedly one

of the greatest bands of a generation, Nash is quick to pick up and snappily replies: “I agree! We knew that we were decent musicians, and singers. And we had the songs, great songs to sing, and that was just wonderful.”

I ask if Neil Young maybe changed the dynamic of the band when he joined in 1969: “Well Stephen and Neil both played off each other with electric guitars at times. And to me that was wonderful, I felt it was a wonderful mix, a wonderful way to sort of move towards the end of my life! And here I am, still going, old David Crosby is dead now! It was very sad when David passed last year. We hadn’t been close for a while but we were getting it back together towards the end of his life. We were emailing and voice-mailing and stuff. I mean, his death was insane for many people but I choose only to remember the good stuff, the good times we had together and the good music that we made.”

Nash of course is also known to have lived for a while with Canadian music great Joni Mitchell, another stunningly important singer-songwriter, in Laurel Canyon, LA. When I mention this, he says: “That was a special time for us all. The place was absolutely buzzing back then, with great musicians everywhere, all working hard, developing their sounds and a real sense of musical evolution in the air. I wouldn’t have missed that for the world. It was wonderful, for us all, I believe.”

Turning to his latest release, Now, Nash says: “You know, I really like the songs on my new record; it has good production and great musicians playing on it with me. The harmonies are great and it just has a wonderful overall feel and vibe, I thinlk.”

Nash is also known for his support of Bernie Saunders and the US Democrats, with a few songs on the new album, ‘Golden Idol’ and ‘Stars & Stripes’ both reflecting this and clearly aimed firmly at Trump. When I raise this with him, he chuckles and thanks me for pointing it out to him! “Yea, thanks for that, Iain!”

Like Bill Wyman, whom he calls a ‘Great bass player and musician,’ Nash is a noted photographer who could almost certainly have had an equally successful alternative career, something I hint at which draws a response:

“I’ve been a photographer longer than I’ve been a musician. My wife did the album

cover artwork. But I have a life-long love of photography and had a curator handle and catalogue lots of my stuff, some of which is now in the Smithsonian in DC.”

With a tour lined-up back in the UK in Autumn, it is evident that Nash is eager to return to play in Britain again: “I love getting back over, it’s really like coming home to me. British audiences are always wonderful and I am British, after all!”

“I still get a great buzz when I’m out on the road playing. You know I’ve sung Our House and Teach Your Children all over the world but I still sing them with the same passion I had when I wrote them. I just love being a musician. And I owe that passion to my audience every time.”

When I suggest he’s had an extraordinary career, he agrees with a shake of the head and a laugh: “Yea, it’s weird, isn’t it. Now I’m eighty-one, and I look back at my musical life and I know that I’ve been lucky to be there at quite important moments in the history of rock ‘n roll. I’m just very glad to be a musician.”

With one track on the new album clearly a tribute to Buddy Holly, Nash explains the importance of the guy to his own career: “Well, looking back, we were The Hollies, that’s where it came from. I wrote that song for Allan’s (Clarke) album, I love Buddy Holly, he was very simple, he as one of us. If you can play two or three chords on a guitar, you can play Buddy Holly songs. And the Everly Brothers, much the same, so important back then, with great songs and talent.”

“You have to keep optimistic about everything. The opposite is to be completely depressed about things, And I know there are many, many things wrong with this world and many problems we have to solve but you gotta be positive that it can be better, that we can leave something worthwhile and good for the next generation.“

“I am coming to the end of my life but I still have to remain hopeful that we can make this earth, this planet, a better place for our kids and our grand-children. That’s my belief. I enjoy being a musician and I enjoy doing shows.”

“I’m just trying still to make the best albums I can,” he says with a smile and a nod as we end our meeting.

BIG BLUES REVIEWS

WHEN RIVERS MEET ACES ARE HIGH

One Road Records

The Bonds return with their third long player and, like a tank crunching over hard rocky ground, Aaron Bond strums a raw riff straight out of the Jimmy Page textbook as Grace Bond wails about the travails of being Infected with a heady passion. It sets the tone for what is to come, as the opening dark and doomy salvo of heavy chordal and vocal motifs, with reverbed drums, on Seen It All Before ups the ante in its calculated rawness. It’s a confident approach that reaches its possible apogee, there are more than a few tracks in hot competition- on Play My Game finding Grace Bond’s powerful blues-rock vocals coming to the fore. Again, this stripped-back raw approach benefits the nucleus of these song’s component parts. Without a doubt, less is an almighty more for this husbandand-wife duo. However, not everything is a headlong adrenalised blues rush as the acoustic strum and vocal harmonies on Golden details as it reduces this forceful blues march to a slower pace. Then the title track detonates more sonic explosions on a revved-up blues engine of a song. “My aces are high, tables are turning” chants Grace being as much a metaphor for this duo’s rapid rise to the top of the pack in the UK blues scene. As Grace takes a breather, Aaron gives his vocal cords an airing on Trail To Avalon’s verse. Not satisfied with playing violin and mandolin, Grace takes over to holler like a blues banshee as Aaron gets all joyously Jimmy Page once more. The autobiographical Perfect Stranger is this duo’s love letter to themselves. With tumbling percussion imitating heart palpitations, Grace narrates their musical and personal marriage. The beautiful Americana-style ballad By Your Side rubs up exquisitely with final crunching belter 5 Minutes Until Midnight. In doing so, they reveal the contrasting attraction of this alluring record. This is forty mesmeric minutes of heavenly blues rock with all ten tracks competing, yet bonding, with each other. It’s a no brainier why When Rivers Meet have been voted UK Blues Band Of The Year three years running. When Rivers Meet play a winning hand On Aces Are High yet again.

BOB CORRITORE AND FRIENDS

HIGH RISE BLUES

Vizztone Label

While this release is under the name of Bob Corritore, it is a showcase of some of the best Chicago Blues musicians past and present. These studio recordings were made during a thirty-year period from 1992 and are all previously unreleased, being drawn from Bob’s own personal archives. The one constant is the excellent Hohner Harp played by Bob Corritore. The artists performing include Magic Slim, Jimmy Rogers, John Brim and Sam Lay. The album kicks off with a great Jimmy Rogers song, Last Time, which was

originally recorded back in 1952, this version benefits from the inclusion of the Harp, as does the Pinetop Perkins performance of Grinder Man. This is Piano Blues at its best with a spoken story telling style vocal by Pinetop, which gets challenged by some strong raw blasts from Bob. There are fourteen tracks in total which is too many to mention individually but one further highlight is Lil Ed’s performance on Caught In The Act. It has none of the rawness of some of the other tracks and has a very cool feel to it with some stylish lead guitar work. I understand that Bob facilitated these recordings by inviting the artists to perform at his Phoenix Club, which was then followed with a recording session at his studio with a full band backing. The result of which is that he can draw on a wealth of fine Blues performances from his vault, providing some excellent music and of course Bob

has the benefit of playing with some of these Chicago Blues performers which Iam sure gives him great pleasure as well as keeping him at the top of his game.

Bob should be commended for getting these recordings released and into the public arena, one of the finest collections of Chicago blues I have heard.

ADRIAN BLACKLEE

COSMIC AMERICAN DERELICTS

BERGENFIELD BLUES

TENACITY MUSIC

less is an almighty more for this duo

PAUL DAVIES

Once upon a time, the world was owned and subjugated to the biggest beasts of the rock and blues world. I’m talking legends such as Led Zeppelin, Free, Nazareth, Grand Funk Railroad, Deep Purple, Steppenwolf. Bands who crossed the Atlantic at a single bound and who ruled the roost wherever vinyl was bought, sold or traded. Very much in the train of those greats rides the Cosmic American Derelicts, aka The Derelicts. They have been plying their trade for 25 years (this, their sixth album is an anniversary release) and while none of the band are legends in their own right (with the probable exception of Terry Reid), as a band they have built a massive following, not least as a mighty support band to the

likes of Mick Taylor, Graham Nash, Derek Trucks, Buddy Miles, Commander Cody, the list goes on and on. The band play good stuff. Blues influenced rock with the occasional jazzy turns. Some wonderful keyboards, especially Rob Clores on Hammond B-3, Ed Rainey & Joe Wilkinson supplying the core lead guitars alongside Scott Lauro and, on 5 tracks, Terry Reid. Founder, George Kapitanellis wrote many of the songs as well as playing fluid and funky bass alongside Sotiri Karlis on drums. Cindy Cashdollar adds electric Dobro on a couple of tracks. Vocals are split between Terry Reid, Scott Lauro and Joe Wilkinson. It’s an album that deserves to be played loud, preferably with a proper sound system and in a place that lends itself to dancing because this album is powerful and funky as hell. When a band has this much experience working together and with some of the greats of the business, you better believe that they can lay down some righteous music and this does it on track after track.

ANDY SNIPPER

ARLEN ROTH & JERRY

JEMMOTT SUPER SOUL SESSION

Blue Hea£rt

Oh my! Oh my! Every now and again you get through an album to review that you just don’t want to touch. Not in any sense due to it being a bad record but because it is so classy that you don’t want to put a foot wrong in your analysis or comments. I mean come on, what can I possibly say about Jerry? To call him just a bassist would be to do him a complete injustice. The list of folks who have made use of his talents is just extraordinary including Carly Simon, Al Kooper, Wilson Pickett, George Benson and Miss Aretha Franklin on four albums. Playing bass on classics like Piece Of My Heart (Erma Franklin) and Stay

JIMMY REGAL AND THE ROYALS

FIRST AND LAST STOP

Lunaria Records

This is the third album that these guys have released, and you could be tempted to think, third time lucky. Luck has played no part in the evolution of Jimmy Regal And The Royals. Great writing, superb musicians, and a feeling for blues, soul, and funk, are the main factors for where this band is currently at. Twelve songs adorn the album, all original, all full of so much life and creativity. (Got To Make A) New Flame opens the proceedings, with aplomb. A heavy 70s soul and funk groove serve as the intro, then it morphs effortlessly into electric Chicago blues to give the song an edge that has the vibes bursting from every seam. What strikes me immediately about this album is the way that the band gives the impression of having a huge horn section and rhythm section, almost like a small orchestra, but the fact of the matter is that this is not the case. It’s a band of seriously crafted artists who are as tight as can be, playing the kind of music that moves them, blues, soul, and funk. Do Whatever You Can, is a blues tune, nothing more than that. Superbly written, Joff Watkins produces an effortless vocal, while the rest of the band carries the tune like a twig flowing on the shoulders of a stream.

It’s a band of seriously crafted artists who are as tight as can be

When you record an album, any album, the best thing that you can do is to leave a space for everyone, it’s just as important what you don’t play as it is to what you do play. That’s where this album excels, it is not an easy thing to do, but Jimmy Regal And The Royals make it sound like they invented that mantra. Mickey Two Suits reminded me of the movie, The Blues Brothers when Jake and Elwood finally took to the stage, it has that feel of the unexpected, ok, so entertain us, that’s what this song does in spades. Elmers End Blues is the final song, a beautiful blues instrumental, that gently relaxes you after having every nerve in your body touched by such great tunes.

STEPHEN HARRISON

With Me Baby (Lorraine Ellison) should be enough to place him right where he should be. As for Arlen?

Well again the list is really extensive and I would need reams of paper for his associations. So what we have here are two great musos simply having an absolute ball with a clutch of Soul classics utilising the vocal talents of Joe Louis Walker, Ronee Martin and Mukamuri, who is new to me, but blessed with the chops to carry off these classic tunes. Twelve cuts including Chain Of Fools, Drift Away, Dancing In The Street, The Thrill Is Gone, The Weight etc. There is a fine jam going on in Memphis Soul Stew and they only put a foot wrong by including America The Beautiful at the very end so it is easily skipped even though it kinda works as slow Blues / Soul work out. It is just a strange choice when there could have been another fine Soul cover. Good album, great playing throughout.

GRAEME SCOTT

BRUCE KATZ BAND

CONNECTIONS

DANCING ROOSTER RECORDS

If you don’t know Bruce Katz, allow me to introduce you to a phenomenal keyboard player who has played with Ronnie Earl,

Gregg Allman and several of the Allman Brothers ‘family bands. Equally at home on piano or the Hammond B3, this is mainly a trio with Aaron Lieberman on guitar and Liviu Pop on drums; on three tracks Shaun Oakley (grandson of Allmans founding member Berry) adds bass, but on the remaining eight tracks Bruce handles the bass parts too. There are four tracks with vocals delivered by Aaron, the two he wrote alone, one co-writes with Bruce and the sole cover; the other seven tunes, all instrumentals, were written by Bruce. The music ranges widely across blues, jazz and rock.

Right Here, Right Now is terrific, from Bruce’s solo piano intro to the band’s rocking entry and Nighttime Stroll features Aaron’s vocal over New Orleans sounding piano work, plus a fine guitar solo. Where’s My Wallet? chugs along with the B3 well supported by jagged guitar riffs, plus a short drum feature. Morning On Basin Street takes us back to the Crescent City with Bruce’s super piano opening that segues into a funky B3 section that will have you dancing round the room before returning to the original piano theme to calm things down.

Aaron’s Down Below is a rockier affair with swirling keys and heavy guitar and Aaron stays on vocals

BACKBONEBLUESBAND.CO.UK

SELWYN BIRCHWOOD EXORCIST

Alligator Records

Selwyn Birchwood, the prodigious blues artist, has once again struck a powerful chord with his latest release, Exorcist. This album highlights Birchwood’s exceptional talent as a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, while also demonstrating his growth and evolution as an artist. It was recorded in Florida and produced by Tom Hambridge. There are twists to every tale in these thirteen tunes. Donald Wright on bass and Byron Garner provide the rhythm section, with Ed Krout on Hammond organ, making for what feels like his best release to date. Done Cryin’ shows his own vulnerability in the lyrical sentiments, blues right there, rhythm throughout, excellent. Florida Man changes the tone, a quirky funky tune including true stories about this breed of male to the backdrop of local news stories, Rebel flags meet Mickey Mouse. Horns Below Her Halo is a personal song about people being two faced, the groove here is phenomenal and Selwyn twists the guitar frets to a cool backbeat, lyrics are acerbic.

a masterpiece

Underdog is a personal reflection about his life as a musician, more swampy blues here. Exorcist is about obsessional love and the only way to rid this is exorcising it, a song full of differing shades and guitar phrasing. La zarus brings gospel to the mix, an upbeat tune, Regi Oliver saxophone is a highlight here. The band rolls ahead with Hopeless Romantic and rocks out. Slow blues noted on Plenty More To Be Grateful For, Selwyn’s vocals superb here and a nod to BB King with the arrangement of guitar style. A must have for any blues enthused listener, a masterpiece.

for the cover of Jesse Mae Robinson’s Sneakin’ Around which is the closest to straight blues here. Aaron’s final vocal is Tides Are Turning, a solid piece of rocking blues that celebrates his girl coming back to him and breaks up the instrumental material. The Elegant Dream may just be the standout track, a lovely tune, B3 over piano and a super guitar solo, but there are no weak tracks at all as the band runs the gamut of styles, the jazzy All About That, the groove of Gary’s Jam and the rolling gospel feel of closer What I Feel. A superb album that may well feature in those ends of the year lists.

JOHN MITCHELL

ERIC JOHANSEN

THE DEEP AND THE DIRTY

RUF RECORDS

Eric Johanson, singer songwriter and guitarist, a native of Louisiana, is an extraordinary figure in the realm of roots-rock. Known for his innovative style and remarkable guitar skills, he uses the blues as a launching pad to explore a wider and more daring sonic land

NIECIE

QUEEN OF THE HILL

Ride The Tiger Records

Niecie’s newest release is a stellar album that captures the essence of traditional blues while infusing it with contemporary energy and soulful vocals. This album accentuates her position as a true force in the blues genre. Her vocals are rich, expressive, and dripping with emotion, effortlessly drawing the listener into each song’s narrative. Whether she is belting out a passionate ballad or delivering an upbeat, foot-stomping tune, her vocals remain the focal point, leaving a lasting impression.

Her vocals are rich, expressive, and dripping with emotion

The album’s production is superlative, a balance between raw authenticity and polished craftsmanship. The bluesy guitar riffs, soulful organ swells, and tight rhythm section create a cohesive backing complementing Niecie’s vocals.

A highlight is Blues Ain’t Nothing, a slow-burning ballad. Her soulful delivery, combined with the mournful guitar work, creates an ethereal feel. Another track Waiting for the Shoe to Drop, a blues-rock number emits confidence and swagger a real toe tapper. Her lyrics explore themes of love, loss, resilience, and empowerment, staying true to the blues tradition while injecting her own individualized touch. The stories she tells are relatable and heartfelt, painting vivid pictures that resonate with the listener. This release bridges the gap between generations of blues enthusiasts. It pays homage to the rich history of the genre while injecting it with a fresh and contemporary en-

The Sky is a slow moody blues tune great bass line here underscore the ethereal feel and Eric’s slide playing is wonderful. The first cowrite is Undertow, is heralded by a driving pulsating backbeat and the song whips up into a furious tune full of intricate guitar work, raw and swampy. Elysian Fields slows the tone of the release, sinister sound to this, grungy feel.

Familiar Sound has a more traditional slide infused blues tones, soulful and melodic. Stepping Stone brings shades of that blues rock feel a sure-fire winner, catchy chorus.

Borrowed Time, slows the pace a song about paying your dues, spirited vocals. Final tune is the slow blues infused, She Is The Song, a melodic love song sung with passion, mellow guitar riffs, brilliant tune. Play, listen repeat, a masterpiece.

COLIN CAMPBELL

BEN REEL

COME A LONG WAY INDEPENDENT

Irish singer/ songwriter Ben Reel keeps at least a foothold in the blues on this, his eleventh album. There is an element of Bruce Springsteen about his vocals on the opening track, Don’t Fight It Baby’ and something of Bob Dylan to Hardwired Blues (it’s not just the harmonica work), the Blood On The Tracks sound of I Get It, and the powerful, moving, quasi-autobiographical, sadly, it is mostly by way of listing all the conflicts, From The Day I Was Born. But then there is a strong Americana feel to the title track, and even more so to Loretto On My Mind, with its pedal steel playing and a vocal which immediately made me think of Roy Orbison. The closing I Shall Be Redeemed is a strong country - gospel piece that makes for a strong finale. I’ll just note here the excellent and sometimes under-stated band accompaniment throughout, and that many of these songs are reflective, after all much of the material

was written during the pandemic. Ben obviously used his time wisely. Let The Road Rise is the traditional Irish blessing here, somewhat surprisingly maybe, framed in a very effective gospel/ blues-rock arrangement, with harp and psychedelic blues guitar in the backing, whilst the excellent The Finish Line isn’t a million miles away from Sam Cooke’s R’n’B classic Bring It On Home To Me. Yes, if your tastes are broader than just a straight twelve bar blues, this thoughtful and thought-provoking release will certainly repay your attention.

NORMAN DARWEN

TONY HOLIDAY MOTEL MISSISSIPPI

FORTY BELOW RECORDS

production values are all uniformly high. This is an album that has high quality music, of quite a variety. Holiday’s harmonica playing is tuneful and well balanced throughout, which is not surprising as he has worked with the likes of Charlie Musselwhite. If you like harmonica blues with a twist of Memphis, look no further than this quality release.

BEN MACNAIR

THE DUCHESS JUREESA MCBRIDE MY TIME TO SHINE INDEPENDENT

From the opening track, Rob and Steal, Tony Holiday and his band show that they mean business. Led by Holiday on vocals and harmonica, the rest of the band is a loose collection of Memphis musicians, with the vast majority of the material being provided by songwriter and the album’s guitar and banjo player AJ Fullerton. The strong rhythms, and backing vocals, as well as strong guitar work from the four guitarists in the ensemble mean that the production is of a uniformly high standard. The band are all groove players, with none of the solos or songs lasing longer than they need to. Although there is a lot of blues on the album, there are also moments of funk, rock and ambient music. Get By is a foot-tapping piece, and Trouble is a medium paced blues rocker with plenty of harmonica to the fore. Most of the album is mid-pace blues, but the one original with a writing credit for Tony Holiday is the album’s closing number, and only instrumental Yazoo River. It has a strong theme, owing as much to Cajun music as it does to the blues, and is suitable album closer. The running order of the album is well thought out, and the

The Duchess Jureesa McBride, with her enchanting voice and undeniable talent, has brought forth a radiant collection of ten blues songs in her latest release. Her powerful vocals and heartfelt lyrics make for a captivating musical odyssey. The opening track, My Time To Shine, is a soaring anthem that sets the tone for what lies ahead. Her vocals effortlessly carry the listener through the track, expressing a sense of determination and a belief in self. The infectious energy and uplifting melodies make this song an instant winner. Produced by Paul Nelson who plays lead guitar this was mixed at Hummingbird Studios, Chicago and encompasses Delta, Chicago, and contemporary blues. Proud to be called blues royalty she is a great singer songwriter, and her stage presence lights up a room, sassy and bold like her influences, Koko Taylor. There certainly is no denying she is a huge talent. Tom Thumb is given the big band feel a live feel to this akin to the rest of the songs., Buzz Pickens on keyboards adding to the groove and a sweet guitar solo. Elmore James’ Dust My Broom brings a steady rolling feel, soaring vocals melt with rhythm section. Koko Taylor’s I’m A Woman is a standout track full on passion and feeling punctuating each lyric. Another highlight is her own composition,

ROBERT HOKUM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND DOWNRIGHT LIES

Ubas Records

This is the sound of the suburbs. Or at least it is if you’re a blues fan and live on the western extremities of the Piccadilly Line. Robert Hokum has been keeping the genre’s legacy going in that neck of the woods for decades, and the Ealing Blues Festival he founded 26 years ago is still going strong. This album is something of a career retrospective, made up of 11 tracks recorded with numerous other musicians between 1989 and 2015. All but one was previously released under the name of one of Hokum’s former bands, The Guv’nors, who somehow don’t get a name check this time. The man himself writes the lyrics, sings the words in a white southern English accent rather than attempting to sound American, and contributes unflashy but sinuous guitar lines.

Sinuous guitar lines. A wide range of bluescentric ground gets covered

A wide range of bluescentric ground gets covered, in stylistic contrast to a more recent focus on acoustic material with his new outfit Great West Groove. Standing Still is a slice of 1970s white boy funk that reminded be of the Doobie Brothers’ classic Long Train Runnin’ and features some stand-up organ and sax work. Killing Me By Degrees is a classic minor blues progression, helped by some shimmering electric piano. The pastiche gospel Jump Your Bones works well despite Hokum’s intonation sounding more Acton than Alabama. Hokum is a popular live act in his own manor, and one of his gigs might be the obvious place to acquire a copy on CD.

DAVID OSLER

BRADWILSONLIVE.COM

BACKBONE BLUES BAND

OLD NEW BORROWED BLUES

Independent

Backbone Blues Band is a new addition to the Blues Matters story. This is the first album that I’ve had the pleasure of listening to. The title of the album kinda reveals just what this album is all about, some old trad blues, original songs written by the band, and a couple of borrowed tracks that have been slightly reworked. The opening track, Beale To Bourbon, is an original track written by founding member, Duncan Highet. And a mighty fine tune it is by the way. It sets the tone for the rest of the album, good solid songs, are played extremely well, and all the original tunes can easily stand next to the classic tunes that are covered. One of the most covered tunes of all time, House Of The Rising Son, written by Clarence Ashley and Gwen Foster in 1933, is not just some thrown-to gether rehash as many others have done before, it’s a well-rehearsed, well-produced take on one of the most easily recognizable tunes in musical history.

a fantastic album

Make It Back To Memphis, one of the covers is a lovely up-tempo boogie-type ditty that will get you up and dancing around from the first chord. That is one of the great things about this album, it’s full of wonderful surprises like this particular tune. Shaky Ground, written by Eddie Hazel and Jeffery Bowen is for me, the highlight of what is a fantastic album. It is a very good version of a classic blues tune. Ain’t No Use, penned by singer and guitarist Tony Seaman, simply oozes class and sophistication. This, as I have mentioned, is my first introduction to this band, and it won’t be the last time that I cross paths with these cats again.

STEPHEN HARRISON

Don’t Mind The Rain a slow bluesy number full of hope and driving guitar hooks. Blues for the soul, well-crafted tunes, tight band and what a voice, one to look out for.

COLIN CAMPBELL

LIGHTNIN MALCOLM

EYE OF THE STORM

WHISKEY BAYOU

This new album from Lightnin Malcolm, his eighth from what I can gather, is a belter. Styled very much in Hill Country Blues it sat very nicely on my ears from the get go. There is no doubting his pedigree having absorbed the musical heritage of past masters whilst playing the Blues joints, pubs and clubs on the roads and trails of Mississippi and Louisiana. Augmented by drummer Brady Blade and Tony Hall bass you get eleven original tracks and there is not a misplaced note anywhere. Don’t get the idea that this is a clinically clean record, it is not. It absolutely drips with atmosphere, almost as if it was cut live with

ROBERT JON AND THE WRECK RIDE INTO THE LIGHT

Journeyman Records

With this eighth studio album in ten years, Robert Jon And The Wreck run the risk of re-defining the term prolific on Ride Into The Light. It’s thirty-two minutes of sunshine infused west coast and southern fried exceptional music. The feel-good vibe to single West Coast Eyes first alerted their fans as to what they can expect on this game raising long player. It’s a throwback anthem to summer that breezes in with a warm fuzzy feeling. The rest of this album also does as much as it expands this template into other areas. Helmed by four legendary producers, Joe Bonamassa takes on the role of impresario as he and Josh Smith direct the band to bring out their very best on West Coast Eyes and the downright groovy Don’t Look Down.

thirty-two minutes of sunshine infused west coast and southern fried exceptional music

It’s also a recording on which guitar hot shot Henry James Schneekluth excels as well as Robert Jon Burrison, whose vocals are richer, especially on the Don Was produced tracks Who Can You Love and Come At Me plus the Kevin Shirley produced title track. There’s also a tinge of country rock blues to the Dave Cobb produced tunes Pain No More and One Of A Kind which leavens this inspired recording. All mixed together, they raise the game and no doubt the profile, of The Wreck who can look back in pride, from the high vantage point of this album, on the tenth anniversary

mates, still buzzing from the shows whilst existing mainly on junk food. However few are really cut out for such a career. So, when shows are advertised it is almost incumbent upon us to turn out and Let’s Get Together again with what drives us all whether purveyors, or consumers, keep buying great Blues albums like this one and keep our music alive and fresh.

GRAEME SCOTT

JUSTIN CODY FOX NEW SOUTHERN INDEPENDENT

Justin’s newest release is a captivating musical journey that fuses traditional Southern charm with modern flair. The eleven tracks exhibit energy and passion, showcasing Fox’s impressive artistry and dedication to his craft. It pushes the boundaries of Southern music while paying homage to its roots with a measure of musical styles throughout. From foot-stomping country-rock anthems to soulful ballads and bluesy tracks, he keeps the listener engaged and intrigued. The album chronicles the journey of a blue-collar musician who documents life as art through song. Justin is lead vocalist and guitarist. He is joined by Audley Freed on guitar, Tommy Brothers guitar and vocals and David Moss on bass and Seth Aldridge on drums and plethora of other musicians. The wonderful opener has a Tom Petty vocal to this blues rocking powerful apolitical tune. Take Me Home Virginia slows the tone on this reflective tune about being on the road as a musician. 18 Wheels is another rocky tune with great interplay within the band, Jen Gunderman’s keys need a special mention. Blue Hearted Fool is the highlight, a great song, his vocals are superb here, it’s all about the song heartfelt lyrics passion and style. Show Me Your Light just changes

the pace, a rocky anthem, catchy chorus a crowd pleaser. That Ain’t Love is a slow blues number. Walking These Blues is a blistering track full on groove here. Final track, Old Man Rest has a powerful acoustic gospel feel, a duet with Tina Langevin a fitting close. This is a timeless classic full of honest lyrics and consummate musicianship.

COLIN CAMPBELL

BLOOD SWEAT & TEARS LIVE & IMPROVISED FLOATING WORLD

Those of a certain age will

JIMMIE BRATCHER FAR ENOUGH

Ain’t Skeert Tunes

remember Blood Sweat & Tears who were much loved, particularly by those with a fondness for Rock with a touch of Jazz. This double album was recorded at various venues during the band’s 1975 US tour, a little after their heyday. It was originally released in Europe in 1976, under the title In Concert, only getting a US release in 1991 under the current title. There had been many personnel changes by the mid-seventies and only drummer Bobby Colomby remained from the original band, although David Clayton-Thomas (the vocalist on their major successes from albums 2 to 4) had recently re-joined. The band boasts

Straight into the title song, Far Enough, with a drum shuffle and slinky chordal riff, Bratcher tells the story of his rebirth from drug and alcohol addiction through religion. Giving up music to preach, he eventually heeded his blues calling and this 13th album is a testament to his faith in preaching the blues. Cool horns punctuate these southern fried swinging songs, especially on Memphis Slim. Bratcher’s higher register vocal interprets most of these co-written tunes with fellow musician Eric Stark. Slick playing also permeates across these eleven tracks led by Bratcher’s hot guitar licks.

his message and the musicianship here is outstanding

The haunting My Name Is Sinner is a powerfully composed song of emotional strength. It weaves lyrical life messages and Bratcher’s soulful delivery mightily impresses as does the autobiographical The Road That Leads Home and Chains. Whilst he now preaches what he practices, his message and the musicianship here is outstanding as he proves when playing live to churches, clubs and prisons. The funky rhythms underpinning a groovy Living Here In Babylon is musical self-therapy as entertainment as is most of this record rounded off by Save Me, From Myself. Not so much proselytising from his pulpit of blues as creating his songs of redemption, Bratcher, aka ‘The Electric Rev’, has produced an impressive record of music on Far Enough.

PAUL DAVIES

four front-line brass players (two trumpets, sax and trombone) and all four cover more than one instrument, so the horn charts are amazing; with a solid rhythm section behind them and three different guitarists, it’s a big band sound to enjoy. The album obviously includes most of their big hits, even going back to their first album for Al Kooper’s great blues ballad, I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know, and including three from their biggest success, the self-titled second album: the set opens with Spinning Wheel which is delivered in fine, snappy fashion, closes with their superb interpretation of You’ve Made Me So Very Happy and finds room mid-set for Laura Nyro’s stop-start And When I Die which bookends John Lee Hooker’s One Room Country Shack, epitomizing the band’s ability to blend Jazz, Blues and Rock perhaps better than any other band of the era. David Clayton-Thomas is in great voice throughout, bringing gospel to the audience with Carole King’s Hi-De-Ho and fire and brimstone to his own Lucretia MacEvil. Three tracks are taken from the recent 1975 release New City and the band finds space and time for two exhilarating instrumentals, Chick Corea’s Spain and Unit Seven, a fine tribute to the recently deceased Cannonball Adderley, both featuring Bill Tillman, on flute for Spain and, naturally, sax for the Cannonball piece.

JOHN MITCHELL

TOMMY STINSON’S COWBOYS IN THE CAMPFIRE WRONGER INDEPENDENT

Tommy Stinson, known for his role as the bass player for bands like The Replacements and Guns N’ Roses, again proves his musical prowess with his new release, on these ten tunes. This showcases his

evolution as an artist while delivering an unapologetic and exhilarating musical experience. There’s an eclectic musical feel to the tracks, blues rooted with some Americana, all well-crafted and delivered with lyrical expert timing. This is his third and best solo effort. He is helped by Chip Roberts here. Opener, Here We Go Again has a soulful feel to the backing of ukelele playing and horn section. His vocals are laid back but visceral. That’s It brings his punk side out on this exhilarating rockabilly ditty punctuated with a punchy rhythm and cool guitar riff. Mr Wrong has a laid-back feel again to visceral lyrics about love gone wrong. Schemes keeps a low tone vibe with some twanging guitar on this love song. Fall Apart Together keeps the twanging going but it’s his vocal delivery that is so unique. Hey Man, keeps an acoustic groove, a sombre track full of emotion. We Ain’t, ramps up the harmonies with intricate guitar style. Karma’s Bitch slows the pace, very catchy vibe, mellow style. Souls: is a lesson in melodic songwriting, full of emotion then the pallet changes to a pacy harmony, just soaring snarling vocals. Final tune is Dream; this is just divine with a raw live feel so many layers.

COLIN CAMPBELL

MIKE

GULDIN

AND ROLLIN’ AND TUMBLIN’ THE FRANKLIN SESSIONS

BLUE HEART RECORDS

The first person that Mike Guldin contacted about the making of this album was his long-time collaborator and friend, Kevin McKendree. The album title, The Franklin Sessions came about because the album was recorded at Kevin’s studio in, Franklin, Tennessee. The album opens with, The Franklin Shuffle, a wonderful 12-bar boogie with Yates McKendree ( son of Kevin) delivering a thumping beat

of rhythm driving the song ever forward. “ Ease Your Troubled Mind” I’m sure that I’ve heard that phrase before in a song, fits perfectly into this fine opening track. There are three cover tunes on the album, the first one, Killin’ Floor needs no introduction at all. What pleases me about this rendition is the fact that Mike Guldin doesn’t need to try and force his vocal to do the song justice. His natural vocal range copes easily with the song, don’t get me wrong, he can’t and doesn’t attempt to copy Howlin’ Wolf’s vocal, nobody can do that. This is good enough without the need for imitation Not only does the album swing like crazy, but it also has its quieter moments, as in the songs, The Right Thing, a beautiful gospel tune, and, Prisoner Of Love, a slow bluesy lament. The collaboration between Guldin and McKendree is a huge part of what makes this album what it is, but let’s not forget the other musicians, a fine gathering, Tennessee obviously has a wealth of talent around at the moment. The final track, another cover, this time from the archives of “Sleepy” John Estes, Divin’ Duck Blues. What I like about this is the fact that this would not be

MONSTER MIKE WELCH NOTHING BUT TIME

Gulf Coast Records

The new release from Monster Mike Welch is a testament to his extraordinary talent and love for the blues. With its exceptional guitar work and heartfelt songwriting, this is a well-rounded showcase of Welch’s prowess. This a worthy addition to any blues lover’s collection and solidifies Monster Mike Welch’s place among the genre’s contemporary greats. Produced and engineered by Kid Andersen who also plays on the album at his Greaseland Studios. It features an all-star band including legendary bassist Jerry Jemmott. Fourteen tracks of mixed styles all with his signature guitar playing and tenor vocal. Four reinterpretations, two Robert Johnson’s, If I Had Possession and the haunting acoustic driven, Kind Hearted Woman are stand outs. As are The Beatles’ I Me Mine and Buddy Guy’s Ten Years Ago, particularly poignant.

your first choice of a song to cover in normal circumstances, which goes to prove how well Mike Guldin knows about the history of some of the almost-forgotten songs of the genre. Franklin, Tennessee has shown us that it has the blues at its beating heart, and Mike Guldin is doing everything to keep that heart pumping.

STEPHEN HARRISON

SEAN TAYLOR SHORT STORIES INDEPENDENT

a testament to his extraordinary talent and love for the blues

London based troubadour

Sean Taylor must be one of the best singer songwriters around and this new release of ten original tunes is peppered with emotion, style and musicality in every verse. It flows so well, the opener, an ethereal homage to playwright

Wildflower keeps the magical spell of his vocals, evoking summer vibes and less is more on this piano laden track Paulina Szczepaniak on drums just keeping a light beat here, hypnotic trancey tones. Open Your Heart To Love comprises interweaving of conversations he has had, another hypnotic upbeat tune full of emotion, goosebump time here. Mona Lisa has a boogie woogie blues style, about the famous painting, Sean’s harmonica style is mighty fine on this feelgood tune. Mike Seal who plays bass throughout, co-wrote Set Me Free a love song for hard times, Sean’s vocals soar through this musical rootsy treat. Gravestones is full on dark humour set to a voodoo beat, contemporary lyrics, love the violin. Sweet Maria is an Irish love song a bit of ragtime here. The Letter is a straight blues tune about ultimate heartbreak but an upbeat track. Last track, Be Cool is billed as a stream of consciousness to an ongoing narrative from Sean, jazzy vibes, especially Eric Lounsbury on trumpet make this a winner, so many layers to this astounding release, it gets better with every play, incredible release.

COLIN CAMPBELL

GRAINNE DUFFY

DIRT WOMAN BLUES

BLUE HEART RECORDS

back to the days of Rory Gallagher and Peter Green. What’s It Going To Be ? is a much lighter love song with soulful, questioning vocals set against a catchy rhythm. Running Back To You is a 60’s inspired Soul/R&B ballad where Duffy displays the whole range of her vocal talent. I’m already smitten with this fine album combining blues, rock, soul and touches of Celtic flavour. Rise Above is a heartbreaker showing those Celtic influences but Sweet Liberation is a chunk of Southern Rock that builds to a searing boogie climax of wailing guitars and soulful vocals. Full marks to the band of Marc Ford and Paul Sherry on guitars, Elijah Ford on bass, piano and Moog and J J Johnson on drums. Hold On To You is a deep-soul emotional ballad featuring vulnerable, almost broken, vocals and fine keyboards from guest Peter Levin. Duffy spits out defiance on the crunching rocker Yes I Am which features thunderous drums and blistering guitars in a race to the finish. Closing track Killycrum is a heartfelt, pastoral, acoustic based homage to Duffy’s clearly beloved hometown in County Monaghan, Ireland. This excellent album will surely be mentioned when the annual awards are being compiled.

DAVE DRURY ALOUD APOLLO 6

LEMON MERCHANT RECORDS

in several home studios in Los Angeles. Somewhere To Be sets the tone with its anthemic sound and powerful vocals. The song grabs your attention and sets the stage for what is to come. The Comeback Kid is full on bluesy rock with the rhythm section of Chris Murphy on bass and drummer Chris Jago adding the groove. Meditation For The Housebound has psychedelic undertones a song relating to coping mechanisms especially relating to pandemic issues. Morning Moon slows the pace on this acoustic track, dreamy harmonies a feelgood tune.

Ride On is a pacy call and response tune, alluding with tones of Joan Jett vocal range, then grungy instrumental jam ensues, a great track, full on power. Apollo keeps up the pacy rhythm with Henry taking on vocals delivering another anthemic tune, that has so many twists, harmonies soar, well arranged tune.

Stranger In The Alps has a hypnotic beat, the band get to rock out and have fun on this one. Last song, Stoned Ape, is full of energy, a real crowd pleaser. Something for every music lover, a band to be reckoned with.

COLIN CAMPBELL

THE NICK MOSS BAND FEATURING DENNIS GRUENLING GET YOUR BACK INTO IT!

ALLIGATOR RECORDS

This release was a leap of faith for Mike who cites Mike Zito and Kid Andersen as the catalysts for getting him started, he has had various health problems and making the album seems cathartic to Mike. Various themes throughout about the human condition. I ’ve Got Nothing But Time, relates to dating his future wife, a mellow soul blues tune peppered with fine vocals and guitar licks. Walking To You Baby has Luther Guitar Johnson tones, then the backing horn section makes this a highlight. I Ain’t Saying has a nod to BB King, with Mike’s twist to this. In Case You Care slows the tempo, it’s all about the rhythm and groove to this one. Just a wonderfully uplifting feel and tone. Take time and get this in your collection you won’t be disappointed.

Samuel Beckett references

Waiting For Godot and is just hypnotic in tone. Likewise, Snowdonia is a true story recreating a peaceful landscape, the arrangement is uplifting and memorable, Joe Harvey White’s pedal steel backing interplay lifts the tune to surreal depths.

COLIN CAMPBELL

Fifth studio album from Irish blues, roots, singersongwriter and guitarist who has ventured to California to find a bigger, bolder sound for her latest release. All nine songs are self penned and varied in style. Opener Well Well Well hits the sweet spot straight away with mighty vocals and searing slide guitar from Duffy as part of a twin guitar attack.

Title track Dirt Woman Blues is a moody haunting blues with impassioned vocals and heavy melancholic guitar which took me

Aloud’s latest album, Apollo 6, is a dynamic and captivating musical journey that showcases the band’s growth and evolution. With their trademark blend of rock, soul, and grungy bluesy tones on these ten original tracks, they deliver an album filled with infectious hooks, thoughtful lyrics, and most importantly. energy. Fronted by Jen De la Osa and Henry Beguiristain, they explore new ground, but there is a feel of mid 60s California here. This was recorded

This is the band’s third release on Alligator Records and is simply the best they have done; this will be in the running for awards as best album of the year. They mix all type of blues rooted styles and make them their own yet keeping to that traditional old school Chicago blues formula. Fourteen tracks that has the listener’s toe tapping and just a feeling of joy and cohesion as a talented and professional band oozes through these tunes. Nick Moss on guitar and vocals,

HITMAN BLUES BAND

HEY GUYS CAN YOU PLAY

Nerus Records

Now here’s a real surprise. Hitman is a band with a history of delivering top-dollar blues music, always powerful, full-throttle driving stuff that is engaging and entertaining at every turn. Here, they deliver a remarkably assured release of mostly covers of some truly unexpected tracks. Dylan’s Times They Are A Changing; Kris Kristofferson’s Sunday Morning Coming Down; a bite of John Lee Hooker – Boom Boom; Willie Dixon’s, Muudy Waters’ classic Hoochie Coochie Man; and another bunch of great songs from the blues master catalogue.

an album that delivers great pleasure with a genuinely innovative, bold approach that works fabulously

The band’s usual powerful vocals and electric rocking-blues sound pushes the whole thing along with an unexpected twist and a hugely enjoyable bang. The cover of Robert Johnson’s Come On In My Kitchen, is another passionate, purposeful driving number that simply surprises, with strong rhythmic slide work unlike the usual approach to the track displayed by most.

Overall, this is an album that delivers great pleasure with a genuinely innovative, bold approach that works fabulously!

IAIN PATIENCE

DUKE ROBILLARD & HIS ALL-STAR BAND

SIX STRINGS OF STEEL

ALASTAIR GREENE

ALIVE IN THE NEW WORLD

Whiskey Bayou

has Dennis Gruenling on harmonica and singing lead on Man On The Move and Your Bark Is Worse Than Your Bite, these give a flavour to the tempo overall. Bass is brought by Rodrigo Mantovani and fellow rhythm section player is Pierce Downer, with Taylor Streiff on keyboards. The Bait In The Snare explodes with rhythm a superb opener about life being unfair the band introducing their power here and the clarity of sound is superb, great guitar lick jump blues boogie. Aurelie is straight blues slow and sultry and overlying harmonica accen-

tuate the vocal delivery. Get Your Back Into It is full on authentic Chicago blues about mutual attraction in a manner of speaking. So many good tunes here, The Solution has a funky groove, a tribute to Jimmy and Syl Johnson featuring Sax Gordon Beadle, stunning arrangement hauntingly similar grooves to these blues legends. Losing Ground is about respecting people and the band just rocks out here in syncopation a live feel to the whole release makes this a sure-fire winner.

COLIN CAMPBELL

M.C. RECORDS

Duke has his all-star band back. He leads on guitar and vocals with, Marty Ballou on bass, Mark Teixeira on drums, Chris Cote on vocals, Doug James on saxophone and Bruce Bears on keyboards and organ. This is a retrospective look at his influences through the years encompassing many blues, rock and swing styles to these stunning twelve tracks. Git With It has a big band sound on this powerful instrumental.

Shame Shame Shame has great groove and rhythm, punctuated with intense vocals. Lima Beans is a jump

I had the enormous pleasure of reviewing the album The New World Blues, by Alastair a couple of years ago. I was very impressed then, so when this little beauty landed at my desk I was eager to get acquainted. Alongside Alastair are long-time buddies and bandmates, Tab Benoit, and Corey Dupelchin on drums and bass respectively. This live performance was recorded at The Chicago Winery, a venue with great surroundings, a menu, and live gigs such as this. The album opens with a lovely blues instrumental, Back At The Poor House. For a three-piece band, these guys sure know how to put across a song. Alastair Greene is a blues, blues/rock artist who has a great knowledge of both genres. It’s not as easy as you think, switching from a full-blown blues tune to a thumping blues/ rocker, not everyone has that ability. When You Don’t Know What To Do is funky as hell and highlights the songwriting talents of Greene, not just his playing and singing. No Longer Amused brings us firmly back into the blues groove, I can only imagine the ambiance of being in such a great venue such as this listening to the blues being performed so well.

For a three-piece band, these guys sure know how to put across a song

All the songs on this album were written by Alastair Greene, except for, Bayou Mile. Now this song was co-written with Tab Benoit, and it has become somewhat of an anthem for these guys. There is a good reason for that, the song is absolutely brilliant. I hope that one day I’ll be lucky enough to get to see these guys perform in a live setting, if so, Bayou Mile will be worth the entrance fee alone.

STEPHEN HARRISON

jive feelgood type tune. Love Struck slows the pace on this Chuck Willis tune, Duke’s guitar solo just sublime. In Perfect Harmony keeps the upbeat tone on this soulful love song. Bob Dylan’s Watching The River Flow is given a New Orleans vibe here, with added fiddle, from Katie Shore. Billy In The Lion’s Den showcases the mighty rhythm section on this instrumental punctuated with Duke’s mesmerising guitar work.

Fats Domino’s I’m Gonna Be

A Wheel Someday, has a different feel altogether, some reggae notes even Ska, a grower. Ike Turner’s Take Your Fine Frame Home has a rockabilly sound, another different take. Groovin’ In The Swamp has a raw organic feel laid back yet intricate guitar work. Lovin’ You is a perfect tribute to Lowell Fulson full of feeling a great tune. Final song is a version of Link Wray’s Rumble, an

LUCINDA WILLIAMS STORIES FROM A ROCK “N” ROLL HEART

Thirty Tigers

excellent version, finishing a quality release, a highly recommended album.

COLIN CAMPBELL

GAYE

ADEGBALOLA SATISFIED

VIZZTONE

Gaye Todd was born and raised in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Gaye Adegbalola is a Blues Music Award Winner and a founding member of Saffire, The Uppity Blues Women (1984 - 2009), she plays guitar, harmonica and is a composer and has recorded ten albums on Alligator Records. She has also recorded six albums on her own Hot Toddy music label. She has been a successful solo artist for decades, Satisfied, her anthology, includes selections from nine of her solo projects.

Luce is back with another absolute stormer. Always a lady of huge talent and singular importance, Lucinda Williams comfortably straddles blues, funk and Americana genres with an apparent ease and consummate style. Here, she blasts out with a rocking start that truly grabs the listener by the balls and keeps you locked in till the last drop is squeezed out. Now based in Nashville, Williams sadly had a stroke a while ago;

a masterful display of modern vocal grit and song-writing genius

but with this remarkable release, she has clearly overcome many of the otherwise draining and damaging consequences to deliver an absolute belter. Something we’ve probably come to expect from her over the years and which, fortunately, she appears more than capable of continuing going forward. If ever there was a lady with a Rock’n Roll Heart and who remains a survivor to boot, it must surely be Lucinda Williams! Grab this and enjoy it, a masterful display of modern vocal grit and song-writing genius. Album of the year!

IAIN PATIENCE

Gaye continues the tradition of classic blues women who have chronicled topics about social conditions as well as affairs of the heart. Like them, she has been described as one of those fiercely independent wild women, unashamed to lay her soul bare, unafraid to give advice. As so many of them, she is a comedienne, finding humour in the pain of day to day living. On this Anthology, her song writing is as sharp as ever and is front and centre with fifteen originals of the twenty selections. Gaye is accompanied on many of these selections by Jeff Covert on electric lead/ rhythm and slide guitars, bass and drums, and Roddy Barnes on piano. The album opens with the whimsical Big Ovaries, Baby, a cover of the Speckled Red number. The Dirty Dozen features some excellent boogie woogie piano from Barnes. There is also some nice restrained swampy slide guitar on the gospel themed 3 Hour Shoes. A beautiful rendition of Ma Rainey’s Jelly Bean Blues is simple wonderful, full of emotion. Winona - For Mrs Fannie Lou Hamer is a another stripped down emotive song made by the superb harmonica from Phil Wiggins, while the politically charged Nothing’s Changed drives along on an uptempo Bo Diddly beat. The album concludes with the James Weldon Johnson & J. Rosamond Johnson poem, Lift Every Voice And Sing, this is a good introduction into Gaye’s work.

SHIRL

GAYE ADEGBALOLA AN ANTHOLOGY

VIZZTONE

Gaye Todd was born and raised in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Gaye Adegbalola is a Blues Music Award Winner and a founding member of Saffire, The Uppity Blues Women (1984 - 2009), she plays guitar, harmonica and is a composer and has recorded

ten albums on Alligator Records. She has also recorded six albums on her own Hot Toddy music label. She has been a successful solo artist for decades, Satisfied, her anthology, includes selections from nine of her solo projects. Gaye continues the tradition of classic blues women who have chronicled topics about social conditions as well as affairs of the heart. Like them, she has been described as one of those fiercely independent wild women, unashamed to lay her soul bare, unafraid to give advice. As so many of them, she is a comedienne, finding humour in the pain of day to day living. On this Anthology, her song writing is as sharp as ever and is front and centre with fifteen originals of the twenty selections. Gaye is accompanied on many of these selections by Jeff Covert on electric lead/ rhythm and slide guitars, bass and drums, and Roddy Barnes on piano. The album opens with the whimsical Big Ovaries, Baby, a cover of the Speckled Red number. The Dirty Dozen features some excellent boogie woogie piano from Barnes. There is also some nice restrained swampy slide guitar on the gospel themed 3 Hour Shoes. A beautiful rendition of Ma Rainey’s Jelly Bean Blues is simple wonderful, full of emotion. Winona - For Mrs Fannie Lou Hamer is a another stripped down emotive song made by the superb harmonica from Phil Wiggins, while the politically charged Nothing’s Changed drives along on an uptempo Bo Diddly beat. The album concludes with the James Weldon Johnson & J. Rosamond Johnson poem, Lift Every Voice And Sing, this is a good introduction into Gaye’s work.

SHIRL

JOANNA CONNOR BEST OF ME

GULF COAST RECORDS

Joanna Connor’s latest

release, showcases the immense talent and raw power of one of the most formidable blues guitarists in the industry. With her soulful vocals and blistering guitar skills, Connor delivers an electrifying collection of eleven tracks that captivate the listener from start to finish. The funky opener, House Rules has Josh Smith and full horn section including a saxophone insert by Eric Demmer, an upbeat dance tune. Pain And Pleasure is a melodic soulful tune, Joanna’s vocals are just sumptuous, never better, backing vocals add harmony and lift the tune and her slide playing is phenomenal, so many layers to this one. Best Of Me slows the pace, mellow vibes, again accentuate her vocal style, written by her bass player Shaun Gotti Calloway, sublime tones build the song to a crescendo. Fast and furious slide styled, Highway Child has Joe Bonamassa trading licks with the band here, live this will be terrific. Soulful and sensual vocals make the tune I Lost You into an epic, the band keeping the groove on this dreamy track. Two Of A Kind brings a funky feel trumpet player, Vallejo punctuating the notes, then guitar soloing to a smooth backbeat. All I Want Is You slows the tempo another soulful opus, catchy number. Mercury Blues gets a dusting of solid slide. Greatest Of These is a touching ballad about world troubles, a gorgeous song soulful and mournful throughout, great musicianship, well arranged. Last tune, Shine On is a full-on blues rocker with a mean bass line and punctuated with harmonica tones from Jason Ricci and added backing guitar from Gary Hoey, a brilliant tune. Check this out, it’s a fantastic release, no fillers.

COLIN CAMPBELL

LADY J HOUSTON GROOVE ME BABY

Earwig Music

Boom, an explosion of brass and vocal sound hits me right between the ears as Lady J grabs my attention with her beautiful distinctive voice, that tells me I’m gonna love this album. Old style brassy blues straight from the streets, a whole orchestra of vocalists and musicians and Lady J herself blowing up a storm on trumpet on tracks 2/5/6 and 11. When I listen to music it does a couple of things to me, it either kicks up a memory or it makes me visualise another place or time. Twelve tracks that seem to be making a movie of situations in my mind, especially one particular track, where Lady J’s vocals almost shattered my wine glass. As I’m going through the script, I think to myself, can this album get any better, then Lady J throws in the classic Born Under a Bad Sign.

an epic album that will get played over and over again

A stunning version, worth buying the album alone for. Then, as I read the sleeve notes, the next song is Corona, You Make Me Sick, how wrong was I to think is this going to be a bit of a comedy song, I loved it and there’s nothing funny about it, it’s a soulful classic. Six songs in and I’m completely under her spell. Her timing along with the orchestra is second to none, this is big sound, this is bold sound, this is soul sound with a good dollop of blues folded into the mix. I start to imagine myself sat in a St Louis theatre, waiting for her to come on stage from behind a beautiful sash curtain, waiting for the brass and guitar to kick in. This is an epic album that will get played (by me) over and over again, how’s it going to end, with the Classic Etta James song, At Last, and I say I’m glad I found you at last Lady J.

Callahan took a few years off to raise her family, so this is her first release in eight years. However, on ten originals and two covers Deb sounds like she has never been away, singing well in front of her regular band, filled out by horns and producer Chris Arms’ slide guitar on a couple of tracks. The album is dedicated to long-serving drummer Tom Walling who passed away after these recordings.

Allen James’ sweet guitar lines and the horns underpin Deb as she declares that she is what she is, What I’m

Working With, indeed. The soulful start continues with Crazy Ride, a funky rhythm with 70’s sounding clavinet before Deb decides that it’s time for her to put on her Big Girl Pants to face up to problems, a tough blues tune with plenty of chugging guitars. Deb rejects someone she classes as a Rogue, a gentler tune with delicate guitar, while A Few New Tricks shuffles along well, an autobiographical song about Deb’s recent life changes. The first cover is a fairly straight version of Percy Mayfield’s classic

Danger Zone, solid vocals and guitar here, before Still Fighting To Be Free adds a hint of the Delta with acoustic guitar and harp, a serious song about the continuing struggle for freedom for African Americans. Back to the funkier side with Don’t Tread On Me, the second track with sax before two songs written solely by Deb: Cleaning House finds Deb working her way through old stuff, accompanied just by drumbeats and moody slide guitar; Thought You Were My Girl is a sad song about a former friend, beautifully sung and played. An upbeat tune is what is needed now, and Deb provides Just What The Doctor Ordered, funky, with the clavinet appearing again.

Sean Costello’s Anytime You Want is reprised from Sean’s final studio album We Can Get Together to close the album on a rocking note. Deb Callahan is a strong singer and song writer, and it is good to see her back on the scene.

JOHN MITCHELL

JENNIFER LYN & THE GROOVE REVIVAL

GYPSY SOUL INDEPENDENT

North Dakota based musician with a 5 track EP of blues-rock penned by Lyn and bandmate Richard Torrance. Title track Gypsy Soul opens the CD with a swinging bluesy vibe proclaiming Lyn’s love of rock & roll music and featuring tough vocals, stinging guitar and hot bar room piano from Barb Jiskra. Torrance contributes guitar and backing vocals and the pair occasionally duel on lead guitars as on the funky Low Down Dirty Shame a story of love gone wrong. The excellent band is completed by Chris Addison on bass and Jim Anderson on drums. Going Round In Circles is a blues ballad drenched in soul and features Lyn’s emotional vocals set against Torrance’s stinging reverb-soaked guitar fills. Nice one. Lyn and Torrance write and perform

well together and have produced some great music here. Give Me All Of Your Lovin’ rocks hard telling a tale of an exciting night out at the local Jook Joint. All too soon we get to closing track You Can Take It All a well crafted stripped-down love song featuring Lyn and Torrance’s sensuous harmonised vocals backed by sweet, chiming, guitar licks and wailing organ. I really enjoyed this well honed, masterful blend of styles and look forward to hearing more, please!

DAVE DRURY

GENERATIONS OF BLUES

WEST SIDE LEGACY-WITH THE SOUL BLUES HEALERS

NOLA BLUE RECORDS

If ever there was an album fully laden with so many blues artists and musicians, then this is it. The Taylor family was one of the main artists and players many BLUES

BARRY BLUESBARN HOPWOOD

years ago on the West Side Of Chicago. Now, it was the South Side of Chicago that had all of the blues clubs featuring the likes of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Buddy Guy. But the West Side was largely in the background. Eddie Taylor Sr, and his wife, Vera Taylor brought the blues from Mississippi to Chicago in the early 50s. Moving forward to 2015, Larry Taylor and his many brothers and sisters decided to start recording and playing some of their parent’s tunes to a new and excited audience. This album is one of the products of that. Thirteen songs are all written by

SKY TRAILS & PIE TALES

TREV TURLEY

The Cherished Synapse Publishing - BOOK REVIEW

members of the family, with a large collection of musicians to help complement proceedings. Horn section, complete with tenor and alto sax help bring the blues, soul, and gospel to the fore. She Treats Me Just The Same, is the opening track, written and sung by Larry Taylor. What a way to kick off an album, so much blues and soul packed into this great tune. The plethora of musicians enhances every note perfectly. With just one song, this album has completely engaged my blues juices.

Bad Girl, written by Eddie Taylor, features his sister, Demetria Taylor on vocals.

Now, many of you will be familiar with Demetria, as I am, but this tune is one hell of a belter. This album produces song after amazing song, each one holding its own alongside the previous ones. Not to be outdone by her sister, Brenda Taylor lends he vocals to, I Found Out, and Talk To Your Son, which is an adaptation of Talk To Your Daughter, by Robben Ford. Generations Of Blues is exactly what this album professes to be. Every blues enthusiast should get a copy of this album.

STEPHEN HARRISON

Turlmey is a name likely to be known to many UK blues fans for both his musicianship as a bass player and his reviews and contributions to UK blues music journals. Here, he takes the bull by the horns and explores his own contribution to the blues community and his at times revealing thoughts on the what ifs of a career in the business.

It’s easy to say this is a ‘warts and all’ memoir of a career spanning over half a century but in reality it’s more than that – thankfully, it’s an intriguing read full of insight and integrity. Don’t expect any salacious gossip here – Turley explains at the very outset that this is not his bag, nor what the memoir is about.

The guy has worked an interestingly broad scan of musical genres over the years and his passing thoughts on them all are included together with every aspect of his career, doubtless similar to many – especially in the early days – from starting gigging in the Midlands as a youngster to the move following, hoping for stardom of some kind in the gold-plated London streets - a quest that, like countless others both before and after, never quite hit the giddy heights. But despite this, Turley remains upbeat and would agree, I’m sure, that he had a wonderful life just by being a professional musician - a goal many would virtually die for.

An enjoyable romp through the life of a music pro, well worth catching, maybe as a good poolside, summer read!

IAIN PATIENCE

JAN JAMES

TIME BOMB

BLUE PALACE RECORDS

Jan James is a fixture of the Chicago blues scene and enjoys a serious reputation with our European friends in the Scandinavian countries, home of serious blues aficionados. Reading her biography, it advises that Jan played the iconic and troubled legend Janis Joplin in the life story drama Love Janis, so it would be reasonable to expect series of scorching raw-edged, soul-baring, throat-searing testimonies of the evils of the world in general, and men in particular. A pleasant surprise therefore, to find that Jan’s voice is as smooth and easy as a Southern Comfort on an autumn evening. Desperate Times is a beautifully crafted piece of easy r ‘n’ b with a bed of piano, sax, and tasteful guitar work. The further the album progresses, the more attractive Jam James’ voice becomes, it lays you down in an atmosphere of sadness, but tinged with hope and optimism. But it’s not all sweetness –Blood On Your Hands is a good down and dirty blues, complete with Jan James twisting

the pronunciation of her lyrics, it’s vintage Mick Jagger style, and it saves this album from being a little too sweet and kind for its own good. The album finishes up with Always The Blues, which pretty much does what it says on the proverbial tin. There is some scorching guitar work, and maybe there should be more elsewhere on the record. This is a great introduction for those who are not familiar with the work of Jan James, and I suspect that when she takes this collection out to play, that a lot of the smoothness and sweetness of the production are rubbed right off and the raw blues shouter she has to be will shine right on through. Maybe a little of that rawness could have come through on more than a couple of songs, but that’s a minor gripe. This is a good album, and it should please fans of Jan James, and more than likely grow some more.

ANDY HUGHES

DUDLEY TAFT GUITAR KINGDOM

INDEPENDENT

Confession time, as I have not listened to anything at all of Dudley’s previous output and that is some ten solo albums at least plus others with several bands. He has had numerous film and television music placements as well however he has not crossed my ears until now. Guitar Kingdom has ten original tracks plus one Tinsley Ellis cover and as a collection it is hard and heavy for sure. Harking back, and drawing influence from perhaps the 1970s rock output of the likes of Purple, Sabbath Zeppelin etc, you have to ask yourself is that a good idea? Hell yeah! Black And Blues sets the very loud tone from the outset so be prepared to be pinned back in your seat if you even have your audio system at mid volume setting. This is who cares what the neighbours think music. I am going to push my system all the way to 11 for around forty minutes

and to heck with anyone else. Ably supported by a cohort of drums, bass and keys Dudley’s lead and fills guitar work is excellent sitting alongside strong vocals. His writing kinda covers the usual fayre of girl trouble, life on the road, cars etc. The only real softer cut is Darkest Days but don’t worry we get right back to business with I Want More Wild Young Days. So, if you are looking for some seriously hard rocking blues you will find all you need on Guitar Kingdom

GRAEME SCOTT

JOHNNY KING & FRIENDS

CALL IT CONFUSION SOL ISLAND

Johnny is a veteran singer and guitarist from Virginia who is obviously well-respected and equally well-connected, his list of friends is impressive. This is a busy, mostly blues set, with tracks often involving several vocalists and/or rhythm sections, this gives it a unique if sometimes overly busy sound, particularly on the opening, title track, though this settles down as the album progresses. This is a result of Johnny updating older analogue recorded songs; on this number, Tony Coleman recorded new drums alongside the now deceased Buddy Miles from the original. Miles also appears on the following number, the tempo- and genre-switching Lyric Fountain Station, it starts as a convincing slow blues and ends as a Santana-ish workout! Those other friends? Well, the album closes with 89 years old blues legend Bobby Rush tackling Slim Harpo’s anthemic I’m A King Bee and making it his own. By this time though, Rush has already appeared on several tracks, both on harp and vocals. New Orleans outfit The Dirty Dozen Brass Band adds a distinctive touch to Freedom, Freedom, the soulful God’s Own Blues, and the

Band Of Gypsys-flavoured Itchin’ At The Root on which Buddy Miles plays and sings, and ex-Meter George Porter plays one of the two bass guitars. The Roanoke Gospel Choir help recreate a down-home Church feel on Oh My Captain and Savannah Red has a New Orleans feel, and Johnny himself gets the chance to shine on the instrumental That’s It; his own Bobby Bland flavoured Recognition Blues is something else too. All tracks though are well worth a listen, and Johnny shows he knows how to be the leader of a real blues band and a half!

NORMAN DARWEN

MIKE BOURNE BAND FEATURING JOHNNY BURGIN

CRUISIN’ KANSAS CITY

BLUE HEART RECORDS

Reading through the liner notes before listening to the album, it’s made abundantly clear that Mike Bourne is attempting to pay homage to the many people who originated from Kansa City, Missouri, most notably, Abb Locke, Lee McBee, and Lindsay Shannon. Now these names may not be on the tip of your tongue, but they have all shaped blues music in Kansas City, whether it be playing with Howlin’ Wolf, or Albert Collins, to owning the finest blues establishment in

Kansas City, BBs Lawnside. So, that’s the jist of what the album is all about, the story is told through thirteen magnificent blues tunes, all written by Bourne himself. It’s, therefore, a good place to start the album with, Cruisin’ Kansas City, with its blues groove and Scotty Moore-type 50s guitar playing. Both styles are represented very well on the album, Johnny Burgin, complementing Bourne so well. What you also get is great horns, sax, and harmonica interweaving between the blues guitars of Bourne and Burgin. Not only does the album celebrate Kansas City’s finest, but it also has a slightly deeper edge on some of the songs, Loose With The Truth being a perfect example. It starts as what you would think is a guy singing about his girl lying to him, straight to turning the tables towards politicians, on how they lie and promise everything, whilst actually delivering nothing. This could strike a chord with most countries, I’m sure. Help Somebody, and Too Young To Be Old, offer a more mellow outlook on life within the blues, both have a message that we all often miss in our day-to-day lives in the blues. I feel that I have gained something from this album, an awareness of how important Kansas City is to the world of blues, and also, just how good an artist Mike Bourne really is.

STEPHEN HARRISON

ALBANY DOWN BORN IN THE ASHES

Independent

LIL’ JIMMY REED WITH BEN LEVIN

BACK TO BATON ROUGE

NOLA BLUES RECORDS

The veteran guitarist and singer Lil’ Jimmy Reed finds himself playing with a young whippersnapper, 23-year-old pianist Ben Levin on Back to Baton Rouge. Although on paper it might make for an odd pairing, on record it makes perfect sense. With Lil Jimmy Reed playing guitar, singing, and playing Harmonica, he is more than ably matched for blues feeling by the onform, stylistically perfect Lewin. With a second guitar, bass, and drums, the ten tracks show a band perfectly at ease, delivering the mix of five originals and five covers on the album. Highlights include the slow 12-bar shuffle of Wish You Wouldn’t, with a barrelhouse blues piano solo. Cincinnati’s The Place To Be has a foot-tapping funk feeling, and the tempo is greatly reduced for the moody title track, Back to Baton Rouge. In the Wee Wee Hours is well played, with some upbeat piano, and Engine Light is a slow John Lee Hooker groove, with a deeply pitched vocal. I’m The Man Down There is another 12-bar shuffle with plenty of down-home wisdom in the vocals. There is no grandstanding technique here, and no musicians are being flashy for the sake of it, but there is plenty of

For their first new release since 2016 Albany Down have again linked up with go to producer Greg Haver at Rockfield Studios and between them they have conjured up a first-rate Blues Rock album. Vocalist/guitarist Paul Turley is joined by Ben Atkins (bass) and Peter Hancock(drums) in bringing to life a collection of songs about overcoming adversity mostly written during the dark days of lockdown. Always Want What You Can’t Have is a kick ass opener with some spikey guitar playing from Paul as he lays bare the unfairness of the music business and relationships in general. Good News is next and carries through the mainstream rock vibe in a very catchy way.

Some excellent use of horns on Same Damn Thing gives the track a real Motown feel and brings some super variation to what’s gone before, despite the lyric being about the repetitiveness of being caught in a rut. Paul shows his versatility as a songwriter with the reflective six-minute ballad about the passing of time and life’s changes The Memory Of What Used To Be. Special mention for the wonderful backing vocals provided by Cat Wyn Southall and the sympathetic production by Greg Haver. Things get rocked up again with Reflections, a dirty bluesy look back at making wrong decisions, with more than a hint of Hendrix running through it.

a quality rock album with blues undercurrents running through

This is sure to fast become a live favourite. Darkest Day finds the band continuing to rock out whilst re-iterating the theme of moving forwards with renewed vigour and positivity. Kingdom Of The Blind is next and maybe I’m showing my age, but this reminded me very much of the best of NWOBHM (if you know, you know), a big classic rock song with cultural and philosophical references hidden in the lyrics. The fast paced Don’t Look Back takes us on a high-energy one-way trip that there’s no returning from that leads us nicely into I’ll Come Running, an upbeat feel-good song with more first-class brass provided by New Zealand’s Uppercut Horns. Your Days Are Numbered has a bad attitude crunchy guitar opening perfect for a tale of ending a bad relationship of some kind inspired by the corruption of those in positions of power.

The penultimate song is another heart felt ballad called Heavy Soul. It’s a message of hope and positivity for those feeling overwhelmed complemented brilliantly by The Vulcan Strings and the Bedford Friends Choir. Final track Let Your Love Shine ends things in an upbeat feel-good way and is the perfect finale to what is a quality rock album with blues undercurrents running through.

STEVE YOURGLIVCH

good solid musicianship on display. At 85 Lil’ Jimmy Reed may be one of the last of his generation still playing, but he still has more than enough to say.

BEN MACNAIR

LEFTOVER SALMON

GRASS ROOTS

COMPASS RECORDS

The acknowledged pioneers of what is now called Jamgrass, a country cousin of newgrass music, Colorado’s Leftover Salmon deliver a wonderful new album of tasty covers featuring songs from David Bromberg, Bob Dylan and The Grateful Dead. As a result, this is a move from their usual self-penned approach which packs a really hefty punch. This is one of those albums that truly should be played at high volume, a delightful near rocker of a release with some outstanding melodies, harmonies and driving guitar, banjo and mandolin at the core.

The opening track comes from the legendary Doc Boggs, Country Blues, and the release then romps on with a near breathless attention to detail and furious fun fuelled beauty.

US acoustic bluegrass guitar giant Billy Strings – a guy who owes most of his career to a love of the late Doc Watson and his music, joins in aon a few numbers, taking his place easily in the band and driving things along with his usual remarkable feel and flair. His take on the old classic Blue Railroad Train is simply superb, perfectly pitched roots gold. Anyone interested in testing themselves and challenging their usual musical tastes could do little better than to grab a copy of this ten-track release and let themselves go with the flow and a marvellous rhythmic, virtuosic musical experience.

IAIN PATIENCE

WALK THAT WALK BIG WORLD OF TROUBLE

Every city has a blues scene bubbling beneath the everyday grind of its inhabitants. As proof, stalwarts of the Boston blues roots scene, Walk That Walk, have nurtured a vintage pedigree by honing their skills playing in local state clubs. Furthermore, as a touring band backing blues luminaries such as Bo Diddley and Johnnie Johnson, they have also cultivated a genre-defining sound that they showcase all over this follow-up album to ‘22s well-received You Good?! Formed in 1992 and led by crack guitarist Poppa C DeSnyder, with top harmonica/singer Tim Gartland delivering some mean business, Big World Of Trouble rolls up its sleeves and gets down to a proper shift of blues work on Roof Got A Hole and Boogie Chillen. The rhythm section also gets deep down into the groove on the title track, See Poppa C and Mississippi Jukin’. All original tracks, Big World Of Trouble is a fine testament to Walk That Walk’s dedication to their long-standing blues calling.

PAUL DAVIES

JOE KROWN TRIBUTE SLEDGEHAMMER

Joe Krown is probably best known as the keyboard player in Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s band, but here he goes back to his roots in New Orleans piano music and pays tribute to many of the Crescent City’s musicians who inspired him. Joe plays piano throughout and doubles up on Hammond on five tracks. Amongst the eleven cuts we get Allen Toussaint, Dr John and James Booker, alongside three originals. This is mainly an instrumental album, with a crack band of New Orleans musicians, but guest vocalists appear on three tracks: Ivan Neville

does a great impression of the good Doctor on Such A Night, Noah Hunt interprets one of three Allen Toussaint songs here, With You In Mind, a sumptuous ballad far removed from his usual KWS repertoire and Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington sings Lightnin’ Hopkins’ Feel So Bad on what may have been one of his final recordings. As a New Orleans pianist, Joe naturally pays tribute to Professor Longhair on the loping rhythm of his Tribute To Fess and gives a dazzling piano display on James Booker’s Classified. Joe Sublett from The Phantom Blues Band adds sax to two tunes: Joe’s Ode To Mr Davis has a great NO feel to it, one of the songs on which the author doubles up on piano and B3, and an instrumental take on Big Jay McNeely’s Something On Your Mind on which Jason Ricci’s harp replaces the vocal, Joe (Sublett)’s sax plays the chorus and Joe (Krown) takes the central solo. Guitar only features on a few tracks, Leo Nocentelli soloing on Toussaint’s All Of It which provides a funky opening to the album. Toussaint’s Southern Nights and Dr John’s less well-known Dorothy both have superb, lyrical piano playing, the latter in a piano trio format. Joe closes the album with his own Gumbo Boogie, a frantically up-tempo number, again with both piano and organ, quite superb. Mention should also be made of the rhythm section of bassist Mark Brooks and drummer Doug Belote who follow every twist and turn brilliantly.

JOHN MITCHELL

DR. HELANDER & THIRD WARD SHINING PEARLS

BLUE LIGHT

Okay it is confession time, as I know diddly squat about this Finnish band. They appear to be basically a twin guitar, Dr Helander and Esa Kulonieme (doubling on bass) and drummer Leevi Leppãnen,

trio with the occasional added harmonica, keys or horns added along the way. This Shining Pearls album is possibly their third outing, and those bare bones are gleaned from the interweb. Anyway, the album recording began in Helsinki back in July 2021 and was completed in December 2022. Ten tracks, eight original and two covers. The latter are Mississippi Fred McDowell’s 61 Highway and Lightnin’ Hopkins apposite War Is Starting Again. From an UK listeners point of view all vocals are in English delivered in that slightly forced way when a particular language is not your primary one. Having said that this is a pretty damn enjoyable listen. The good Dr handles the vocal duties throughout but for me it is the fine interplay between the twin guitars, which I liked best. Strongly Blues based this band know how to capture your attention. Production, by drummer Leevi, throughout is clean and precise with everything nicely placed. Lyrically the originals cover the usual gamut of human emotions failings, successes, desires etc and are certainly more that adequate. The real standout cut is a blistering version of the Lightnin’ track. There is just a great anger in the way the lyrics are delivered coupled with real fury from the guitars. Fabulous!

GRAEME SCOTT

L.A. EDWARDS OUT OF THE HEART OF DARKNESS

BITCHIN’ MUSIC GROUP

L.A. Edwards is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Julian, CA. L.A. Edwards has recorded and released three studio albums, backed by his band of brothers, aiming for a sound reminiscent of many of his childhood influences, (CCR, Jackson Browne, Tom Petty, and the Beach Boys). with the new album Out Of The Heart Of Darkness, primary writer and frontman Luke

wrote and demoed the first half of the album in July 2022, choosing to record the tracks while they still maintained their raw element. Along with his brothers Jesse Daniel Edwards (guitar) and Jerry Edwards(drums) they cut the first half that same month at Luke’s home studio. Two months later the trio returned to the studio to record the back half of the album, mixed by Grammy-award winner Tom Lord-Alge. The album takes the listener on a musical rollercoaster, consisting of ten original tracks, it opens with a short-spoken prelude before kicking off with the bouncing tempo of the anthemic synth rocker Little Boy Blue. On Now And Then, Luke’s vocals sit well, with its catchy beats and rhythms that blends Celtic tones and heartland rock, it will have you up and dancing in no time. This is followed by the contagious bar room swagger of the up-tempo Let It Out. The tempo rises for the boisterous driving drum and Synth deep rhythms of Time To Go. Luke delivers melancholic soulful vocals over the gentler rhythms that drives the rootsy soft rock of Stick To You. The harmonies on Peace Be With You give this a nice breezy California sound, The Lucky One, closes the album with another mid-tempo piece of American rock that get the toes tapping, a folk/rock, americana influenced, rock sound.

D.K.HARRELL

THE RIGHT MAN

LITTLE VILLAGE RECORDS

“I’m Black, I’m young, and the music I like is blues, How much do you think I have in common with people my age?” I’ve never started a review of an album with a direct quote from the artist who has made the album, but this album is one of the best blues albums I’ve heard in many years. D.K. Harrell is 25 years old, his album,

SHIRL

The Right Man, is his debut album, and boy, is it an album full of delight. The quote that I started the review with, for me, sums up exactly what he and this album are all about. He’s young and a lot of people of that age are not the first people that you would associate with the blues. But, when you listen to the album, no matter what age you are, you will realize that the blues is still alive and kicking. D.K. hails from north Louisiana, a veritable hotbed of blues in decades gone by, with an album of such brilliance it’s hard to believe his real age. The opening track, The Right Man, could not be better applied to anyone, for he is the right man right now. All 11 songs were written by him, he plays guitar and does the vocals on every track, and to put the icing on the cake, he has a superb band of musicians on hand to help him along the way. They include Kid Anderson, a great musician and producer, and Jerry Jemmott, a bass player with a career spent playing with the likes of, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, and Freddy King. When you get these types of people wanting to be part of your album, it’s safe to say, that they already know just how good you are. While I’m Young, contains a heartfelt, but true message that his grandfather told him many years ago, I’m going to let you figure out what it is. I’m certain that D.K. Harrell will be on the lips of every blues lover for decades to come. Buy this album and find out what all the fuss is about.

STEPHEN HARRISON

FRAN PEGG

I’M BEAT DOWN DUDE INDEPENDENT

The usual way of reviewing an album for BM is that I, along with our other writers get sent an album, I listen to it, make notes, then write a review. I then look for any live gigs that the particular artist or band is involved

with. This time it was quite the reverse. A couple of weeks ago I was invited to the legendary 100 Club, in London’s Oxford Street. The first band on the bill, Fran Pegg. Now, I have to admit that I had not heard of Fran before that evening, well now I have heard of her. And I love what she and her band are all about. Now, to the album, it’s so well produced and crafted, I fell in love with the first tune, Let’s Be Having You. All the songs on the album are original, most were penned by Fran and Pete Bonas, who also doubles up on guitar and bass. Fran has such a wonderful range with her vocal, straight-up blues, soft soul, and everything in between. The band that plays on the album is slightly different from the live band, not that it makes any difference, both are magnificent. Apart from the great playing and singing, you have to admire the brilliant songwriting, let’s face it, a great vocal would not be enough to carry a song without the substance of great lyrics. Where In The World, and the title track, are fine examples of what I’m talking about. Both are superbly written and performed, with every member of the band adding something to the pot that ends up as a musical, culinary delight. If I had to choose a favourite track, believe me, that is hard to do, I would plump for Jail. Blues personified, bring out each member’s talents, a truly magical tune. Whichever way you find this band first, on album, or in a live setting, it matters not one jot. Just make sure that you make their acquaintance.

STEPHEN HARRISON

KEITH SCOTT AND THE ELECTRIC BLUES JUNKIES

ONE NATION UNDER THE BLUES INDEPENDENT

I have had the pleasure of reviewing a couple of albums by Keith Scott in

the past, he is a fine blues artist, of that there is no doubt. This latest release only goes to reinforce that belief. Borne out of the pandemic, these fifteen original songs, were written by Keith Scott, when was the last time you had fifteen songs on an album that was not a double album? It highlights the struggle that each and every one of us had to deal with in our own way. But this is by no means a political album by any stretch of the imagination. It is simply an album of hope for the future, told through blues music. Let me cut to the chase, this is a blues album, pure and simple, recorded with a collection of like-minded individuals. The opening track, Bring It Back, amplifies the message of the album, let’s move forward, rebuild, get back to some sort of normality, told in a blues narrative. Keith Scott is a brilliant singer, songwriter, and musician, and I do think that this album is his best to date. Simplicity is quite often the key to success, in the blues world, and that has been proven over the last century. The album lays out song after brilliant song, each musician bringing something nutritious to the table. If ever there was a title of a blues song that captures the essence of the genre, then, Train Rollin’ Blues must surely rank highly. Harmonica, acoustic guitar, and a hint of trepidation within the lyrics are all you need to know. Down On My Luck, could fit onto any blues record, but this is more than bad luck and trouble, Keith Scott has crafted it into a tale that goes beyond the normal requirement of a traditional blues lament. The album moves between short songs that give the impression of a hobo outside a juke joint playing for a nickel, to a foot-stomping barrel-house boogie with seemingly little effort. To say that I love this album would not do it justice, I adore this album, it’s uplifting, joyous, and brilliant.

STEPHEN HARRISON

ROBERTHOKUM.CO.UK

BRAD “GUITAR” WILSON

LOVERS BEFORE SUNRISE

Cali Bee

Out of California, Brad “Guitar” Wilson is associated with rock hit-makers Chicago, but blues lovers may know him best for his six albums (including this one) under his own name. This set will only increase his popularity. It is a fine and varied set, opening with some lilting soul in More Than I Do, which is then followed up by Blues Magic, an unexpectedly smooth number with hints of Santana, Steely Dan, and to UK ears, Sade! Goin’ Fishin’ In The Rain is a catchy piece

Brad tears into heavy guitar riffing blues-rock

of rock, whilst Black Coffee At Sunrise is a slab of oldtime rock and roll, and Down To The Twist And Shout has a Cajun/ zydeco feel. Rollin’ Thunder is a driving blues-rock number, and Deb Jacobs has a sophisticated duet with Brad on Words I Want To Say To You. The blues proper comes courtesy of the slinky Big Fish and continues with a gutsy, broom-dusting remake of Leroy Carr’s venerable Blues Before Sunrise. There are also other items like the punchy When You Get To My House, with some fine horn playing in support, and the expansive sound of the slow I’m Still Breathing. There is also a fine cover of Willie Dixon’s I’m Ready, taken just a little faster than most and very effective for it. Another remake is rather more unexpected as Brad tears into Cream’s heavy guitar riffing blues-rock anthem Sunshine Of Your Love, and he pulls it off to full effect over four minutes. Mind you, he tops this in the blues-rock stakes with the final number, a supercharged live recording of Hand On The Wheel that channels Robin Trower and Jimi Hendrix, awesome!

NORMAN DARWEN

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