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RY COODER

THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON

INSIDE

THIS ISSUE

EDITORIALS …

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Jones and Cerys Matthews

as they embark on their

new journeys

Ealing Blues:

Robert Hokum

Phenomenal Women

in the Blues: Etta Baker

ALBUMS, FESTIVALS

AND CONCERTS

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reviews including Scarborough Top

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MIKE SANCHEZ & HIS BAND

REBECCA DOWNES * MARCUS BONFANTI * CATFISH

VINCE LEE & THE BIG COMBO * JACKIE McAULEY BAND

ROBIN BIBI BAND * SPANK THE MONKEY * MACK

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Editor’s Comment – Issue 102

BLUES MATTERS! ISSUE 102 JUN/JUL 2018 www.bluesmatters.com

RY COODER | ANGEL FORREST | BIG BOY BLOATER | PAUL JONES | CERYS MATTHEWS

BETTYE LAVETTE | DEWOLFF | MAGGIE BELL | JOAN ARMATRADING | ZOOT MONEY | THE ZOMBIES | GERRY JABLONSKI

JUNE/JULY 2018 ISSUE 102 £4.99

RY COODER

THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON

INSIDE

THIS ISSUE

EDITORIALS …

Interviews with BBC Radio

2’s Blues Show hosts Paul

Jones and Cerys Matthews

as they embark on their

new journeys

Ealing Blues:

Robert Hokum

Phenomenal Women

in the Blues: Etta Baker

ALBUMS, FESTIVALS

AND CONCERTS

The BIGGEST collection of blues

reviews including Scarborough Top

Secret Festival, Terri’Thouars Blues

Festival, and many more …

Our name says it all!

FEATURING

&

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BIG BOY BLOATER

BM102_Cover.indd 2 15/05/2018 16:59:39

Did you know that apparently the record set for holding your

breath is twenty-four minutes and three seconds! Amazing,

and unbelievable. Never fear, you do not have to hold your

breath for that long before a new Blues Matters turns up!

Well, here we are once again folks and what a busy time it has

been between issues. We’ve been working on more improvements

and changes whilst gathering in the items for this issue. And, what

an issue it is! Interviews across the broad board of Blues music.

With Paul Jones having vacated his thirty-two year sitting at the

Radio 2 Blues table we meet the new lady of the BBC Radio 2 Blues

Show, Cerys Matthews. The show now moves to an hour later, at

8 p.m. (well she is younger and can stay up later). We also present

you with a rare treat of an interview with slide master, Ry Cooder, as

our new Editor Iain catches up with him. We have Scottish stormer

Gerry Jablonski and across to Europe for our fi rst chat with Big Boy

Bloater. To add even more gorgeousness we also took some time

with the lady with great tonsils Bettye Lavette to grace our pages.

I will leave y’all to check out the Contents pages to see what

other delights await you in this issue (and delights there are for

sure, it’s always exciting reading it again!). Check out the emerging

new look inside and let us know what you think.

By the time you read this the Blues Foundation Awards will have

been held. Each of the 1,300 attendees will receive a ‘goody bag’

and in this years bag for there will be a copy of our 100th issue.

AND, did you know that our arms are a certain length

so that it is easier to hold vinyl LP’s under them!

Finally, R.I.P. Mike Harrison Born 30 September 1942 and passed

25 March 2018 after fighting lung cancer. Mike had one of those

distinctive voices in music. Bands included The V.I.Ps (who were asked

to be the Jimi Hendrix backing band but declined) the epic Spooky

Tooth, Hamburg Blues Band and various solo projects. I had the pleasure

to meet Mike many years ago at a Spooky Tooth gig at the L.S.E.,

London and again at Colne a few years ago, he was one of life’s nice

guys. I spoke with Marion recently and our thoughts are with her.

ENJOY and spread the word because ‘our name says it all’.

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Founder, Publisher, Editor-in-Chief

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COVER PHOTOS:

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Contributing Writers:

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8 BLUES MATTERS! ISSUE 102

BLUESMATTERS.COM


Issue 102 Contents

REGULARS

Blue Blood ....................................................20

New bands to check out here are Harpin’ On (UK),

Joe Colombo (SZ), Michele Bondi (IT), Mississippi

MacDonald & The Soul Fixers (UK), & Rob Picazzo (ES).

Red Lick Top 20 ...........................................84

RMR Blues Top 50 .......................................90

IBBA Blues Top 50 .......................................96

FEATURES

In this issue ................................................ 12

Ealing Blues: Robert Hokum, Phenomenal Blues

Women: Etta Baker

INTERVIEWS

Ry Cooder

Ry Cooder (USA) ..........................................26

America’s Prodigal Son returns to his roots with a

brand-new Gospel & Blues inspired album, here he

talks about his influences and life on the road with

his music collaborator, son and drummer Joachim.

Cooder is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, film score

composer and record producer.

Angel Forrest (CA) .......................................32

Canadian songstress Angel has been performing and

recording since 1996, in both her native French and

English. She is a multi-award-winning singer/songwriter

and a successful part of the huge blues music

scene in the French-speaking city of Montreal. Here

she talks about songwriting, her musician choices and

her plans for the future.

Angel Forrest

Big Boy Bloater (NL) ....................................34

With a career spanning over 20 years and countless

albums, BBB is back with yet another solid album, due

out in June, called Pills. This is still lyrically based on

life and relationships but with a very post-modern twist,

here BBB talks about his influences and his preferred

gear choices.


BLUESMATTERS.COM

Paul Jones (UK) ...........................................42

BBC 2’s ‘Blues Show’ man has retired from the mic, but

only the radio mic, thankfully. Paul talks to our writer

about some of his favourite memories in radio and his

plans for the future. Tune in to find out what they are.

Cerys Matthews (UK) ..................................46

BBC 6 Music regular Cerys is set to take over The Blues

Show on BBC Radio 2 from Paul Jones, she tells us why

she’s the perfect woman for the job and informs us that

this will be a live show with regular guests and audience

interactions a plenty.

Joan Armatrading (UK) ...............................50

Grounded in her music and confident in her abilities,

Joan has never buckled to current trends and genres

in over four decades of superlative music-making. Here

she drops in to tell us about the importance of good

lyrics, her early days and so much more.

Maggie Bell Pt.1 (UK) ..................................56

Lead singer with the mighty Stone The Crows and a

successful solo artist, Maggie Bell has performed all

over the world and shows no signs of slowing down.

Zoot Money Pt. 2 (UK) .................................60

Part 2 continues the conversation from issue 100

with keyboard ace and unique vocalist Zoot. They talk

venues and musicians plus there’s an album review

for Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band’s 4 CD-set, Big Time

Operator.

The Zombies Pt. 1 (UK)................................ 74

Veteran purveyors of scintillating and haunting music

for over 5 decades, drawing on Jazz and Blues influences,

sit down with our writer Pete to talk Blues and

history with the recently deceased Jim Rodford.

Gerry Jablonski & The Electric Band (UK)...80

This Scottish/Polish band have been busy making

waves in the blues scene in both the UK & Europe,

here they tell us about what drives them on to greater

success plus we hear tales from the road.

REVIEWS

Albums .........................................................84

If you’re looking for some new music then this is the

place for you.

Festivals ..................................................... 118

Scarborough Top Secret Festival and Terri’Thouars

Blues Festival.

Gigs ............................................................122

Malaya Blue, Matt Schofield, Ben Harper & Charlie

Musslewhite, Katie Bradley, The Grahams, Kramers

Anniversary, and Ladies of the Blues.

Bettye LaVette (USA)...................................64

Soul Survivor LaVette has just released a new album

called Things Have Changed, a compilation of Dylan

tunes that have been given her unique spin. She also

tells us what it was like having Keith Richards perform

on her album.

DeWolff (NL) ................................................70

With their 6th studio album Thrust due out soon and

a recent signing to the Mascot Label Group this band

of psychedelic blues rockers from the Netherlands are

set to hit the UK soon.

Big Boy Bloater


Tommy Hare, Lorna Fothergill, Jules Fothergill, Hayden Doyle (drums), an obscured Dobby (bass) and Robert Hokum jamming on

Northsyde’s set Sat 22 July 2017

Ealing Blues: Robert Hokum

Verbals: Daryl Weale

Visuals: Dubble Xposure


BLUESMATTERS.COM

FEATURE | EALIng BLUES: RoBERT HokUM

Robert Hokum

O

ne steady and highly significant

home of the Blues for

decades has been Ealing in West

London, and within it a lynchpin

of the Ealing Blues scene is musician Robert

Hokum. Robert has been helping to keep the

musical side of Ealing as appreciated as its fi lm

heritage and that is a challenge because Ealing

is hot stuff where movies are concerned.

Wikipedia suggests that Ealing has had a movie

industry from 1902, and the studio “is the oldest

continuously working studio facility for fi lm production

in the world. It is best known for a series of

classic fi lms produced in the post WWII years,

including Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), Passport

to Pimlico (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), and

The Ladykillers (1955). Since 2000, Ealing Studios has

resumed releasing fi lms under its own name, including

the revived St Trinian’s franchise. In more recent

times, fi lms shot here include The Importance of

Being Earnest (2002) and Shaun of the Dead (2004) as

well as The Theory of Everything (2014), The Imitation

Game (2014) and Burnt (2015). Interior scenes of

the British period drama television series Downton

Abbey were shot in Stage 2 of the studios. The

Met Film School London operates on the site.”

Quite a list, but Ealing’s musical dimension

can put up a showcase of highlights to challenge

it. Thirty-one years ago, Robert founded the

Ealing Blues Festival on another site, in Walpole

Park where it will take place this year on Saturday

21 and Sunday 22 July and be headlined by The

Counterfeit Stones and Hayseed Dixie. Long before

Bob founded the festival, guitarist Alexis Korner

and harmonica player Cyril Davies founded the

Ealing Club, whose musical nights accessed via

some worryingly steep off-street steps, were in the

Red Room, frequented by The Rolling Stones and

other world class acts such as The Who. The club

is now the subject of a documentary fi lm, featuring

Robert, which was premiered in 2017 – Suburban

Steps To Rockland: The Story of the Ealing Club.

Robert is conscious of this history and instrumental

in its preservation and expansion. “The

founding of the Ealing Blues Club by Alexis

Korner & Cyril Davies on March 17 1962 was to

be the fi rst dedicated electric blues club in the

UK. It’s where The Rolling Stones met, where

Jack Bruce met Ginger Baker, where The Who

fi rst played under that name and Mitch Mitchell

gigged every Sunday. Mojo magazine described

Ealing as ‘the Cradle of British Rock Music’. For

many years the Ealing Blues Festival has been the

only local gig celebrating this legacy. We founded

the Ealing Club Community Interest Company

to promote Ealing’s iconic musical heritage and

inspire for new live music opportunities.”

Robert’s youth coincided with famed bands

playing in Ealing. “Growing up in Ealing I’d see

posters and local paper adverts for bands with


Feature | Ealing Blues: Robert Hokum

names like ‘The Rollin’ Stones’ and ‘Manfred

Mann’ at places like The Ealing Club, Blue

Triangle, and so on. At school, a cousin of John

McVie was in my class, another kid in my class

was playing in a band with some local bloke

called Rick Wakeman. Everybody had a guitar.”

Robert joined them but as with many musicians

who start their own venue or festival as a

place to play, it was a setback that led to the birth

of the Ealing Blues Festival. “In the early 80s I

left the music business to earn a proper living. At

the same time, I was also getting more gigs as a

musician. When the Ealing Jazz Festival started, I

approached the organisers to see if I could perform

and was given quite a rude response. So, I thought

‘sod this’ and set about running my own gig. I had

to play a lot of politics and fight very hard for it.”

The fight won, Robert got his chance to play

but so did others, and they found an audience,

with highlights such as, “being applauded by a

couple of thousand people for playing some very

long and over indulgent guitar solos! But seriously,

1991 when it was still just me and my mates

performing, and over a thousand-people turned

up, showing that there was really something

there. Difficult to single out one act for praise,

but Earl Thomas in 2014 was quite exceptional.”

2017 saw the festival headlined by The

Blockheads and by the act whose ‘In The

Summertime’ is one of the best-selling songs of

all time. “I met Ray Dorset [Mungo Jerry] at The

Swanage Blues Fest a couple of years back. We

got chatting about the Ealing scene of the 60s.

He served his musical apprenticeship at many

Ealing venues, The Ealing Club, The White Hart

in Southall, and many more. He was delighted to

come back and re-visit his roots. Diamond geezer.”

Having founded a festival and worked on the

heritage of the Ealing Club, a movie followed.

“The first project for the Ealing Club Community

Interest Company was put up Heritage Plaques

at the former premises of the Ealing Blues Club

and where the first Marshall Amplifier was built

in Hanwell. The next big project became the film

about the Ealing Club – Suburban Steps To Rockland.

We were approached by film maker Giorgio Guernier

who had recently moved to Ealing. He knew nothing

about the history and was looking for local

gigs when he came across our website. He became

interested in the whole story and so got in touch

with us. The film sold out its premiere at the

Doc’n’Roll Festival at The Barbican and subsequent

screening at the Elgar Room of The Royal

Albert Hall in December 2017. It’s just sold out

two showings as part of the Ealing Music and

Film Festival. As it’s only got festival licences at

present, we now need to raise the money for general

release licences, so we can get it out to a wider audience.”

It is certainly a compelling film reflecting a

varied and at times very exciting history, featuring

an array of people from the manager of the club,

Feri Asgari (and his Rolls Royce), to John Mayall,

Eric Burdon, John O’Leary, and Pete Townshend.

Robert has been playing his own music while

being involved in all of these activities, and his

most recent album was Trippin’ Backwards, a live

retrospective featuring the late Dorris Henderson

from the US, the sitar fronted blues fusion

band Blues Sans Frontieres and The Guv’nors.

Bob enjoyed the feedback. “I was very pleased

with the response; thankfully almost all the

reviewers and DJ’s ‘got’ I was trying to make a

statement about how I have a very wide-ranging

approach to the blues and what it is.”

Robert’s musical career and projects continue.

“I’m still gigging, solo and with The Great West

Groove. Also playing bass with some Asian Tabla

and Veena musicians; it’s somewhere between

Modal Jazz and Raga based on Delta Blues themes.

For the Ealing Blues Festival we need a younger

programmer to get involved. Someone like me

when I was in my thirties and started it. I’ll be 67

this year and I feel that the programming needs

some younger input. Musically, I want to get more

into production. Many of the iconic British blues

acts were also into the art of song-writing and

don’t think that enough attention is paid to this

by many acts. I’d like to become a ‘Brit Blues Nile

Rodgers’. I can’t think of an act from the current

Brit Blues scene who has ever been nominated for

the Mercury Prize. Wouldn’t it be great to find

an act on the Brit Blues scene capable of that?”

Robert Hokum’s CD Trippin’ Backwards is only

available from him personally or mail order at www.

the-ealing-club.myshopify.com/products/roberthokum-live-retrospective-cd.

Robert Hokum can

also be found every third Wednesday of the month

at The Brewery Tap in Brentford.


BLUESMATTERS.COM


Phenomenal Blues Women

Etta Baker – It’s never too late to chase your dreams!

Verbals: Dani Wilde

T

oday, as I cosy down to write my

column applauding phenomenal

blues women, I am aware that it

is a day of celebration – 8 March –

International Women’s Day. There are so many

trail-blazing women in blues history that I could

write about, but for this special day I choose to

celebrate the life and work of Piedmont blues

guitar wonder Etta Baker. Not only was Etta a

hugely influential guitarist, she showed us all

that it is never too late to chase your dreams!

Etta Baker didn’t release her debut album

until she was seventy-eight years old, and yet her

superbly creative guitar technique influenced

artists including Taj Mahal and Bob Dylan.

Born Etta Lucille Reid in North Carolina, 1913,

Etta’s father, Boone Reid, was a small-time musician

who taught her to play the six and twelve

string guitars and the five-string banjo. Her Father,

who was excited by his daughter’s musical talent,

also encouraged her to learn piano, mandolin and

violin. Etta often performed the blues, as well as

hymns, parlour music, ragtime, and Tin Pan Alley

songs with her father and sister at local dances and

parties. Etta began learning guitar at the tender age

of three. Her daughter explained in a memoir to

her mother that Boone “would lay the guitar across

her lap and teach her chords. Her fingers were so

tiny that she played the guitar like a piano, stretching

and straining her fingers so that they struck the

chords rapidly, creating an echo of sorts that made

it sound like multiple instruments playing at once.”

Although Etta’s father was a gifted musician,

he was unable to make ends meet from his

music alone, so worked a variety of jobs in factories

and shipyards. When Etta was just fourteen

years old, she dropped out of school and joined her

parents and siblings working in a tobacco factory.

Etta’s father taught her a unique finger-picking

playing style which is now known as Piedmont

Blues. The Piedmont style sets itself apart from

other acoustic blues styles such as the Mississippi

Delta blues because of its ragtime-based rhythms.

Etta would play with such emotion and personality,

alternating her thumb picking the bass strings

whilst her forefingers picked the treble strings. She

explained in interviews that this style was used in

the Piedmont Plateau region where she was raised.

Etta’s playing though was instantaneously recognisable;

her secure bass-lines intertwined with such

spirited melodies. She was a storyteller who didn’t

need words to tell a story – she made her guitar sing.

Despite her huge talent and dedication to her

craft, Etta didn’t believe that she could be a star. She

lived in a community where women were expected

to marry and keep house. Family was important

to Etta and so, in 1936, she married her boyfriend

of six years, a local pianist called Lee Baker. She

made the decision to give up performing so she

could devote her life to raising their nine children.

In Virginia in the 1930s, opportunities for

musicians were local rather than national. Skilled

musicians could make a little money performing

at local dances and in church, but most jobs were

in farming and in the mills. In an interview, Etta

recalled, “My husband could play piano real well -

I believe we could have made it, but as he did not

want to leave home, there was nothing I could say.”

Pursuing her dream would have been a huge financial

risk, so she found herself a low-paid reliable job

at a textile mill and put her dream back on the shelf.

Although she wasn’t performing publicly, Etta


BLUESMATTERS.COM

CELEBRATING BLUES FOR 20 YEARS

BLUES MATTERS! ISSUE 102 17

Feature | Phenomenal Blues Women

continued to play guitar and banjo at home. For

decades, only family and friends heard her play.

She developed a three-finger signature style that

reflected the melting-pot community in which

she lived. Her music was a unique and distinctive

blend of African-American blues, ragtime, white

country picking and English fiddle tunes. Etta’s

home, at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains

was a musical and racial crossroads. She described

herself as a mix of African-American, white and

Native American blood, and explained that, “Where

we lived was a white section, but everybody was

one family. I played with my sister Cora and

Daddy at big dances for both whites and blacks.”

In 1956, when Etta was in her 40s, her father,

Boone Reid, treated Etta and her family to an

outing to Cone Mansion, where they spotted a

man carrying a guitar over his shoulder. Being

a proud father and keen musician, Boone asked

the man if he would like to hear his daughter

play. That man happened to be Paul Clayton,

a successful song-collector and folklorist.

“I played a song I had put together,” Etta remembered,

“‘One Dime Blues’ and Paul was amazed. He

got directions to our home and he was over the next

day with his tape-recorder.” Paul Clayton recorded

Etta and her father performing ‘One Dime Blues’

and ‘Railroad Bill’ and featured the songs on his

1956 compilation album ‘Instrumental Music of

the Southern Appalachians.’ It was one of the first

commercially released recordings

of African American banjo

music, and it also showcased

Etta’s unique Piedmont guitar

style. At last, Etta’s talent was to

be heard by a much larger audience

than the sleepy town she

grew up in. In fact, her song

‘Railroad Bill’ was to catch the

attention of a young Taj Mahal:

“That chord in ‘Railroad Bill’ is

a very ancient root chord” Taj

explained. “It strikes straight

through me, every time I hear it

played.” Taj was deeply moved

by Etta’s magical playing. He

reminisced “Those older chords

seem like you can see right

through them back to the past.”

Song-collector Paul Clayton

became a link between Etta and New York’s exciting

1960s folk scene. Since Etta didn’t feel able

to leave her home, Clayton began treating his

New York friends to trips to Carolina to hear her

perform. In fact, Bob Dylan spent his 21st birthday

listening to Etta. When Dylan returned to

New York he wrote his famous song, ‘Don’t Think

Twice,’ directly inspired by Etta Baker’s guitar work.

In 1967, Etta’s son was killed in the Vietnam War.

That same year, she lost her husband. She was devastated.

For a while, she felt unable to play music

but eventually picked up her guitar again as a way

of expressing her pain, helping her through her

mourning. Yet, it wasn’t until the late 1980s when

all of her children had grown, that Etta decided

it was finally time to chase her childhood dream.

She quit her job and began to record her debut

solo album One Dime Blues which was released on

Rounder records in 1992. Etta was 78 years old!

“I raised a family of nine children and I didn’t

travel much in raising a family”, recalled Etta. “I

worked at the Buster Brown plant for about 26

years and there was a man came down from

Portland, Oregon, and he said you oughta pick

up your guitar and quit work. Well I thought

about that on a Wednesday, and Friday I quit.

Went to the office and told them I was quittin’.

And I did. And I’ve enjoyed every day since.”

Following the success of her debut record, in 1995,

Etta was introduced to bluesman Taj Mahal. Taj had


BLUESMATTERS.COM

FEATURE | PHEnoMEnAL BLUES WoMEn

been a huge fan of Etta’s since he had fi rst heard her

song ‘Railroad Bill’ as a young student in the 1960s.

In 2004, the pair recorded the album, Etta Baker

with Taj Mahal. Taj spoke to the New York Times,

explaining his admiration for Etta: “I came upon

that record in the 60s – It didn’t have any pictures

so I had no idea who she was until I got to meet her

years later. But man, that chord in ‘Railroad Bill’

that was just the chord. It just cut right through me.”

Etta had fi nally realised her dream and found the

recognition she deserved. She shared the stage with

Taj Mahal, Bob Dylan and B.B. King. She received

the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award in 1989, a

National Heritage Fellowship in 1991, and the North

Carolina Award in 2003. She was nominated for the

W. C. Handy Blues Awards in 1987, 1989 and 2000.

Etta was a hardworking and independent soul

who sped-up rather than slowed-down as she

grew older. Her daughter fondly described how

“Mother canned her own vegetables, grown in her

garden, which she maintained until she was 91.

She worked on her roof until she was 89, when

the family forbade her to crawl up there to make

repairs. She loved fast cars and beer; she had

three cataract surgeries to make sure she maintained

her driver’s license well into her eighties.”

She may have been an old lady by the time she

turned professional, but Etta Baker had played the

blues for almost ninety years and throughout her

lifetime had become the fi nest fi nger-style Piedmont

Blues guitarist to come out of North Carolina. Sadly,

Etta passed away at the grand age of ninety-three in

Fairfax, Virginia. To honour Etta’s legacy, a statue of

her was erected in her hometown of Morganton,

North Carolina. She was more than a musical role

model and pioneer of the Piedmont guitar style;

Etta showed us all that it is never too late to chase

your dreams!

Recommended listening:

■ One Dime Blues

■ Careless love

■ Railroad Bill – feat. Taj Mahal


Blue Blood | Harpin’ On

Harpin’ On

Verbals: Steve Yourglivch

Visuals: Richard Gosler

H

arpin’ On is a South Coast based

harmonica-led band playing a

cooking blend of blues, rock

‘n’ roll and rockabilly swamp

rock. The main man is former Backbeats vocalist

and harp player Little Dave (Dave Sparkes)

who provides the song writing and vintage

harp sounds throughout. Recent release ‘How

About Tonight’ is creating a few ripples and

gaining steady radio recognition that suggest

the band are close to wider recognition.

Dave was the driving force behind The

Backbeats and they won the BBC talent show,

Don’t Give Up Your Day Job, impressing judges

Noddy Holder, Linda Nolan and Jim Bowen

with the original ‘How About Tonight’, now the

title track of the new release. A number of high

profile festival appearances and even a show at

the Buckingham Palace Xmas Party followed.

In the Autumn of 2017 Dave travelled across

the USA with friend Rich Vickers on a pilgrimage

to blues and rock ‘n’ roll shrines taking in

Graceland, Chess Records, Buddy Guy’s, RCA

Studios and others. The culmination of this was

the opportunity of a private tour around Sun

Studios in Memphis and a unique opportunity to

record there. The ensuing recording is now available

as Memphis Boogie, a hot mix of covers and

originals released 66 years after the first ever Sun

Studios release, Drivin’ Slow by Jonny London.

Harpin’ On are an exciting live band

who keep alive the spirit and drive of the

likes of Slim Harpo and Little Walter mixed

with a pulsating rock ‘n’ roll heart guaranteed

to get people up on their feet dancing.

Check out more about Dave and the band via

harpinon.wordpress.com

20

BLUES MATTERS! ISSUE 102

BLUESMATTERS.COM

Blue Blood | Joe Colombo

Joe Colombo

Verbals: Steve Banks

Visuals: Supplied by Artist

J

oe grew up in the Italian-speaking part of

Switzerland (Locarno-Ticino). His

influences are Freddie King, Johnny

Winter and Jimi Hendrix, to

name a few, and the title of his first

album, released in 2002, sums him up

perfectly. Entitled Natural Born Slider,

it reflects his own interests and

influences, whether on dobro steel

guitar or amped up on a

Stratocaster, Joe’s slide guitar is

just sweet and natural. He covers

a range of styles on this first

album, from fast driving blues

rock tracks like ‘Tequila Shot’

to the slower blues number

‘Sweet Things’ which

builds into a fantastic

crescendo. The album

also pays a visit to

Texas with the track

‘Talkin’ About

Texas,’ but Joe

always lets the

guitar do the

talking. (This is

typical of Joe,

who is a talented,

but unassuming

guy, happiest when

playing guitar.) The

album is almost exclusively

instrumental except for three

tracks where the vocals are

accompanied by some

soaring slide-work. For

some reason the album

didn’t receive the critical

acclaim it deserved. Joe then

went Stateside, working in Los

Angeles with the late blues artist

Terry Evans, before, in 2003 and

2004 respectively, he released Voodoo Crossing and

Gypsy Blood, both tributes to Hendrix, where

Colombo features alongside other guitar greats

such as Robben Ford, Larry Coryell and

Steve Luthaker, with versions of ‘Red House’

and ‘Room Full of Mirrors.’ Further

releases followed in 2009 and 2011 with

his band Deltachrome. 2012 saw the

release of Live at Taco’s, with Joe doing

what he does best, playing scorching

slide guitar with a big emphasis on

the bluesy side of rock, and

enjoying himself. The most

recent release, Stratoslider,

is Joe’s finest work to

date and yet again

covers a range of

styles, from rumba to

a tribute to Johnny

Winter with the

track ‘Johnny D.’

Joe is rightly

proud of his

latest work but

as usual prefers

to let the guitar

do the talking.

As Joe says: “I

travel a lot and

my goal is to

keep doing that

with music”.

Given the

recognition he

deserves, Joe will

hopefully be able to

do this for a long

time to come.

www.joecolombomusic.net


BLUE BLOOd | MICHELE BondI

Michele Bondi

Verbals: Matt Cressay

Visuals: Yvonne Mercier

T

he fi rst time I met

Michele Biondi

was in a wild club

in Tuscany, Italy,

where I moved ten years ago

from England. I liked his guitar

playing and singing then we

became friends, and this is what

he told me about his music:

“I began listening to blues when

I was about 14 years old. I fi rst

heard a track by John Lee Hooker

called ‘Boom Boom’ this got me

into blues and I started to teach

myself guitar. I had some lessons

here in Italy, but the old school

blues stuff is what I wanted to

sound like, Muddy Waters,

Freddie King, Albert King, Albert

Collins, and the country blues of

Robert Johnson. I was a friend

and student for many years of the

American singer Bruce Borrini

from Chicago, he lived close to

me and he started teaching me

about blues music and culture

and how to use my voice

correctly. I’ve always liked to

write my own songs, in fact

Cotton & Moonshine is my fourth

original blues studio album. My

fi rst album was with a band called

‘Blues Basket’ in 2005, the second

was released in 2012 with a band

called ‘Locomotive Breath’, my

third was A Better Life with my

old band ‘Matt Biondi Crew’ in

2014 on Pocker Records and

fi n a l l y Cotton & Moonshine on the

Popolo del Blues label and

recorded in Italy at Red Room

Studio with the help of some

good musicians and friends,

Federico Paoli on the bass,

Edoardo Vannozzi on drums and

Alessandro Solenni on

Hammond. As for live performances,

I played in France with

the Italian ‘European Big Band’

for several years. We played in

Lyon, Nice and other cities, I’ve

played with the bands ‘The

Dinosaurs’ and ‘Locomotive

Breath’ in Switzerland at the

Lugano Blues Night and touring

clubs. In Italy I’ve played in many

blues festivals, such as Blues in

Town, British Blues Festival in

Bergamo, Bluesacco, Lucca Blues

Festival, Trend & Blues in Puglia

and many, many bars and clubs

across Italy. In 2005 in

Clarsksdale, Mississippi, I met

bluesman Ray Cashman and

harp player and singer

Stan Street, and we

started playing

together in Italy

and Spain, then

a bunch of

months ago,

we played

ou r fi r s t

tour

together in America working in

Mississippi and Texas. My dream

is to travel around the world

sharing life, music and stories

together with people.”


BLUESMATTERS.COM

Mississippi Macdonald

& The Soul Fixers

Verbals: Mississippi MacDonald with John Mitchell

Visuals: John Bull, Rockrpix

T

he Soul Fixers, formed in 2017, have

genuine Delta credentials ... the Thames

Delta that is, as they all hail from

south of the river! The band comprises

Mississippi MacDonald (guitar and vocals), Phil

Dearing (guitar and vocals), Peter Miles (drums)

and Glynn Evans (bass). Between them they have

an extensive list of gig and session credits; Phil is

an award-winning producer, the owner of L Sound

Studios in London and runs The Icarus Club, South

London’s premier original acoustic night. Peter

counts appearances with The Jo Ann Kelly Band,

Alexis Corner, Jack Bruce and US artists Lightning

Slim, JB Hutto and Eddie Guitar Burns. Glynn

has made more than 7,500 live appearances over a

40-year career including with Ray Davies and Pete

Townsend. Mississippi himself is a British Blues

Awards nominee, has had three top three albums in

the IBBA Charts and has travelled extensively on

the US Blues Trail. In 2010 he was part of the team

that purchased a memorial stone for the unmarked

grave of legendary southern soul artist OV Wright.

In 2017, the band released their fi rst record

Mississippi MacDonald and Steve Bailey: With The

Soul Fixers, recorded in London and Seattle. The

album received critical acclaim and international

airplay - it was one of the IBBA top picks

of 2017, Saint FM’s Blues Is Back Show, album of

the year, and had airplay on BBC Radio 2’s The

Paul Jones Show. The album featured Steve Bailey

from Seattle, USA on harmonica, a Washington

State Blues Society Hall of Famer who backed

Albert Collins, Junior Wells and John Lee Hooker,

as well as playing with the legendary Isaac Scott

Band from 1978–1987. Mississippi and Steve are

partnering on a number of projects – the Atlantic

Ocean is no barrier! The acoustic album Shake

‘Em On Down was released in March 2018, as well

as A Tribute To Sonny Boy Williamson due out in

summer 2018 that will feature the whole band.

The Soul Fixers will be playing in and around the

London area throughout 2018, including shows at

the Oval Tavern, Croydon on June 16th September

22nd and December 8th and opening for Larry

Garner (USA) on May 18th in Chelmsford. Their

ambition is simple – to get out and there and play.

So, what will you hear at one of their gigs? Maybe

some Albert Collins guitar, some Texas twang, some

deep soul and some rock and roll – something for

everyone who likes well played original music mixed

with a few carefully chosen covers. You can fi nd out

more about the band, including gig listings, pics,

video, tracks and how to get in touch with them

directly at www.mississippimacdonald.com.


Blue Blood | Rob Picazzo

Rob Picazzo

Verbals: Henry Baroch

Visuals: Miguel Picazo

G

aining a place in the time honoured

tradition of playing roots music is

much like learning how to piece

a series of jigsaws together to get

the desired picture fans are familiar with, there

really is only one way to go about it. Yet such is

the malleability of the ‘roots’ picture that countless

artists over the years have and continue to

change a piece there, add a section here, and still

end up with a finished article that is fresh, wellformed

and pleasing to the eye (or ear in our case).

Rob Picazo is very much among those artists.

Born in Madrid, Spain to British/Spanish

parents, Rob has charted a musical course that

has led him ever deeper into the old territories

of blues, soul and rhythm and blues, and seen

him gain in originality, ingenuity and style all

the while. A performer since his late teens, he has

played all around the south of the UK, extensively

in London, most notably several sell out shows at

the Green Note in Camden and journeyed to gig

in Madrid. He has supported some of the big and

well-respected names of the modern circuit, such

as Dom Pipkin, Martin Harley and Gwyn Ashton,

and released his debut album Spanish Moss at the

end of last year to very favourable reviews in blues

publications, including this venerable magazine.

Rob is an adept and versatile songwriter and it

is this element for me that is the stand out attraction

of an album that reveals many a jewel glinting

among the moss. Songs like ‘I Need a Woman

(Who Doesn’t Need a Man)’ would comfortably

sit among the 50/60s canon of Southern

Soul, and ‘Why Do I Cry?’ could easily be a New

Orleans staple. Slap-in-the-middle of the record is

the song ‘Sleeping on the Floor’ an emotive track

that muses on Rob’s time travelling the Southern

States of America. During a two-month period, Rob

was the focus of a documentary on Roots music

in the U.S. ‘Road To Roots’ and here he puts the

audience’s focus on the plight of the homeless. All

proceeds from downloads of ‘Sleeping’ on any digital

platform will go to ‘Porchlight’ a charity for

the homeless working in Kent and Croydon.

Rob Picazo has made in Spanish Moss a strong,

consistent and varied first offering, and one knows

that here we have a fine young artist in the tradition

of his craft but very much in control of his own

destiny.


BLUESMATTERS.COM


The return of the prodigal son

Ry Cooder

Verbals: Iain Patience

Visuals: Joachim Cooder

W

hen one of the

world’s most

accomplished,

admired and

revered guitarists tells you that how he

plays is: “…nothing special. It’s just music. All

music’s the same, all that folk stuff. You just

play what you know. You listen to the other

guys and try to complement them,” you know

you’re dealing with a master of understatement.

And with Ry Cooder, the humility continues

in a similar vein as he looks back over half a

century at the absolute peak of musical genius.

From his sideman work with the Rolling Stones

– Cooder’s the stinging slide-picker on ‘Sister

Morphine’ on the Sticky Fingers album – in the

1960s to his remarkable emergence as a movie music

score writer twenty years later, Cooder has always

been a guy with a passion for music, performance

and unexpected twists and turns.

Always ready to play out his socio-political

beliefs and hopes in musical form, Cooder

never shuns controversy when he feels the time

is right, or there’s a need to push back

against convention or authority.

Take his work with the Buena

Vista Social Club, for example,

an album and a band


BLUESMATTERS.COM


INTERVIEW | Ry Cooder

that he championed at considerable personal

expense in the late 1980s, when the USA operated

an absolute embargo on all things Cuban.

Cooder, in typically resourceful, committed mode,

hooked up with a bunch of aging Cuban musicians

and brought their sheer, shining brilliance

to the global stage, picking up a Grammy in the

process and a personal $25,000 fine for breaching

the trade embargo back home Stateside.

He warmly recalls his time with those guys as

being a real ‘learning curve,’ and one he shared with

Ry Cooder

The Prodigal Son

Fantasy Records

After a break of around six years

from recording, Ry Cooder returns

to the fray with a simply wonderful

offering, full of his trademark

slide-work and nimble, assured

fretwork. Always nuanced, original

and riveting, Cooder is a guy who seems to live to

surprise listeners and fans with his delightful musical

skirmishes. Here supported by his touring and studio

best-buddy, son, Joachim, on drums/percussion, the

overall beauty of this release ensures the wait has

been worthwhile. It has always been so with this guy.

Cooder, of course, shuffles around musical genres

with an open mind and ear in the normal run of things.

With Prodigal Son, he has returned more to his musical

roots, where a love of stirring Gospel and blues

music always filters through the mix. As might be

expected, he turns his hand to some Blind Willie

Johnson, a personal favourite influence at all times,

with a superb take on Nobody’s Fault But Mine, plus

a touch of Lead Belly, and some simply stonking

gospel-inspired tracks that feature his voice and

experimental, unique at times, guitar picking. Whatever

he does, Cooder does with class, evident quality and

ricocheting slide, zipping through the eleven tracks

here with a sharp ear for just what makes a good, not

to say, great recording. This is almost certainly bound

to be one of those albums that garner countless plaudits

and generates enormous global interest, with a

Grammy nomination a very likely additional outcome.

Iain Patience

his now principal musical collaborator, his drummer

son, Joachim. “I remember telling Joachim

to watch and listen to this. It was so great, and

he had a chance to learn so much so fast from

those guys. It was a real steep learning curve sort

of thing,” he says. Describing the initial connection

with them as being ‘…. a real long story,’ he

laughs, and adds: “It was almost by accident. Fate

took a hand and it played out as one of those things

that just had to be. And it was a masterclass.”

Cooder has long been a guy with a foot in any

number of musical camps. For him, music is pretty

much a pick and mix affair as he’s never been

prepared to sit snugly in any one musical-box. From

his early work with the Rolling Stones where his

delicious slide-work features on tracks on both ‘Let

It Bleed’ and ‘Sticky Fingers,’ to his close, seemingly

seamless fit with Taj Mahal and the Rising

Sons, he has consistently surprised with his unexpected

twists and turns. His stunning and eclectic

acoustic release in 1972, Into the Purple Valley, was

truly a breakthrough release which brought him

to world attention and may well remain his greatest

solo effort. Others, including Paradise and Lunch,

again featured his backward glance at straight-on,

traditional-tinged acoustic blues. In many ways,

he then went on to confound his fans and critics

with the stand-alone Jazz album. Others then

included a much more rocky and even popularmusic

vibe with Bop Till You Drop, before again

spinning off in yet another direction with his work

with squeeze-box wonder, Flaco Jiminez, and his

Chicken Skin Music and Showtime explorations.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, he slipped off

to Cuba to chase up and rediscover many elderly

Havana music giants such as pianist, Ruben

Gonzales, singer, Ibrahim Ferrar, and bassist,

Puntillilta, to play, arrange, produce and record

the Buena Vista Social Club offering in the late

1980s/early 1990s, a band he took to New York’s

Carnegie Hall to great acclaim, a collaboration that

picked up a Grammy. In addition, he has found the

time to become involved with the highly competitive

world of film, where his stinging slide work,

Paris, Texas, remains immensely popular and immediately

distinctive. Asked about the movie-end of

his career, Cooder shrugs and says: “It was never

expected. It just kinda happened. It was like it

was meant to be. Cool fun. It means I can sit at

home with a guitar and work without the hassle


BLUESMATTERS.COM

INTERVIEW | Ry Cooder

of life on the road. It was all really an accident.”

However, whatever he touches, he invariably

returns to his blues roots, recalling his early love

for the music of the late Blind Willie Johnson, an

interest that plays through even now, on his latest

release, Prodigal Son, with a hauntingly gripping

cover of ‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine.’ “Johnson is

still one of those guys, a real wonderful player who

can always grab my interest. I return to his stuff

again and again without ever getting bored by it,” he

says. “When I was a kid I’d pick up an album, say,

an old LP of Johnson’s, or maybe a compilation LP,

where he featured. I was much younger back then,

of course, but the music spoke to me. Back then,

some of the stuff could only be found at specialist

stores or outlets, or from blues music collectors who

had old 78s. It was difficult

at times, and some

of the albums and 78s

were tricky to handle.”

Looking back over

his career, now over

half a century at the

top, Cooder confirms:

“African American music

has always been a favourite

of mine. There is

always that wonderful

rhythmic sense

and a versatility, a freedom

with it that just

sings out. Blues music has that at its heart.”

Cooder also singles out the music of another

two, late US blues masters, mandolinist Yank

Rachel, as a tried and trusted favourite who has

influenced his approach: “Rachel was wonderful,

he really knew what he was doing. He had a feeling

that was irresistible. Rachel and Sleepy John

Estes were both remarkable musicians. I knew

them both briefly. They were very different kinds

of guys. When I was first interested in the music,

I’d get their LPs as well as Willie Johnson’s, slow

them down, listen and try to learn their stuff.

They were huge influences on me over the years.”

From the early age of around three, Cooder

became hooked on music, picking up and largely

teaching himself guitar and mandolin. And as a

West Coast kid, he found his exposure to the folkrevival

extremely limited. The rediscovery of US

bluesmen being mostly focussed on the New York,

African American music has

always been a favourite of

mine. There is always that

wonderful rhythmic sense and

a versatility, a freedom with

it that just sings out. Blues

music has that at its heart.

East Coast end of the country, Cooder worked hard

making connections with occasional musicians as

they passed through on tour. “I’d hang out, turn out

at gigs and talk to the guys afterwards, get them to

show me what they were doing, how they were playing

the stuff. There’d be Bill Monroe, Doc Watson,

all those guys. I was still in High School at the time.”

Connections at the time included the extraordinary

blind, Appalachian acoustic picker,

Doc Watson, a guy who worked both country

and country-blues music as part of his

normal delivery. Cooder confirms picking up

tips about guitar from Watson, but also singles

out another notable old-timer, the late Tom

Paley, for his help over those important years

while his own style and skill was still evolving:

“Tom used to pass

through from time to

time. He was with the

New Lost City Ramblers

back then, and I caught

him whenever possible.

He was always helpful,

friendly and patient.

Back then, I didn’t know

about open tunings

really. Tom introduced

me to, and taught me

a lot about using, open

tunings. Still a style

that is central to my

playing.” A few years ago, Cooder and Paley reconnected

in London – where Paley lived for many

years prior to passing in 2017 – when Cooder

attended the BBC Radio 2 Folk Show annual

awards to receive a lifetime achievement award.

These days Cooder frequently works with his

son, Joachim, as a drummer/percussionist. “He was

listening to music in the womb, I guess. It’s always

been part of him, of his life,” he quips, when I ask

if Joachim has never been tempted to pick up on

guitar, given his father’s reputation. “No, he never

really had an interest in picking guitar. He has a

wonderful sense of rhythm, is almost a natural

drummer. He’s always been happiest as a drummer.”

With a new album behind him, Prodigal Son,

Cooder laughs when I ask where the title comes

from: “It’s just one of those things, nothing should

be read into it. You know, you write a load of

stuff, put it together in the studio and at some


INTERVIEW | Ry CoodER

point, have to give the album a title, a name. I just

picked that track title for the album. It’s a release

with gospel and blues at its core, music that is

timeless, that reflects a tradition, a way of life.”

We both express our mutual sadness at the recent

death of his old blues buddy, vocalist Terry Evans,

before Cooder adds that he’s going to take the

new album out on the road with a North Carolina

vocal outfit, The Hamiltones, who will, in effect,

be replacements for Evans. “I thought it would be

near impossible to fi nd anybody to replace Terry,

then I came across The Hamiltones, looked and

listened, and knew they were great. They work

well with what I’m trying to do with this album.”

“I wasn’t too keen on touring, promoting the new

album, but Joachim persuaded me to give it another

go. A while back, we went out on a tour with

Ricky Skaggs and the Whites. Joachim reminded

me of how much I’d enjoyed it, how much fun

we’d both had. So, I thought, sure, let’s try it again.

Joachim’s real pleased, we’re looking forward to it.”

However, he then hints that the time is

approaching when he will happily retire from the

touring life: “The road’s just too hard on me now,”

he says. “It’s hard to manage, can be hard to make a

buck, make it worthwhile. You spend, lay-out, say,

two-dollars to get a return of twenty-fi ve cents. I

enjoy the fi lm score writing and can see myself

settling down into that sort of thing in future,

working from home without the need to take to

the road.”

Discography

The Prodigal Son – 2018

Election Special – 2012

Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down – 2011

I, Flathead – 2008

My Name Is Buddy – 2007

Chávez Ravine – 2005

Get Rhythm – 1987

The Slide Area – 1982

Borderline – 1980


BLUESMATTERS.COM

Big blues

festival

—

Fri 12 — Sat 13

october ‘18

Dr Feelgood

Ian Siegal

Sam Kelly’s

Station House

Xander and the

Peace Pirates

Rebecca Downes

Tom C Walker

Little Blues

Acoustic Stage

Early bird £40

Festival ticket £48 (from 1 Aug)

Saturday ticket £35

To Book

Online:

theatkinson.co.uk

Box Office:

01704 533333

In association with

To subscribe visit

bluesmatters.com


180212_Blues_Advert_V3.indd 2 28/02/2018 12:54

ANGEL FORREST

Angel Forrest is a seriously successful part of the huge blues music scene that occupies space

in the French-speaking Canadian city of Montreal. Regular readers will know that our annual

review of the Montreal Jazz Festival centres on the large contingent of blues musicians who

play the event – as Angel and her band have done previously, to considerable acclaim. Blues

Matters’ Andy Hughes started his conversation with Angel, as the tour bus headed for the

first of a series of recent UK live dates. The best place to start tends to be the beginning …

Verbals: Andy Hughes Visuals: Alex Asprey and Al Stuart


BLUESMATTERS.COM

About thirty years ago I attended a party at a friend’s place, there was a camp fire outside

and a good-looking guy was there playing guitar. He got better looking as the wine slipped

down, and I started singing along with him, which went down OK because I had enjoyed a drink.

He called me up and asked me to join his band and sing a set, they had a regular bar gig. I sang

with the band, they fired half of the musicians, got new people in and called the band Angel And The

Bad Boys. I married the guitar player and we had a child together.

The Quebec blues scene is huge but is it insular?

Is it hard to break out into a wider audience?

Quebec is huge on Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Janis

Joplin, so we started out covering their material,

and then wrote our own songs. That’s what

the songs on the Mother Tongue album, are about,

the French-speaking Quebecois don’t understand

all of the lyrics, but they understand the fire

and the passion that deliver them. I have more

support in the French-speaking blues fans than

the English-speaking fans, they are massive on it.

You are also enjoying success in the European

blues scene which again we know is huge.

That’s right, we have played in France, Italy and

Switzerland. We have done some big European

festivals, but we really want to do a couple

of weeks of our own gigs like we are doing in

England. We used to be chance-takers but we are

a little more cautious now, but the Best Album

Of The Year Award in Canada and the Best Singer

Award for five years means that we are starting

to get a reputation, which is wonderful.

Tell me about song-writing.

I have won awards as Best Songwriter which shocks

me because I consider myself more of a performer

than a writer. When we have a deadline for a release,

I get together with my husband and we work out

what we have got. I do the lyrics and the initial

melodies, and he works them up into proper songs,

and then we polish them up and get the band round

and start rehearsing. I can’t do sitting down and

writing for three hours a day, but I get odd ideas all

the time and jot them down in odd places, restaurant

napkins, bits of paper. Then when it’s time to

write I have to go around the house collecting up

all these scraps and finding out what has got potential

as a proper song idea, and we go from there.

All the musicians on your new album are amazing

– where do you find them?

I have been very lucky, my first husband, who has

played on five of my albums is a phenomenal player,

and I think that attracts other high-calibre players.

I have had the same bass guitarist for about

twenty years off and on. I was with my husband for

ten years and he acts as band leader and producer.

For the Angel’s Eleven album, we thought about

all the really amazing guitar players that we know,

and we contacted the ones I really like a lot, and

checked out if they were available, and then wrote

a set of songs with each of them in mind. On my

website there is a collection of individual videos



33

INTERVIEW | ANGEL FORREST

showing how we got together, and then recording

the songs. It’s such a wonderful reminder of what

fabulous times I have had playing with these guys.

Paul Deslauriers is one of the guitarists, I know he

has been featured in your magazine. I toured with

Paul and we had such a great time together. He is

a wonderful musician and a really really great guy

and I was so pleased to have him on the record.

Because the players are such high-class musicians,

do you direct them in terms of what you

want in the studio?

I don’t think that directing musicians like that

would work. If you are bringing a guest into a

session, it’s because you want them to bring what

they do, and do it for you, for your record. I find

the best way is to give the player the song, and let

him do his thing, and then appreciate what you

get. There’s no point bringing in someone whose

playing, you love and admire, and then telling

him how and what to play! As I said, the individual

songs were written with the individual players

in mind, so the idea was to give them a structure

that would suit what they do, give them a

musical bed to lie on, to use Keith Richards’ expression.

So, for Paul Deslauriers, for example, I know

Paul is a huge Zeppelin fan, so I wrote a song

with a Gallows Pole feel to it, because I figured

that would suit him, and of course, it did. These

guys know what they are doing, you just let them

go, and they do it for you, which is wonderful.

It’s a difficult, if not impossible question, but

we’ll run it anyway – what is the secret to a

great blues song?

I think everyone has their own individual answer to

that question. I believe it depends on what you start

out looking for when you write a song, even if you

have no idea what that actually is! I think the not

knowing is a vital part of song writing, because it is

the search, the exploration, that makes song writing

such a wonderful craft. I think one of the secrets

is not to over-think it. If you try to apply too much

craft, too much artifice, too much thought, the original

feeling gets lost. Real connection comes from

the core of you. If you get in touch with your core

and let out what’s there and don’t mess with it, then

you will connect with other people in your audience.

As I said, I never really think of myself as a

writer, I just do what I do and make music with

some wonderful people. If you can deliver your song

with most of what you felt when you wrote it still

in there, you put something of yourself out there,

and people will find it and understand it. When I

started writing, the same as when I started performing,

I was not confident. I had no self-belief that

what I was doing was actually any good at all, never

mind being good enough. But writing and performing

are crafts, and they improve with experience.

You learn to use your instincts, to follow what feels

natural because that feels right. If you work on it

too much, that will show, and audiences will know,

you can’t fool people. That’s what made Janis Joplin

such a wonderful, mesmerising performer. She was

so fragile and damaged as a person, and she just let

all that out on stage. A lot of people feel scared of

losing control over what is going on, and that’s natural,

that’s human. The great performers are the ones

who can get past that, and simply do what they feel.

Do you get emotional when you sing?

Absolutely! It’s the only thing that keeps me sane!

Being on stage is my doctor and my psychiatrist.

It’s good for my health and well-being. Sometimes

I go for weeks without singing, either on stage or

in the studio and I can feel the tensions building

up inside me, and I need that release, and when

it comes it feels wonderful. You have to bury feelings

sometimes because that is life, you have to

be OK for your family, and the people around

you, but having found the release that singing

gives me, I find I do really enjoy having it.

Do you think that blues music as a genre gives

you more respect as a musician and as a woman

– people see you for what you are, and not what

you look like?

Absolutely, I do. I have been called a tree-hugger,

which is fine, I don’t wear shoes on stage, not

because I am a hippy chick but because shoes hinder

dancing! I remember seeing Etta James on stage

in Montreal. She was a big lady, three- hundredpounds-plus

and she was shakin’ and shimmyin’ and

the crowd really connected with her, there was an

attraction because she was being who she was, and

everyone could understand and appreciate that. That

taught me a lot about stage craft. You have to make

sure that people get the real you, and not some artifice,

and blues music is really good for that because

it doesn’t go in for fancy costumes and lights and


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INTERVIEW | AngEL FoRREST

whistles and bangs, it’s about feeling the emotion

and connecting the band and the audience together.

It’s how you are, not how you appear. That was what

I thought when I saw Zeppelin, and watched Robert

Plant, and I knew then that I wanted that feeling, I

wanted to make people feel like that. I didn’t know

then that I wanted to sing, but it was the start.

favourite aspects of what I do, I just love seeing new

places and meeting new people. Apart from that,

just playing more and more shows, that is what it’s

all about for me. If I can be on stage singing my

songs, that’s honestly all I want from life. I am easy

to please!

Do you have a career plan?

Well, I am looking at making an indie country

album in September, so I am excited about that, it

will be something fresh and different. I hope it will

appeal to the fans I already have, and bring in some

new ones as well, which is what any musician wants

to do I think. I’d love another collaboration album

because I was so pleased with how the fi rst one came

out. I’d like this time to work with eleven guitarists

I have not actually played with, but that I am, for

want of a better expression, star-struck by. I have my

names ready, and I am contacting them and seeing

who is up for it, and what their availability is, so

hopefully that will come together. The other thing I

want to do is more travelling, now I don’t have

small children any more. I want to go and see

Central America, I adore travelling, it’s one of my

Discography

Electric Love – 2018

Angel’s 11 – 2016

Live Love – 2014

Mother Tongue Blues – 2013

Come Alive – 2010

Wonderland – 2009

Angel Sings Janis Live – 2007

Here For You – 2005

Angle Sings Janis – 1997

Secondhand Blues – 1996



35

Take it to the The Limits one more time

Big Boy Bloater

He’s lost count of how many albums he has released over the last 20 years.But Big Boy Bloater

is back in June with another CD’s worth of hardcore Southern Gothic whammy bar mayhem,

complete with Hammer horror film inspired lyrics, he tells David Osler.

Verbals: David Osler Visuals: Bob Blackburn

C

alling a blues artist ‘clever’ can be

more of an accusation than a commendation

these days. But that adjective is

certainly applicable to Big Boy Bloater.

No common-or-garden 12 bar chord progressions,

extended Stevie Ray Vaughan impersonations

or ‘without your love, baby’ lyrics for this guy.

Yes, the music is still very much blues-based,

but there’s so much else in the mix besides.

You get everything from rockabilly and even

psychobilly and classic Stax soul, through to

glam, power pop and Southern Gothic.

The words, too, remained focused on being skint

and on relationship woes, but often take interesting

twists to reflect twenty-first century life.

But – as he told Blues Matters! in a recent

phone interview – his story starts in the early

1980s, when being a cool kid in Surrey required

having an extremely silly haircut and listening

to Human League and Heaven 17.

“I don’t know, I never got into that sort of

thing. I always wanted something with a bit more

substance to it, I suppose. I found all early 1980s

music a bit too flouncy, maybe,” he relates.

As is often the way, parental taste had a hand

in that. Bloater’s dad listened to a wide range of

blues and rock vinyl, and some of it seems to have

seeped under the schoolboy’s skin. He also benefited

from exposure to some of the greats in the flesh.

“There was an arts center nearby that had

quite a lot of blues guys coming through,

like Big Joe Duskin and Slim Gaillard. I was

taken along to see them, and I thought, this

is pretty cool and I just stuck with it.”

As a result, he gave the synth a miss,

and badgered his father into buying a

guitar from a bloke down the pub.

It cost a fiver, he recalls, and a jolly fine

instrument it must have been. Why, it had

even been tastefully refinished with a leopard

skin paint job rendered in household

emulsions, and its tremolo arm seems

to have been a bicycle brake lever.

“But it was an electric guitar,”

enthuses Bloater. “And I plugged

it into an amplifier and it was like,

yeah! This is what I want to do!”

It didn’t take him long to get his

first song down, in the shape of the Bo

Diddley classic ‘Hey Bo Diddley’, with

its patent ‘dum de dum dum … dum

dum’ rhythm, tricky enough even

for those with a bit of experience.

After that, he soon had a teenage

blues band together, banging out

numbers by the likes of Elmore James

and Tarheel Slim, even as electro-pop

continued to dominate the charts.

His recording debut came in 1998,

with an album called Jumpin’ Rhythm

and Blues, released under the

moniker Big Boy Bloater


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Interview | Big Boy Bloater

and His Southside Stompers.

The Stompers were a six-piece R&B band, including

a couple of saxes and a piano. Sonically, their

recordings stuck to straightforward 1950s and

1960s R&B territory, albeit even then more on

the American side of things than the British.

Nothing wrong with that. It is a triedand-tested

format, and many of us can’t get

enough. But eventually, Bloater decided he had

taken that direction as far as it could go.

“I spent a long time listening to a certain

period of blues, really getting into that. But

you can only do so many 12 bars, in both

playing and listening,” he explains.

“After a while, you feel like you want to get out

of that cycle and put the fourth chord in there.”

Ultimately, the big R&B set-up proved

to be musically constraining.

“It makes you play a certain way. It’s like a

big, big comfy armchair you can sit right back

in and groove a little. You play when you want

to, and step back when you don’t want to play.

“That’s probably why I am more of a riff

player than a 10-minute solo player. I just got

that drilled into me. I guess that comes from

working with horns in a band like that.”

Indeed, BBB does like to keep things crisp

and tasty. While he admits to having dabbled in

the extended breakneck speed fretboard workouts

in the past, it’s not really his thing.

“A lot of that comes from what I was listening

to when I was coming up. The 1940s

and 1950s blues guys, they didn’t do long

solos because they only had three minutes.

That was all you could fit on vinyl.

“A lot of blues players these days have this idea

for a solo and fit a song around it. It’s almost

as if the song is secondary to the guitar solo.

“To be honest, I find all that boring. I’ve

been around awhile, I’ve heard it all before,

and yeah, OK. But the song needs to be

concentrated on a little bit more, maybe.”

Perhaps the guitarist who had most impact

on Big Boy Bloater’s development is Ike Turner.

Turner, of course, has gone down in history with

a well-deserved reputation for being a truly shitty

human being, not least for beating up on Tina.

But leave that out of the equation if you

can. Looked at purely from a technical point

of view, there is no denying that the man was

possessed of innovative tremolo technique,

and it is one that Bloater has lapped up.

“One of my big influences was 1950s Ike

Turner. He was my whole inspiration for

the whammy bar thing,” he confesses.

“He got his hands on a Fender Strat and

went to town on the whammy bar and I picked

up on it straight away. I love that sound.”

That brings us to the issue of Bloater’s equipment.

He has moved on from the five-quid number

purchased by his father all those years ago.

After dalliances with Telecasters and

Gretsch, his working axe these days is a

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BLUES MATTERS! ISSUE 102 BLUESMATTERS.COM

I spent a long time listening to a certain

period of blues, really getting into

that. But you can only do so many 12

bars, in both playing and listening.

Stratocaster, the same model as his hero’s.

Somehow it looks kind of odd in his hands.

If you’ve never seen him live, Bloater is as big

as you would imagine from his stage name. His

sheer size makes the Strat look small, as if it

were a three-quarter size version or something.

What’s more, it has been retrofitted with

humbuckers. That will come as blasphemy to some.

For the purist, if you want twin coils, you should

get yourself a Gibson. So, what’s that all about?

“It’s the whammy bar. You can really give that

abuse. That’s how I ended up with a Strat. But with

the single coils, I was getting loads of interference

and noise. It was just doing my head in.

“So, I found a set of humbuckers, chucked

them in there, and it’s cool. At the time as

well, I was looking to get a bit more of a heavier

sound as well. So that worked out perfectly.

Guitar geeks might like to note that it is a

Japanese rather than American model, shipped

in specially. Other mods include a denser block

in the tremolo unit, for added sustain, and

the removal of one of the tone pots, which

Bloater felt was only getting in the way.

“For me, guitars are like tools. I’m not a

big guitar collector, I’ve only got a couple.


INTERVIEW | BIg Boy BLoATER

I don’t really get into the whole geekery

thing, I haven’t got the head for it.

“I’m thinking about making a change,

but I dunno,” he adds. “There’ll be

something custom eventually.”

When it comes to songwriting, Bloater steps away

from the lyrical clichés that frequently dog the blues

scene. The subject matter is still life and relationships,

but it is all done with a postmodernist twist.

Kitsch paperbacks would be an obvious

primary source material here, but this

turns out not to be the case. It is instead

schlock celluloid that floats Bloater’s boat.

“I’m more of a movies guy, to be

honest. I’m big into the British horror

fi lms like Hammer and Amicus.”

Back in the days when there were only three

TV stations, fi lms of this type were a staple of

Saturday night late telly, and the young Bloater

was allowed to stay up to watch. That must have

had some sort of psychological effect, he laughs.

“They say you should write about what you

know,” Bloater observes. “Around half of my

lyrics are from direct experience and around half

are completely made up imagination stuff. I’m

not going to tell you which half is which.”

Fine, although I think it is safe to

guess that he has never actually dated the

robot girlfriend described on one track

from his 2016 album, Luxury Hobo.

A popular discography website lists a total of

seven Big Boy Bloater albums, but the man himself

seems not entirely certain that tally is correct.

“It might be a few more than that, I

can’t remember. You know what? I

haven’t even counted. I might be up

to ten maybe, I’m not sure.”

Bloater’s last two albums have been

with The Limits, a basic three-piece

with just guitar, bass and drums, sometimes

augmented with keys. There is

an irony in that name. The configuration

was chosen essentially to get

away from the earlier outfit’s limits.

“When I started The Limits up, it

was a planned thing to say, right, I

can do anything. I can have any

style of music, any chord structure.”

The counterargument here is

that the power trio line-up brings


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Interview | Big Boy Bloater

implied musical structures that are themselves difficult

to transcend. But as the live shows testify, The

Limits have lived up to the founder’s hopes, effectively

giving him free range as band leader.

Finally, I ask about the new album, due

for release in June under the title Pills. It will

include a dozen tracks, all originals, he says.

Interestingly, pub rock and power pop

legend Nick Lowe – a musician, songwriter and

producer who may rank as one of the most

under-rated figures in British music history –

was asked to do the production honours.

Sadly, Basher – as Lowe was once nicknamed –

declined the offer, insisting that he did not wish

to be dragged out of retirement to sit behind a

mixing desk one last time. Even so, Bloater feels

that Pills is one of his strongest efforts yet.

“It picks up where Luxury Hobo left off, but it definitely

moves on. There’s still a grounding in the

blues there, but there’s all sorts of other bits and

pieces as well. My other influences do come through.

“I think we’ve come up with things that

no-one else is doing, and I’m pleased about

that. There’s a lot of great blues players doing

great blues, I don’t need to be another one of

those and I can go off and do something else.

“There are some surprises, and there’s some plastic

Bloater. On one of the songs, I even play a ukulele.

“There are no covers and we couldn’t afford any

guests. We just went in the studio and bashed it

out, with a week to do it. We just got on with it.”

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that

the title track is anything to do with the Ellas

McDaniel-penned ditty of the same name, as subsequently

retailed by the New York Dolls in their

overly made-up stack-heeled hey-day, either.

“When I was writing ‘Pills’, at the back of my

mind I thought, somebody’s done a song about

pills. After I wrote it, I realised it was Bo Diddley.

“I had to go back and listen to his to make sure

I hadn’t subconsciously rewritten the song. But

luckily enough, we’re far apart, so that’s cool.”

And cool it no doubt will be. Many blues fans

will be looking forward to getting pilled up.


I’m on the road again

Paul Jones

After thirty-two years as BBC Radio’s face and voice of the blues, veteran bluesman, Paul Jones

has handed over the reins to the flagship Blues Show programme to Cerys Matthews. Catching

up with Paul at home in Surrey, he is relaxed, amusing and evidently happy to be looking ahead

with the odd glance over his shoulder.

Verbals: Iain Patience

Visuals: Judy Totton

“P

eople have asked me how I’m going to

fill up my time, since finishing with

the programme. But I haven’t noticed

I’m having any spare time. It’s all fullon

really,” he jokes, before moving on to explain he

had been struggling to find some time for himself

and his on-the-road music projects for some time

before the option to move on from the show arose.

“I’d been thinking for some years, how can I

simplify my life. The old adage, ‘juggling plates’

comes to mind, with too many in the air one’s

always going to fall to ground at some time. I

was working with the

Blues Band and still

with the Manfreds. For

some reason, I don’t

know why, I never

seriously considered dropping

the programme.

But for years I was

asking myself, how can I thin this down? When

the opportunity came along, I took it.”

“I think 32 years is enough. It was actually

closer to about 33 years. I did the original

pilots in 1985. At that time, I’d already worked

with the BBC’s World Service, then Radio

London, and 14 years with Jazz FM.”

Jones recalls a meeting with another veteran musician

and former BBC Radio 2 presenter, Humphrey

Lyttelton, at a UK music festival, a meeting that

appears to mirror and reflect his own current thinking

and position: “There was a rumour doing the

rounds that Humph had given up his programme

so he could get out and spend more time playing

and performing. I met him backstage and asked

if this was true. He confirmed it was indeed the

case. I watched his set, a really good band and

music, and as he came off-stage told him he’d

made the right decision,” he recalls with pleasure.

Of course, it’s too easy to overlook Paul Jones

and his remarkable, personal music career, thinking

too often of him as

a radio presenter, albeit

one with an enormous,

I’d been thinking for years, encyclopaedic knowledge

of the blues. However,

how can I simplify my life

since his early days in

the 1960s, Jones has been

immersed in music. He

is noted for turning down the chance to join a

band being put together by the late Brian Jones and

a mister Keith Richards but is content to let that

slip: “It wasn’t the Stones, not then. It was just a

band that Brian was putting together. He asked if I

would join as singer but it only became the Stones

when Mick joined. Who knows what it might have

been with me,” he quips, almost dismissively.

Jones famously went on to front another


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Interview | Paul Jones

major sixties outfit, Manfred Mann, a band

whose spirit remains as strong today with the

much-admired Manfreds: “I was asked if I knew

Manfred Mann. And I did, as a writer with Jazz

Journal . I was told he was getting a band together

with Mike Hugg. It was going to be an R&B

band. That was very much my cup of tea.”

Jones adds that he can’t recall ever ‘wanting’ to

be a singer. It just happened. His father played

violin, his mother piano and his brother was a flautist.

The family didn’t have a television but they

did have a radio, he says

about his childhood: “My

brother and I were made

to sing from an early age.”

When I ask the inevitable

question, does he

have a favourite, stand-out

show guest, he takes time,

mulling it over, looking

back through his memory

before confirming a few

outstanding, memorable

live studio guests

and interviews: “With

Jazz FM I did a threehour

show, the middle hour was an interview. I got

most from that format. I remember Charlie Watts,

and Cassandra Wilson. Now she’s worth checking

out, wonderful voice, jazzy but with blues, sort of

Robert Johnson in parts. At the BBC, I remember a

programme with Eric Bibb, a trio featuring a great

drummer whose name I just can’t remember right

now, and Danny Thomson on upright bass. Another

was the wonderful Heritage Blues Orchestra, brilliant

musicians. A band I was sure would go on

to great fame. They didn’t, of course,” he laughs.

Eventually after a few further minutes ruminating,

Jones adds another session recorded live

before an audience at BBC Maida Vale Studio 3,

with Paul Long as producer: “Joe Bonamassa is

always great. I remember after he’d played for a

bit, he said he’d take any questions from the audience.

A young boy, no more than about 17, in the

front row asked some technical questions about the

kit, the guitar, the pedals and the sounds produced.

Joe asked if he could play guitar and then got the

boy to join him, put his guitar over his shoulders

and let him try out the various pedals and see for

I’m looking forward to

being back on the road

with the Blues Band and

the Manfreds. I know we’re

in Scotland at the end of

May with the Blues Band

and the new album

himself how it sounded. It is something that boy

will never forget. And it’s just so typical of Joe

Bonamassa, always generous and warm-hearted.”

Interestingly, perhaps, for the last Paul Jones’

Blues Show a few weeks ago in late April, his

studio guest was again Eric Bibb, a guy Jones

has known for many years: “Eric is a wonderful

musician, always enjoyable. I thought he’d

be the perfect guest for my final programme.”

At this point, I mention knowing Eric and his

Swedish life and connections, reminding Jones that

he himself had a Swedish

link too. Many years ago

he had a solo album of

Greatest Hits that was a

huge success in Sweden.

Jones laughs at the recollection:

“Yes, that’s true.

I remember that. The

strangest thing was the

Swedes seemed to think

I was actually Swedish. I

don’t know why, with

a name like Jones. I

was told it might have

been because I looked

Swedish, whatever a Swede’s supposed to look like.”

“Another stand-out was Chuck Leavell. Paul

Long, my producer, told me to ask Chuck

about the Allman Brothers song, ‘Melissa.’

Chuck then began by playing the Duane

Allman part before adding all the other layers

on top. It was amazing, truly amazing.”

With such an extraordinary musical journey

behind him, Jones can look back with pleasure at

the events he has created and participated in. But,

while many might be more than content to sit back,

relax and rest on their laurels, he remains an itinerant

musician at heart. A new Blues Band album

is about to launch in May to coincide with a UK

tour by the band, his soulmates of many years: “I

still enjoy the travelling,” he says. “I’m completely

peaceful about travelling, I have a nice car, so it is

comfortable. I can relax, listen to music with no real

problem, arriving at the gig to meet up with the rest

of the band. In the early days with Manfred Mann,

I remember, we were all cramped in a Bedford

Dormobile van. And the rows were constant.”

“I’m looking forward to being back on the


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INTERVIEW | PAUL JonES

road with the Blues Band and the Manfreds. I

know we’re in Scotland at the end of May with

the Blues Band and the new album. We recorded

it last summer but it made more sense to hold it

back until we were on tour and can promote it.

It’s taken a lot of discussion – none of it heated –

but always intense about things like the balance,

the cover, the sleeve-notes, all that sort of stuff.

But it’s ready and we are all pleased with it.”

As a fi nale, I ask for his thoughts on the music

these days and what he thinks about it going

forward. Jones is quick to echo the feelings of

many blues-lovers: “I don’t think it will surprise

you when I say that at times the blues is just too

much like rock. I don’t mind it when rock becomes

blues or even pop and blues sort of merge. But at

times it can be hard to distinguish between them.”

He obviously wishes Cerys Matthews, with

whom he chatted – ‘too briefl y’ – at the recent

Jazz FM awards ceremony in London, the best

of luck with the programme but sounds a word

of caution about relying on the BBC archives

for material: “The BBC is infamous for destroying

material. It destroyed almost all of its Jimi

Hendrix archives. At times, I found the archive

might only have something that actually came from

my own programme. It can be very hit or miss.”

So, what will he do with his Monday

evenings now he is free from the BBC radio

studio, I ask: “I’ll maybe have time to put

my record collection in order on Mondays.

It’s really a bit of a mess,” he jokes.

As I thank Mister Jones for many years of

excellent music, I tell him that Carlos Santana,

whom I had spoken with the day before, thanks him

for the song he co-wrote with Jack Bruce many

moons ago, ‘Sonny Boy Williamson,’ recorded by

Santana on the Live Adventures with Bloomfi eld and

Kooper album where Santana features on guitar.

Jones laughs at the thought.

Nine

Below

Zero

Thursday 7th June,

Southwell, Notts.

LIL’JIMMY

REED BAND

LAST OF THE ORIGINAL LOUISIANA BLUESMEN.

BLUES

LEGENDS

NIGHT

JOHNNY

DICKINSON

www.GTSF.uk

01636 816678

for tickets & more info on the whole festival!


Cerys Matthews

BBC Six Music regular Cerys Matthews is set to take over The Blues Show on BBC Radio 2, from

legendary UK bluesman Paul Jones. The media announced the appointment in a piece about

‘diversity,’ hinting that Cerys is taking the show more because of her gender than any knowledge

of blues music she may have. As this interview shows, Cerys is more than a match for any male

broadcaster in terms of her knowledge and experience, both as a professional musician and as

a blues fan with deep knowledge and depthless enthusiasm for the genre. Our conversation

starts with Cerys’s shining enthusiasm for a chance to play, talk about, and interview musicians

who play blues music. First off, let Cerys get that pointless ‘tokenism’ nonsense buried

deep and out of the way.

Verbals: Andy Hughes Visuals: Paul Williamson

“I have been collecting blues albums since I was a child, and I have thousands of blues albums in my collection.

I have absolutely no idea why music from thousands of miles away should touch the heart and soul

of a little girl from South Wales, but it absolutely did, and always has done. I programme all the music

and guests for my Six Music show on Sundays and the BBC recognised that I have a passion for blues

music, I’ve been listening to it and collecting it for decades, that’s the reason they off ered me the show.”

It must feel as though all of your birthdays have

come at once.

I am absolutely thrilled to be honest with you. To

have an hour-long show on the BBC where I have

access to such massively varied music is so wonderful,

and I am really looking forward to getting into

it. As a musician and as a blues fan I have been

very lucky to have some direct experience of the

locations of the music I love so much. I have lived

in America, in the South, and I travelled extensively

when I lived there. I have played music with

David Honeyboy Edwards, interviewed BB King,

been on the search for the Hell Hounds and the

Crossroads, visited the three Robert Johnson graves,

visited Memphis Minnie’s grave, and during that

time I listened to a huge amount of American

radio. The joy for me is playing music commercial

free and playing music that doesn’t have to follow

a set format. There are no restrictions in terms of

playing a playlist for sponsors, some of it is challenging

because of the time it was made, and the

technology used to record it. That is the pleasure,

no agenda, no remit, I can let the music and

guests take me where we go, I am so excited!

You are taking over a well-established show

but, of course, you need to be yourself,

and bring your own personality and taste

in blues to the programme.

The great thing I know from being a

radio DJ is that people get to know

you, they get to know your

tastes, and hopefully fi nd

where my taste overlaps

with theirs. I have

favourite DJ’s,


BLUESMATTERS.COM

Interview | Cerys Matthews



47

Interview | Cerys Matthews

everyone does, and I love listening to the radio whatever

I am doing, and I know listeners-to-be will feel

the same. I hope they will let me know what they

think about what I do, because that is important.

To me, there is no

substitute for live radio

Are you bringing your existing producer with you?

No, I have met the production team I will be

working with for the show. I am proud to be

taking over from Paul Jones, he is leaving a

fantastic legacy, and I respect the dedication

he has, and the work he has done. I am looking

forward to walking in his footsteps. I can’t

do the same as him. I hope people appreciate the

differences and enjoy the music going forward.

You have access to the BBC archive, which is

beyond massive – is that at all intimidating?

Oh no, not at all! I already have access to it from

Six Music, and I have been working with a guy I call

the DI, the Detective Inspector, who knows his way

around those endless archive corridors. I will have

someone on The Blues Show who will help me with

the archive, and I am really excited about exploring

it for this show and seeing what I can bring out and

play for the audience. I already have a list of interviews

I want to bring out and play over the coming

weeks, months, and hopefully years, because I access

the archive for my Six Music programmes, and I do

play a fair mix of blues music there, so I know some

of the material that is available. Now I’ll be able

to check it with a specific remit for blues material,

which I am looking forward to immensely. It feels

like being seated in front of a meal cooked by your

favourite chef, and an invitation to go ahead and

taste it. For me, interviews with musicians are far

more personal, you get a feel for the individual, and

it’s so much more of a connection than just a photograph.

I think interviews really put listeners in touch

with the people behind the music they love. It’s

another dimension to the enjoyment of blues music.

You have your Six Music show every week, and

your show on the World Service once a month,

are you going to have time to fit in the preparation

for The Blues Show?

It’s time very well spent don’t you think? I am looking

forward to making sure that I have ample time

to build the programmes properly. As I mentioned,

I do all the music programming for my Six Music

show, and for the World Service programme that I

do, so I am used to choosing music and other material

for a regular show, and what is involved. For

instance, I have access to the entire Decca catalogue,

I played some Sister Rosetta music today, she was

signed to Decca, so that’s another area to explore

and work out what I want to play on The Blues Show.

One major difference is that The Blues Show will

now be going out ‘live’ and not recorded, why do

you want to do the show that way?

To me, there is no substitute for live radio. I do all

my radio shows ‘live’ except for the World Service

one, that is a little bit different, and I adore live

radio. The instant reaction and the excitement that

comes from communicating to people in real time

is something you can’t beat. It comes from my

days as a performing musician – you always want

that instant response, that feedback, that answer to

what you are doing there in the moment, there is

such a thrill in that. Because The Blues Show will be

going out live, I can get that reaction. People can

contact the show directly and respond about the

music I am playing, the guests, the archive material.

I think that interaction really helps to build

the community that is a radio audience. People

can hear something I play, or a conversation with a

musician, and they can dial in and say, ‘I saw that

person play live in 1958 …’ and the conversations

build. I am very aware that there is a massive established

audience out there and I really want to get to

know them, and for them to get to know me as well.

Have you got your first studio guest lined up?

I have, but I’m not allowed to tell you who it is!

What I can say, though, is that I am busy contacting

musicians I want to come onto the show, aligning

diaries and seeing who is available and when,

and getting appointments made for conversations.

Really exciting! I think guests make a radio show.

Who would be your ideal guest, alive or dead?

Oh, where to start! Snooks Eaglin is a big favourite

of mine, Lead Belly, Lightnin’ Hopkins, John


BLUESMATTERS.COM

INTERVIEW | CERyS MATTHEWS

Lee Hooker. Any of those would make me really

happy. I love talking to musicians because you can

delve beneath the surface and explore personalities

and lives and histories. Playing music is fantastic,

but the whole picture emerges if you can talk

to the people making the music, what motivates,

them, have a chat about their record collections,

because I think that is really revealing. You can tell

a lot about someone from their record collection.

Have you got long-term plans for the show?

Oh yes, I am looking to get the very best guests

and players I can get to feature on the show, I am

going to be providing some live sessions as well,

some new young players who will shock people

with their modern takes on classic songs, so I

am very excited about that as well. I know that

blues music has a fantastic heritage, and it has a

massive influence on all sorts of modern music, so

I want to explore some of those influences, and

the connections between historical blues music

and some of the new, young musicians who are

making their versions of blues music today.

Do you have a message for the Blues Matters!

readers?

Indeed, I do. Thank you. I am looking forward

to getting to know you. Please let me know ideas

for what you would like to hear. I am very open

to suggestions. The other thing is, being a live

show, we have immediate access to give out information

about performances, so if there are any

gig bookers, promoters, festival curators, anyone

putting on shows, please let me know so I can

pass details on to the blues community.

On behalf of Blues Matters! magazine, Cerys, can

I wish you every success with The Blues Show,

and maybe we can chat again further down the

line when you have settled in, and we can talk

about how it’s all going.

Let’s do that!

The Blues Show remains broadcast on a Monday

night but moves an hour later to 8–9 p.m.

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Joan

Armatrading

Verbals: Stephen Harrison

Visuals: Jude Totton


BLUESMATTERS.COM

H

ow long did it take to write and

record the album Not Too Far Away?

You know somebody asked me that

question and I couldn’t answer it because it

was over a period of time but if you condensed

it all, it was probably a couple of months

because I had other things to do in the middle

of it. So probably not that long really.

Is that usual? Do you normally

record in such a quick time?

Yes, all through my career, once I start I carry

on but there have been gaps like I might

have done some recording for a month but

I did other things as well. I couldn’t just sit

down and record and not do other things.

How do you approach it? Do you write the

lyrics first or the music or is it a combination?

Well, for all of my career up until 2003, I’ve always

written whatever came into my head. I’ll have a

blues song or a jazz song, a reggae song and I’ve

always played everything on my demos myself,

and at some point, I’m going to play everything

on my album myself, so in 2003, I decided I’d

play everything on the album apart from drums.

Then in 2007, I brought out an album called Into

the Blues, and on that album I wanted to do a trilogy

of blues, rock and jazz. I did the blues album,

the rock album (This Charming Life) and the jazz

album (Starlight). Then on these albums, I thought,

I’m going to write the words first and until I had

written all the words I wouldn’t write the music,

so, that’s how I went about writing this album.

Excuse me for saying this but I pride myself on

writing really good words anyway and I wanted to

get as much emotion and feeling into this one.

What’s your favourite track off the album?

It’s really difficult for a writer to say I prefer

this one or this one because I love ‘Not Too

Far Away’ and I love ‘This Is Not That’ and I

love ‘Loving What You Hate’. The first track, ‘I

Like It When We’re Together’, I wrote it knowing

it would be a single. I kinda thought it would

be the first single but I didn’t tell the record

company, I just left it up to them. I remember

when I recorded ‘Love and Affection’ I said to the


INTERVIEW | JoAn ARMATRAdIng

Joan Armatrading

Not Too Far Away

BMG

‘I Like It When We Are Together’ is

the opening track on the album.

What immediately springs to mind

is just how good her voice is. It

seems to have an earthier feel to it

nowadays. Not that I’m complaining.

This is a nice easy introduction with

the obligatory superb lyrics. For me

the greatest thing about her is the

seemingly effortless way in which

she delivers each song. I suppose

it helps when you do all the writing

arranging and playing of instruments

except the drums. ‘No More Pain’

has a more bluesy feel too it. Almost

a song that any number of female

blues singers around today could be

associated with. The sheer power of

her voice is amazing. ‘Invisible (Blue

Light)’ is for me the standout track

of the album. Dynamic sound going

on a different tangent than the fi rst

few numbers. A wonderful funky

guitar solo running through the last

part of this song just puts the cherry

record company that I wanted that as a single and

they said, well remember Joan you asked for it.

Well, you obviously got that one right.

Yeah, I defi nitely got that one right.

Did you always want to be a musician?

I think I was born to be a musician this is what I

was born to do. It’s really nice knowing why you are

here. I’m here to write songs and put expression into

people when they can’t fi nd the things to say. They

know what they want to say but they can’t fi nd the

words. I and other writers can help them to fi nd that

kind of expression which is a great thing because

you have it lyrically and musically and when you put

the two together you have a really strong, emotional

connection. That’s the beauty of being a songwriter.

on top of the cake. Folk/blues at its

absolute best. The title track ‘Not

Too Far Away’ reminds me of the

fi rst time I heard Joan Armatrading.

The delivery of the story within the

song is effortless. With a really nice

acoustic guitar accompaniment

this is a worthy title track. ‘Always

in My Dreams’ is a very mellow

love song. Just a voice and piano.

Great lyrics, but you shouldn’t be

surprised at that. ‘This Is Not That’

keeps the fl ow of wonderful lyrics

and arrangement fl owing like a twig

on the shoulder of a stream. Sitting

listening to It you can almost feel

her presence running right through

if. ‘Loving What You Hate’ is a nice

way to fi nish a really good album.

Having not heard Joan’s studio

albums for a few years it’s like reacquainting

with an old friend. A very

welcome old friend. Nice too meet

you again Joan.

Stephen Harrison

A lot of musicians come

to music as a calling.

Your first performance was

for your brother at school?

Yes, to this day I don’t know

why but he had something to

do with putting something on

at the university, he wasn’t at

university, so I’m not sure what

that was about but he asked

me to do something there, and

the only songs I knew were the

songs I wrote because I didn’t

really sing other peoples songs. I

only sang my songs and he said

people won’t know your songs

so you’d better have something

they know so I think it was ‘The

Sound Of Silence’ that I sang.

So, did that prove a sort

of catalyst for what you

wanted to do in the future?

No, I hadn’t decided at that point

what I wanted to do. I’ll tell you

what did make me decide that

I was going to have a future in

music, it was after I’d recorded

my second album Back to The

Night which was in 1975, that’s

when I decided that this was

going to be what I was doing.

I knew that I had a calling to music but I didn’t

know that it would be my career, so after I made

Back to The Night, I had to decide if this was going

to be my career or would I fi nd another job, but

this was the only thing I really wanted to do and

the thing I had an unstoppable interest in. And, I

love to be able to say that I have a career in music.

That’s something I’ve always had, a really big belief

in my music and what I was doing, because, I’m

really one of the shyest people I’ve ever known

but I’ve always been very confident in my music.

Who has had the biggest influence

on your career?

My mother. My father used to play the guitar and

he’d sometimes play in front of me but he never

wanted me to touch the guitar and he would usually


BLUESMATTERS.COM

Interview | Joan Armatrading

hide it, then one day I saw a guitar in a pawn shop

and I asked my mum if I could have it and she said,

well, it costs £3.00 and we don’t have that but if

they’ll swap it for these two prams then you can

have it, so that’s how I got my first guitar. And

then she bought a piano and put it in the front

room just as a piece of furniture but as soon as

the piano arrived in the room I started playing

and writing songs. The piano is very visual so you

can see exactly what you are doing and playing as

well as hearing more so than the guitar really, so I

taught myself how to play the guitar and piano by

myself and started from there.

and less but I do have a few people with me but

not a whole entourage because I don’t go out a lot

or mix that much, so really, it’s not changed that

much for me. In the style of business, it’s changed

because people tour a lot more than they used

to because the record business has changed that

much, that’s how musicians make a living now.

Do you prefer playing live or recording?

Well, it comes in the perfect order for me because

I love writing that’s the number one thing, then

I record it and play it. You can’t play it live if you

In 2007 you recorded

Into the Blues which went

straight to number one in

the Billboard Blues chart.

Has blues always been a

big influence in your life?

All music is. I love classical

music, Bach and Vivaldi. My

mum’s favourite singer was Jim

Reeves I really love all music,

rock, blues, reggae, bluegrass,

there isn’t anything I don’t like.

Maybe there will be a part of

the music that I don’t like but

there will be a large part that I

do like, so like blues, it’s original

and not copied, so when

I sat down and did the blues

album I knew what I wanted it

to sound like, the blues to how

I was playing the blues, it was

my take on it. When I did the

album, I expected it to do well

but I didn’t expect it to debut at

number one in the blues chart.

Has travelling and touring

changed over the years?

It has changed, yeah, but for

me, not too drastically because

I never had loads of people

around me all the time. In the

earlier years we had the big

trucks and such with all the

gear in and tour buses but over

the years I’ve made that less


INTERVIEW | JoAn ARMATRAdIng

don’t have it. So, it comes in exactly the right

order, writing, arranging, recording then playing

live. That’s when you can feel the

reaction of the audience and the

emotion of seeing people react to

the songs close up. Then, after

the show, you get people telling

you how they feel about

the songs, which is great.

Are you going out

on tour soon?

Yeah, I go to America at the

end of this month for about

a month then come back

to England in September.

Are there plans

for another album

after the tour?

Well, I’ll never retire,

so, there will be plans

for another album

until the day I die.

Brilliant. That shows the

level of enthusiasm that

you have always portrayed.

Long may it continue.

Discography

Not Too Far Away – 2018

Tempest Songs – 2016

Starlight – 2012

This Charming Life – 2010

Into The Blues – 2007

Lovers Speak – 2003

Whats Inside – 1995

Square The Circle – 1992

Hearts And Flowers – 1990

The Shouting Stage – 1988


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Rocking the Blues

Maggie Bell

The lead singer of the mighty Stone The Crows and successful solo artist has performed all over

the world and shows no sign of slowing down. We meet the UK’s first lady of rock, blues and soul

in deepest Fulham for a bite and a chat about … well, everything and everybody …

Verbals: Pete Sargeant

Visuals: Laurence Harvey

I

remember seeing you and the late Les

(Harvey) with Stone The Crows at the

Lyceum in London … three act bill, revolving

stage.

Och yes! I remember the revolving stage well, we had

one also at the Locarno, in Glasgow in Sauchiehall

Street. And I remember that gig you mention, I

was waiting for a taxi with Les outside the Lyceum

and somebody stole my bag with all my stuff in

it, a shopping bag … anyway, we had Colin Allen

on drums, John McGuinness and Jimmy Dewar.

Was John any relation to Tom?

No, I met Tom though, when I

did the Manfreds Tour.

Absolute legend to me, Jimmy Dewar …

(Warmly) Yes! Just fabulous, an unsung hero.

Robin (Trower) credits all their US success to

Dewar’s singing.

It was me that told Jimmy to strike out, I knew he

could hold a band together, no doubt about it.

His voice and yours … incredible.

(Laughs) A Glasgow thing, Pete –

survival of the fittest!

He was in Lulu & the Luvvers?

That’s right – with Alec Bell. Lulu used to come

down to watch Alex Harvey … Les’ brother.

I saw Alex do a solo gig in a Soho basement,

just him and a Telecaster … ‘Don’t Put Lights on

The Xmas Tree, Warden – They’re Burning Big

Louis Tonight.’

I knew him all my life, from when I was fifteen. He

had a great band back in the day, The Alex Harvey

Band, a soul band doing all covers, Isley Bros, Josh

White numbers, all like that. A group to be reckoned

with, George McGovern on drums. After

I’d finished working evenings at the Locarno I

would go down to the Cave to see them play.

Were you singing at the Locarno?

Oh yes – and Dave Mattacks was the drummer.

Fairport! I last ran into Dave on tour with Mary

Chapin Carpenter.

That’s how we all met, cos of the Locarno gig. Alex

and the band were going to Hamburg to play The

Top Ten Club and I said I’d love to come along. My

parents wouldn’t allow me, too young. And Alex

said, well my young brothers got a band and that’s

how it all started, Stone the Crows. It was called

The Kinning Park Ramblers! That became STC.

It was a whole group of stars coming together, really?

Yes – Frankie Miller was involved; Jeff Allen

and he went on to play drums with … err

East of Eden.

Yes! East of Eden. All kids coming out of Glasgow.


BLUESMATTERS.COM

interview | Maggie Bell

Your contemporaries then would have been

Grace with the Airplane, Janis … etc.

I met Grace Slick when she came to see us,

at the Fillmore West, she was very straight,

she had straightened herself out a bit by

then. Absolutely charming, she was a fan of

mine, knew the records, we sat and talked

for hours. Good woman, good egg.

So, when you do a song by someone else, what

are you aiming at, Maggie?

To try to make it my own. Put my own

interpretation on it. I don’t play an instrument,

so I have to do that with my voice.

One of the cuts on these STC albums is Hollis

Brown, the Dylan song?

I still do that song, I do it with Dave Kelly, I’ve

always loved Dylan. First album I ever bought! I

was working as a window dresser in the daytime

and someone tried to rob me, and I was taking

eighty quid somewhere when I was working at a

bank, a lot of money in those days, then this chap

with a car engine running outside the bank tried to

hold me up for the money. There was blood everywhere,

including HIS blood, kicking me down. I

was thinking if he gets away with this, they’ll

think I’m in cahoots with him. So I started beating

hell out of him. He cleared off. The boss gave

me the afternoon off work and 29 pounds 19 shillings!

I put a deposit on a radiogram and with the

money left I got Bob Dylan’s Freewheeling LP.

Which female singers have influenced you? I

always wondered whether you liked Nina Simone?

Oh yes! I met Nina … we did the Montreux Festival.


INTERVIEW | MAggIE BELL

For Claud Nobs?

Claud, God love him, and she was standing at the

front of the stage. I think she’d not long had a

brain operation then. She was just standing looking

up at me. When I came off, she came by, didn’t

say a word. Just looked at me, one of those long

stares, y’know. I said can I get you a drink? are

you OK? She said where did you learn to sing

like a black woman? That was her opening line. I

said you don’t learn to sing the way I do, I was a

Salvation Army girl, I started singing there. Oh

and another person did that to me, a few years

later. A black man who sings Country & Western.

this chap with a car engine

running outside the bank

tried to hold me up for the

money. There was blood

everywhere, including HIS

blood, kicking me down

Charley Pride?

Yep – he asked what is a Scottish woman doing

singing the blues like that? I said excuse me, Mr

Pride – how is it YOU are singing Country &

Western? We both started laughing then. He

was charming to me. Told me I had a big

future but should watch out for the sharks!

Nina had an awful lot of bad experiences and

moved to Paris eventually. Has the music business

overall been kind to Maggie Bell?

Yep. Do you know why? I had a manager called Peter

Grant who told everyone to eff off ! If you don’t like

it, eff off ! The people that were most important to

him were the artists he was looking after, he was

the fi rst man I ever heard who’d deal with promoters

who were saying 80/20 in their own favour,

he was the man who changed all that around.

On the Radio Sessions record here, ‘Raining in

Your Heart’ has two versions, Dewar singing then

you come in. Kind of Delaney & Bonnie territory,

the only other act with that two-voice power was

my friend Robert with Elkie.

Vinegar Joe – that’s right! Funnily enough we never

met them, never played on the same bill anywhere.

And I would have liked to meet them, for sure. I

have a lot of respect for Elkie, she’s still doing it.

She’s become a big star and can sell out places.

‘Touch of Your Loving Hand’ – a gospel feel?

Well we hadn’t been writing songs before, before all

this. We were signed to Polydor in Germany, they

backed us and said go to a rehearsal room and get

writing. That then was one of the fi rst songs we ever

wrote. The thing with Jimmy is, the voices blend

beautifully … it’s very hard to get people to harmonise,

it’s an old-fashioned thing, do you understand?

(do I?! – PS) it’s like an extra instrument.

‘Freedom Road’ – it’s almost like a prog rock

suite, then in comes this roaring vocal, about

five minutes in. Colosseum stuff but you also

had that soul/rock thing!

(Sighs) I know, I could cry thinking about it,

sometimes. It just wasn’t meant to be. One of those

things.

… In Part Two, more on Stone The Crows,

America, Jimmy Page and more.

Discography

War Horses! – 2012

Live in no Mean City – 2011

Best of Maggie Bell – 2006

The River Sessions – 2004

Coming on Strong – 2004

Live Boston USA 1975 – 2003

Crimes of the Heart – 1988

Suicide Sal – 1975

Queen of the Night – 1974

Live at the Rainbow – 1974

Ontinuous Performance – 1972

Teenage Licks – 1971

Ode to John Law – 1970


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AVAILABLE ON

“

Heartache? It’s right here with gut

wrenching vocals vying with harp

and guitar to see who can hurt the

most. I don’t care if it is retro,

”

it’s brilliant stuff!

GRAEME SCOTT

highjohnrecords.com



BLUESMATTERS.COM

His own account – Part II

Zoot Money

Continuing the Hammersmith alehouse summit conversationby Pete with keyboard ace and

unique vocalist Zoot, it’s the coldest Sunday morning of the year outside, countered by PG Tips

and coffee inside. We move on this time to …


Visuals: Alan Robinson PR and Zoot

L

et’s talk about some people, back in

the eighties I found myself at Richard

Branson’s overpriced drinks The Venue,

by Victoria. I’m watching an American

guitarist called James Blood Ulmer, who’s playing

a weird jazz style using something called

Harmolodics. I was figuring out what he was

doing and the guy next to me was doing the same.

Short bloke, blonde hair, we got talking and it

was … Andy Summers!

(Laughs) Ah! Always at the forefront, that man! It

was inevitable that, long after Dantalians Chariot,

Andy would be where he is now. We always said

‘He’s going to be a star’. Not meaning that he

would sort of go showbiz or anything like that, but

rather Andy would never be going backwards. He

would play for six hours a day, even back then!

There was a huge dose of blues and jazz in

his guitar playing, you could hear Wes, Kenny

Burrell …

Yeah! all those people – they were all the artists he

was first listening to and listening closely. He wasn’t

listening to the rock players, he was part of a group,

a trio in Bournemouth called The Poll Losers Trio,

y’know because of the pop and jazz music polls

going on! So, Joe Pass, Grant Green – they were his

heroes. (Laughs) If anything, I brought his standards

down! By asking him to play with me, but …

The first time I heard Andy play, I just thought

he sounds very in control and focussed but he’s

heard of Wes Montgomery, he’s making that

work in R&B …

He was completely into that, yes. From the first day

as a music student, picking up a guitar. I would

get a record of a song that I thought we could and

play it to him and just say or confess really that I

wasn’t too sure exactly what the guitarist is doing

on this. Andy would usually take the disc home

and just figure out the mechanics of what was there

in the playing, then take it up a step. He was the

first guitarist down in Bournemouth – cos I go

back a long way – able to analyse these riffs and

motifs and work out how to reproduce it, then

go from there. You would know this Pete, you

had to keep taking your hand off the guitar and

lift the record player stylus back to replay bits …

I used to play 45 discs at 33 to work out runs then

go up the neck to the key I wanted

Ah, that was one of the ways of doing it! We

used all tricks like that, to figure things out. I

would do that for lyrics, too. I did get some

lyrics wrong, but they sounded right.

Sax players – Clive Burrows? Johnny Almond, who

played with Mayall

Both gone now and recently Nick Newall.


Interview | Zoot Money

London and Atlantic labels?

Exactly. All those obscure singles by people like

Ernie K Doe, Jerry Butler, she hadn’t heard them,

but she sent for them. The boss would ask ‘Who’s

going to buy this stuff ?’ But I would go in there

and have a listen and try to remember them all!

I couldn’t take a tape recorder in there, just

my head. I would memorise as much as I could,

I never bought the records. She was making up

all these names of customers who had ordered

these records, but not collected them!

Zoot Money’s Big

Roll Band

Big Time Operator – 4 CD Set

Repertoire Records

A few Christmases have arrived here in one hit, for all

Rollers, as fans of this act have come to be termed. The

four-disc set comes in a neat box cover and supplies

every track you would ever want to own, every cut you

would ever remember AND radio sessions complete

with intro’s by the late wireless great Brian Matthew

AND extra tracks found here and there, from varied

sources. These even include the never-heard version

of Phil Upchurch’s ‘You Can’t Sit Down’. The box has

loads of contemporary images and photo’s and there is

even an autographed message card from Money himself.

Our issue #100 included the first part of my detailed

chat with Zoot about these recordings and the personnel

and the good times that produced this rich and rooted

set of songs. The chunky guitar riffs, the grainy horn

figures, the pumping basslines, jazzy and refined drumming,

that sandpapered and ebullient voice, the throaty

Hammond … it’s all here and there’s plenty of it. The

ultimate Follower’s Feast, this will be a Limited Edition

so I suggest you jump in quickly on this one!

Pete Sargeant

How did you get to these songs first? Did you have

a source for Solomon Burke discs or whatever?

Hmm, I don’t know if this person is still alive,

so I had better be a little careful here. There

was a young lady that I was seeing, who worked

in a shop that was three or four doors from

my house. So she would order these obscure

Brunswick label, Black Cat Records.

You talk to Gary Brooker or Robin Trower

and they’ll tell you very similar tales. George

Harrison on tour packages would lug a portable

player to The Paramounts’ dressing room and

play them Tamla singles …

Oh yeah ! I’ve met and worked with Gary

actually on a Richard Desmond show.

This Paul Williams – is this the chap I know who

was in Juicy Lucy and is a Robert Johnson expert?

Yes, that’s Paul. The very same. Paul can do

those songs, those ballad-type soul numbers, he’s

got that full, masculine voice that can carry

such songs. A good, mature sound to him.

Well still the best Robert Johnson tribute album

is the one by Paul and Glenn Ross Campbell, the

steel player in Juicy Lucy, The Misunderstood

He still has Blue Thunder as his band. When

I told him about the compilation was coming

out he was asking where his cheque would be!

I’ve done some sleeve note bits for the Repertoire

label – it’s like they’re an art gallery determined

to keep quality material live and available. Tell

me about Colin Allen

The drum king – he’s just sent me an email with two

pictures that were taken of the band. In Sheffield! Me

looking like a child. The booklet on the compilation

has lots of pictures, some by Jeremy Fletcher. Who

has his own book on The 60s out. We really got on

with him and to contact him, he lives in Australia

now. He’s allowed us to use the images, which is

great. The publicity shots, some of them silly.

Were you a fan of Jimmy Smith?

Yeah! I loved all that. By that time I was getting

records by John Patton, Phil Upchurch.


BLUESMATTERS.COM

INTERVIEW | zooT MonEy

You Can’t Sit Down?

Yes. And when we found the recording of that –

wow! Never realised we actually had that song on

record, our version! We delayed the record, so we

could use that in the box. ‘The Long Way Home’ is

one I liked a lot. Someone had taped off the radio us

doing ‘Think’ – James Brown (at this point we spontaneously

sing the horn riff together, in the bar – PS).

I closed a jazz jam the other night with Your

Mind Is On Vacation. Did you like Mose Allison?

Loved it. Such great songs. I did tend to steer

clear of it though as that was really Georgie’s

domain. Now I would perhaps do songs by artists

that Fame liked BUT we’d go for different titles.

So, no crossing of swords ever, no cross-pollination,

musically. The only one we both might

do live was ‘Get On The Right Track Baby’ and

he still does that number. There’s a way of singing

Mose that does favour Georgie I always felt.

When you perform music, you are often taking

your act sort of behind enemy lines, to a fresh

audience, do you still like playing to a fresh bunch

of faces?

I do. Because yes, it’s another world. ‘I wonder

how they’ll react to this?’ you think.

It’s a great feeling to just go ‘Let’s just

see what happens now,’ isn’t it? You’re meeting

new people all the time as a writer and

you don’t ever know exactly how it will go.

I want to talk about Dantalians Chariot as I have

here the splendid new album of the recorded

tracks. Madman Running along with The Pretty

Things S F Sorrow just defines that era

And that’s why the song keeps getting played still!

Not so much in this country, but in other territories

it’s been on various compilations. A Spanish label

came to me and asked me to put this out on vinyl.

Why? Because a whole lot of their young kids loved

the single and loved the whole concept of that as it

explains how they’re feeling now. Since then, Cherry

Red has got onto it, as many people kept enquiring.

Young people of two generations, turned

on by the sound. Maybe three.

There’s bands in Sweden like The Hellacopters

who understand this music and make it themselves.

Please tell me about the song Four Firemen?

(Warmly) I was just going to come to that! You

know David Bowie said he got words on pieces of

paper and mixed them up to create a song lyric?

The random thing. That was long after this, though

Quite so, the random route. Andy and I, we saw

in the newspaper this straight story about a fi re.

What you hear on there, the lyrics are an article

in a newspaper about the incident. Four fi remen

being called to rescue people. It’s an actual story.

We just put music to the account of the event.

‘Coffee Song’ – it’s on a Cream record I have

Tony Colton and Ray Smith came up with that.

They were at that time spewing out songs all over

the place. That and another song we recorded didn’t

really fit the Big Roll Band thing BUT in this new

situation things were different and we could

experiment quite a bit. Both songs had stories, you

see. ‘Coffee Song’ is about a guy who keeps going

into a café hoping to see the bird that he saw once.

Inevitably, almost his whole life he’ll be going into

this place, in the hope …

Discography

As Zoot’s discography is so long with all the

albums and artists he has appeared with

here is one section for his solo work

The Book of Life ... I’ve Read It – 2016

Full Circle – 2007

A Big Time Operator – 2005

As & Bs Scrapbook – 2003

Full Clothed & Naked – 2000

Were You There Live – 1999

Mr. Money – 1980

Zoot Money – 1970

Welcome to My Head Capitol – 1969

Transition – 1968

It Should Have Been Me – 1966



BLUESMATTERS.COM

Bettye LaVette

Blues Matters caught up with Soul Survivor Bettye LaVetteat her Detroit home via telephone

link. A very interesting chat ensued encompassing her musical background, her vocals and new

release. The new album is a Bob Dylan cover release, Things Have Changed. She has taken a

batch of Dylan’s tunes, shook them around and put her own inimitable signature to them.

Verbals: Colin Campbell Visuals: Mark Seliger and Aoife Doherty

T

hanks for taking time out to talk to

Blues Matters! Magazine. Did you

think when you started out that you

would have such a long music career?

I don’t think that’s what I thought when I started

out. The thing that’s hit me most is I’ve gotten

old. I’ve been twenty-five all my life. It’s not something

I think about. My career started at age sixteen,

I didn’t even think I would reach seventy-two!

How has the music scene changed since you

started out? And what is still the same?

Oh, wow it’s changed drastically, and I am so

glad I’ve so much hope now because I have no

idea what they are talking about any more. It’s

just, I do my songs, record them in the studio,

do a show with my band and leave all the counting

and technology – and which way does the

luggage go? To my road-manager, my husband and

other people who are getting percentages off me.

My personal habits and things have not changed

but the things all around me have changed.

How would you define your music and singing?

I’m a Rhythm and Blues artist. The whole Soul

thing is just a euphemism to me. Anyone who sings

soulfully can be called a soul singer. I am a Rhythm

and Blues singer. Mariah Carey is not! To label

everyone who is black, R&B, is just not the way.

Who are some of the more memorable people

you have met along the way?

In my early career nobody is memorable to me

now, just people who I met when I first started, say,

Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters, Ben E King, Otis

Redding, Solomon Burke. Those are the people

most memorable to me. I was sixteen and three

weeks before I met them I was dancing to their

music, then I was out on the road with them. It

was very exciting, I was a groupie, not the star.

How do things look for a seventy-two-year old

woman looking back at that sixteen-year old girl,

would you change anything?

I could stand a little more energy. I think that I

enjoy being old more than I enjoyed being young.

I was so confused when I was young. I think I

have now mastered my career and me. It’s a more

comfortable place than when I was young. I can

still fit into a six and wear very high heels and

sing as loud as anybody else, so I’m cool, reasonably

healthy, no ongoing illnesses and neither

has my husband. We are up to the task!

Is it true Otis Redding wanted to marry you

when you were younger?

No truth! Everyone thought it would be a good

idea if we were married because our voices matched,

and we were on Atlantic Records. When he went


Interview | Bettye LaVette

lady who knew everyone who went

on the stage. That time you had to

do record hops to get your record

played on the air. I started to go to

see this woman called ‘Ginger’ who

knew everybody, I adored her, my

mother didn’t! I never thought I

could be a singer, I knew I could sing

but knew no one personally who

sang. No one in my family had ever

done anything like that so I didn’t

envisage being on stage. My career

started out a little more unusual than

most, I was pursuing the artists!

So, it was kind of fate that your

career started?

Yes, my mother always said she didn’t

know what else I could have been!

I luckily ended up in my own category

because all of the accoutrements

you need to be in show business

will also get you in trouble to those

who are not! So, I had that personality

and was lucky, I could have just

as easy fallen into any other gang!

on to be a huge star and I went on home, for one

of many times, it came out easier from my mouth,

he wanted to marry me. He did say he loved me …

You have had plenty of lows in your life, what

keeps you motivated?

I am becoming more proficient the longer I do it.

I don’t know, all I can do is get angry and get my

newspaper out! I never did anything before I was in

the ninth grade. It’s not as if I can say I’ll go back,

I didn’t go to school. My manager told me early

on, “Learn a lot of songs and learn them well, that

way you’ll be able to sing all your life, star or not”.

Talk about growing up in Detroit and life on

the road. You signed for Atlantic Records, did

Motown Records ever call you?

It was 1962 and no one knew what Motown was!

It was an unusual occurrence, I just happened to

be a groupie for two weeks riding with this young

How would you define what the

blues means to you? Would you

call it a feeling, or what?

Well I’m not a blues singer, I don’t interpret it

like that, it’s just the way I sound. When I sing,

it comes out. I haven’t investigated what I do!

How do you feel about the British blues scene,

as on your album The British Rock Songbook?

How important was your stunning version of

‘Love Reign O’er Me’ sung at The Kennedy

Centre Honours Ceremony?

The Kennedy Centre Honours gave me more opportunity

to see more people. It sounded perfect, it

looked awesome. My husband, who is Irish, saw

his idol, Pete Townsend crying. In front of me

was Aretha Franklin, who I’d watched become a

star while I starved. There was Barbara Streisand,

Beyoncé was to my right, I called it my ‘Three

Stooges Slap’. The interpretation I did was purely for

revenge. When the British invasion started getting

a black record played on a crossover station, if

you hadn’t already made it like Aretha or Wilson

66


Interview | Bettye LaVette

Pickett, then you were going to have a hard time

because only so many records can be played on

any show. Blacks became ‘the other’ then the Brits

became ‘the other’. I don’t think the people whose

tunes they covered got the same exposure, not a fair

battle. I don’t hold it against any of them personally,

it’s just the way the industry spewed it out. I just

wanted people to know they’re just songs! Words

on a piece of paper. If someone black sung them

they would not be the world icons, they became.

The resentment I have is towards the industry.

Have you any favourite venues you like playing?

Do you prefer a large audience or small one?

I prefer smaller, I can’t see everyone’s faces in

a large audience. Seeing people’s faces is very

important to me, I like the sounds and lights

to be flawless. I used to like night clubs.

What’s the song that you most enjoy singing

and why?

None, when I’m in the song, that’s the

moment. I choose all my songs because I like

them. When I sing ‘Your Turn To Cry,’ I’m

right back in that moment. When I sing

‘Reign O’er Me’ I’m in that moment.

Let’s talk about your new album. When did you

first become aware of Bob Dylan?

He first started singing when I did! When I

was younger I listened to music, now I don’t.

Now I listen through it, it’s not

what I do for entertainment.

You’ve covered Bob Dylan before.

What motivated you to make a

whole album of his songs?

The Executive Producer, Carol

Freedman is a very good friend and

a big Bob Dylan and Bettye LaVette

fan, it’s always been a dream of hers.

I said if you can get someone to pay

for it I’ll share the dream with you! The company

loved the idea. There is no doubt the man can

play a song. He just won a Peace Prize for song

writing with the biggest record company in the

world. There was nothing not to like. They’re just

songs. If he had written them and given them to

me, this is the way I would have sung them. I wrote

the words down, did the melody and went to my

keyboard player. He played it the way I was singing

it. Carol Freedman had it all in her head, what

she wanted. They gave me the choices of a band, I

chose Steve Jordan for one thing, because he was

black. I thought there was no way he would hear

Bob Dylan the way some other Producer would. I

knew he would hear as much James Brown as I did!

He heard me sing and it clicked, it was done in

three days. On the interpretation side I knew everyone

had heard these songs all their lives. Take the

notes from the songs and follow me! That is what

we did, I am very, very pleased with the results.

You got any favourites on the new album?

I didn’t like any of the songs. My husband went

through hundreds of songs and got down to the

ones I wanted to do. On the last days of recording

Carol sent me ‘Things Have Changed’ I chose it, I

wanted it to be the headline song. Up until then

I had not been cooperative at all! The company

wanted me to do two signature songs, I didn’t like

them! But when I saw ‘Times They Are A Changin’

I said to Steve if you could help me flip this around

so when we start playing it, I don’t want Bob Dylan

to recognise it! Same with ‘It Ain’t Me Babe’ I was

thinking about singing it like a drunk Jimmy Reed.

I thought about the time he slept on stage during

a song. I wanted to do it like ‘Big Boss Man.’ Each

one of the songs I had to understand what Bob

Dylan meant, then I could say it the way it was. I

didn’t know he was telling someone to jump off a

I knew I could sing but knew no one

personally who sang. No one in my

family had ever done anything like that

so I didn’t envisage being on stage.

ledge on ‘It Ain’t Me Babe’ I thought, this is mean.

He’s always arguing but he won’t go all the way

with it. I just finished the argument! If you argue

with a black woman, it’s a whole different thing!

I wanted ‘What Was It You Wanted’ to be

jazzy and cool so got Trombone Shorty

to play solo on it. It’s so cool. I’d never

heard Bob Dylan being cool. I love it!



67

INTERVIEW | BETTyE LAVETTE

me count. People who drove me miles to gigs and

gave me a place to rest count. I’m glad the industry

is still here and can look at me and say they

were wrong! “You know what’s done happened,

but you don’t know what’s going to happen,” my

mom said! My career continues to prove that!

You have spoken in the past about how close

The Rolling Stones got to the Blues. How does it

feel to have Keith Richards on your new album

and how did that come about?

Steve Jordan plays in his band. I felt grateful

he could do this for me. He was fun, we

were both able to say that if we’d known each

other in the early sixties we would have got

into some serious trouble. We are very alike.

Eleven o’clock in the morning we arrive at the

Studio with drink in hand. I adored him.

What was the best advice you got in your music

career and what advice would you give to young

musicians?

Shut up and go to bed! Because I sing really

hard and talk a lot and when I fi rst started singing

I wanted to stay up so as people could

see me! I didn’t stop losing my voice until

seeking that good advice and taking it. My

advice would be to practice and know it’s a

job. Show up on time and learn your craft.

What are your plans for the future?

As they have always been, to make some money!

Critical acclaim is good. I’ve met everybody alive

I want to meet. If I could make some money

at this point in life I would say, wow, I’ve been

successful. I still feel as though I have made a

mark! The only thing that hasn’t treated me well

has been this industry. I have to sneak away to

be sad. The people who really, really believed in

What has been your proudest moment in

your career?

When I walked out on the Inaugural stage to sing

for Barack Obama. I felt like I was walking on the

shoulders of those who were not able to see. I was

the embodiment of so many that went before, and

so was he. That is the proudest moment of my

entire life. He thanked everyone. The family was so

gracious. I was so excited. I held Michelle Obama’s

hand and I told her, “You know.” “I know,” she

said. “I know you know, you know I know.” I felt

so stupid, but they were the words we said. I relish

it. It’s hard to gobsmack me. I was overwhelmed.

Been great speaking to you!

Bye baby, thank you!

For more info see website: www.bettyelavette.com

Discography

Things Have Changed – 2018

Worthy – 2015

More Thankful, More Thoughtful – 2012

Thankful N’Thoughtful – 2012

Interpretations: The British

Rock Songbook – 2010

The Scene of the Crime – 2007

Child of the Seventies – 2006

I’ve Got My Own Hell to raise – 2005

A Woman Like Me – 2002

Souvenirs – 2000

Let Me Down Easy – 2000

Not Gonna Happen Twice – 1991

Tell Me A Lie – 1982

68


MIKE

ZITO

VANJA

SKY

BERNARD

ALLISON

On Tour in the UK:

September 24 Milton Keynes The Stables

September 25 Manchester Band On The Wall

September 26 Edinburgh Stramash

RUF 1252 RUF 1253

RUF 1257

www.propermusicgroup.com

www.rufrecords.de


DeWolff

The Dutch pack are coming this way!


BLUESMATTERS.COM

DeWolff might be relatively unknown in the UK but this classic sounding three-piece line up are

really hitting their stride now having just signed to Mascot Records and are about to release their

new album Thrust. Although the band members are all in their mid-twenties they have been

together for ten years and have already released five studio albums, they have their own analogue

studio in Utrecht and a home fan base to envy. Named after Pulp Fiction character Winston Wolfe,

as you would expect the bands influences and experiences over the ensuing years are now coming

to the fore. I was able to fix up a chat with Pablo Van de Poel, the singer, guitarist of the band and

whose brother Luka is the drummer. The line-up is completed by Robin Piso on Hammond organ.

Verbals: Steve Yourglivch

Visuals: Satalite June

H

i there Pablo, thanks for making time

for this.

No problem, it’s my pleasure.

I know these are very busy times for you.

Yes, I’m just finishing work on my solo album and

of course the DeWolff album is about to come out.

I’m also mixing another band’s record and recording

another different band. On top of that I’m

playing a show tonight with another band too!

I hadn’t realised that you recorded as a solo

artist too.

Normally I don’t, but this is a one

off. It just happens to be going on at

the same time as everything else.

You’ve just signed to Mascot Records, so I guess

we’ll be hearing more about you here in the UK.

Yeah, definitely, we’re currently doing lots of interviews

with magazines and blogs from the UK.

Like a thousand times more than ever before!

We should talk a little about your back story. You

guys, although you’re still really young, have been

together for ten years now.

Yeah, we have. Almost eleven years now, I think.

I’m in the band with my brother Luka, but it feels

like we’re all brothers musically too onstage.

And this is your fifth or sixth studio album?

Yes, this will be our sixth. For us it just feels

natural, we just get up in the morning and go

to bed at night with music. It’s what we do all

day, recording music, making music. So, for us it

doesn’t feel like a lot of output releasing a record,

every 18 months or so. It just feels normal.

Do you feel the band has evolved over that time?

Oh yeah, for sure, when we started out we were

basically just copying things we listened to, which

back then was The Doors, Deep Purple and Pink

Floyd. We jammed and when I wrote lyrics I

didn’t have any real experience of life. You know

I was 16, so I was just writing about the same

stuff that these guys from the sixties were writing

about. People heard us and went wow, they

sound like they’re from the sixties or seventies.

That music is part of our DNA so it’s still there,

but a lot has changed especially in our songwriting

and the way we approach the music.

On a couple of the tracks from Thrust I still

detect a Deep Purple vibe going on. Maybe

because of the Hammond sound.

Yeah, probably. If you play rock music and that

Hammond sound is prominent, that’s a big part of

what Deep Purple is. Made In Japan is still one of the

best live records ever made, I think the musicianship


INTERVIEW | DeWolff

on that is just insane, it’s out there. We’ve listened

to them so much, like I said, it’s part of our DNA.

With Thrust though it feels like you’re finding

more of a blues/rock, Southern rock feel.

You know Southern rock to me is a combination

of country, soul, rock ‘n’ roll, and blues.

Those are exactly the types of music that we

listen to now. When we play it, between the

three of us, it translates into what we make.

On this album I enjoy the fact that alongside

the out and out rock tracks you’ve interspersed

them with tracks like ‘Once In A Blue Moon’ and

‘Tragedy’? Not Today, that are a bit more thoughtful

perhaps, they come from a different place.

Yes, that’s right. To my mind the opening track ‘Big

Talk’ has a Bad Weather feel going on, very modern

and very energetic. Almost like a Rage Against The

Machine track played by a rock ‘n’ roll band!

That’s a good point because you haven’t shied

away from including political messages and

observations about the world today.

Yes, in the beginning we just wrote in this kinda rock

‘n’ roll language, like you hear something bluesy so

that’s what pops up in your head, you know like

‘Woke Up This Morning’. There was a moment a

couple of years ago when we thought, why would we

write like this? I want to be able to listen back on

our records in the future and think this was 2018,

clearly, because this or that was happening and that’s

what we wrote about, or it’s what we were going

through at that moment. I think the music and the

message that comes out of that is way more relevant.

It always seems to me that what really separates

the very successful bands from the rest is the

song-writing.

Yes true. What you’re playing has to have

some context. Otherwise it’s just noise.


BLUESMATTERS.COM

INTERVIEW | dEWoLFF

We’ve already touched on some

of your influences Pablo, but

I noticed in your press release

you talked about meeting

Robert Plant for instance. Over

ten years of playing big festivals

etc. you must have lots of

special moments and experiences

that have impacted on

your development.

In that period of ten years so

much stuff has happened. You

go through so much stuff

together as a band it’s almost

like a marriage. It’s a cool thing

because we know so well what

the others mean and what

they do on their instrument. It

also determines the way you

write together. It changes, and

it has changed because you

know what the others can do

and what they’re good at.

It’s interesting that you

mention the writing. How does

that work? As the vocalist do

you write all the lyrics?

I used to write all the lyrics

but what we’ve done now, for

the fi rst time really, is we’ve had a period of two

weeks where we went into the studio to write the

new album. This is the only time we didn’t have

anything prepared, no riffs, no lyrics, nothing. We

just got together, kinda nervous, wondering, is this

gonna work. We started playing with mics connected

and the plan was when we felt we had something

we’d start singing to it as quickly as possible, so that

something emerges. So often I’d start with a riff or

a chord progression and Luka would start singing

to it. Just random words and some of these lines we

thought were great, so we remembered them. Others,

we continued writing around just with vocal sounds.

Then we recorded that and made the lyrics better,

but it all happened together. All the lyric writing we

did together. So, it was a team effort really this time.

You guys have your own studio too?

Yeah, we do, we recorded our previous album

there too. In the meantime, I’ve recorded so many

bands there that I’ve got way better at recording

and producing in general, so I think that soundwise

you can hear this record is a big step forward

compared to our previous records. Last year we

put out a compilation album of all bands that

had recorded in our place. It was pretty successful

and a lot of people in Holland are writing about

a new scene we helped to get started and that’s

really an honour. To inspire other people and get

them to come together to make music is so cool.

You’ve played at some very big festivals and

alongside many top names in Europe, is the plan

to come and start playing in the UK soon?

Defi nitely! We’ve played two or three small

shows, but we will be doing much more. Mascot

have such a strong base in the UK. The level

of interest from Britain is building all the time,

so we’re looking forward to playing there.

Before signing with Mascot were you with another

label or just working independently?

We were signed to a label until about four years

ago. Then we started our own label. So, the previous

record was on that, but we could only do so

much with it. It was a cool way to release our own

stuff, but in the end, we want our music to reach

a bigger audience, not just in Holland. Mascot

have some artists with very large audiences.

Thanks, so much Pablo, I look forward to meeting

you in the UK.

Awesome, thanks for talking to me about

the band.

Discography

Thrust – 2018

Roux Ga Roux – 2016

Live N Outta Sight – 2015

Grand Southern Electric – 2014

IV – 2012

Orchards / Luplne – 2011

Strange Fruits and Undiscovered Plants – 2009


On the blues – Part one

The zombies


Visuals: John Bull


BLUESMATTERS.COM

The Zombies – veteran purveyors of scintillating and haunting music for

over five decades, drawing on jazz, rock and blues influences at every

turn but scoring durable chart hits all over the world, even gifting Carlos

Santana with one of his biggest hits and spurring The Byrds to explore

psychedelia … in Part One of this series, Pete talks blues and history with

dear Jim Rodford, not long before his tragic passing after a fall at home.

A true gentleman and a born raconteur, and this then becomes our tribute

to a family man, a Zombie, a Kink, a star of Argent and much more …



75

Interview | The Zombies

C

heers, Jim – the idea of this piece, I

was talking to Rod Argent over tea

and cakes last week about everything

and we incorporated his thoughts on

The Blues and his favourite recordings. Along with

discussing my review of the latest Zombies album

which to be candid I consider to be the band’s best…

(firmly) Personally, Pete – I agree. For various

reasons, I might add, but yours?

It’s got skill and technical stuff, but the tunes are

out of this world, the singing is glorious PLUS

there’s so much warmth.

I’m right with you on that. It’s down to the songwriting

of course. And we arranged a lot of it

between us, including the harmonies you picked up

on. Chris Potter’s production I think is masterful.

Yes, at times there is a touch of the classic

West Coast sound, like say The Notorious Byrd

Brothers. I fell in love with that song about New

York, that Rod explained to me.

Ha! That’s a true story, it’s great isn’t it? So many excellent

songs on that set, I think we are all proud of its

sound as a record and also the ground it covers, but

staying characteristically Zombie music, as you stressed.

It’s down to the songwriting of

course. And we arranged a lot

of it between us, including the

harmonies you picked up on.

As this is for the Blues Matters! readership, which

includes many Zombies fans, what I seek – given

your history! – is your favourite blues recordings,

please.

Great idea! Well as you will know, I have played

with quite a few blues acts myself. When

I was touring with The Kinks, I did a jam

one time with Junior Wells in Chicago.

I hate you.

Haha! You don’t turn that down, do you? I

did a lot of gigs with Mick Abrahams who

was in Jethro Tull, Blodwyn Pig and all.

And a neighbour of one of my guitar pals, Colin,

lived next door to him.

Really!? Wow . ..and I did a tour with Champion Jack

Dupree, back in the Sixties. Jimmy Witherspoon

at The Marquee. So, that was my early blues experience

as such. Then there was a really great blues

band around in the Seventies, The GB Blues

Company. Then I was with the John Slaughter Blues

Band for a long time in the Eighties and Nineties.

I used to see him in Chris Barber’s band … fantastic

player! weren’t you in The Bluetones?

Yes, that was our local group. We started off playing

skiffle in that boom, in the Fifties. I had a

tea-chest bass. Washboard, the whole bit. We gradually

bought amps and guitars, like everybody

else. Including the Quarrymen. We started playing

a bit of Chuck Berry and stuff like that. Rod

used to come along and watch. Come 1961, he

said ‘I want to form a group,’ I said I wouldn’t be

in the band, BUT I would help him get started.

That was the beginning of The Zombies and that

is how all that came about. The Bluetones, we

were a bluesy pop-rock outfit doing covers.

He signed The Zombies Collection for me

and on there we have Mojo, Roadrunner, all

numbers that I started playing in the wave behind,

as it were.

(Laughs) And you can still get those sometimes

in the live set. We do Ray Charles’ ‘Sticks

and Stones’. That was on their first album.

Well that sets the scene, which songs would be

on your own R&B Jukebox?

They’re maybe quite obvious ones. I do particularly

like Albert King, ‘Born Under A Bad Sign’.

Booker T Jones and William Bell came up with

that, I think. I’ve never actually counted the bars,

it skips around a bit, I have played it a few times

in shows with Mick Abrahams a lot, he likes

the number. Then ‘I Need Your Love So Bad’.

Ah, Little Willie John.

Yes, Peter Green’s version was the one that

really got me, no Kinks pun intended.

I thought the strings added to that was quite a

brave move, for the time.

Yes, whoever arranged the strings, it was, what’s the


BLUESMATTERS.COM


word? It suited the feel of the piece, put it that way.

Gary Moore did a version on one of his records.

David Coverdale did a very cool take of it, his

vocal is superb.

In the Sixties, I was in a band called The Mike

Cotton Sound, a very popular soul and R&B band.

David Coverdale nearly joined us. We did a lot

of blues with Mike Cotton so that’s what got me

into a lot of it. Right, ‘Spoonful’, who did that?

Howlin’ Wolf. Saw him sing it, at Tolworth.

It was the version by Cream that really

impressed me, what they did with it, how they

made it build up. I did really like the playing

and writing of Willie Dixon, in and around

all that. Another one I’d pick is ‘Every Day

I Have the Blues’. I sing that a lot myself.

B. B. King?

Yes, that’s a good version. Also, I am choosing

‘Rock Me, Baby’ – also B. B. King.

I had a feeling you might pick Freddie King?

Ah! Yes, I do one of his with our little family

band … an instrumental, top ten hit in America.

Hideaway?

Yes! that’s very definitely one of my favourites, too.

I think we’ll allow you six! I saw Freddie

once, he was backed by Killing Floor, do you

remember them?

Oh yes … another good guitar player in that time

was Mick Moody, he was in the Mike Cotton

Sound before he got involved with Juicy Lucy.

Thinking of John Slaughter, Barber used to

feature the core power trio during the sets then

bring the horns back. He was telling me once

about his band going out to play at Muddy Waters’

club in Chicago.

(Enthused) Yes! America is great, they

get it, they’re open-minded and totally

eager to hear anything fresh.



They so respected Muddy that any guest was

treated well … great food, no gear got stolen.

Barber couldn’t say enough good things.

Chris Barber and The Stones are directly responsible

for a lot of those talented black artists having a

career! Playing with Lonnie Donegan, we would play

Lonnie’s songs but really, they were based upon jug

band blues. I’m doing my memoir at the moment

and I’m up to the time that, The Mike Cotton

Sound were on tour with a big name American star

and his group. This is 1966 and the Hammersmith

Odeon. He really liked what we were doing, he was

most complimentary, so we were all chuffed. Then

we were doing what was the Brixton ABC. At a

soundcheck, his bass player was not around so he

calls ‘C’mon up man – you play!’ I couldn’t believe

he was asking me, but I obliged. So, I’m playing

along with these two drummers, the old Hammond

chugging away … I am on a cloud somewhere. But,

I’m thinking, no-one is going to believe me – I am

playing with James Brown & The Famous Flames!

Man – my favourite of his is ‘There Was A

Time’ – relentless, driving, the two guitars chattering

away.

We had a residency at The Marquee and one

night Eric Burdon came and sang ‘Night

Time Is The Right Time’ with us, magical!

He was ahead of the world, his multi-racial band

War were way ahead of their time, could do no

wrong for me.

Absolutely! Early 1970, Argent are playing at

the Whisky A GoGo and Eric comes along.

Out in the audience are Jimi Hendrix, Frank

Zappa, The Monkees, guys … it’s like an exam!

Eric says later he’s having a party at his house,

to launch his new band, come on up. That was

War, with Lee Oskar. Jimi was there too, it was

one of those days you’ll never forget, ever.

Well thanks, amigo – see you at the next Zombies

gig, no doubt.

Take care, Pete … I’ll be interested to see

what Mr Argent chooses for his five!

(It’s been rather sad, typing this up … love and respect to

you, Jim – Pete)

Discography

Still Got That Hunger – 2015

Breath In, Breath Out – 2011

As Far As I Can See – 2004

New World – 1991

Odessey and Oracle – 1968

Begin Here – 1965

The Zombies – 1964 (EP)


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Gerry Jablonski and

the Electric Band

Who could resist the chance to sit in conversation with Gerry Jablonski and the Electric Band,

the phenomenal Scottish/Polish band making waves in the blues scene in both Europe and

United Kingdom? What turned out was an interesting reach into the band’s psyche and what

drives them to greater success. An overall light-hearted discussion included references to Alex

Harvey and life on the road. Those chatting were Gerry Jablonski, lead singer and guitarist, Peter

Narojczyk, an amazing harmonica player, and Grigor Leslie, bass player. Only one missing was

drummer Lewis Fraser.

Verbals: Colin Campbell

Visuals: Colin Campbell


BLUESMATTERS.COM

Interview | Gerry Jablonski and the Electric Band

Y

ou’ve been nominated for Blues Band of

the Year and Blues Act of the Year in this

year’s UK Blues Awards. Congratulations.

Why are you such a good band?

Gerry: It was all a mistake; it was someone else’s

idea. It was Dave’s (David Innes original drummer.)

Grigor: He tricked us into playing a local

jam, it felt right straight away, there was an

extra energy there, so we went with it. Every

time we play we get that special buzz.

What makes a good band?

Peter: The sound has to be unique. You have

to have originality and I believe you can never

mistake Gerry Jablonski and the Electric Band

for anyone else, we have a distinctive style. You

know, like B.B. King and Led Zep when they play,

just as say Arctic Monkeys, if you know what I

mean. You recognise them by their sound. So

many bands and guitarists sound the same.

Grigor: Maybe part of the sound is the

sum of the parts taking part. It is a mix

of all of us producing that sound.

Gerry: Individually we all like different music but

there is a common thread as well. There’s always

been a blues influence in anything I’ve come across.

Peter: We all look for the same thing in

music regardless of what we listen to.

When writing a song do the lyrics come first, or

the tune?

Gerry: The good stuff is usually both

together! I take it to the guys and play to

them, they go, okay, we’ll structure it.

Grigor: The key is we all get to play what

we want. We play from our heart, each and

every one of us mixed together, somehow it

sounds like us. It’s the sum of all the parts.

You have a very unique sound of your own but if

pushed there sounds a bit of Alex Harvey when

Gerry sings and tells a story.

Grigor: Yeah people have said that before. It’s the

theatre and the way the lyrics tell a story. Gerry’s

a structured songwriter. It works as a narrative.

Gerry: I grew up with The Sensational Alex Harvey

Band in my record collection. Zal Cleminson, I

wouldn’t say he was an alternate influence but…

Grigor: He was Scottish. That

was a role model in itself.

You have an amazing chemistry on stage. You’ve

played big festivals and village halls and all in

between how important is the audience?

Gerry: 100%, as far as I’m concerned. It is a pointer

to if I am doing the job right or the band is.

Grigor: We go with them and they go with us.

It’s about how we get together on stage. They

give us the energy. It’s a big soup and it always

works. Can’t think of a concert we haven’t had

the Voodoo in the room. We craft stuff and have

ideas of how a set is going. Playing with Gerry

you never know where you’ll end up, though.

Talking about the band do you have a front man

as such? Gerry and Peter seem to share the role.

Gerry: I’m the unknown frontman of the band and

I like that. It means I might do an Alex Harvey and

disappear! I’m getting on, nothing lasts forever!

Grigor: He (Gerry) is just starting up. I saw

him twenty years ago and he’s playing with the

same energy and threatening guitar and he’s a

better player. With Gerry’s guitar sound you

hear the whole history of blues guitarists. You’ll

hear Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy, Robert Johnson,

and John Lee Hooker. He soaks it all up and

lets it all go. That is the secret – it is honest.

Peter: The other thing that maybe sets us aside from

other bands. We are not a one man show. I don’t

know any other band on the British or European

circuit that has two guys doing a front stand and

a drummer who comes to the front and sings a

ballad. We are slightly different in that sense too.

Gerry: It’s a band thing.

Grigor: The secret is we all get paid the same! Zero!

Tell us about how the new double A sided single

‘Heavy Water’ came to be. It seems a new direction

for you. Is there a message in the song?

Gerry: Musically the whole thing is a change. Like a

whole lot of things with the band, it just happened.

When I wrote it, it was the usual; put amp on full.

I wanted to do something with a more dramatic

theme. At the time I wrote it there was bad flooding

in Ballater. I was seeing caravans coming down rivers

and that’s where red sky above me came, so I wrote

it down. Weather is a global thing, so I thought,

why not. Shit, we all have to watch out! I gave it to

the guys. Next problem was – where to record it.

Peter: The unique opportunity arose with us. We

were playing the Troubadour in London and a guy,


Interview | Gerry Jablonski and the Electric Band

Gerry Jablonski and

the Electric Band

Heavy Water

Independent

Double A sided singles would

not normally sit naturally

alongside full album reviews,

but Heavy Water is the exception

because of the title track’s

intrinsic merits as an inspirational

piece of music. Jablonski

wrote it after witnessing devastating floods in his

native Scotland which clearly had a profound emotional

impact upon him. Gerry’s spoken introduction is pure

poetry and sets the scene for the unfolding tragedy,

the complementary quiet, intricate guitar and harmonica

suddenly shattered by anguish and fear as the

vocals explode into full scale panic. The haunting, wailing

harp of Peter Narojczyk intensifies the tragedy

whilst the pulsating bass and drums add to the drama

by conveying the full horror of floods as they reach their

peak in a crescendo of albeit controlled noise and

confusion expertly choreographed. The American

Grammy Award winning musician and producer, Stacy

Parrish invited the band to Sweden to record the single

after being impressed with their sound and raw energy

during a gig in London and what a great call he made.

Parrish works his magic equally well on ‘Soul Sister’

the driving rhythm and blues tribute to the 1960s soul

icons. Dynamic drummer Lewis Fraser and dexterous

bassist Grigor Leslie provide the perfect platform for

Gerry and Pete’s innovative instrumental interludes.

Parrish brings the production skills honed on Jimmy

Page and Alison Krauss to the benefit of the Scottish

crew to make this a short but perfectly memorable

experience.

The Bishop

Stacy Parrish, saw us, loved the show, loved the song

‘Heavy Water’ and gave us a chance to come to his

studio in Sweden. We said we would think about it,

we didn’t know he was a Grammy winning Producer.

Gerry: We had a gig in Norway and met in

Stockholm. We went to this cottage in the

middle of nowhere, this was a huge studio. I

grabbed Grigor and went – Holy Shit!

Peter: This is when we felt the pressure,

it was unexpected.

Gerry: He didn’t say anything about

it, didn’t mention any names.

Peter: The guys he’s worked with, it’s an incredible

list. What an experience it was having him

do this. It felt like he was the fifth member of

the band. It was like a dream come true.

Gerry: We also wanted to do something

quick and simple and a single was the

idea. Not many do singles nowadays.

What keeps you going in the music business and

what keeps you interested in music?

Peter: For me personally, every next show. I

enjoy playing for people and with the band.

We’ve been on the go for nearly ten years.

We’ve been through some tough times, especially

with the death of our drummer, Dave.

Most people would just split, but we didn’t.

Dave wanted you to stay together though.

Gerry: Yes, that’s how we got Lewis involved.

Peter: We’ve always got little projects together on

the go. We have new video and new tunes. I can’t

remember a time when we didn’t have anything

on the go. That’s what keeps us going. We’re

getting better at it and the audiences are growing.

We just played the Oran Mor in Glasgow,

we almost sold it out, it’s a hard gig to play.

About your audiences. Do you see a difference in

European and British audiences?

Gerry: European audiences are more enthusiastic

because it’s all pretty new for them. A lot of places

had no rock and roll. They are very clued up.

Grigor: They value the music more, especially

in Eastern Europe.

Peter: Main difference is they are a younger audience

than in Britain. In a recent Polish show an eighteenyear

old girl asked Gerry what he thought of the new

Buddy Guy album. Gerry went what? You are eighteen.

People are going out to soak up the culture.

We’ve played Festivals in Britain that turn into

hell after ten o’clock at night. You notice younger

people into blues or blues rock. We are starting to

get mixed audiences in Britain, blues lovers, but

also kids looking for “underground music”, kids

who don’t want spoon-fed by main stream media.


BLUESMATTERS.COM

INTERVIEW | gERRy JABLonSkI And THE ELECTRIC BAnd

Our music appeals to a young audience. They probably

don’t know what the blues is, but they enjoy

our shows for the energy, music and entertainment.

Gerry: More younger people come to see us in

Scotland than England. We played Aberdeen

recently, the front four rows were all young people.

Grigor: The venue has to be right.

What’s been your favourite gig, do you have

favoured venues, and there was a particular one

in Poland you have mentioned before?

Gerry: They all are all good. Band and

a crowd, that’s all you need and a halfdecent

rig and a stage of some sort.

Grigor: There was the time in the seventies

we played to three people in a hut in a forest

in Silesia, way down South. A great room.

The feel and sound of a room is very important.

Oran Mor is a good room, a real buzz

there. Also, Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh.

What’s the funniest thing that’s happened at one

of your gigs?

Grigor: We did one in Poland at Przeworsk Blues

Festival. Dana Fuchs headlined. We went on and did

our show. Gerry came out and his lead started crackling

and his guitar cut out. His lead later fell out, he

was dancing so much. He jumped off the stage at

one point. It was an outdoor stage, so we were high

up. He landed on the ground. He tripped over a guy

rope of an advertising balloon. He summersaulted

and ended up on his feet still playing, it was a highlight

of the show. After the show we were talking

to Dana Fuchs who asked how we choreographed

that, she thought it was part of the act! It’s a good

reflection of what we do. Anything can happen.

What bands presently interest or excite you?

Peter: I’ve seen Temperance Movement, like them,

bought their albums. I have been having diffi -

culty hooking on to a band that has influence. I

have heard Greta Von Fleet, don’t know if they

are manufactured or what but I like their sound,

very Led Zeppelin, its three Polish brothers.

Grigor: They have found a sound like Led

Zeppelin and I don’t know how they will get

away from that. They have a natural sound

though. Coolest thing I’ve heard for a while.

Gerry: Trying to do your own thing and playing

in bands, I feel it’s best not to listen to other

bands. I’m easily influenced. That could endanger

what I do or want the band to do. Eric Gales is

my hero at the moment. I try not to be too influenced.

When I fi rst heard Stevie Ray Vaughan it

wasn’t a big surprise. I knew where he was coming

from. I could hear Freddie King and Guitar Slim.

What advice would you give to up and coming

new bands?

Gerry: Get a bank account and an accountant;

make it proper from the start.

Grigor: Musicians traditionally don’t have a

clue about the business side of things. They

need to do things step by step. Do it for the

right reason, you do music because you love

doing it. Take it seriously and be dedicated.

Peter: You’ll always have people complaining

about not getting shows, offers, etc. I think

you should ask the question – what have I done

to make myself a better musician? Did I practice

today? With hard-work, talent and education

you’ll get somewhere, just like other things in

life. No magic formula – you have to make your

own luck. “Find something you love and let it

kill you,” a great quote by Charles Bukowski

that is the secret to making it as a musician.

Well it’s been great talking to you.

Gerry, Peter, Grigor, Cheers!

For more info visit: www.gerryjablonskiband.com

Discography

Heavy Water/Soul Sister CD Single – 2018

Live Trouble – 2016

Trouble with The Blues – 2015

Twist of Fate – 2013

Life at Captain Tom’s – 2011

Gerry Jablonski And the Electric Band – 2009


REd LICK TOP 20 | APRIL 2018

Red Lick Records, PO Box 55, Cardiff CF11 1JT

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TOP 20

SONNY BOY

01 WILLIAMSON

COMPLETE TRUMPET, ACE &

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JOHN MAYALL

02 THREE FOR THE ROAD

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NICK MOSS BAND,

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THE HIGH COST OF LOW LOVING

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WALTER ‘FURRY’ LEWIS

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SHARON JONES & THE

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THE BEST COUNTRY

15 BLUES YOU’VE NEVER

HEARD

World Music Network CD

CAREY BELL

16 HARPSLINGER

JSP CD

JIMI HENDRIX

17 BOTH SIDES OF THE SKY

Legacy CD

AMERICAN EPIC – THE

18 COLLECTION

Columbia 5CD

MEMPHIS RENT PARTY

19 Fat Possum LP

SONNY STITT

20 ORIGINAL ALBUMS

Documents 10CD


BLUESMATTERS.COM

REVIEWS

Albums & dVds

The big blues reviews guide — accept no substitute!

Michael Bloomfield

San Francisco Nights –

Live At The Old Waldorf

Rockbeat Records

Recorded live at Mike’s home town

San Francisco’s Old Waldorf music

venue in 1977, the fi rst fi ve tracks

are solo acoustic while the remaining

seven feature the full band of friends

including keyboard players Barry

Goldberg and Mark Naftalin, with Nick

Gravenites on guitar. Recorded by

legendary producer Norman Dayron,

this previously unreleased album

opens with the instrumental, Greatest

Gifts From Heaven, and the gospel

sounding Lo, Thou I Am With You. It

is Kansas City Blues which is the fi rst

reminder that Bloomfi eld was fi rst and

foremost an outstanding blues musician

rooted in the history of the genre

and sounding as authentic as any of

his heroes. Mike’s vocals are strong

throughout the acoustic sessions,

notably on I’m Glad I’m Jewish, his

intricate fi nger picking guitar work

an inspiration. The low-key approach

continues with the band on Eyesight

To The Blind, prior to Bloomfi eld

letting rip on Uncle Bob’s Barrelhouse

Blues. Pure boogie follows with

Jockey Blues from the I’m With You

Always album released in 1977, after

which comes the popular Linda Lou

and the epic, Between A Hard Place

And The Ground. The instrumental

Vamp In C, (Soul Serenade) breezes

along charmingly as a precursor to

the fi nale, Chuck Berry’s Wee, Wee

3hattrio

Lord Of The Desert

Okehdokeh

I have heard 3hattrio a few times

in the past and it must be said

that their music is never less than

intriguing and involving. This album

though takes them a step further

and its hypnotic qualities are really

quite chilling. I won’t be the fi rst to

suggest that there are resonances

of Tamikrest and Tinariwen in the

music on show here but there is

also a very natural Americana feel

to the music and it goes to places

that I didn’t think they were capable

of. These aren’t ‘songs’ in the

ordinary sense – rather, they create

aural images of the world of the Zion

desert, recreating the rhythms of

the desert and its inhabitants and

Hours. The latter is worth the price

of this CD alone, an iconic version

with piano and guitar dueling magnificently,

Bloomfi eld’s staccato notes

complementing the fl uidity of the

keys. Although there are several Live

At The Old Waldorf releases, blues

and Bloomfi eld fans won’t hesitate

to add this one to their collections.

The Bishop

creating music that is breathtakingly

lovely to inhabit. The core of their

music is generated by virtuoso bass

player and percussionist Greg Istok

and the aural paintings by guitar &

banjo player Hal Cannon. Add to

that Eli Wrankle’s violin soaring high

above the rest like an eagle soaring

on updrafts and the three draw

you in closely to the music and feed

you the desert warmth and intricacy.

There is no point in detailing tracks

or performances here as the album

should be imbibed at a single stroke

and then savored at leisure. One of

the most intriguing and exciting

albums I’ve heard this year.

Andy Snipper


REVIEWS | ALBUMS & dVdS

Chris Henry & The Close Run Thing

Ship Of Strife

Independent/WOW Records

This is the fi rst

solo release by

Chris Henry, a

Scottish singer

songwriter and

multi-instrumentalist but mainly

acoustic guitar driven. Previously, he

was in a blues band called the

Souped Up Fords, but he decided to

go it alone, a brave decision. He has

written all eight songs here of differing

quality and musicianship.

Differing infl uences fl ow through

this release, there are folky styles

and bluesy tones. His vocals are

overall raspy, and a bit forced at

times but effective nonetheless. Life

In Skin Pictures, is the opener and

has glimpses into his sharp lyrics

and good storytelling. His guitar

skills are undoubtedly classy on

such intricate fret work on the title

track Ship Of Strife. Another

highlight is On A Night Like This,

again he displays intricate guitar

technique which is very melodic,

vocals reminiscent of Roger

McGuinn, with fi ne harmonies. Big

Sound is the most upbeat track with

a catchy chorus. We Are All The

Same bounces about again with

clever lyrics with more than a doffed

cap to Bob Dylan. Goodbye Checked

Shirt has a fast paced country

twang with some fi ne sliding motion.

White Line To Heaven is the closest

thing to a real overall blues tone with

slower tempo and overtones of fi ne

bottleneck slide guitar notes.

Probably the best song with a stomp

and swagger. Finally, If I Were You

brings the release to a vocally snarling

fi nish. An interesting mixed

collection of songs by a fi ne craftsman

who is a real talent.

Colin Campbell

and is driven throughout by a rhythmic

guitar riff. This Year’s Destination,

is a keyboard-driven swinging blues.

The only cover is Cool Down, done 25

years ago by a band called A Syntax

Error. It opens with a bass-led leadin

until organ and guitar take over. It

features an excellent piano solo. ‘Cool

down, don’t worry,’ the lyrics urge.

‘ease up, don’t hurry.’ Blinded is a

jazz-infl ected song about a woman

who has sex with the singer and then

makes off with all the money in his

wallet. ‘Oh Lord, how could I have

been so blind,’ the singer moans. The

band says its music is infl uenced by

not only jazz but also rock, soul and

pop. Make no mistake: This is the

blues. And it’s a fi ne blues album!

M.D. Spenser

Sweet Bourbon

Night Turned Into Day

Independent

This Dutch band has produced a

pleasing album of modern electric

blues, based largely on guitar and

organ. Ten of the eleven songs are

originals. There’s not a clunker in the

bunch. Sweet Bourbon was formed in

2014 as a duo comprised of guitarist

Chris Janssen (the primary songwriter)

and drummer Martijn Cuypers. It

expanded into an octet with the addition

of a bassist, a keyboard player, a

lead singer, René van Onna, and three

back-up singers. Now the sound’s

perfectly balanced, offering just the

right combination of vocals, instruments

and backing singers. The lyrics

are sometimes inscrutable, but the

music is terrifi c. These songs have a

groove. The lead-off track, 2nd Wall

Street, is an organ-driven blues that

involves an arrest for driving without

a licence. But the accused escapes

when police are distracted by an unrelated

fi ght. He walks home, looks out

the window and sees the police drive

away. Whatever, it’s the music that

counts! Texas Woman, a guitar-driven

blues, involves an infatuation with the

music of Stevie Ray Vaughan, not to

mention an infatuation with a Texas

woman that results in the dissolution

of the singer’s band. Got To Say

Goodbye To You, is a slow blues to die

for, with a moving guitar solo. I Don’t

Care begins with lovely slide guitar

Billy Walton Band

Soul Of A Man

No Fret Records

Hold onto your hat here comes

another slice of Jersey Shore stomping

action from the ever improving,

Billy Walton Band, now in their tenth

year together. If you’ve ever been to

one of their concerts you know you

can’t stop your feet from dancing that

is how good they are, very refreshing.

There are tones, of Southside Johnny

but he did use to be in with that crowd

but add to that a phenomenal horn

section and you have the real deal.

This has eleven originals by the band

and two covers, John Fogarty’s Green

River and the band’s interpretation of

Noah Lewis’ Minglewood. The shuffl

ing opener is Save The Last Dance,

which sets the pace, a real favourite.


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I Don’t Know has a New Orleans

feel with horn section stealing the

show. Hell N’ Highwater, has a grinding

guitar and smoky vocals. Another

soulful shuffl e hits you on Something

Better, about second chance love.

My Little Bird is a smooth slow blues

ballad with melancholic guitar riffs

interpreting the heartfelt lyrics. Let

Go, comes at you like a steam train

a great upbeat soul tilt. Similarly, It

Ain’t True, drips with soul and testifying.

Shine The Light, is an interesting

ballad with fi ne drumming by Johnny

D’Angelo mixing with a meaty bass

line from William Paris. Poison Pill

cools tones down to a slow burner on

this sweet guitar licks. Can’t Keep A

Good Man Down has an upbeat feel,

horn driven perfection. Finishing off

with the acoustic Days Like These

with snappy harmonica lead by Jack

Gist, this is a release of high distinction

from a hard rocking band.

Colin Campbell

identity. The harmonising guitar parts

are a good touch. Still, it would have

made more sense if they’d changed

the line ‘My brother’s in Vietnam’ to

something more recent. The rest of

the tracks are self-penned, the standout

being Who’s To Blame, which

has a lot of live energy and sounds

like a good club show in full swing,

both rambunctious and expressive.

Jack Goodall

Barbara Dane

Hot Jazz, Cool Blues &

Hard-Hitting Songs

Smithsonian Folkways

Barbara Dane, who fi rst developed

her reputation in San Francisco in

the 1950s, is terrifi c as a singer of

blues, of jazz, of gospel and of folk.

She’s also almost as renowned for

her commitment to social justice

as she is for her singing and sure

enough this marvellous double CD

compilation includes tracks that

suggest her political consciousness

such as Working People’s Blues,

Ballad Of Richard Campos, a righteously

angry song about the Vietnam

War, and Working-Class Woman.

I Don’t Want Your Millions, Mister,

on which she is accompanied by her

own handclapping and foot stomping,

and by her son Pablo Menéndez’s

harmonica, this was written by Jim

Garland, a blacklisted miner, and

is a gripping performance. There

is also an exemplary version of

Bob Dylan’s Only A Pawn In Their

Game, which, we’re told in the liner

Get Loose

Get Loose

Independent

Get Loose make the kind of late

1960s blues infused rock n’ roll with

a heaviness that brings to mind Deep

Purple, though the young Oxfordshire

trio very much belong to a different

generation. On this, their debut

album, the band deliver sleazy tales

of wild nights out with utter conviction

and vocalist/guitarist Lee

Castle has a strong and rough rock

voice. Their cover of King Bee has

a completely different quality to the

Slim Harpo original with Dom Allen’s

bass guitar steam-rolling through the

song presumably stood legs akimbo.

It works well for them. In their take

on Black Night (the Charles Brown

song not the Deep Purple one) they

reveal a real feel for the blues and

their no-nonsense approach is their

Cliff Stevens

Live In Germany

Red Flagg

The guitarist, singersongwriter

and

band leader Cliff

Stevens leads his

talented and very

tight trio through eleven of his own

compositions on his latest release.

Recorded live in concert, the recording

has a good, full sound, with the

dynamic range of the three players

produced and captured to a high

standard. With a bluesy guitar tone,

taking inspiration from such players

as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton,

and Freddie King, and the drums of

Dan Dyson and bass of Serge

Dionne, driving the songs along,

there is high quality music on this

album throughout. Although it is all

blues, there is plenty of range and

variety from the two jazz instrumentals

of Finger Swinging and Finger

Express, to the deep blues of Crying

my Heart out, the radio friendly funk

of Running, to the melodic reverie of

Don’t Walk Away, showing Steven’s

prowess as a slide guitarist to good

effect, whilst the jokey closer of I

Said the Wrong Thing is a classic

slice of blues rock. Although there

is nothing here that is surprising or

new you get a live album with studio

quality, some fi ne singing and playing,

and eleven new songs to listen

to.

Ben Macnair



Darren Watson

Too Many Millionaires

Beluga Records

Anyone who thinks only Americans

can authentically sing the blues

should listen to this album by the

New Zealander Darren Watson.

It’s outstanding from beginning

to end, the fi nest acoustic blues

CD this reviewer has heard in

quite some time. It’s built around

Watson’s guitar, voice and songwriting,

though harmonica, double

bass, percussion, piano and the

requisite foot-stomping are often

added to the mix. In particular,

it’s Watson’s guitar, fi nger-picked,

rhythmic, and insistent, that makes

this CD what it is. His playing is as

authentic as it comes. And so is his

singing. Watson wrote seven of the

eight songs here, all but the title

track. As you might gather from the

album’s title, he has little use for

the rich people whom he views as

taking from society without giving

back. If that’s not blues material, I

don’t know what is. This sentiment

is evident right from the opening

track, Hallelujah (Rich Man’s War).

‘Hallelujah, I’m going to war,’ Watson

sings. ‘Gonna fi ght till the rich man

wins.’ That worldview emerges

again in Mean Me Right Blues, a

moving slow blues accented by

terrific harmonica. ‘Well, some

folks got it so easy/Some people

have all the luck/But we just seem

to end up/Where we always ended

up,’ Watson sings. And he’s versatile

on the guitar: the song Pilgrim

features slide the way it’s supposed

to be played. The title cut is a toetapper.

‘Too many millionaires/They

don’t really care,’ Watson sings. ‘All

they really care about/Is getting

more than their share.’ This being

the blues, there has to be a breakup

song, of course, and on this album

it’s Un-Love Me: ‘Un-love me baby/

Take back what you have done,’

Watson sings. The album ends with

a love song called Past Tense, about

weighing the inevitable annoyances

against the deeper gifts love has to

offer. A love song’s a fi tting end,

as this entire album is a love song

to the blues. If you’re reading this,

presumably you’re into the blues. So

let me tell you, these blues are deep.

M.D. Spenser

on the twelve songs that make up his

new release. He covers many bases,

from the humour of the title track, and

No Man’s Land, with its’ tongue fi rmly

in its cheek, to the pathos of the closing

country tinged, pedal steel laced

My Future Lies Behind Me Now. The

bluesy rocking of album opener Put

The Chairs In The Wagon is nicely offset

by Ben Ferrell’s light reggae guitar

on Time To Go Home. Ferrell’s playing

is a study in style and technique, from

wah-wah drenched SRV like workouts,

to jazzy fi lls, and accomplished riff

writing, whilst a strong rhythm section

of bassist Ed Swann and percussionist

Bob Damm are more than able to

navigate the many moods on this fi ne

release. Let Me Bleed is a slow blues,

using the Help Me/Green Onions riff,

and Pool Hall Red is another slow

blues song, but also provides a workout

for Shelton’s Little Walter like

harmonica style. Although there is

nothing new or original here, the

songs all bear repeated listening, none

of them outstay their welcome, and

there is enough here to keep the blues

purists happy, whilst also offering

something to the more casual listener.

Ben Macnair

notes, she learnt directly from Dylan

before he recorded it himself. The

Chamber Brothers perform with

Dane on uplifting gospel songs such

as Study War No More; there are

wonderful duets with Doc Watson

and Lightnin’ Hopkins, such as Salty

Dog Blues and Let Me Be Your Rag

Doll (Southern Blues) respectively;

and there are jazz tunes performed

persuasively with notable musicians

like bassist Pops Foster and pianist

Don Ewell, such as Trouble In Mind.

Dane herself, now in her nineties,

contributes graceful liner notes.

Trevor Hodgett

Big Joe Shelton And

The Black Prairie

Blues Ambassadors

Ridin’ A Chicken

Alt 46 Records

The singer/songwriter and harmonica

player Big Joe Shelton has corralled

around him a fi ne band to put the fl esh

Julian Sas

2000 to 2005 (7CD Box Set)

Cavalier Recording

Where does the time go? This is the

second box set covering all of the

bands recordings from 2000 to 2005

and the set comprises seven CDs,

Although fans of the band will probably

have most of these records, the

issue is clever enough to put out stuff


BLUESMATTERS.COM


that was previously only available as

limited editions, and the CDs are as

follows; Ragin River, fi rst issue of the

expanded band in its second incarnation.

Acoustic which is a fi ve-track

acoustic only album previously only

ever released as a limited-edition

album with the fi rst pressing of Ragin

River. Delivered, parts one and two are

a complete recording of a live concert

showcasing extended versions of many

of the studio recordings. Twilight Skies

Of Life, was another studio recording

and then Dedication, parts one and two

is another live recording, notable for a

15-minute version of Hey Joe! If you like

Julian and you think that you haven’t

got all of his back catalogue, this would

be a great place to start as you’ve got

fi ve years of recording. The set comes

in a sturdy, well produced card box

with twelve-page booklet with words

from Julian. Phenomenal musicianship

from a greatly under rated band.

Dave Stone

Knut Reiersrud Band

Heat

Jazzland

Norwegian guitarist

Knut Reiersrud

draws on blues, but

only incidentally, to

create an album of

wide-ranging contemporary jazz and

progressive rock. The result is about

as far away as one could stray from

the spirit of a Mississippi juke joint and

still have credible claim to be reviewed

in this magazine. You couldn’t dance to

this CD if you wanted to, so settle back

in a comfy armchair with a large

scotch and give it repeated listens to

best appreciate its manifold subtleties

and interesting textures. Of most

interest is the title track, build around

the Hey Joe chord progression, just

not the way Jimi played the changes.

And if you have ever wondered how an

Iranian folk song would sound in

Scandinavian hands, Monstermaster,

will give you the answer. Cantata 147

reworks a Johann Sebastian Bach ditty

you will instantly recognise. It goes

without saying that the musicianship is

impeccable throughout, with David

Wallumrød’s keyboard work the

perfect foil to the band leader’s

fretboard efforts. The rhythm section

and a second guitarist and understated

and on point throughout. Reiersrud’s

vocals are softly spoken, and lyrically

his environmental concerns are often

to the fore. Not one for the good time

Saturday night mainstream blues

crowd, I have to say. But if you dig the

sort of acts associated with German

jazz label ECM, or maybe In A Silent

Way era Miles Davis stuff, you may

care to check this guy out.

David Osler

George Shovlin And The Radars

Nothing To Lose

Independent

Having pursued a distinguished

career as a teacher whilst also

establishing a reputation as the

award-winning Godfather of North

East Blues, George Shovlin in his

retirement is proving that he is a

major UK talent following a successful

national tour and this ground

breaking album of original blues

songs. The jaunty opener, Don’t You

Just Love The Blues, with its barrelhouse

piano groove, appropriately

traces George and the band’s love of

the blues and main infl uences. Got

Home This Morning has a haunting

infectious bass riff overlaid by

Shovlin’s seriously dark, gravelly

vocals. By contrast, Cruisin’ Come

Sundown is optimistic and upbeat

with superb dueling between

George Lamb on guitar and Paul

Wilson’s keys. The fi rst real indication

that this a very special album

comes with the emotional tribute to

Billy Gibbons, William Frederick (A

Homage) followed by I Don’t Mind,

the track which propels Nothing To

Lose into the magnum opus category.

The latter together with Lord

Hear My Prayer are reminiscent of

Bowie’s and Cohen’s fi nal works in

terms of emotional intensity, anguish

and lament as Shovlin proclaims in

a voice at breaking point, ‘Whatever

may be Lord, I Don’t Mind.” The

equally atmospheric ‘prayer’ builds

up to a crescendo courtesy of Jim

Bullock’s brilliant harp interludes

and Kev Scott’s precise drumming.

However, the sadness is balanced

by joy on Just Wanna Have A Good

Time with Mick Cantwell excelling

on saxophone. Scott’s funky rhythm

and Stu Burlison’s pulsating bass

are the driving force behind She’s

So Fine with Lamb delivering classy

guitar solos. The swirling Hammond

organ and harmonica on the closing

track, You Know Who’s Gonna

Win make this a fi tting fi nale to a

highly memorable CD. Not only did

the youthful, effervescent George

have nothing to lose when he

entered the recording studio with his

talented musicians, he has gained

even further respect for his lifetime

achievements including induction

into the American Heritage Blues

Hall Of Fame.

The Bishop


BLUES TOP 50 | APRIL 2018

BLUES Top 50

POS ARTIST TITLE LABEL STATE COUNTRY

1 NICK MOSS BAND THE HIGH COST OF LOW LIVING ALLIGATOR IL USA

2 MARCIA BALL SHINE BRIGHT ALLIGATOR TX USA

3 SUE FOLEY THE ICE QUEEN STONY PLAIN ON CAN

4 DANIELLE NICOLE CRY NO MORE CONCORD NY USA

5 BERNARD ALLISON LET IT GO RUF CA USA

6 VICTOR WAINWRIGHT VICTOR WAINWRIGHT & THE TRAIN RUF TN USA

7 JOYANN PARKER HARD TO LOVE SELF-RELEASE MN USA

8 CURTIS SALGADO AND ALAN HAGAR ROUGH CUT ALLIGATOR OR USA

9 JANIVA MAGNESS LOVE IS AN ARMY BLUE ÉLAN CA USA

10 KATHY & THE KILOWATTS PREMONITION OF LOVE NOLA BLUE TX USA

11 TINSLEY ELLIS WINNING HAND ALLIGATOR GA USA

12 BREEZY RODIO SOMETIMES THE BLUES GOT ME DELMARK IL USA

13 MYLES GOODWYN MYLES GOODWYN AND FRIENDS OF THE BLUES LINUS NS CAN

14

REVEREND RAVEN & THE CHAIN SMOKIN'

ALTAR BOYS

MY LIFE (TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY) NEVERMORE WI USA

15 TERESA JAMES & THE RHYTHM TRAMPS HERE IN BABYLON JESI-LU CA USA

16 LAURIE MORVAN GRAVITY SCREAMING LIZARD CA USA

17 PETER KARP BLUE FLAME ROSE COTTAGE TN USA

18 JOHNNY TUCKER SEVEN DAY BLUES HIGHJOHN CA USA

19 TOMMY EMMANUEL ACCOMPLICE ONE CGP SOUNDS NSW AUS

20 THE REVEREND SHAWN AMOS THE REVEREND SHAWN AMOS BREAKS IT DOWN PUT TOGETHER CA USA

21 SAMANTHA MARTIN & DELTA SUGAR RUN TO ME GYPSY SOUL ON CAN

22 MUD MORGANFIELD & KIM WILSON THEY CALL ME MUD SEVERN IL USA

23 KID RAMOS OLD SCHOOL RIP CAT CA USA

24 CHRIS SMITHER CALL ME LUCKY SIGNATURE SOUNDS MA USA

25 BETTYE LAVETTE THINGS HAVE CHANGED VERVE MI USA

26 ALBERT CASTIGLIA UP ALL NIGHT RUF FL USA

27 BEN HARPER & CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE NO MERCY IN THIS LAND ANTI CA USA

28 GHOST TOWN BLUES BAND BACKSTAGE PASS (LIVE) SELF-RELEASE TN USA

29 FREDDIE PATE I GOT THE BLUES SELF-RELEASE TX USA

30 PETER V BLUES TRAIN RUNNING OUT OF TIME SELF-RELEASE NJ USA

31 JOHNNY AND THE MOTONES HIGHWAY 51 ALTENBURGH WI USA

32 VICTORIA GINTY UNFINISHED BUSINESS BLUE DOOR FL USA

33 MICHELLE MALONE SLINGS AND ARROWS SBS GA USA

34 DAVE KEYES THE HEALING SELF-RELEASE NY USA

35 SUZIE VINNICK SHAKE THE LOVE AROUND SELF-RELEASE ON CAN

36 PETER PARCEK EVERYBODY WANTS TO GO TO HEAVEN LIGHTNIN' MA USA

37 DOWNCHILD BLUES BAND SOMETHING I'VE DONE LINUS ON CAN

38 MEG WILLIAMS MAYBE SOMEDAY SELF-RELEASE TN USA

39 POPA CHUBBY TWO DOGS ABSOLUTE NY USA

40 MITCH WOODS FRIENDS ALONG THE WAY EONE CA USA

41 ROCKWELL AVENUE BLUES BAND BACK TO CHICAGO DELMARK USA

42 JAMES HARMAN FINEPRINT ELECTRO-F AL USA

43 TOMMY CASTRO STOMPIN' GROUND ALLIGATOR CA USA

44 CAROLYN GAINES BEWARE OF MY DOG POLKA DOT CA USA

45 BENNY TURNER MY BROTHER’S BLUES NOLA BLUE LA USA

46 CHRIS DANIELS & THE KINGS BLUES WITH HORNS, VOL. 1 MOON VOYAGE CO USA

47 SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS SOUL OF A WOMAN DAPTONE NY USA

48 JIMMIE VAUGHAN TRIO

LIVE AT C-BOY'S (FEAT. MIKE FLANIGIN &

FROSTY SMITH)

SELF-RELEASE TX USA

49 ALLY VENABLE BAND PUPPET SHOW CONNOR RAY TX USA

50 TIM WOODS HUMAN RACE SELF-RELEASE PA USA


BLUESMATTERS.COM


Laurie Morvan

Gravity

Screaming Lizard Records

Gravity is the 6th

release from Blues

Foundation Award

winner Laurie

Morvan. Hailing from

Long Beach, California Morvan is so

much more than just a wailin’ guitar

slinger, having written all twelve songs

on the album her songwriting has a

fresh perspective and takes the

listener through an appealing range of

human emotions. Produced by Tony

Braunagel who also plays drums and

percussion, the album also includes

noted blues musicians Mike Finnigan,

Jim Pugh and Barry Goldberg on keys

with Bob Glaub on bass. Also featured

are Lisa Morvan, Maxayn Lewis,

Kudisan Kai, Leslie Smith and Ricky

Nelson on backing vocals. Beginning

with My Moderation, a up tempo

boogie that has some nice interplay

between guitar and b3 organ by

Finnigan, there’s some more fi ne

guitar on Twice The Trouble, before

the Magic Sam inspired slow bluesy

Stay With Me, Goldberg plays some

good piano on the wry shuffl e, Money

Talks, where Morvan bemoans,

“money talks but mine waves bye-bye,

can’t get a conversation going know

matter how hard I try”, the southern

funky groove of The Extra Mile, leaves

room for some explosive wah-wah

guitar, taking us to the title track

Gravity, were Morvan testifi es to the

power of love, Dancing In The Rain,

has an uplifting groove with another

big solo. A deep pulsing beat gives

Gonna Dig Deep, a slower cool bluesy

feel. Next, is my stand out track The

Man Who Left Me, a dark haunting,

aching, fi eld holler made by the four

backing vocalists wailing a lament

over Morvan playing slide guitar with

bluesy undertones as she mourns

about that man, while transcending

pain into acceptance and forgiveness.

Shake Your Tail Feathers, is a RnB

inspired number about beating the

blues with some B.B. King guitar vibes.

I Want Answers, with its gritty guitar

takes us to album closer, Too Dumb

To Quit, a funky number with some

good swampy guitar and a bit more

wah wah, a fi ne closer. A solid

backing band leaving Morvan to shine

with some very good songs and

assured blues guitar playing.

Shirl

Long Tall Deb And

Colin John

Dragonfl y

Vizztone

Long Tall Deb has a strong voice,

expressive and almost strident. She is

well matched with Colin John’s guitars,

lap steel and baby sitar. Musically they

seem to caper across all of the ‘underground’

Americana styles with nods to

surfi ng music, psychobilly, westerns

(spaghetti & classic) and even crossing

over to soul and jazz. In shorth,

this is an utterly original mélange of

all the music that we have enjoyed for

around 80 years, it is also compelling

as all. Opening track, On The

Way Down (Intro) sets a scene with

Colin John’s resonator to the fore

and disembodied vocals from Deb &

Colin; eerie and really sets the hairs

on the back of your neck to attention.

That leads into the main track which

couldn’t be more different as the

drums of Jimmy Castoe set a martial

and thumping beat and the vocals

become intermeshed with the power

and fury of the guitar riff. So far, I’m

loving the music and the way that they

set out to deliver music straight to

your deepest memories. The title track

has a completely different feel as they

seem to move into western story telling

mode, all angularity in the riff and

Deb’s vocals to the fore, faintly reminiscent

of Ghost Riders In The Sky

but only faintly. Almost suddenly they

get down and soft on Lungs; Colin’s

vocal is dark and melodic while Deb’s

vocal is softer than before and has a

sense of care and wonderment about

it, Chris Stephenson’s organ is superb.

And, so the album goes, every track

has a different identity and seems to

come from a different musical heritage

and every song has something

to grab the ear and linger awhile in

the auditory memory. They are good,

very good, and more importantly they

are making music for themselves that

happens to appeal, rather than just

trying to appeal to the listener. Lovely

album and well worth a few listens.

Andy Snipper

Suzie Vinnick

Shake The Love Around

Suzie Vinnick Music

Ok we’re back on Canadian soil again

for this new release from JUNO Award

nominee and 10 x Maple Blues Award

winner Suzie Vinnick. The album title

is a reference to a pre-dinner custom

of Saskatoon residents doing a kind

of good will greeting. Happy As Hell

kicks us off with a bit of a funk groove



Greg Sover

Jubilee

Grounded Soul Records

Greg Sover was born in Brooklyn,

N.Y. to Haitian immigrant parents,

the family moved to Philadelphia

when he was ten. A concert by Bob

Marley teaches Greg the power

of making music. How music can

connect. This had a huge infl uence

on the young Sover. At thirteen his

father taught him to play La Maladie

D’Amour. Realising he had a talent,

he taught himself to play. In 2015,

Greg won the Hard Rock Rising

competition held at the Hard Rock

Cafe in Philadelphia. In 2016, he

released his debut album Songs Of

A Renegade co-produced by bassist

Garry Lee who assembled the

band which includes his long-time

band mates in the Deb Callahan

Band, Allen James guitar, and Tom

Walling drums, with Wally Smith on

keyboards. 2018, see’s the release

of the new EP Jubilee, an eclectic

sound of music about heartache

and overcoming heartache. The disc

opens with Emotional, a mix of ‘80’s

rock and blues, before moving on to

title track Jubilee, a more traditional

blues with a Delta feel, with Gary &

and she sure sounds like she is in

a good place in her life. However,

once we move on into Golden Rule

there are a lot more questions than

answers in Suzie’s world, ‘Is it right

that day and night we must fi ght for

what is right?’ Pounding drums and

a solid bass sit well under the heavier

drive of Lean Into The Light, where

the vocals are searching for a way

out of the morass of life’s travails. I

liked that cut a lot. Throughout the

album most of the guitar and bass

Tom setting down a solid rhythm for

experienced harmonica player Mikey

Junior to play some mean dirty harp

alongside Greg’s dobro slide guitar.

Hand On My Heart, a ballad, see’s

Greg pour out the emotions over an

acoustic guitar while Wally Smith

adds some fi ne piano to go with Yoni

Draiblate cello, and Joseph Arnold

violin, giving the track an orchestral

touch. A cover of the Don D Robey

song As The Years Go Passing By

see’s Greg dripping soulful vocals

on top of some stinging guitar riffs

on this fi ne interpretation. Greg’s

Haitian roots come through on I Give

My Love, a danceable up-tempo

song made by the wonderful percussion

of Francois Zayas. Next up, and

recorded live, is Temptation a 12-bar

rhythm held tight by Garry and Tom

allowing Greg to express himself

with some blistering guitar riffs

closing the EP is a shortened radio

edit of Hand On My Heart. I would

have liked a few more tracks to see

where else he would go, keep an

open mind and have a listen

Shirl

lines are handled by Suzie and I’m

sure that were she to have had the

desire to do so, this could truly have

been a solo album. Keys and

co-production duties fall to Mark

Lalama, drums Gary Craig and horns

by Johnny Johnson. There is a very

tasty smouldering cover of John

Fogerty’s, A Hundred And Ten In The

Shade, which transports you to the

Deep South cotton fi elds. Couple

that along with the emotional turmoil

found in Crying A River For You, and

the brilliant cover of Percy Mayfi eld’s

Danger Zone, and you fi nd the core of

this fi ne album. The latter most unusually

just vocal and bass guitar before

she slides into the Gospel infused

Find Some Freedom. I hope she fi nds

what she is searching for. I liked the

questions asked and the album.

Graeme Scott

Victor Wainwright

Victor Wainwright

And The Train

Ruf Records

Wainwright is a US bluesman, a recognised

and admired producer and

performer with a string of US blues

awards to his name, and a presence

that comes across as big, big, big,

here. Wainwright’s voice is truly excellent,

like a male version of Janis Joplin,

at times raw, powerful, strong and

stellar. He hammers the keys with a

rattling, melodic, driving pulse, holding

shades of Louisiana great, Doctor

John, and the ever-wonderful Marcia

Ball, both comfortably contained in

the mix. At times, he turns his hand

to towering, soaring B3 before again

returning to vocals and keys. There

is also some very fi ne fretwork from

Pat Harrington, and horns that deliver

down and dirty growls when needed.

The songwriting here is lyrically strong,

and the undertones of blasting gospel

and pure blues-passion, are clear,

evident and always paced and pitched

near-on perfectly. Wainwright includes

a song dedicated to B.B. King’s old

Gibson guitar, Lucille. Overall, this

12-track release absolutely roars

and rips along, full-tilt, balls to the

wall stuff with assured ability and

purpose. Boogie-woogie, barrel-house

keyboards and driving pedal-to-themetal

blues delivered with power,

drive and enormous quality and

talent. This must surely be a band

to catch live somewhere down the


BLUESMATTERS.COM

Reviews | Albums & DVDs

blues highway. An absolutely excellent

release, truly top-dollar in every way.

Iain Patience

Various Artists

Classic Delta And

Deep South Blues

Smithsonian Folkways

For many of us

multi-artist

compilations were the

first blues albums we

owned. Indeed, one

wonders just how many Blues Matters!

readers of a certain age found

themselves transfixed in their youths,

by, for example, the Paul Olivercompiled

The Story Of The Blues, from

1969. With blues now part of the

popular musical mainstream, Classic

Delta and Deep South Blues could not

possibly be as revelatory as The Story

Of The Blues was but it’s still a

wonderful compilation and is greatly

enhanced by Barry Lee Pearson’s

erudite essay in the liner notes. This

defines the geographical terms ‘Delta’

and ‘Deep South’ and the blues styles

that evolved in those regions and

identifies the cultural and historical

connotations thereof. And, in addition

there are individual notes on every

track providing biographical

information about the performer. The

artists compiled include major names

like Big Bill Broonzy, Son House,

Bukka White, Mississippi Fred

McDowell and Big Joe Williams,

whose Married Woman Blues is

spectacularly percussive; other

respected names like David

“Honeyboy” Edwards and John

Littlejohn; and obscure performers like

Scott Dunbar, Short Stuff Macon,

whose Short Stuff’s Corinna is

startlingly dramatic, and William “Cat

Iron” Carradine. The latter’s I’m Goin’

To Walk Your Log is a forerunner of

Baby Please Don’t Go, which of

course was later recorded by Muddy

Waters and John Lee Hooker and

taken into the 60s pop charts by

Them.

Trevor Hodgett

Ian Siegal

All The Rage

Nugene Records

It’s never easy to

quantify an Ian Siegal

release, mainly due to

the sheer quality that

abounds in his work,

whether in a solo, duo or band format.

Never one to rest on his laurels, he is

an artist that is constantly striving to

reach new peaks and experiences, all

the while playing the Ian Siegal brand

which truly covers all styles and genres

but at the same time being himself

genre less. As always with him, the

lyrics are totally important and here the

choice of album title is a clever play on

words. 2017 was a year in which he

saw the planet being polluted by a new

style of politics, the election of Trump

and the rise of right-wing dogma across

Europe. All The Rage is normally a

reference to popularity and the latest

craze, but here the twist is a nod to

anger and frustration, all of which are

self-evident in the military styled,

Jamie Thyer & The Worried Men

Café Racer

Road Dog Records

Jamie Thyer is something

of a cult figure

among followers of

that very British

Biker Blues Rock

style, and he really is an outstanding

performer. Along with his

Worried Men they relentlessly play

live and have several thousand gigs

under their belts. They are the classic

three-piece line up and the

tightness and dexterity of the rhythm

section allows Jamie to swoop and

soar over the ten tracks on here.

Untamed Beast starts the ball rolling

and your left in no doubt that this is

a high standard of rock blues.

Powerful guitar playing and

cemented down with great bass

lines from Dave Hellhound. Teenage

Firewater Queen delivers exactly

what the title conjures up but in a

very satisfying way. More virtuoso

playing from Jamie on One Eyed

Hound again augmented by the

sheer tightness of the guys behind

him. By the time we get to Green

Lights there is a change of pace, this

wonderfully evocative instrumental

piece starting with a strummed

acoustic and building to a full electric

crescendo. Maybe my personal

favourite is Long Ride Home, a fab

bluesy opening breaking into a slide

bonanza of a track that has you,

involuntary head shaking and foot

tapping. Hot Valves precedes another

lovely instrumental with an acoustic

The Harlot’s Ghost. Final two tracks

The Devil In The Fog, and Café Racer

bring this beautiful slab of blues rock

to a shuddering end. This South

West based band have an awesome

live reputation and deserve a much

bigger audience. If you’ve ever been

a fan of classic British three-piece

bands like Groundhogs, Hamsters or

early Budgie go for this, you won’t be

disappointed.

Steve Yourglivch



staccato beat and angry styled guitar of

a busy song, Eagle Vulture. On the

album, Siegal’s Dutch sidekicks, Dusty

Ciggar, Danny Van’t Hoff and Rafael

Schwiddessen are his supporting band,

the album being recorded at Island

Studios, Amsterdam. There is one

further addition, his old Mississippi

friend Jimbo Mathus, who both

co-writes three tracks, produces the

album and plays guitars, mandolin and

keys. Mathus has formed a unique

bond with Siegal and helped him

produce some of his fi nest work. On a

purely Blues front, The Sh*t Hit opens

with recognisable squealing slide and

develops into a slow, lazy blues with

Siegal’s unmistakeable vocal overlaying

the song. It’s fair to say that throughout

that the band are professional without

being overloud and over-produced.

Siegal’s position is always prominent

and positive. As with all of his material,

one never knows the infl uence and on

fi rst hearing I felt sure that Won’t Be

Your Shotgun Rider was a nod to Bob

Dylan, but with Country infl uences, a

stunning track. Each song is different,

but the fi nal product is superb, and I

love his descriptive power. Describing

his hometown as Sailor Town, he

describes it as “some of my friends got

locked up, most girls got knocked up”.

Priceless!

Merv Osborne

Will Wilde

Bring It On Home

Independent

If you are an old git of about my age,

with fond memories of begging Mum

to let you stay up late to watch Old

Grey Whistle Test on a school night,

the new CD from Brighton-based harp

merchant Will Wilde should prove

instantly familiar. This is a concept

album of sorts, comprising of 11 covers

from top British and Irish bands of the

1960s and 1970s golden era of good ol’

140-decibel twin Marshall stack bluesbased

hard rock. It’s a bit like fi nding

a box of your old 45s in the attic, all

of them perfectly preserved. To judge

from photos of the band leader, Wilde

couldn’t possibly have been around

at the time himself, which makes the

effort all the more credible. Of the multiple

delights contained on this recording,

his version of Rory Gallagher’s Bad

Penny had me blowing the dust off

my vinyl copy of the original, while his

subtle-as-a-fl ying-mallet rendition of

Machine Head-era Purple’s Lazy took

me back to the days when I still had

hair. The title track, Willie Dixon’s Bring

It On Home, knocked out as per Led

Zep, I - is another standout. I can’t give

the collection an unreserved fi ve stars,

as Will and his chums don’t quite pull

off Free’s, My Brother Jake, and trying

to duplicate Gary Moore’s lead guitar

line on Lizzy’s Parisienne Walkways

on harmonica was never going to

be a good call. But as Whispering

Bob Harris himself might have put

it, this album is undoubtedly…nice.

David Osler

The Rex Granite Band

Featuring Sarah Benck

Spirit/Matter/Truth/Lies

Independent

The album opens with a real fastmoving

track, with some slick slide

from Rex Granite and bluesy vocals

from Sarah Benck on Stop Doing What

You Want. The next track What You’re

Missing is a less hectic number and

is followed by the rockier Cadillac

Car, where Rex’s slide again comes to

the fore, backed by a steady rhythm

provided by James Carrig on bass

and Anton Divis on drums. The slower

blues number, Percy Mayfi eld’s Please

Send Me Someone to Love, allows

Sarah to put forward a plea for love in

the world. Sail Away (Pt1) is a reggae

infl uenced blues number and is

reprised later on the CD. Steamroller

introduces a horn section and

harmonica, courtesy of Lou DeLuca

and is a bouncy jazzier number. Move

Along takes us back to a shuffl ing

blues style, which really suits Sarah’s

vocal style and possibly shows the

band at their laid back best. The title

track Spirit/Matter/Truth/Lies opens

in a much heavier vein and would

make a very impressive opening song

for a live gig. It’s a heavy riff-based

number, which chugs along in an

unhurried fashion, with a lovely soulful

slide break in the middle section.

Two Trains opens with Sarah’s haunting

vocals alongside Rex’s screeching

slide, which both then merge into

the rhythm of the trains as they head

on down the track, reinforced by

the insistent drum beat in the background.

The song picks up speed as

the trains head down the track. The

fi nal track is a reprise of Sail Away and

works up to a fi ne crescendo, before

sailing off into the distance. This is

a fi ne album from The Rex Granite

Band featuring Sarah Benck, who hail

from Omaha, Nebraska. They were

winners of the 2017 OEA Best Blues

Award and represented Nebraska

at The International Blues Challenge.

I can only agree with a man who

recognises talent, Bruce Iglauer (of


BLUESMATTERS.COM


Jimi Hendrix

Both Sides Of The Sky

Sony

Nearly fi fty years after the guitar adventurer’s passing,

a new Jimi Hendrix record release is still, potentially, an

exciting event for fans. The last one out was the terrifi c

Machine Gun live set with the Band Of Gypsys crew,

sounding rich and powerful with a sparky set of tunes.

This record rounds up some ‘lost’ or rare recordings in the

best quality tracked down. Most of us Jimi heads, have

all the tracks already on various boots or semi-offi cial

releases. But some are of particular interest to followers.

It’s a mixed bag, for sure, but we fans are used to that…

the last two Jimi studio-cut-centred releases Valleys Of

Neptune and People Hell & Angels were akin to a pile of

sonic postcards!

So, it’s April 1969 and Mannish Boy marks the fi rst

Band Of Gypsys session. Buddy Miles and Billy Cox knew

all about The Blues and on this Bo/Muddy outing they stew

the tune as Jimi slinks into the choppy rhythm at a brisk

pace, joy in his voice and abandon in his guitar work. At

1:20 Jimi starts to scat briefl y. Female listeners go weak at

the knees. The little girls sure understood, and the sensual

BPM is a giveaway to what is inspiring this. Four minutes

in and that axe is starting to soar. Mini bass and drumbreaks

and the song is over.

Lover Man keeps up the pace and a well-recorded

vocal sound is assured as this energetic 12-bar with variations

chugs away, with a fl uid guitar run over pattering

drums, this is a later version, by the way. Although, also a

mixed selection, my favourite Hendrix record remains the

Hawaii-period Rainbow Bridge album, which had a take

of the propulsive number Hear My Train A’ Comin. Always

to my mind Jimi’s nod to John Lee Hooker and maybe

Lightning Hopkins. On this edition, the original Experience

keep up the tension. It’s from April 1969, their penultimate

session. The guitar is stunning, sustained in its energy and

squealing vibe, with some curling wah-wah hammer-ons

coming up to the fi ve-minute mark, voodoo chat thereafter.

Stepping Stone is a tune that always gets to me. The

Monkees did a good version. Hendrix gallops in with

damped chordal slashing. But, hey, this turns out to be

an entirely different song with the same name. An ultrabusy

performance this is! Maybe one of the most frantic

Jimi recordings ever. A descending riff brings in an organsoaked

vocal from Steve Stills, Hendrix chugging away in

the undertow on $20 Fine. It’s enjoyable and fast-paced

which blends Jimi with Stills to make a listenable romp.

Stills told me some of his best recordings were with

Hendrix, in London, and elsewhere. Power Of Soul, has

delayed guitar motifs on this moody and novel tune, Jimi

clearly having an orchestral arrangement in his head but

equally a shadowy touch of Isaac Hayes. The central riff

is irresistible as Marcus Miller found on his own version

(worth tracking down, readers). The song verses are lightish,

with a twist of Dylan here and there. The whole thing

originated from bassist Cox fooling around with a Ray

Charles motif. This one happened Jan/Feb 1970. On to

Jungle, with a defi nite stamp of Chicago alumnus Curtis

Mayfi eld, the Uni-vibe guitar effect singing on the gentle

picking. This is night time/bedroom music. Suddenly the

tempo hardens, it is a curio and clearly an unfi nished song.

Guitar Slims, Things I Used To Do, was a favourite song of

Frank Zappa’s. This one is an after-hours duet/jam with

Hendrix on bass and Johnny Winter here playing slide

in the style of his early Columbia albums. The cleanest

version I have heard of this recording and very listenable.

Georgia Blues fi nds Lonnie Youngblood at the keyboard

and singing and nicking the progression from Stormy

Monday Blues, with Jimi confi dent on guitar. It’s ok but

not remarkable. Next up, Sweet Angel, is an early take on

Angel which eventually appeared on posthumous album

Cry Of Love in 1971. This version is a wistful instrumental

and very beautiful too. Woodstock, is the Joni Mitchell,

sung here by Stills, also at the organ. Jimi on bass and

Buddy on drums. Still a pleasant number and this predates

CSN getting their hands on it. Send My Love To Linda, was

a work in progress with the Gypsys this track being an

edit from three takes. Uni-vibe set to fast and a Hispanic

atmosphere. Not really worth inclusion in an offi cial

release though the chord progression is oddly hypnotic.

This collection winds up with a version of Cherokee Mist

dating from May 1968 with Hendrix on a Coral electric sitar.

A growly wah sound introduces the tune, bluesy sitar

starting up, all over what we might have once called a

Red Indian rhythm. Doubtless that’s an offensive phrase

now, to the ever-growing group of The Professionally

Offended but they are probably out on a march somewhere

taking selfi es. The weird feedback points to this

being an experimental studio session, not yet gelling into

anything satisfying.

So…I enjoyed much more of this than I thought I might

and am grateful to have this album. BUT please Experience

Hendrix can we call it a day now?

Pete Sargeant


IBBA TOP 50 | APRIL 2018

IBBA Top 50

POS ARTIST TITLE

1 GEORGE SHOVLIN & THE RADARS NOTHING TO LOSE

2 AULD MAN’S BACCIE NEE JIGGERY POKERY

3 LILLY MARTIN MINETTA

4 IAN SIEGAL ALL THE RAGE

5 TEED UP! HARD LESSON TO LEARN

6 VICTOR WAINWRIGHT & THE TRAIN/ TRAIN VICTOR WAINWRIGHT & THE TRAIN

7 DAN DORIAN LIVIN’ CENTRE STAGE

8 VANJA SKY BAD PENNY

9 VARIOUS ARTISTS 8TH EUROPEAN BLUES CHALLENGE

10 WILL WILDE BRING IT ON HOME

11 THE BLUESBONES CHASING SHADOWS

12 ERROL LINTON PACKING MY BAGS

13 STOMPIN’ DAVE’S BLUES 3 SPACE BLUES

14 TERESA JAMES & THE RHYTHM TRAMPS HERE IN BABYLON

15 ELLES BAILEY LIVE AT LITTLE RABBIT BARN

16 MISSISSIPPI MACDONALD & STEVE BAILEY SHAKE ‘EM ON DOWN

17 BREEZY RODIO SOMETIME THE BLUES GOT ME

18 SAWMILL ROOTS ORCHESTRA SAWMILL ROOTS ORCHESTRA

19 THE MILK MEN GOLD TOP

20 ANGEL FORREST ELECTRIC LOVE

21 BETH HART & JOE BONAMASSA BLACK COFFEE

22 JOHN MAYALL THREE FOR THE ROAD

23 MICHELLE MALONE SLINGS & ARROWS

24 ROCKY ATHAS SHAKIN’ THE DUST

25 SUSAN SANTOS SKIN & BONES

26 ARCHIE LEE HOOKER & THE COAST TO COAST BLUES BANDCHILLING

27 GEOFF ACHISON ANOTHER MILE ANOTHER MINUTE

28 PETER V BLUES TRAIN RUNNING OUT OF TIME

29 BERNARD ALLISON LET IT GO

30 BLUESNAKE SERPENT STORIES

31 HARDCHARGERS SCARECROW

32 LILÍ RED & THE ROOSTERS SOUL BURNIN’

33 MATT EDWARDS BACKWARD ROOTS

34 THE NICK MOSS BAND FEATURING DENNIS GRUENLING THE HIGH COST OF LOW LIVING

35 ZOE SCHWARZ BLUE COMMOTION THE BLUES & I SHOULD HAVE A PARTY

36 AMIT DATTARI SANTIAGO

37 DANIELLE NICOLE CRY NO MORE

38 JANIVA MAGNESS LOVE IS AN ARMY

39 REVEREND RAVEN & THE CHAINSMOKING ALTAR BOYS MY LIFE

40 SUE FOLEY THE ICE QUEEN

41 THE ROBERT J. HUNTER BAND THE ROBERT J HUNTER BAND

42 DANNY BRYANT REVELATION

43 DAN PATLANSKY PERFECTION KILLS

44 JOHN VERITY BAND BLUE TO MY SOUL

45 LENY’S GIRL DEVIL WITH A GUN

46 MARCIA BALL SHINE BRIGHT

47 THE BUSH LEAGUE JAMES RIVAH

48 BIRDS OF CHICAGO LOVE IN WARTIME

49 BROKEN LEVEE FT. LINDSAY HANNON LAST LIGHT

50 CATFISH BROKEN MAN


BLUESMATTERS.COM


Alligator Records), who commented

“soulful vocals, tasty slide guitar”

Steve Banks

Wentus Blues Band

Throwback

Ramasound Records

Starting as you mean to go on is

always a desirable trait in a blues band.

Traditionally, blues musicians tend

not to hang around, they get straight

to it, and in the case of the Wentus

Blues Band, they are following the

line. Kicking off with Wrapped Up In

Love and moving on without pause to

Canned Heat’s Future Blues, there is a

sense of getting on with it throughout

this record. Another welcome aspect of

this album is the playing skills of all the

band, used to enhance the overall feel

and effect of the songs, with no grandstanding

or showing off. Slow blues is

harder to play well than fast blues. You

need a seriously strict sense of timing

from your drummer, and a vocalist

who can hold notes with feeling. Let

Me Get Over It shows how it should

be done. It’s delivered in that matterof-fact

way that eschews self-pity, and

simply advises how things are. The

driving keyboard-led Chicago Blues

sound of Feel So Young continues

to underline the talent of the players,

but the almost wilful modesty means

that the organ solo stands out and

reminds the listener that there is obviously

superior musicianship at play

here, and it would be nice if everyone

got to stretch out a little, as they no

doubt do when they play this set in a

live context. They must have thought

the same, because on Hard Working

Woman, guitarist Niko Riippa plays

a lovely little workmanlike economical

guitar solo that fi ts just perfectly.

Encouraged, he intros Fixin’ To Die

with the kind of sinuous snaky guitar

solo that Roy Buchanan used to weave

around his own tunes and continues

to underpin Juho Kinaret’s passionate

vocals with more of the same, and

wonderful it is to hear the technique

and style of the master guitarist rolling

through a scorching solo mid-track.

You can hear the applause in your

mind as he ushers the vocal back in

for the fi nal roll before taking everyone

home with another fi ne solo, the defi -

nite highlight of the album. Generous

indeed, there are fi fteen tracks here,

a selection of the songs the band

have heard on their travels, which

introduces listeners to some new musicians

to check out. A fi ne work out.

Andy Hughes.

The Kris Barras Band

The Divine And Dirty

Mascot / Provogue

This release features Kris Barras on

guitar and vocals, Josiah J Manning

on keys, Elliott Blackler on bass plus

drummer Will Beavis with production

here is by Manning. The electric

blues-rock scene is overcrowded to

put it mildly, though it seems most

acts pick up a following pretty easily

and quickly on the live circuit. Kris has

a colourful history in martial arts and

retail, so hardly lacks lyrical inspiration.

Opening track Kick Me Down is

taken at a pulsing and solemn pace,

like music opening a fi lm. This is

heavy stuff but melodic enough and

exhibits an almost stately vibe. The

backing vocals sound rich and hint

at some work thereon, the wild guitar

break is in traditional snarly fashion.

The band clearly know exactly

what they are up to. Next up, Hail

Mary brings more deft singing giving

way to a spring-heeled rocker with

a twist of Rory G. The bass takes an

excursion up the neck en-route to the

catchy chorus. The guitar is busy and

the main vocal focussed. I Don’t Owe

Nobody Nothing which would make

Noel Coward wince with its title but

brings a greasy tread of a number

prompting clapping. Sounds like a

setlist must? Propane is a punchy and

rather haunting mid-paced bash with

a fi ne vocal and peppered with guitar

motifs and a radio-friendly sound,

helped along by cool Hammond. It

all sounds a bit like Bryan Adams

here, and how radio-friendly is he?

Wrong Place, Wrong Time is agile

funk with brisk changes; Lovers or

Losers is a purposeful moodier piece

with a Southern Rock tinge, wellhandled.

She’s More Than Enough is

a nimble dance of a tune and a tale of

a desirable girl. Stitch Me Up delivers

piano-fuelled barroom rock and has

that Bryan Adams touch once more, I

bet he would love this act! Hold On

For Tomorrow is very much my bag

musically - slow, moody, personalsounding.

Great raspy singing and it

sounds heartfelt. If you like early Rod,

get a listen to this song, it’s excellent.

Blood On Your Hands has an energetic

motion to it and is my pick in

this programme, the group sounding

very much together and a memorable

lyric. Finally, in this collection we

get Watching Over Me touches on

Barras’ love and respect for his late

father. Sturdy stuff, if very mainstream.

Pete Sargeant



Jamie Williams & The Roots Collective

Diff’rent Gravy

Independent

Five-piece Blues Rock

band, I thought that

they were an American

band until I saw

the promo material that shows them

on the beach at Hastings. Yes, I know

that American bands have visited

Hastings, but you know what I mean!

Here we have 11 self-penned racks

put together in a well-produced and

edited package with a nice running

order that showcases the band without

giving you time to be bored by too

many similar sounding tracks, the

Stompin’ Dave’s Blues 3

Space Blues

Independent

Going by the name Stompin’ Dave

you’d probably expect Dorset’s Dave

Allen to be hollering to a foot stomping

beat while sliding up and down the

guitar neck. That’s the case with Trust

Enough but the other tracks are in a

variety of bluesy styles. Money Money

Money, which bears resemblance to

the Cabaret ditty, has a Charleston

beat and Space Blues has a kind of

Albert Collins funk blues beat to it.

Drummer Sam Kelly and bassist Earl

Jackson are capable of real variety

and are soulful throughout, Jackson

particularly excels when playing slap

bass. The mistakes have been kept

in on this almost entirely live in the

studio album. While this adds charm

it sometimes means Dave’s vocal or

guitar is unclear and a bit too far down

in the mix. His singing in general is not

captured brilliantly which is a shame

as it has a good quality to it and he

sings like he means it. He plays slide

guitar with real gusto and plays off

band have played all over and have

a great name-dropping list of others

that they have either supported or

played with. The boys have a great

sound, Don’t Break My Baby’s Heart,

is a very Stones sounding Country

rock track and I really liked this one.

One Man Mission To Mars has a suitably

out of the world harp intro and

is a great song, as indeed are all of

the tracks on this well produced

album that deserves more exposure,

these boys are good!

Dave Stone

the band sharing fi lls with Jackson.

The album’s opener Political Man

takes most of its lyrics from Cream’s

Politician (though uses the name Betty

Davis gave it) so credit should really

be given to Pete Brown and Jack

Bruce though he does opt for a different

groove. Space Blues is consistently

entertaining and the energy in the

studio is palpable but hopefully next

time Dave and the band will release

something less modest and really take

their place in the UK blues scene.

Jack Goodall

he Reverend Shawn Amos

Breaks It Down

Put Together Music

Moved is the fi rst track off the album.

With just a guitar harmonica and a

wailing voice this is story telling at its

fi nest. This could be on a porch in

the deep south or on a Smokey bar. It

would have the same effect. Written

by Shawn Amos and Chris Roberts

it’s a sign of things to come. These

two are long time collaborators and

you can see why. The debut single

2017 has brilliant backing vocals and

arrangement. A nice easy funky type

of blues. You should never judge a

book by its cover said a wise man one

time. This applies to Rev. Shawn’s

adaptation of the Bowie classic The

Jean Genie. Such a great version

done in a true blues style makes this

one of the outstanding tracks on the

album. Sharlotte Gibson’s stunning

vocals alongside the Rev’s brilliant

harmonica playing is truly magnifi cent.

There is now a three-part section

entitled Freedom Suite. The fi rst of

which is a song entitled Uncle Tom’s

Prayer. Such perfect harmonies but

also a very important and meaningful

message. It’s one of those songs that

reaches into your very soul. Does My

Life Matter? follows in a similar vein

but with a much harder delivery, then,

half way through brings the listener

down to a more laid-back pace. Still

keeping a serious thought going but

with a more direct oomph to it. The

third in the Freedom Suite offering

is (We’ve Got To) Come Together. If

this is played live it would be an absolute

foot stomper. Brilliant horns

resounding through and fi tting in

perfect combination with fi ne harmonica.

A feel-good song with some great

gospel sprinkled in for good measure.

The fi nal track (What’s So Funny

Bout) Peace Love and Understanding

has gospel at its core. Let’s not forget

that is how many blues songs started.

Superb harmonies and just a great

feel, an excellent way to fi nish an

excellent gospel/blues album. Brilliant.

Stephen Harrison


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Lil’ Red & The Rooster

Soul Burnin’

Lil’ Red Records

This is defi nitely a duo with energy, as

American Jennifer Milligan connects

with Frenchman Pascal Fouquet. The

duo on Soul Burnin’ are joined by

a band that capturers the French/

American collaboration. The rhythm

section from France and pianist and

additional vocals gathered in Stateside.

The album Soul Burnin’ produced

by and featuring Dave Specter the

twelve original songs catch you ears.

The album defi nitely has more than a

soupçon of tone and delivery providing

a feeling of joie de vivre as the

numbers unfold. This is an album that

is in Lil Red’s words “It’s a cry for

love. The current climate of political

turmoil, violence, racism and bigotry

makes my soul burn…” Opening with

a holler the title track is an intriguing

and delightful mix of French

street music and blues it works under

the magic touch of Lil Red and her

Rooster! For a healthy dose of blues

then check out Narcissistic Blues, a

fi ve-minute track that fl ows and curls

around the speaker it is blues that

delivers with style. Black Cat Fever is

re-imagined and a new song that has

an energy; we are in a smoky club

it is a number that makes you smile

and shake your hips. Now we had to

have some boogie with Ricky Nye in

the house and Big Boy Boogie delivers

on an instrumental, one of two on

the album that shines as you are twisting

those hips in delight. Closing with

a slower, sultry number as the album

says Occupy My Mind. This is a record

that adds something to any collection.

Liz Aiken

Johnny Tucker

Seven Day Blues

HighJohn

Straight off, what hits you, is the

sound of this new album from

California resident Johnny Tucker. It

is like you have wandered through

a gap in the space time continuum

back to perhaps the late 1950’s

or very early 1960’s. In fact, think

of those very fi rst albums by the

Rolling Stones, 12x5 for example,

and you’ll get the idea. It’s where

you would love to have sat in with

the sessions. A bunch of guys all in

the same room, playing together as

live, and all feeding off the energy

which can only happen when things

are done as live. Factor in the use of

totally vintage gear with sound spilling

out and over everything and you

end up with a unique brilliant feel

throughout. Johnny’s vocal delivery

is vintage and era right where

you have the mix of Blues, Gospel

and lashings of old-school Soul.

Fifteen stomping original tunes for

your money are what are on offer

here and there is not a second rate

cut amongst them. Talkin’ About

You Baby gets us underway with a

nod in the direction of Mr Wolf in

there. Then we’re off to Chicago for

Tired Of Doing Nothing, with duelling

harp and guitar solos. This is

what we want real down-home, hot

loving Blues. The fi ne grooves keep

on coming through Why Do You

Let Me Down So Hard, where for a

change the guy is the injured party,

over to church territory for Listen

Everybody before the album closes

out with the aching slow blues of You

Can Leave My House. Heartache?

It’s right here with gut wrenching

vocals, vying with harp and guitar

to see who can hurt the most. I don’t

care if it is retro, its brilliant stuff.

Graeme Scott

John Mayall

Three For The Road

Forty Below Records

The veteran UK bluesman John Mayall

is nothing if not a survivor. A guy who

has weathered the changing nature,

styles, fads and trials of the music

scene for around sixty years, Mayall,

now in his eighties, remains a powerful

and purposeful totemic fi gure in

the blues world. That this latest offering

even saw the light of day is a tale

in itself: recorded live in 2017, in

Germany, with his current strippeddown

outfi t, the label successfully

captured the raw power of Mayall in

full live fl ow. And in almost every way,

this has proved to be a positive bonus.

With ‘Three For The Road’, Mayall

shows himself to be working pretty

much at his best, never riding on his

substantial back-catalogue or hardearned

laurels. If anything, this could

well be one of Mayall’s fi nest releases.


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The man himself is supported by his

current road crew, Greg Rabz on bass

and Jay Davenport on drums, while he

slips around effortlessly between keys,

harp and vocals. It’s almost as if the

years have slipped aside and Mayall is

once again pushing the edges of solid

sixties blues and R&B music to deliver

something of a landmark recording.

Anyone who has caught Mayall

live in recent years will be aware of

his remarkable stage-energy and

presence. Here, he is clearly enjoying

himself, with his voice hanging in

there fl awlessly and the music itself

weaving its magic almost osmotically.

Mayall is a guy of legendary

status who has always had an unerring

knack of picking out and picking

up musicians who often move on to

truly great things, at times seemingly

leaving Mayall himself in the shadow

of their greatness: think Eric Clapton,

Mick Taylor, Mick Fleetwood, John

McVie, Peter Green, for starters. It’s

therefore a fi tting tribute to the man

that he still has the power to surprise

at times with an album of this stature

that simply works wonderfully at

every level. This is not just veteran

Mayall but vintage Mayall and more

than a little bit of true blues treasure.

Iain Patience

Ismo Haavisto

The Blues Has Chosen Me

Lakewater Records

Not for the fi rst time our colleagues

from the Arctic Circle have grasped

the Blues genre and produced an

Michelle Malone

Slings & Arrows

SBS Records

Michelle Malone has been making

music now for three decades. She

hails from Georgia and certainly

defi nes the Atlanta rock sound on

this new release. There are nine

songs in total with one extraordinary

cover, that being the wonderful,

I’ve Been Loving You Too Long, the

old Otis Redding number. Here, she

duets with Shawn Mullins and the

chemistry between them knows

no bounds. This can be said of the

whole release, it mixes Americana,

soul, blues and roots into a melting

pot of emotional highs and lows.

The band hits the listener with the

raucous and punchy opener Just

Getting Started with a signature

slide by Michelle. She is joined on

electric guitar by Doug Kees, bass

player Bobby Handley, Christopher

Burroughs on drums and Trish

Land on percussion to make a tight

Professional band. Love Yourself

album of blues music which is redolent

of a far warmer climate in the

southern states of America. Ismo

Haavisto though is even farther into

the Aurora Borealis region than most

Nordic artists. A Finnish musician of

30 years standing guarantees you the

calibre of musicianship that he has

in spades. All the numbers on this

album are written and performed by

him with some help from two equally

skilled Finns, Ville Vallila on Bass and

Mikko Jarvinen on percussion. The

album opens at a fair pace with a fairly

rough version of the electric blues in

“So Gone” before settling into a more

conventional blues number in track 2

with “Down To The Otamo” which for

rolls along with sassy vocals and

blends in well with the powerful

track Sugar On My Tongue, a

slow crunchy ballad dripping with

soul. Beast’s Boogie is a great

dance tune, mixing harmonica and

mandolin, played by Michelle. On

the inside cover of this release she

wears a baseball cap with ‘Made

in the South’ a sure-fi re trademark

on this release. Fox And Hound is a

slow burner and sure to be a crowd

pleaser with great slide guitar. Civil

War has visceral lyrics about a relationship

breakdown, just don’t call

Michelle baby! Matador exhibits a

good rocky vocal range. The Flame

is a highlight, a sublime ballad with

mellow tones and soul. Last track

Boxing Gloves, seems like a selfproclamation

of defi ance and spirit.

A quite stunning release and well

recommended.

Colin Campbell.

those of us unfamiliar with the geography

of the Land (voted the worlds

happiest) is a lake in Finland. In truth

I had no idea that the Finns were so

Blues oriented especially with their

built-in quality of life. The quaintly

named track 6 “Cha Cha Fly was a

particular favourite for me with the

guitar playing at a pretty high level.

That said, the whole album is more

than mere value for money. The album

title track “The Blues Has Chosen

Me” features as track 7 and is the

very defi nition of blues both vocally

and with the liberal use of the slide

guitar and harmonica. This is defi -

nitely worth a punt for your collection.

Tom Walker



Phil Doleman

Skin & Bones

Independent

Based in Derbyshire, Phil Doleman

has a thing for ukuleles and old

songs, whether they are blues, jug

band numbers, classic 20s pop

songs, ragtime, jazz or old-timey

sounds. He has in fact, written a

music book about the uke, and

he also has a real talent for this

kind of music too, certainly if this

CD is anything to go by. There are

ten numbers here, from the opening

cover of Gus Cannon’s relatively

well-known 1929 recording ‘Walk

Right In’ (also a hit in early 1963

for The Rooftop Singers), to blackface

minstrel Emmett Miller’s Big

Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now), the

latter recorded as though on a wax

cylinder, and some might know it

from versions by Ry Cooder and

Van Halen (!), though I would not be

surprised if Phil had gone back to

the original. In between are a further

Screaming John & TD Lind

Gimmie More Time

Down In The Alley Records

This album reunites four musicians

who formed a band called Edenstreet,

twenty years ago in Kentucky but

never recorded due to a sudden record

label sale, they are now fulfi lling their

destiny with the addition of Harmonica

player Joel Pinkerton, releasing this

album of ten electric blues songs,

mixing originals with covers of songs

by the likes of Walter Jacobs and

Sonny Boy Williamson. T D Lind is an

ex-Brit who handles the vocals with

an authentic grittiness, his rendition

of From The Bottom brings back

memories of NRBQ in their prime, with

a catchy swing, good time feel to it,

eight songs, with Phil playing ukulele,

banjo, guitar bass, snare drum,

bones, jug harmonica, nose fl ute

and kazoo (not all at the same time)

on the archaic sounding original title

track, a cover of the much-covered

‘Nobody’s Business If I Do’ and songs

from bluesmen Muddy Waters, Blind

Blake, Barbecue Bob, The Memphis

Jug Band’s Will Shade, bluesy country

act The Delmore Brothers, and

the late, great and zany Slim Gaillard.

A few other musicians help out in

places, but throughout the CD

the focus is fi rmly on Phil’s excellent,

good natured vocals and his

accomplished, though never fl ashy

playing, and the result is a thoroughly

entertaining set of good

timing, knockabout music, that is

fun, massively entertaining and

educational.

Norman Darwen

cannot be a coincidence as they also

cover their song Dutchess County Jail,

band leader and guitarist Screaming

John Hawkins certainly lives up to his

name with some excellent “screaming”

guitar, particularly on his own song

Gravy Train Rider. The band describe

their music as old school Chicago

Blues mixed with British sensibilities,

not a description I could have come

up with but it is just about right for a

band that sticks mainly to the Chicago

Blues sound, albeit a stand out track

is the slower paced Four Roses Blues

which has some tasty Peter Green

style laid back lead guitar solos

supplemented with some deft harmonica.

It is not clear whether this is a

one-off exercise, or the band intend to

continue to record and play together

either way on the basis of this release

they have shown enough to warrant

a continued career and should not

have to wait another twenty years

to record again, an excellent blues

album by a band who persevered.

Adrian Blacklee

Elly Wininger

Little Red Wagon

Rabbit Hole Records

This beautiful album straddles the

line between blues and folk in a most

satisfying way. The superb guitarist

and singer Elly Wininger, a 2014

inductee into the New York Blues Hall

of Fame, wrote or co-wrote nine of

the 13 tracks. Two others, Down The

Line and Wild Ox Moan, are traditional

numbers. This is primarily an acoustic

album, featuring expert fi ngerpicking

and excellent slide. Wininger is

aided by the guitarist and producer

Stephen Miller; their styles mesh

perfectly. The playing is crystal clear.

Wininger’s fi ne vocals are far forward

in the mix, you can actually make out

the words. They cover a cornucopia of

life’s joys and travails. The Girl In The

Tree House is a paean to the magic

of childhood. For Fred, a slow, bluesy,

fi ngerpicked number, celebrates the

joys of taking chances. ‘Thank you

for getting me to dance/Thank you for

getting me out on the fl oor,’ Wininger

sings. ‘Thank you for getting me to

dance/I’d forgotten that sometimes

that’s what music is for.’ One of the

fi nest cuts is the traditional number

Wild Ox Moan. The stellar guitar

arrangement is credited, and properly


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greg sover band



Teed Up

Hard Lesson To Learn

Independent

Teed Up is the new project featuring

Steve Roux, Bernie Fox, Steve

Browning and Ray Drury, all

accomplished and highly respected

musicians with the resumes to prove

it. This release is quality from top to

bottom as anyone familiar with the

artists in question would expect. Not

just in the musicianship on display

but the choice of covers, the superior

song-writing of the originals

and the spot-on production. Things

start with a cover of Arthur Crudup’s

That’s Alright Mama, that sets the

tone for the album beautifully with

Steve Roux vocally delivering a

version that’s true to the original

but also contemporary and sensitive.

Steve Roux is also a super melodic

blues guitarist and there are many

highlights of his playing throughout.

Ray Drury also gets plenty of

opportunity to shine, none more so

than on One Kind Word, with it’s

wonderful Hammond sounds. Take

Our Time To Love, is a big ballad

so, to Geoff Muldaur, who recorded it

some years ago. This is country blues

indeed. One of the bluesiest cuts is

El’s Kitchen, an instrumental on which

the rhythmic guitar is accented by

fi ddle. And the title cut is a breakup

song enhanced by slow, bluesy slide.

Each song is distinct, yet the album

forms a stylistic whole. Shade, ‘I’m

looking for mercy/looking for shade’

features moving solos on slide guitar

and electric organ. Hard Livin’ is a

fuller, almost poppier song with singers

oohing in the background, ‘it’s

hard living with a soft heart,’ Wininger

sings. I Say Love carries the warning

with wonderful guitar work that

works perfectly and is positioned

in the dead right spot, on the album.

Following that is the funky bluesy,

Love Me Like You Used To Do, that

sits nicely between TOTTL and the

7 minute tour de force that is No

Other Way, defi nitely my favourite

track on an album without a less

than good one. Title track Hard

Lesson To Learn, is another highlight

with its funky intro and jangly

keys. I mentioned the great choice

of covers earlier and Sonny Boy

Williamson’s, Early In The Morning,

is another. Given the full 7 minute

plus treatment but never ever feeling

a second too long. The rhythm

section of Browning and Fox are

simply superb throughout the whole

album. This really is a top-quality

recording and is certainly a lesson

to learn for lots of bands around,

with ambitions to record an album,

listen and learn guys.

Steve Yourglivch

that if you can’t take the pain, you’re

not prepared for love. ‘And will you

walk in trust/though your steps may

be unsure?’ Wininger asks. I say

love. There’s not a false note on the

album. Every song’s a gem. Great

listening for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

M.D. Spenser

Nick Moss Band Featuring

Dennis Gruenling

The High Cost Of Low Living

Alligator Records

Nick Moss has been around for a

while and with twelve previous albums

to his name, he has decided to go

back to his fi rst love, the Chicago

Blues, Moss as you may know has

jammed with Dennis Gruenling for

twenty years, but it wasn’t until 2016

that they decided to team up full time.

Moss’s deeply rooted yet fully modern

guitar playing fl awlessly meshes

with Gruenling’s monster harmonica

chops, The High Cost Of Low Living

is their fi rst recording together and

their Alligator debut. It is a Chicago

blues ensemble sound that Moss and

Gruenling know, live and love. Of the

thirteen tracks, Moss wrote eight new

originals and Gruenling wrote two with

three covers making up the numbers.

The band comprises of Nick Moss

guitar and vocals, Dennis Gruenling

harmonica and vocals, Taylor Streiff

on piano, bassist is Nick Fane and

Patrick Seals on drums. Co-Produced

by Moss and guitarist Kid Andersen,

who guests on a couple of songs

along with Jim Pugh on keyboards

and the horn section of Eric Spaulding

tenor sax and Jack Sanford baritone

sax. Opening the album is the blues

shuffl e Crazy Mixed Up Baby, before

we fi nd Get Right Before You Get Left,

a big band swing number of yesteryear

with a great rhythm from Patrick

(drums) and Nick (bass) with some

nice fat horns, very danceable I loved

it. Another highlight for me is the lazy

shuffl e No Sense with Kid Andersen

on guitar, Taylor with some excellent

piano and some reserved harp

blowing from Dennis. The High Cost

Of Low Living, is followed by Count

On Me with some fi ne Barrelhouse

piano again from Taylor. Blues ballad,

Note On The Door opens the way

for an Otis Spann cover, Get Your

Hands Out My Pockets, another

danceable track as is Tight Grip On

Your Leash, with its thumping bass

groove. Gruenling’s, Lesson To Learn

is another driving rhythm with Jim

Pugh on the piano this time. The harp


BLUESMATTERS.COM


and guitar were the main prongs of

attack but not over stated. A very

enjoyable album that I really liked.

Shirl

Benjamin Bassford

Benjamin Bassford

Independent

Benjamin Bassford’s self-titled acoustic

album oozes the blues out of every

note. What a fantastic follow-up to

From Behind A Blue Door. This is a

young man who every lover of the

blues should check out. Why? He

is an artist whose skills and power

are growing with every note he plays

whether in a studio or live in front of

an audience. He is thoughtful and

considers the construction of the

music he loves. Paying respect to

bluesmen of the past and delivering a

fresh sound that is developing as he

shapes the tones created on the guitar

becomes his own. The lyrics, percussive

guitar and fi nger-picking shine

through on every one of the thirteen

songs. Benjamin, recommends that

you listen to the album from beginning

to end as the tracks have been

stitched together. In today’s world

of downloads and playlists this is an

unusual request. The album works on

every level, but he is right listening the

‘old fashioned’ way works best. This is

an acoustic album that is a true pleasure

to listen to from beginning to end.

Let the blues magic from his fi ngers

and lips encapsulate you as you journey

through the album. Opening with

Second Hand Bridges, be patient there

is a pause but then after the wait you

are rewarded as you meet the scarecrow

in abandoned wedding dress.

Picking out some numbers that shine

in this short review is diffi cult as they

all have something to say. Highlighting

the guitar work of self-Medication

Blues in the intro is such a pleasurable

listen then Benjamin’s vocals sing

the lyrics with emotion and understanding.

Velvet has to be mentioned

this is a poem spoken by Benjamin in

his Northern accent, a spoken voice

counter-intuitive to the music we have

been listening to that is pure classy

delta blues a clever interlude. Followed

by a favourite Death O’Grace this is

blues guitar that whines and sings to

you gently massaging your stresses

away. Gently delivered and a real gem

among a jewel box of tracks. You will

be hearing much more of Benjamin

Bassford he has the spirit and love

of the blues plus that elusive feel to

deliver the music with an authenticity

and a touch of modernity.

Liz Aiken

Chris Farlowe

From Here To Mama Rosa

Repertoire

Another lost treasure

(from 1970)

representing

something of a

left-turn by the

now-established soul stylist. Here,

Farlowe collaborates with a band

christened The Hill. This ensemble

included some very useful players

– keyboardist Peter Robinson, Steve

Hammond on guitar, Bruce Waddell on

bass, drummer Colin Davy plus one

Paul Buckmaster on cello (an Elton

John stalwart of note). Producer

Mackay must have been pleased at

the sheer adaptability of Farlowe’s

vocal approach to this material, Chris

shows an entirely different singing

technique when making these songs

by others come to life. From the eerie

strings intro to Travelling Into Make

Believe, Farlowe sings with a calm

confi dence and in what you would

have to call prog/rock style. The busy

organ fi gures and gives it an

authoritative early Seventies ambience,

thumping drums and all. But Chris is

never about to disappear into the fairy

woods! I don’t think he ever sang with

The Nice or ELP, but it may well have

sounded like a lot of this. Fifty Years,

fi nds him again over a bustling

backdrop, absolutely gripping the

song as the pretty acoustic guitar

weaves. Where Do We Go From Here,

takes a choppy guitar intro and an

almost funky swirl, yet again Farlowe

has the perfect tone to put the number

over. Questions is dark and moody

and maybe my favourite here, Chris

rides the rhythm with boss phrasing

over the psych swells and prominent

bassline. Head In The Clouds is an airy

piece peppered with harmonics and

maybe a nod to CSN in its ethereal

vibe…a long way from those gritty

Flamingo sessions. Are You Sleeping

starts folky and you almost expect to

hear Rod Stewart start singing. A

lovely melody, somehow reminds me

of Paladin, or am I getting too obscure

for you? Black Sheep Of The Family is

a tad more menacing and a highlight

of the programme, double stops whine

away and Farlowe sings with strength

and defi nition. Winter Of My Life is

wistfulness and poetic. Mama Rosa

turns out to concern a dealer! The

pacing is Season Of The Witch and a

light-touch vocal suits the song well.

Additional tracks comprise Put Out

The Lights, Down and April Was The

Month. Something of a revelation, in

this re-release.

Pete Sargeant

Janiva Magness

Love Is An Army

Blue Elan Records

Janiva Magness is a world class


Reviews | Albums & DVDs

vocalist on anybody’s reckoning,

and her inability to sell out venues

as small as London’s Borderline a

couple of months back mystifies me

immensely. Hearing an album, an

album as strong as this should surely

convince any sane blues fan to haul

his or her ass to any Magness gigs

in their town and at every available

opportunity. Love Is An Army continues

the singer’s recent evolution

towards a wider Americana territory,

with some glorious results. Exhibit A

is opener, Back To Blue, a perfectly

crafted lost 1960s soul gem, with a

chorus catchier than a sexually transmitted

disease. Hammer features gob

iron king Charlie Musselwhite doing

Charlie Musselwhite stuff over a funk

riff workout. On And On, is a country-style

showcase for the standout

pedal steel playing of Rusty Young of

Poco, a band that have not crossed

my lug holes for about 40 years, but

turn out to be still going. There’s

more top-notch pedal steel, this

time from Doug Livingston on, Love

To A Gunfight. Both are the two

last-mentioned tracks of fine examples

of earworm songwriting. By the

way, some of the lyrics throughout

the album could be seen as implicitly

critical of the current occupant

of the White House. But the political

content is subtle, and shouldn’t spoil

your enjoyment, even if for some inexplicable

reason you actually like the

guy. All in all, strongly recommended.

David Osler

Me And The Devil

Backscratchin’

Independent

An interesting release from Cornwall’s

Me And The Devil. This, their third

self-released album was recorded

live at Truro’s Cube Studios and the

four piece comprises Steve Mole,

vocals/guitar, Morgen Robbins vocals/

harmonica, Tony Hilton on double

bass and Justin Bishop on drums.

They describe themselves as an

up-tempo Blues band and judging

from the music therein, I have to say

they can certainly swing it. The playing

is very good, and I have to single

out Morgen on harp, his versatility is

excellent, and I have no doubt he has

studied Paul Lamb at some stage in

the past. I particularly like his playing

on the album’s opening track,

Arthur Crudup’s Train Fare. With thirteen

tracks here, I was disappointed

to see there are only two originals,

both written by Morgen and both

worthy of a listen. I presume that he

sings lead vocal on the track Money

Or Love and I like the timbre of his

voice, with a degree of roughness to

it, a solid rocking Blues song. Here

We Go Again is a moody strut led by

bass and drums leading the instrumentation

with harp soloing over the

top. As for the eleven covers, including

songs from artists as diverse

as Little Walter, Bo Carter, James

Moore and Muddy, I’m pleased that

they have generally stayed away from

the usual classics, choosing lesser

known songs, after all how many

different ways can Parchman Farm

be played. However, with the quality

of Robbins own song writing ability,

I would strongly advise them to

look towards their own material in the

future. They are a competent and able

band on the musical front; let’s see

them develop their own core of songs

to become a force in their own right.

Merv Osborne

The Robert J Hunter Band

The Robert J Hunter Band

Independent

This 3-piece band

certainly know how to

get themselves noticed.

Straight from the

opening track Loving Unfortunately

the vocals of Robert J Hunter grab

you by the throat. All 12 songs on

the album have been penned by RJH

himself. This is a great opening

track and it would make a great gig

opener as well. It certainly sets the

tone for what is to come. Mr Winter

has a harder edge running through it

starting off a little laid back but

changing pace with harmonica and

a more natural rhythm and blues

feel. Every Heart Has A Home, is a

pure dyed in the wool blues song.

Keys and guitar introduction fuse so

well together along with touching

guitar work and soulful lyrics, this

would grace any set anywhere.

When the Winter Comes is for me

the best track on the album, not just

for the exceptional vocal arrangement

but also it brings out just how

tight this band really are. Starting

off slowly but building to a

crescendo that makes you feel as

drained as the band must be after

playing this. Wait Your Turn is a

recent iTunes No1 single. Solid

groove throughout from bass and

drums and a helping hand from

harmonica and slide guitar makes a

great experience for the listener.

Poison is a down n dirty deliverance

with stunning vocals that has a

touch of the devil blues running right

across it. If ever a song fitted a band

perfectly then this is the one. I for

one would relish seeing this

performed in a live venue. The final

track from the album Keep Hanging

On is a superb way to finish an

album, all 3 members can feel proud

of such a fitting ending. Once again,

the sublime vocals add an extra

dimension to a tight solid band.

Keyboards and acoustic guitar fit

hand in glove alongside wonderful

lyrics. A superb album. It would add

a touch of class to any collection.

Stephen Harrison


BLUESMATTERS.COM



Gone Hepsville

Gimme!

Rhythm Bomb

Gone Hepsville bring their infectious

50’s style Rn’B and Rn’R to us, from

the Czech Republic and this is their

second album release though most

of the band were formerly in a Rn’R

revival band, The Firefl ys. The band

is fronted by bassist Petr Pospíšil

who shares vocals with guitarist

Pavel Štursa; Petr wrote most of the

material with Pavel contributing one

song and baritone sax player Pavel

Zlámal three tunes. With a rocking

rhythm section, twinkling piano and

tenor joining forces with the bari we

get a great blend of catchy material

from the band. None of the 13 tracks

run much over three minutes and it’s

all great fun: take Pavel Z’s instrumental

Horn At Dawn for example

with the strolling rhythm overlaid with

tenor and baritone solos or Pavel Z’s

Day All Night on which pianist Matej

Fouma plays terrifi cally. Just A Little

Hepsville Surfbeat fi nds Matej playing

a theremin to give a spooky edge

to the surf style (and you can play

along with the band as the guitar part

is reproduced on the sleeve!), wild

sax adding to a style of music that

has largely disappeared. The title

track sets the tone form the off with

plenty of pounding piano, honking

saxes and a Jerry Lee style vocal as

Petr invites his girl to succumb to his

advances, Show Me That You Can

Rock being more melodic but keeps

the beat going with some swinging

guitar work before two songs

with ‘Boogie’ in the title: Boogie And

Bop and the superb title Brainwasher

Boogie! Pavel Z’s brooding bari is

featured on a second instrumental

entitled Jam Or Bust and the album

closes with Legs Gone Mad, a suitable

title for a fi nal snatch of rock and

roll mayhem. This is not a blues disc

but takes us back to the era when

R’n’B spawned Rock and Roll, a

style of music still played in the UK,

by bands like, The Revolutionaires

– very enjoyable, it would be good

to see this band live in the UK.

John Mitchell

Matt Edwards

Backward Roots

Mattedwardsmusic

Always good to fi nd a musician who

has invested himself fully in his music

and who believes strongly in making

music that is not quite of the mainstream.

Matt Edwards has been on

the scene for about 15 years and

has two previous albums but to be

honest, this is the fi rst I’ve heard

from him and rather a cracker it is

too. His music is rooted in Blues, but

he crosses over many of the genre

boundaries of the form – always with

his bellow of a voice at the heart and

some stunning guitar work. He can

cross from the faintly jazzy Blues of

Who’s Becoming You with a late-night

dark groove to it and a faintly Allman

Brothers tinge to his guitar into Always

Going To Fool A Few, redolent with a

funky beat and heartbeat bass from

Stuart Dixon, Richard Newman’s

drums all over the back of the soundstage

and creating a great platform

for Edwards guitar. Aim High starts

with some gorgeous unaccompanied

guitar and really shows some talent.

It’s an album I am happy to dip in and

out of and put on shuffl e play any of

the tracks can stand on its own but

there is a band feel to this and playing

it straight through shows a real sense

of building a set – something that

probably comes from playing live for

many years. Favourite track is probably

Two Faces, hot and funky with his

vocals taking on an almost Hendrixlike

deep in the mix character. A very

good album and one that is going to

be pleasing me for some time to come.

Andy Snipper

Rockin’ Johnny Burgin

Neoprene Fedora

Independent

Lovers of Chicago blues should fi nd

space on their shelves at once for this

fi ne CD. It’s the real deal – traditional,

yet fresh. Like all Chicago blues, it’s

based on electric guitar and amplifi

ed harmonica. Burgin is a superb

guitarist, one who creates moods

rather than showing off with pyrotechnics,

and he’s ably backed by Aki

Kumar on harp. Other members of

this tight band chime in on piano, sax,

and of course, bass and drums. The

sound is rich and full and as Burgin’s

moniker would suggest, rockin’. On

this CD, his seventh, Burgin wrote or

co-wrote eleven of the sixteen tracks.

The album opens with the title cut, a

high-octane, 7 ½ -minute instrumental

with guitar work that’s to die for.

As he demonstrates on subsequent

tracks, Burgin is a fi ne singer too. One

of this album’s strengths is that the

sound varies. The tempos and moods

differ from one song to the next. Won’t

Get Married Again, for example, is

carried by a walking bass line that will

set your feet to tapping, as well as by

excellent harmonica solos. There’s

super piano in the background and,

as ever, great lead guitar by Burgin.

Please Tell Me is a slow blues that

features a wonderful sax solo, fi ne

piano work and stellar lead guitar from

Burgin. Our Time Is Short is slow yet

bouncy, enhanced by an accordion.


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Burgin got his start with The Rockin’

Johnny Band when they landed a

weekly gig at a club in Chicago. The

band’s performances were so impressive

that Delmark Records offered

them a contract after hearing just one

set. One listen to this CD, and you

can see why. A couple of quibbles:

At 16 tracks and 77 minutes, average

song length nearly fi ve minutes,

the album seems a bit long. It could

have been a bit tighter. And the lyrics

are sometimes pedestrian, particularly

on the covers he chooses. ‘I’m a

guitar king/play the blues everywhere

I go,’ Burgin sings. But this is not an

album you listen to for the lyrics. It’s

for the music, and that’s outstanding.

M.D. Spenser

that is not your natural home. Baker

has accomplished this feat with style

on this his fi rst solo album instead of

supporting others. Track fi ve Born In

London shows his versatility as it is

more rock than blues, but he switches

genres with ease, as does his guitar

support in the form of Gaz Brodbeck

and Kai Strauss, both consummate

guitarists/musicians in their own right.

Double-crossed And Blue has a truly

melancholic aura over it and it was my

favourite track as it features everything

you’d want in terms of the Blues.

This is swiftly followed by the Harp

maestro giving his all both vocally

and on the harmonica with Hustle

On Down in a sort of hillbilly rock

track. The album title track Perfect

Getaway comes in at track thirteen

to lead us to the closing track One

Word and the one word describing this

fi rst solo album has to be exquisite!

Tom Walker

lyrics from Gary Seager sung passionately

by Adam Stocker. Bassist Gavin

Matthews takes a bow with his excellent

composition, Medicine Man,

smartly arranged with mean harp

playing by Stocker and intricate stick

work from Dave Two Jackets. The

funky When I Get Drunk and balladic

AM Blues showcase Stocker’s vocal

range and Gary’s intricate guitar

solos. Please Baby has a high tempo

boogie feel and the pace continues

with Hometown Blues, one of the

many highlights. The dynamic, explosive

Midnight Train gives insights

into Bad Pennies’ high-energy live

blues-rock performances which

must be sensational. Less impressive

is the derivative Berry-esque

Temperance Boogie but Seager’s

Losing Streak with his sumptuous

slide technique is a fi tting fi nale.

Overall, this debut album has much

to commend it and will appeal to the

band’s expanding fan base as well

as helping them to the next level.

The Bishop

Steve Baker

Perfect Getaway

Timezone Records

The album opens with Steve Bakers

forte, the harmonica and this is a

maestro of the instrument. When

Hohner decide to name an instrument

after you then you know that

the player concerned is a virtuoso of

a calibre that is sky high. Steve Baker

is resident in Germany, though originally

from London. This solo album is

a change insofar that his reputation

has been based purely on the harmonica.

Now he’s stretched out to song

writing and singing and to good effect.

Allied to superb slide and acoustic

guitar support work on the fi rst track,

Anyway You Do, the opening has

you hooked from the outset. It takes

some cojones to branch into a fi eld

Bad Pennies

Songs From The Medway Delta

Independent

Unfortunately, the repetitive, grinding

riff underpinning Crash & Burn

makes for an irritating start although

the vocals and interesting guitar and

harp interludes show more promise

here, and on the next track, Lady

Luck. The pattern continues with

One Shot (Ballad Of A No Good), the

vocals blasting over the heavy, less

than subtle rhythm section. Walk

Away brings welcome relief with a

more varied, jaunty sound and clever

Ma Polaine’s

Great Decline

The Outsider

OMH Records

An interesting band title but behind

this title is a duo who create some

wonderful evocative and stark Blues

and Roots music, they are unique and

are not afraid to stay that way with no

desire to follow any established route,

the duo are Beth Parker and Clinton

Hough, but it is Beth with her stark

and crystal clear vocals that underpins

this sound. The music conjures up all

sorts of visuals, my initial impression

was one of a mystical 1920’ Parisian

parlour scene not sure why but this is

what this music does to you, besides

her outstanding vocals Beth is a multiinstrumentalist

and includes double

bass, piano, accordion and harmonica



in her repertoire while Clinton covers

a very laid back subtle electric guitar

that tracks Beth’s rising and falling

vocals. There are ten tracks on

the album which have all been written

and produced by the duo, with

their musical style they clearly have

a handle on what the fi nished sound

should be rather than handing off to

a separate producer, this approach

certainly works as the sound is so

clear and clean you could literally

hear a pin drop. All the material is

similar in approach but the fi nal track

Old Fashioned Goodbye is worth

dissecting further as it incorporates

everything that make this band so

special; the songs, lyrics, are depicting

the scene of the singers own

funeral and are so evocative, drawing

in aspects of a New Orleans style

rhythmic funeral procession, which

when laid on top of a wailing harmonica

and Beth’s ebb and fl owing vocal

you get a very sombre song that has

been expertly crafted, story-telling

at its best. I found this album spellbinding

and while not ostensibly a

blues album there is plenty to enjoy.

Adrian Blacklee

Louis ‘Gearshifter’

Youngblood

Louis ‘Gearshifter’ Youngblood

Independent

A strutting, rubber band bass line

and jangling guitar herald an archetypal

Southern blues voice, delivering

funny lines about a titular Juke Joint

and its toilet facilities. If you’re in the

market for some Mississippi blues

that’s authentic but fresh, this opening

track may tell you that Louis

‘Gearshifter’ Youngblood is your man.

This eponymous debut album from

the 65-year-old from Jackson MS,

nicknamed for his long years as a

truck driver, is an eclectic selection of

originals, covers, and arrangements

of traditional songs that goes beyond

a basic down home style and makes

it current, with a vibrant, modern

sound incorporating some neat

twists and fl ourishes. Youngblood

- ably assisted by musicians including

Matt Patton of Drive-By Truckers

on bass, Larry Morrissey on drums,

and the ubiquitous Jimbo Mathus

on keys and rhythm guitar – plays

some nifty guitar, combining rhythm

and lead on the traditional Rabbit

In A Log, and occasionally counterpointing

two guitars in subtle

arrangements such as on Goin’ Down

Slow. There are hints of country, as

on the elegiac You’ve Got To Hurt

Before You Heal, once recorded by

Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland and here featuring

steel guitar and angelic voices in

the background; and also on the laid

back Get Rich And Marry You, yodelling

and all, which would probably

elicit a grin from Johnny Cash. But

there’s humour aplenty too. Hole In

The Wall atmospherically describes a

back to basics eatery, with the added

bonus of an Allmans–like guitar intro.

The cover of the uproarious Meet

Me With Your Black Drawers On is

updated to reference a cell phone,

while Mathus’s playful organ chirps

away in the background to add to the

fun. There’s also some wacky, cackling

storytelling on Youngblood’s

own A Big Change, while the reverbheavy

vocal on Seven Sisters carries

an air of Screaming Jay Hawkins. It’s

upbeat, it sounds confi dent, and it’s

got variety. What more do you want?

Iain Cameron

Greyhound’s

Washboard Band

Street Corner Blues

Independent

This is a very interesting and highly

original take of what this reviewer

would class as organic blues with a

contemporary twist. Infectious from

the start with Do That Thing (21st

Century Bluesman) a typical example,

this is a highly polished release

comprising of fi fteen songs with

two covers. The covers are Fred

McDowell’s Shake Em On Down, and

Memphis Minnie’s, My Wash Woman

Is Gone getting the full-on treatment

by this German trio. They comprise

of lead singer and guitarist, mainly

a fabulous resonator stylist Jurgen

“Greyhound George” Schildmann,

Washboard Wolf on various washboards

and added percussion, and

on harmonica Andy Grunert. Winners

of the German Blues Challenge 2017,

they certainly have a great sound.

Along with using vintage guitars

they also use a hundred-year-old

marching bass drum. They are also

participants in The European Blues

Challenge 2018. This is a very enjoyable

listen to a band that mixes up

old and contemporary songs, listen to

Fake News Blues it says it all. On the

quirky Let Your Money Work For You

the blend of harmonies to the instruments

brings the song to life, it fl ows

so well. Apple Street to Memphis

strolls along well, vocals are sharp

and clear. There is such an easy going

feel to the musical arrangements.


BLUESMATTERS.COM


Nine Lives has a wonderful slide

guitar groove a highlight with searing

harmonica licks. No Mo is outstanding

with intricate guitar work and a good

narrative. Contemporary lyrics blend

well with a sound that is traditional

that is peppered through this release.

Up-tempo enjoyable and honest music

what is there not to like, one to savour.

Colin Campbell

The Roustabouts

Plenty Of Blues

Independent

An American blues outfi t with more

than a hint of modern Americana

and tinges of Cajun-zydeco in the

background, the Roustabouts debut

release is a bit of a mish-mash of

traditional sounding electric blues with

an unusual and well-executed punch

delivered by some unexpected, driving

fi ddle up-front. In many ways

this makes for an enjoyable break

from the usual same-old, sameold,

guitar-led release. Whatever one

thinks of the fi ddle as a lead instrument,

it makes for a brave effort

and an open-minded, experimental

attempt to create a singularly identifi

able sound. It helps in many ways,

to be at least a half-hearted fan of

the Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco sound

here, but this is by no means essential.

At times the fretwork is also

fi ne, powerful and bouncy while

harp also features to good effect.

It’s by no means just another folkiefi

ddle sort of feast. Instead there’s

a clear variety of powerful explosive

tracks blended with some laid-back,

slower blues takes that ensure this

twelve-track release of self-penned

cuts never becomes either tiring or

boring. When the fi ddle steps back

and guitar takes over the leads at the

fore, there’s always a nice Chicago

feel clearly ripping and rippling

through, driving the project ahead.

This is a well-constructed release that

deserves more than a few listens. At

times, horns, sax, and B3 all play their

part in the mix, delivering an unusual

and genuinely interesting touch and

blues feel to an album worth catching.

Well worth giving a go, this is a

bit of a delight in so many ways.

Iain Patience

Geoff Carne And The Hatz

4 Play

mex one recordings.co.uk

For a duo, there is a lot of noise

going on throughout this four-track

EP. Geoff Carne is not at all shy

about namechecking his vocal infl u-

ences, specifi cally Paul Rogers and

David Coverdale, and he brings a

hybrid sound to his own songs that

has a particularly British rock-blues

feel about it. Guitar-and-drums duos

became fashionable when The White

Stripes arrived, and the baton has

been passed with vast variety in terms

of sounds, styles, and songs, ever

since, and Geoff Carne And The Hatz

are different enough to carve their

own niche. This is music for people

who like their blues rock straight down

the middle, with no excess frills and

fripperies. Best track of the four is

Medicine Man which provides the

strongest melody, the best vocal, and

the clearest indication that Mick Hatz

is an excellent drummer who believes

in playing for the song. The last track,

Forgiven, nods seriously towards a

Mick Jagger blues ballad vocal style

– think of Angie, and you’re in the right

area. The song is fl eshed out with

bass and piano from producer Paul

Mex. Like all really well-crafted blues,

these songs sound deceptively easy

in terms of their composition and

playing style. But musicians know

that the ‘simple’ sound is deceptively

hard to pull off convincingly, and

Geoff Carne And The Hatz, manage

it on every song on this enjoyable

EP. If it’s a taster to introduce new

fans to their music and keep existing

fans happy until the next full-length

studio album, then it’s doing its job

just fi ne. A band to watch in 2018.

Andy Hughes

Marshall Lawrence

Feeling Fine

Independent

With ten original tracks there can be

no argument that Marshall Lawrence

leaves you Feeling Fine on his fi fth

album. Across the album Marshall

distils the inherent energy of blues

that has been mixed and shaken with

the infl uences experienced over the

years. He has taken the Delta and

swirled in rock and punk that fl owed

across the airways through 70s and

80s. The infl uence gives the sound a

sting, but blues integrity is never lost.

Opening with the title track grungy

tonal blues are captured in the opening

seconds with distorted beats. Your

ears are hooked as Marshall picks up

the vocals with a layer of compelling

energy. The tone changes and we pick

up the dancing rock n roll vibe with



Ida Mae and What I Am Doing Here.

The party with Lawrence is smoking.

Into the mix add electric blues

via Blues Still Got Me that seamlessly

morphs into delta electric with tinges

of hill country as we as Going Down to

Memphis with Lawrence. The Blues

is fast and slow, the music ebbs and

fl ows as the album closes out with

Dirty Dishes. The fi nal track is upbeat

and leaves you with all the tones and

shapes of Lawrence whirling around

your ears that have been immersed

in Marshall Blues. Marshall Lawrence

is part of the growing phalanx of

Canadians that are producing Blues

you want to hear and Feeling Fine is a

welcomed addition to any collection.

Liz Aiken

Mick Clarke

Bent Frets

Rockfold Records

I’ve been a fan of Mick Clarke for

many years, ever since his time in

bands like Killing Floor and SALT. He’s

an authentic UK blues guitarist who

has certainly paid his dues. In more

recent times he has been putting out

albums that he basically records in his

home studio playing virtually everything

himself. This is the latest one

and this quote from the sleeve notes

sets the tone better than anything I

could pen. ‘’The Bent Frets of the title

are on my Squire Stratocaster which

I’ve been playing slide on since the

80s. On this album I decided to try it

as a regular tuned guitar for normal

type lead guitar and put a set of

regular strings on. What makes this

guitar unusual is that as I’ve been

playing slide on it for all these years,

the frets are completely mangled.

The metal slide has worn a groove

in the side of the neck and battered

the frets into hairpins. So, bending a

note is challenging. No smooth ascent,

more of a kind of d-d-d-d-bbrring!!

Notes actually disappear and reappear

of their own volition or change

pitch without warning. It’s very interesting.’’

It certainly is! The thirteen

tracks here include covers of Charley

Patton, Robert Johnson, Pearly Brown

and Tarheel Slim but this is no oldfashioned

tribute to old bluesmen but

a down and dirty raucous celebration

of raw blues. The album kicks off with

rocking instrumental Daddy-O leading

into the Patton cover, Spoonful

Blues, and the Tarheel one Number

Nine Train that has a high energy

rockabilly vibe going on. The Brown

cover is the gospel tinged Mean Old

World that works brilliantly with the

burning Strat on board. La Mauvaise

Herbe, is another instrumental that

leads nicely into the Johnson cover,

Kitchen. By no means an exact cover

you understand but brilliant nonthe-less.

Mountain Road is slightly

funky track that builds great imagery

as does Still Be Mine. Hat Rack is

another instrumental and closing

track Leaning To The View, a kind of

Burnside-esq Hill Country Blues. All

in all, another cracking Mick Clarke

album that long-time fans will love.

Steve Yourglivch

Mud Morganfield

They Call Me Mud

Severn Records

Muddy Waters, one of

the four pillars of the

blues, left us a lot.

Thankfully, he also left

us a son, and here he is, every bit as

large as life as his father. In fact, even

if you didn’t know his name, you’d

think ‘Muddy’ as soon as you hear this

powerful voice. Mud Morganfi eld has

already made three excellent CDs and

paid tribute to his Dad. This new CD

features 12 songs, ten of which Mud

has written, and the remaining two

written by Muddy senior. His reading

of Howlin’ Wolf is superb. Mud is

undoubtedly an authentic bluesman,

but he also has a vocal versatility

which takes him into other areas, a

couple of relaxing ballads, for example.

Mud’s daughter, Lashunda Williams,

joins her father on the beautiful duet,

Who Loves You. There are fi ne

musicians here, too, in particular

harmonica man Studebaker John, and

another great harp player, Billy Branch

on the jazzy Mud’s Groove. Mud

himself is also a fi ne bass player.

There’s something for everyone here,

and especially good old Chicago blues

stompers such as Walking Cane and

Rough Around the Edges. It is always

a challenge living in the slipstream of

a famous father, but Mud Morganfi eld

fl ies high above it and delivers a

mighty catalogue of original work

Muddy would be proud of. Let’s see

him over in the UK soon - that would

be something to relish.

Roy Bainton

Peter Karp

Blue Flame

Rose Cottage Records

The CD Blue Flame opens with

Rolling On A Log, one of thirteen

tracks all penned by Peter Karp,

who was born in the tiny hamlet

of Leonia, New Jersey, just over

the Hudson River from New York

City. According to his biography,

‘Peter Karp is a storyteller who also

happens to be an assertive singer,

an insightful songwriter, a spellbinding

performer and a searing slide


BLUESMATTERS.COM


guitarist’ and the fi rst track, with

its soulful overtones does nothing

to contradict the above. The

second track, Train O’Mine continues

in an upbeat harmonica driven

groove. Track three, Your Prettiness,

kicks off in a Louisiana style, with

a great combination of piano, organ

and distorted guitar, followed by

some great harmonica playing from

Denis Gruenling. Valentine’s Day is

a slower blues shuffl e, which again

sees Peter telling a story against a

great musical backdrop. Treat Me

Right is a more Texas-style-blues

song, which further helps to show

Peter’s versatility. The pace slows

right down on the track Turning

Point, which features Peter on

acoustic guitar and the unmistakeable

sound of a Mick Taylor guitar

break. The pace picks up again with

the early-Dylan-esque song, Loose

Ends, which fairly scoots along

and is embellished with some fun

mandolin playing from John Zarra,

and more-meaty, harmonica playing.

(Is this the fi rst time I’ve heard

the word “exponential” on a blues

CD?) The Arson’s Match returns to a

more traditional electric blues format,

but not so the words, which show

Peter’s skill as not only a talented

bluesman, but also a gifted wordsmith.

From Where I Stand further

shows Peter’s versatility in a country

style song, which has some very

nice mandolin and accordion interplay.

In complete contrast You Know

is a late-night blues ballad. The

Nietzsche Lounge has a great rock

‘n roll feel to it. (Is this the Only

blues song with a German philosopher

in its title?) Round and Around

is another Dylan inspired ballad and

the fi nal track sees Peter return

to his resonator. The whole CD

is proof of Peter’s versatility as a

talented storytelling blues musician.

Steve Banks

Ray Austin And Friends

A Piece Of Heaven

Wonderland Records

The 75-year-old Yorkshireman emigrated

to the Black Forest in Germany

in 1970, founding a local folk and

blues club and starting a career as

a musician whilst also working as a

radio and TV presenter. Singer and

songwriter Austin plays guitar, harp

and trumpet with a vast array of

friends and their instruments, including

mandolin, fi ddle, dobro, keyboards

and accordion. The opener, Ain’t No

Game is a jaunty country and western

meets bluegrass ditty followed

by the equally pleasant and catchy

title track. The name of the third

track, Just The Blues, intimates

something here for the blues afi cionado

but again it sounds pure country

as does the ballad, Carrickfergus.

Streets Of London confi rms that the

album is mainly a tribute to the likes

of Ralph McTell, John Prine and Bert

Jansch, plus a handful of Ray’s original

songs. Niels Kaiser plays a mean

pedal steel guitar on Sam Stone and

the keyboards on Needle Of Death

are beautifully atmospheric. Cocaine

Blues has a jazzy fl avour and showcases

Austin’s many talents and The

Last Thing On My Mind, is a folksy

interpretation of the classic song. The

spirited fi nale, Applause For Santa

Claus, has sumptuous harmonies

from the female vocalists. A piece

of heaven might be an over statement

but this is a fi ne album from a

group of competent musicians, but

BM readers would not thank me for

recommending this as a blues album

they might want for their collections.

The Bishop

The Blues Bones

Chasing Shadows

Naked Label

The Blues Bones are a talented

Belgian Blues outfi t. They have

many accolades already since forming

in 2011. The most recent merit

was being runner up in the European

Blues Challenge 2017. This is a follow

up to the wonderful live album they

did in 2016 and is billed as more a

concept album. They certainly are a

force to be reckoned with in the niche

of blues rock and have shared stages

with likes of Jimmy Thackery and

King King. They comprise of, Nico De

Cock on driving vocals, Stef Paglia

on guitar, Edwin Risbourg on resonating

Hammond organ, Geert Boeckx

on bass guitar and on drums Koen

Mertens. Eleven tracks all written

by the band this is an all-encompassing

tribute to all genres of blues

on a refreshing solid release. The

opener, Find My Way Out comes at

the listener like a thunderbolt with

heavy organ tones blending with

rocky vocals, a prelude to what is

to come. Going Down has a mellow

haunting ethereal feel with seething

vocals and catchy riffs. Demon

Blues continues the theme but with a

swagger and poise. A Better Life has

a pure rhythm and blues feel. Love

Me Or Leave Me, is a surprise full of

Latin American infl uence very laid

back stylish vocals. Enjoyed the retro



psychedelic beat to Psycho Mind, very

pacey. Betrayal slows thing again,

pure slow blues with aching lyrics.

Seesaw Blues is rocking blues very

upbeat and catchy. The End is the

fi nal song and is sublime exhibiting the

band’s big sound. This is a wonderful

release full of different layers every

time you listen to it. The intricacies

in musicianship show a class act at

the top of their game, phenomenal.

Colin Campbell

Heather Newman

Burn Me Alive

VizzTone

A new year brings a new batch of CDs

to listen to, enjoy and review. What

better way to start than with the

debut album from Omaha Nebraska’s

Heather Newman. Clutching her

beloved bass this lass drives her

fellow musicians Keith Ladd guitar,

Cole Dillingham drums, and Ryan

Flemmer keys, on a journey which

mixes a smorgasbord of classic Blues,

Rock with just a touch of smoky

Jazz topping things off. This Heather

puts me in mind a little of her partial

namesake and fellow bassist Heather

Crosse and also Kansas City resident

guitarist Samantha Fish. All these

lassies display such confi dence and

deep love for music that they certainly

command our respect. So, twelve

rootsy, emotionally resonant tracks, all

self-penned, display fi ne song-writing

craft. The old adage of putting down

on paper what you have experienced

in life has certainly worked here for

Heather. For example, I Don’t Know

Why, conveys such heartache that

you are left in no doubt the girl is hurting.

Passions of another type come

blasting through in Howling For Love.

Joining her on guitar on High Mountain

Blues is Nick Schnebelen her former

band boss until stepping out own with

this fi ne release. Low down and most

certainly Dirty Blues has some soulful

tenor sax from Michael Lefever. Really

enjoy Share Your Love with the fi ne

Hammond and solid rhythm before

the album closes with Heather kicking

out of her life a wayward lover in

I’m Through With You. His loss for

sure but our gain and well I’m not

through with Heather as I’ll be rotating

this album on my player for quite

some time to come. Excellent.

Graeme Scott

Carolyn Gaines

Beware Of My Dog

Polka Dot Records

If Wikipedia ever wants to defi ne

what’s meant by sassy singing, it need

do no more than post a voice clip of

Carolyn Gaines. This album is enjoyable

from beginning to end, the eight

originals and three covers all sung

with frit, sass and brio. Ok, it’s a little

cheesy for her to begin the album by

name-checking everyone from Eric

Clapton to Buddy Guy, Eric Gales to

Mick Jagger and more. The thing is

that it’s unnecessary. One listen to

her vocals and you know she belongs

in that company. That aside, this

album is rockin’ blues, sung with attitude.

The band is tight, featuring all

the instruments requisite for highpowered

blues, guitar, sax, bass,

drums, harmonica and organ. The

fun begins with the opening cut, the

title track, Beware Of My Dog, a

bouncy original in which the ferocious

dog sitting on her front porch is

a metaphor for how she guards her

heart (though, at least according to

the lyrics, the dog quite likes her polka

dot panties). From fi rst cut to the

last, this is music with a groove. The

bass sets the pace. And the sax work,

some of it by the great R&B pioneer

Big Jay McNeeley, is hot stuff. Gaines

does admirable work on the covers,

too. Hoochie Coochie Woman, her

version of Willie Dixon’s song Hoochie

Coochie Man, stands up well against

the original recording, laid down

in 1954 by no less a luminary than

Muddy Waters. Same with Something

On Your Mind, which was a No. 1

R&B hit for Bobby Marchan in 1960.

Gaines has a fi ne pedigree. Her father

is Roy Gaines, a guitarist and singer

who has played behind such talents

as Billie Holliday and Diana Ross. And

her uncle is Grady Gaines, who has

played sax behind such stars as Little

Richard and Sam Cooke. But pedigree

will only get you so far. It’s heart and

feeling and talent that makes a master

musician. And make no mistake:

Carolyn Gaines is the real deal.

M.D. Spenser

Guitar Jack Wargo

Keepin’ It Real

Independent

Jack Wargo has a long history in the

music business having spent many

years touring and playing with some of

the greats including; Hank Ballard, Ray

Charles, Screaming Jay Hawkins and

Billy Preston who he played guitar with

at the 2005 Montreaux Jazz Festival

but not withstanding this I found this


BLUESMATTERS.COM


Joe Bonamassa

British Blues Explosion Live DVD

Provogue/Mascot Label Group

On a mild summer night in July 2016, Joe Bonamassa

and his legendary band fi lled with Rock And Roll Hall of

Famers and musical craftsman such as Michael Rhodes

(Bass), Reese Wynans (Keyboards), Anton Fig (Drums)

and Russ Irwin (Rhythm Guitar & Backing Vocals) took

to the stage at The Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich,

London, for a ‘controlled explosion’ of the blues variety

to pay homage to guitarists Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck

and Jimmy Page. Before the start of the performance

we are treated to a British Blues introduction by none

other than Paul Jones who not only lived through the

British Blues Explosion but has also been championing

the genre for many years. Opening with Beck’s haunting

Beck’s Bolero and Rice Pudding and the DVD capturing

the rhythm section in full swing it was clear that Joe was

going to give the crowd what they wanted. I remember

when I saw Jeff Beck at The Royal Albert Hall with Dave

Gilmour aboard, and although he would rather be hanging

out with a carburettor, he creates such fl uid tones on

his guitar hence why he can pack grand venues across

the globe and deservedly so.

Then boom, we are hit with Clapton’s Mainline Florida

as Joe plays a passionate solo on his Les Paul Goldtop.

It would’ve been interesting to hear a couple of Cream

numbers as that material is so strong, with Pete Brown’s

lyrics, the late great Jack Bruce’s bass, Ginger Baker’s

drums and Clapton’s solid guitar work but I imagine

that the evening would become something else entirely.

Beck’s Spanish Boots is one that will be familiar with

Bonamassa fans having been an inclusion on the fi rst

night of the 2013 Tour De Force at The Borderline, London,

and the atmospheric Double Crossing Time makes me

think of a saloon bar with the light piano. The interplay

between Bonamassa’s Fender Telecaster and Wynans’s

keyboard on Can’t Quit You Baby whilst watching the

sunset was a sight and sound to behold. Throwing in

John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Little Girl (which was originally

recorded in 1966 with Eric Clapton) is a track that is

handled well vocally and a sensible addition for the evening.

Eric Clapton’s wah-wah pedal number Pretending

was next on the list for Bona-fi de treatment and whilst the

band kept the groove going it seemed somewhat unmemorable

compared to the Indian-toned Black Winter/Django

that swirled around the guitar like a majestic bird in fl ight.

Closing the evening with Led Zeppelin’s or Howlin’

Wolf’s How Many More Times, I’m left feeling that I’ve

seen a performance by some of the best musicians in

the world and it was a respectful tribute to the artists

that helped shape the Joe Bonamassa sound. However,

playing devil’s advocate I can’t help but feel that with

previous homage releases such as Muddy Wolf At Red

Rocks (Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters) and Live At The

Greek Theatre (Freddie King, Albert King and BB King)

already being freely available did we really need another

homage show? Especially since Bonamassa has even

stronger material in his own right as proved when he

opened his March 2018 UK shows with no less than four

brand new unreleased songs from a new solo album.

In addition to the concert on the DVD you can also

watch a special bonus performance fi lmed in black and

white at the world-famous Cavern Club in Liverpool,

which sees Bonamassa playing The Beatles’ Taxman.

This will make the release a must for collectors I imagine.

Glenn Sargeant

CD very fresh and original, there is

some real quality guitar driven soulful

blues music that is played and

sung impeccably, you have to ask

where has he been all these years!

Eleven of the twelve tracks are new

original songs and Jack must have

locked himself away recently to write

these, they are an excellent collection

and blend well together, the

highlight is the lengthy Power Of Love

which is augmented with some additional

guest vocalists who bring out

the soulful sound, while Jack plays

several short sharp melodic lead guitar

solos. The one cover is a version of

a traditional song Goin’ Down The

Road Feeling Bad, it sounded familiar

so I did a little research and the

song was recorded by Woody Guthrie

and likely plagiarised by Canned

Heat a while later, either way Jack’s

version stands up well and is an excellent

choice as it has some added

bite to the other versions, while Jack

handles the majority of vocals he is

joined by AD Beal on several tracks

who does have a softer tone to his

voice, which is more suited to the

more soulful tracks. Overall this is a



very enjoyable soulful blues album,

Jack has demonstrated that he has

plenty of talent and should be considered

as a complete Blues performer,

not only is he a silky, smooth guitar

player he writes some excellent

songs whose lyrical content draws

on everyday events and topics, he is

certainly keeping his blues relevant.

Adrian Blacklee

Mike Ross

Jenny’s Place

mikerossmusic.co.uk

Background information about this

record is rather light, it does advise

that Mike Ross is from the north

east of England, and has travelled

extensively in the US, gathering the

infl uences and techniques that have

helped to create the album. It would

be good to know the names behind

the construction of such excellent

songs as Dakota Red which boasts

a wonderfully echoed soundscape

of fuzzy guitars soloing over solid

backing and carrying Ross’s characteristically

impassioned vocal imprint.

The feel of the song should grace a

movie soundtrack, perhaps if they ever

get around to re-making From Dusk

‘Til Dawn, the music people will come

looking here for a perfect fi t. There is

more scorching guitar on Coffee Can

Telephone and a wonderfully expressive

vocal on Baby I Love You – it

would be wonderful to think that the

guitar work is the responsibility of

Mr Ross, that would make him the

complete package as a blues musician.

The album’s identity is confi rmed

with Harpo, a driving fuzzy slide guitar

piece, and underlined with the real

standout track – Dark Powder. It’s the

favourite of Mr Ross who confi rms

that it references his personal tribulations.

Anyone who can work the

word ‘proclivities’ into a song obviously

knows what lyrical expertise, is

all about. But it is the musical backing

to the deeply personal vocal delivery

that makes the song what it is, a

masterclass in minor blues composition,

arrangement and execution. The

gently insistent piano chords and soft

organ underlining, the proper gospel

ingredients that have informed blues

music for decades, make a bed for the

emotive and burning guitar solo to lie

on. It’s easy to get jaded and complacent

when you listen to excellent blues

music on a daily basis, but this song

really is a standout piece of work, its

passion and feeling only grow with

repeated listening and if Mike Ross

never wrote another song, he could

be satisfi ed with the legacy of this

one. As a bonus, the album includes

six live tracks as well, the version

of Ran Thru Here should point new

listeners to Mike’s debut album

Spindrift. Among the increasingly

large number of excellent British

blue musicians currently producing

and playing wonderful music, Mike

Ross is clearly a cut above, a genuinely

superior exponent of the form.

Andy Hughes

The Nut Jumpers

Boogie In The Shack

Rhythm Bomb

The Nut Jumpers is a new band

made up of three experienced French

rock and rollers: Jake Calypso is on

bass, occasional harp and handles

most of the vocals; Helen Shadow

is on guitar and vocals and Ricky

Lee Brown is on drums. The material

is all original with all three contributing

to an album of rock and roll with

a very lo-fi approach. The material is

relentlessly upbeat and although there

are 13 tracks the total running time is

just 31 minutes, symptomatic of the

‘quick and dirty’ approach employed.

Neither Jake or Helen are the strongest

vocalists: Helen’s Catholic Boy

works reasonably well but Love Truck

is defi nitely hard to understand. More

successful is No Good, No Good,

which has some nice, insistent guitar

and drums and Helen’s Keep A Little

Place, recalls the sort of songs that

Helen Shapiro recorded early in her

career. The instrumental title Pandit

acts as a mid-album intermission with

its steady beat and Spaghetti Westernmeets-Bolero

guitar. The band takes a

departure on Gonna Stand My Ground,

a short fi eld holler style piece with

the two vocalists harmonising over

some trash-can drums but mainly

sticks to frantic rockers like the closing

Nut Jump with punk-style vocals

and the title track which adds some

harp to the mix to good effect. Not

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an album for the faint-hearted, this

one is likely to appeal to those who

like their music stripped back to the

bare bones and played with fervour.

John Mitchell

Robbert Fossen Band

Get Off On It!

Independent

The Robbert Fossen Band have been

around in one form or another for a

little over ten years, growing and

changing as the capability of the band

changes. At the moment, at their core,

they are a six-piece outfi t with Fossen

on vocals, guitar and harmonica,

Lother Wijnvoord on lead guitar, Pascal

Lanslots on Hammond, Ivan Schilder

playing piano & Wurlitzer, Jan Markus

bass and Eduard Nijenhuis on drums.

All told, a fairly classic Chicago Blues

set up and that is what they have been

making a living at around Holland,

Belgium & Germany for years. With

this set though, they are straying into

other territories with touches of New

Orleans boogie, a strong soul bent,

especially with Fossen’s vocals really

carrying an R&B touch to it on Freddie

King’s Woman Across The River, and

the addition of horns and some great

backing vocals from Cosmina Panka,

Ramona Nalom & Tamara Spithorst.

It’s easy to see why they have been

winning awards for years as the quality

of playing is excellent and where

you might expect them to be weak

in the vocals, many European bands

fail trying to be American, Fossen

has stuck to comfortable phrasing

and allowed his voice to work with

the songs. Pascal Lanslots Hammond

playing on numbers such as Tony Joe

White’s Did Somebody Make A Fool

Out Of You, is really stirring and deep

but they also do pretty damn well on

the material they have written themselves.

They do a stirring version of

Eric Bibb’s Don’t You Ever Let Nobody

Drag Your Spirit Down but swing

straight into Fossen’s own All Those

Evil Words, without a drop, in quality.

Not a band I’ve seen live but from

the sounds of this they are tight and

solid, very much a band, and one of

those European bands who could

happily exist either side of the Atlantic.

Andy Snipper

British

Tinnitus

Association

Freephone helpline

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Showtime

Scarborough Top Secret Blues Festival

Scarborough Spa

16–18 March 2018

A

nother sell-out weekend

for the popular Top

Secret Blues Festival.

The weather may have been

stormy, but the music was fun

and a packed house was entertained

by a mixed variety of

music genres. During the opening

speech, organiser Mark Horsley

made the point it was not all

blues and therefore a bit of hush

was needed at times. Friday: fi rst

act on the Ocean Room Stage

unexpectantly turned out to be

a trio fronted by ex-Slade lead

singer and Frankie Miller’s Full

House singer, Steve Whalley, playing

blistering acoustic guitar

licks. Unhindered by the fi rst

spot, this trio blasted through

mainly acoustic-led songs such

as the old Mose Allison song

and Mercy, a particular favourite.

The cover of Chuck Berry’s, 30

Days, a bluegrass version, was a

real toe-tapper. Downstairs to the

Promenade Lounge to see Chris

James next, a quieter contemplative

crowd here. More delta blues

mixed with a bit of old-time religious

tunes, his stripped-down

version of Irene Goodnight hit

the spot. Upstairs to the Ocean

Room for Elles Bailey and the

band. She made an immediate

impression and had the audience


BLUESMATTERS.COM

Reviews | Festivals

Matt & Dusty – Catfish

Kyla Brox

clapping almost from the off.

Though hung up about her forthcoming

thirtieth birthday, this

did not stop a classic rendition of

her popular Wildfire tune full of

menacing guitar and underpinning

sultry vocals. Chris James,

again, with another first-class

acoustic masterclass, including

Jesus on the Mainline, prompting

community singing. James closed

the set with Dust My Broom.

Headliners, the Climax Blues

Band, are celebrating fifty years

together. A slick outfit mixing

funk, blues and jazz fusion. There

were swing moods on the new

tune, Hard Luck, a real toe-tapper

with some heavy vibes to this.

Encore was deserved, band introductions

and solo spots on the

number Towards the Sun, a stylish

and entertaining set. Saturday:

main stage, first act was a young

band from Leeds featuring singer

Jen Low and a three-piece backing

band comprising guitar, double

bass and drummer. They played a

mix of slow blues. Lead singer Jen

has a powerful yet melodic voice

and superb vocal range. You Told

Me A Lie, being a case in point.

Big Mama Thornton would have

been proud of the band’s interpretation

of My Man. Cool start

to the day, a slick sound, sort of

lounge-lizard feel. Downstairs

to see acoustic guitarist Stoney

Broke a.k.a. Dumfries-based, Jake

Scott, sometimes a bit loud but

as the set went on this improved.

The Mighty Bosscats featured

next on main stage with an electric

set full of infectious drum

beats and classy guitar work and

the wonderful frontman, Richard

Townend, on form. A tight band

played thoughtful melodic tunes

from their backlog We’re on The

Wrong Road had good harmonies.

New song, Everyman, has

a catchy riff, and a full attentive

audience. Finishing with

the guitar shuffle, Devil Inside,

this was very good. Johnny

Dickinson was the surprise guest

in the Promenade Lounge with a

wonderful acoustic set. Perennial

favourites, The Stumble stormed

the main stage with a set so clinically

awesome, it was impossible

not to get caught in the band’s

enthusiasm. It’s all about timing,

and this band is still hot. Time

for tea and to accompany some

decent chili was the hot tones of

Backwater Roll Blues Band. On

blistering harmonica and vocals

was Miff Smith. There were

rumours they were going to do

the All-Star Jam later at night. Bit

noisy around the Food Bar, but

not too distracting when a band

is playing pure Chicago blues at

full-tilt. Next on the main stage,

Midnite Johnny, kept a good


Reviews | Festivals

vibe, even entwining Michael

Jackson’s Billy Jean riff on one

of his numbers. He played more

Chicago blues standards like It

Hurts Me Too and Shake Your

Money Maker pleasing the crowd

with some heavy slide licks. More

Richard Townend followed, this

time an acoustic selection with

his Mighty Bosscats. Pride was

a stand-out song in a laid-back

setting. Three, lead acoustic

guitars worked well, with even

bluegrass on My Baby Left Me.

Kyla Brox on main stage next and

another highlight performance,

she even played some flute, what

a talent she is. Strong vocals on

new song In The Morning, sharp

timing, twangy guitar and sassy

lyrics leading to a rendition of

Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah – a

standing ovation being the order

of the day. Dale Storr was next in

the Prom Lounge, one-man piano

player extraordinaire with a New

Orleans songbook. James Booker

was an influence on him and

his cover of Sunny Side Of The

Street was a real tonic. Due to the

hazardous weather conditions the

All-Star Jam had to be curtailed.

Nevertheless, those who

remained were well entertained.

Sunday, main stage opened

with American singer Bronwynne

Brent heading a three-piece band,

with a falsetto voice, moving

between upbeat jazz on Lost

In The Moonlight, and Delta

Blues. The Spikedrivers were

next on main stage. Their blend

of music was sharp and punchy

and for a trio some full noise to

enjoy, exciting and innovative,

all sharing vocals and instruments,

including washboard, with

Ben Tyzack on guitar and vocals,

Constance Redgrave on bass

guitar and vocals, and Maurice

McElroy on drums. Downstairs

next for more acoustic with Mat

Walklate and Paulo Fuschi. Some

great interplay between this duo,

Mat’s harmonica blending with

Paulo’s guitar on Long As I Have

You being a favourite. A midafternoon

delight. Dave Migden

And The Twisted Roots brought

their brand of dark rootsy music

to the main stage. Downstairs

again for the guitar virtuoso

Guy Tortura this time with Ben

Tyzack, full of rootsy slide guitar

work and even some Gospel in

the mix on That’s No Way to

Get Along. Add ragtime and

audience participation again, all

good fun. The Main stage was

the place for the final two heavyweight

acts. Catfish are a UK

blues band par excellence, simple

as that. They are up for a few

awards in the UK Blues Awards

this year and Matt Long, lead

guitarist and vocalist, is phenomenal.

Add Paul Long, a wonderful

organist, Dusty Bones on bass

and on drums Kevin Yates. The

headline act, Thorbjorn Risenger

and The Black Tornado, a rhythm

and blues band from Denmark,

alas minus a bass player who

was hospitalised earlier in the

day. Nevertheless, they put on a

scintillating show full of dance

movements, funky beats and a

horn section that was wonderful,

especially on new track Sin

City. A big band sound that kept

delivering fine music. I Used

To Love You was a highlight,

some growling deep vocals suiting

the style. China Gate had a

haunting feel to it, stage lighting

particularly effective. Boogiewoogie

piano encore of I Got

A Woman was a great jamming

session. Great showmanship by

a quality band sent the audience

home with a smile on their faces.

The end to another successful

Top Secret Blues Festival, a very

heady mixture of musical genres.

Atmosphere was altogether bright,

here’s to next year and continued

success. The Festival is run

by volunteers and gets no public

funding or grants, but keep

that Top Secret, a great effort!

Colin Campbell

Terri’Thouars

Blues Festival

Thouars, France

20–25 March 2018

A

lways an interesting,

enjoyable affair,

Terri’Thouars Blues

Festival is probably the first true

festival of the year and marks the

beginning of the French blues

music season. With its usual mix

of US, French and European

artists, it invariably produces

both surprises and a variety of

musical influences and styles.

This year, the USA was well

represented with Chicago

guitarist Tom Holland working

alongside fellow townsman, Omar

Coleman on harp and vocals, and

playing that reflected the years

spent working the northern US

blues-capital scene. Keith Johnson

originates in Mississippi and

turned in a set that had hints of

Delta slide with a modern,

unfussy take and style that also

held echoes of the Chicago and

New York blues scene. Austin

Walkin’ Cane delivered an

interesting, albeit variable, set

featuring his rich, strong vocals

and at times, a rather weaker

resonator-guitar slide-delivery.

The festival closed with Alabama


BLUESMATTERS.COM

Reviews | Festivals

Dik Banovich

picker, Dan Russell, aka One

Hand Dan, a handicapped

guitarist who favours mostly

cigar-box style, open-tuned

guitars and plays with vigour and

evident pleasure in a loosely

North Mississippi Hill sort of

style. From France, Big Matth

Band were a more rock-based

outfit with a Rockabilly feel,

while local picker, Cyril Maguy

worked with his current Bluegrass

band, Bluesoul Family Bluegrass,

a particularly surprising addition

to an otherwise solid blues

festival billing. Maguy usually

plays with his own band, Vicious

Steel, a band with its feet firmly

in the Deep South. US picker

Nathan James produced a

top-dollar set as part of a trio

featuring Spanish harp-master,

Victor Puertas and resonator

picking, Argentinian, Chino Slide,

now also based in Barcelona with

Puertas. Many of the visiting crew

benefitted from the drum and

bass work of two of France’s most

in-demand blues sidemen, Denis

Agenet, drums, and Abdel Be Bop,

a guy who can handle an upright

bass like very few others, and who

always delivers more than just a

touch of genius to his sets.

Scotland was also represented

with acoustic picker, Dik

Banovich, a guy raised mostly in

Chicago before returning to his

native Scotland and now based in

France’s Brittany region. Banovich

with a new album, Hot Cookin’

Mama, just released, was on fire,

producing probably the best set of

the entire festival with a sparkling,

striking set of acoustic countryblues

classics and modern

Americana, to a clearly delighted

crowd at a local bar. His set

slipped down all too fast, like a

real yummy double Cognac!

Iain Patience


Malaya Blue

Bulls Head, Barnes

13 April 2018

T

he Bulls Head situated

by the river

in Barnes, South

London, has been

an iconic venue for blues and

jazz performers since its inception

in 1959. Malaya Blue and

her chosen line up of Nat

Martin (guitar), Stevie Watts

(keys), Mike Horne (drums) and

Eddie Masters (bass) suit the

intimate atmosphere perfectly.

Kicking off with her signature, ‘I

Have Arrived’, and building the

groove with old favourites ‘Bitter

Moon’ and ‘Bourbon Street’, the

warmth and appreciation from

the audience builds track on

track. This palpable connection

that Malaya regularly cements

with her crowd comes from the

sincerity and raw emotion that

she invests in every single song,

each one drawing you into the

story, painting images in your

mind. This is never more apparent

than on ‘Acceptance’, clearly

from the short introduction and

deep breath Malaya takes before

tackling this opus, an extremely

personal song. It builds from its

whispered opening to a monster

of an ending with Malaya hitting

and holding notes lesser singers

could only dream about. Don’t

think that the show is all about

that voice and song-writing

though, at a Malaya Blue gig the

quality of the musicians on stage

is guaranteed and they are given

plenty of opportunity to display

their chops and show their skills

on tracks like ‘Bluesville UK’,

‘Guilty’, and ‘Lost Girl’ with its

ska influences. Nat and Stevie

grab the limelight with scintillating

solos without ever losing


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Matt Schofield by Liz Aiken

Malaya Blue by John Bull

the songs vibe or the flow of the

performance. Set one concludes

with the fun up tempo ‘Hunny

Little Daydream’ leaving us all

in an upbeat mood through the

short break. ‘(I’ve Reached) The

Corner’ starts the second set, the

single from last year showing how

Malaya’s skill as a writer continues

to blossom and a lovely taster

for album three that we’re told is

progressing nicely. The set builds

the intensity and tempo apace

proving that Malaya certainly is

no one-trick pony. She’s equally

spellbinding on soulful scorchers

like ‘Forgiveness’ and rockers

like ‘Colourblind’ and ‘Share

the Love’. Interspersed with this

is the eight-minute long ‘Hope’,

fast becoming a Malaya Blue classic

with Nat Martins’ guitar solo

adding layers of epic-ness to the

proceedings. Things build to a

rocking out finale with ‘How

Did You Do This’ and the blues

rock burner ‘Heartsick’ leaving

the audience begging for more.

It’s a marker of Malaya’s class

that she can comfortably start

an encore following that with

the sensitively soft ballad ‘Dawn’

without losing the momentum

or one ounce of the audiences’

goodwill, they are glued to every

word. The night closes with

the band blasting out ‘Cold

Hearted Man’ and all too soon

two hours plus of 100% all original

songs reach an end. The

UK Blues circuit is blessed with

some high-level female vocalists,

Malaya Blue proved again

tonight that she’s the equal of

any, and better than most.

Frank Lee.

Matt Scofield

Bristol Jazz & Blues Festival,

The Lantern, Colston Hall

16 March 2018

W

elcome return

to Matt

Schofield as he

plays a rare UK

show as part of the Bristol Jazz

and Blues Festival. Friday was a

night not to be missed for a lover

of the electric blues guitar, as the

Matt Schofield Trio were back in

town for one night only, playing

the blues that filled the Lantern

with pure pleasure. Matt’s guitar

tone was full of clever licks and

power which made his blues

shimmer with an unmistakable

energy. Joining Matt on stage,

the trio is re-formed with Evan

Jenkins on drums and Jonny

Henderson on Hammond. This

combination delivered Schofield

blues favourites with a wizard


Reviews | Gigs

combination of spell-binding

scorching blues. Matt opened

the show with the opening track

to his album, Heads, Tails and

Aces, What I Wanna Know. The

threesome, musicians and friends

played as if they’d never parted

and it was music to my ears. The

music flowed, they were having

fun on stage but not as much

fun and enjoyment as the audience

was having. The collective

communication of a live audience

in harmony with the music flowing

from the stage is very special.

The set was full of tracks from

Siftin’ Through Ashes with top

notch music as Matt cajoles that

great sound out of his custom

Strat-styled guitar – just sensational.

The time fled by, feeling

more like thirty minutes, not an

hour and a half. It was wonderful

to have Matt Schofield

playing on a British stage once

again, as Troublemaker closed

out the evening of electrifying

blues. The message from

everyone in the Lantern: Matt

come back soon – and a new

album would be welcomed

with open ears and delight.

Liz Aiken

Ben Harper &

Charlie Musselwhite

Oran Mor, Glasgow

3 April 2018

I

t’s cold wet and dreary,

so Spring must be on its

way in Scotland; time

to warm-up with some

authentic downtown blues. My

first time visiting this imposing

old Church in Glasgow certainly

won’t be the last. Lovely setting,

acoustics and sound engineering

all excellent, and a pretty-nigh

full-house. Good to see the demographics

of a blues concert erring

on the side of under thirty-yearolds

mostly, a very appreciative

audience indeed. This was a fullon

band, very tight, as if they’d

played for years together. They

comprised Ben Harper on searing

soul-driven vocals and guitar,

alongside the wonderful Charlie

Musselwhite on harmonica and

vocals. Both, in turn, assisted by

Jason Mozersky on lead guitar,

Jesse Ingalls on electric bass and

Jimmy Paxson on percussion. The

set mostly showcased songs from

their new release, No Mercy In

This Land, and others from a large

catalogue, with Ben and Charlie

sharing vocals throughout. When

I Go started things off with a

swampy driving bass, mixing

with crashing drums. Ben’s vocals

were phenomenal and matched

Charlie’s underplaying on harmonica.

Bad Habits rocked along nicely,

an upbeat feel, with distinctive

Chicago Blues chords. Charlie’s

turn to shine on vocals on The

Blues Overtook Me had the crowd

whooping, very clear distinct

harmonica tones throughout the

performance being a hallmark. A

haunting rendition of I Ride at

Dawn from their previous release,

Get Up, mixed slide and sublime

vocals by Ben, a real spine-tingling

treat. Pace quickened on I Don’t

Believe A Word You Say, a grinding

tone, primal, visceral lyrics

and mood lighting. When Love

Is Not Enough stole the show: a

stunning, slow emotional rollercoaster

with Ben’s vocals, dripping

with emotion, holding the crowd

spellbound. The band then rippedup

the rule book with a superb

take on When the Levee Breaks.

This left the crowd wanting more,

which they duly got with five last

songs. These included the title

track from the new release, plus

a closing track, slow and mellow,

showcasing the quality of this

bunch of wonderful musicians. A

real treat. A unique experience

enjoyed by all. A true pleasure.

Colin Campbell

Katie Bradley &

Dave Ferra

Lime Bar, Folkestone

I

t was just like a Friday

night fish fry in down

town Tennessee except

that it was a Thursday,

there was no fish on the menu

and it was in darkest Kent!


BLUESMATTERS.COM

Katie Bradley by John Bull

Instead we had local Blues musicians

in the form of Dave Ferra

on guitar, harp and vocals and

ably supported by our very own

Katie Bradley who I am no longer

able to call “local girl” so, it was

our local Queen of the Blues

on vocals and harp. Suffice it to

say that I didn’t take down a list

of everything that they played

except to say it was all good.

Katie showed she can turn a

hand to some tasty jazz, and her

version of Etta James, “I’d Rather

Go Blind” brought the place to a

respectful silence, (although that

didn’t last). During the number

Katie invited local soul singer

Ben Malcolm Milberry to join

in and the two soaring voices

made the hair on my neck stand.

When I asked Dave if they had

any plans to record, he said it all

depended upon Katie being available.

Judging by the response

from the small crowd, it would

be a popular move. Dave Ferra

will be back with his full band in

April playing at this very popular

gig venue run by music fans Andy

and Kath, who are passionate

about keeping music live. Keep

on promoting gigs of this quality

and we’ll have no problem.

Dave Stone

The Grahams

Lichfield Guildhall

March 3rd

T

he crowd that braved

the worst excesses of

the Beast from the

East were rewarded by a set of

lively Americana, fine harmony

singing, strong song-craft and

rootsy virtuoso guitar playing

when the Grahams made their

Lichfield debut at the Guildhall.

Playing songs from their recent

album, Glory Bound, a story

song cycle about trains and life

on the road. The married couple,

Doug and Alyssa Graham, were

joined by a drummer and bassist

giving the songs more dynamic

drive, whilst the fleet-fingered

guitar solos, and the sonic invention

of the vocals throughout the

set were the selling point for the

couple who met in childhood and

have been inseparable since. The

set list was peppered with tales

of their lives on the road, and

in New York. An environment


Reviews | Gigs

shaped by political decisions,

which also shaped the song-writing,

and their choice of covers.

Throughout the set, they

moved between genres, from

blues, to rock, roots, folk, heartland

rock, all played with hearts

firmly on sleeves. We had the

gospel, singalong chant of Revival

Time, the slow loping gait of

Biscuits, the incendiary country

boogie of Gambling Girl, and

the title track from their latest

release, Glory-Bound. We heard

the folk lament of Blow Winds

Blow, and Kansas City, all twangy

guitar and leading drums.

An elongated encore, Neil

Young’s By the River, was a

showcase for the group’s neartelepathic

musical intuition,

moving through many moods,

showing just why this duo are

held in such high esteem.

Ben Macnair

Brian Kramer’s

International Blues Jam,

Twenty Year Anniversary

Engelen, Stockholm

17 March 2018

U

S-Swede, guitarist

Brian Kramer

celebrated his twentieth

year running

the simply superb International

Blues Jam in Stockholm’s Gamla

Stan (Old Town) bar, Engelen,

on March 17th with a non-stop

ten-hour blues music marathon

that featured many Scandinavian

blues musicians who kicked off

their careers, piloted by Kramer

down the years. This was the

longest running, non-stop Blues

Jam in Scandinavian history,

which featured three segments;

an initial four-hour Blues Jam

focused on local players from

the span of 20 years, and a twohour

all-acoustic Blues Jam was

followed by a concluding fourhour

high-profile Blues Jam.

At the end of the first part of

the event, ‘Big Rob’ Svensson

was awarded ‘Blues Jammer of

The Year’ with a framed certificate

and gift of a Fender Blues

Deluxe amplifier. Over the past

year Big Rob has gone from stepping

on stage for the first time

at BK’s Blues Jam, to now turning

heads, dropping jaws, and

attracting opportunities with his

emotionally charged, fiery fretwork.

This segment concluded

with yet another record breaking

occurrence; World’s Most

Jammers in One Room: more

than a hundred kazoos were

passed around the crowd which,

along with the dozens of musicians

in the room, engaged in

an intense call and response to

Muddy Water’s classic; ‘Got My

Mojo Workin’. By the end of

the event, the Jam hosted about

200 Jammers throughout. Brian

Kramer’s International Blues Jam

started in 1998 in Stockholm’s

Old Town as the only event of its

kind that invited professional and

The Grahams

hobby musicians to gather and

jam together. At the time nothing

like it had been attempted,

let alone succeeded, for over 14

years, since the Stockholm Blues

Society had tried a short-lived

open stage Blues Jam in the late

80’s. Kramer’s Blues Jam quickly

became a strong supporting

source for the Blues community

in Sweden, and the wider

Nordic region, ushering in and

welcoming a new generation of

young people interested in learning

about and cultivating solid

blues experience and understanding.

Artists who have worked

and benefitted from Kramer’s

Jam include Lisa Lystam, Fredrik

Karlsson, Jasmine Kara, Isabella

Lundgren – all have cultivated

their craft at this Blues Jam and

have now gone on to both the

National Swedish and wider international

stage with the skills they

have learned through jamming

with Kramer in Stockholm’s Old

Town. They, along with many

other notable artists, returned for

this mega 20th Anniversary event,

celebrating to a packed house at

bar/club Engelen from start to

finish. Emil Arvidsson and Daniel

Kordelius, two of the first young

successful artists that started with


BLUESMATTERS.COM

Reviews | Gigs

this Blues Jam in 1998 and developed

quickly as festival favorites

on the Swedish national blues

festival scene, reunited for the

first time since 2004 on stage

once again as the ‘Young Guns’

for the event. Another rising

blues star, no stranger to the

Kramer Blues Jam, Erika Baier,

closed out the show, bringing

many of the artists up on stage

together for a huge, over-the-top

finale. An incredible milestone

for the blues scene in Sweden,

probably the longest running

Blues Jam of its kind in Europe,

Brian Kramer’s International

Blues jam, a weekly event, has

earned an international reputation,

and thankfully remains a

Blues institution with no indication

of slowing down anytime

soon. I personally visit whenever

the opportunity arises for this,

easily the finest free – the cost

of a drink only – gig in Europe.

Iain Patience

Ladies of the Blues

Under The Bridge, London

March 2018

M

ostly this

London audience

heard

men playing

tonight BUT – clue in the title

– each of the three acts were of

course fronted by a distinctive

female artist with something to

say and the voice and skill to

deliver it. Variety was guaranteed

by the choice of acts, but

the good vibes rolling off the

stage made it clear that this

was a happy package tour, no

face-offs or one-up-woman-ship

nonsense, just ace songs put

over with panache and punch.

All the acts have current album

releases of high quality material.

The UTB sound quality

would surely do them all justice.

First to take the stage was

our friend Erja Lyytinen and

her propulsive and colourful

group. The stage sound was fully

exploited by Erja whose strong

Ericka B. Kramer Jam


Reviews | Gigs

suit is her use of guitar dynamics,

especially on the slide guitar

features. City of Angels is a fabulous

song and haunting tune,

being a sonic but soulful journey

as she puts her sparkly blue Tele

through its range. Splayed arpeggio’s

chorused chords abound.

The Yamaha Motif piano has

a full Deodato sound, indeed,

we had seen Deodato playing

one a few days earlier at Ronnie

Scott’s! Crisp drumming, fluid

bass and jazz-flecked keyboards

are a superb setting for what Erja

pours out. Incidentally she sings

tonight better than I have ever

heard her, channelling anger,

passion and fire at will. An

ancient blues tune finds Erja slipping

easily and playfully from

one artist’s style to another and

is a joy to listen to. The highlight

perhaps is a truly Zappa-esque

trip through Black Ocean, as a

whirlwind of tones and twists

Erja by Adam Kennedy

is flung out from the stage.

Lyytinen then gives us

a brand-new single called

Without You. A proud vocal

and stealthy rhythm makes

this a winner. She is unstoppable

here this evening and the

group rose to the occasion.

Kyla Brox has a strong presence,

glowingly good looks, a

cool stage presence and a rich,

supple voice. She puts this to

good use on every song, some

of which are co-writes with

bassist/husband Danny. The

cartoon-strip dress complements

a Bonnie Raitt swagger on some

numbers. Bloodshot Sky uses a

snaky tempo to weave its spell.

The insistent, melodic guitar

motifs – often recalling Van

man John Platania – giving each

number a touch of magic dust

but never overpowering the singing.

The icing on the cake was

a couple of mentholated flute

breaks played by Kyla herself.

I do recall seeing dad Victor

Brox many times with Aynsley

Dunbar’s Retaliation and the

pipes have been inherited.

Impressive all round, especially

on 365 Days, If You See Him

with its Nina Simone vibe, Lovin’

Your Love with its cyclic guitar

figures and a spiky Revolution.

Kyla carries herself well.

A veteran and very relaxed

stager, Connie Lush, often exhibits

the devilish dark humour

developed over many years on

the boards. At times her accent

and manner evoke the wouldbe

yellow-coat in Hi De Hi.

Once she is off singing, however,

her sheer authority is upfront,

mixing the tigerish, joyous,

bitter and tender, far better

than many of her contemporaries.

Her band tonight could

hardly frame her songs better, a

fat pumping sound and solo’s

that drove things further. Lush

mixes some classic numbers

with originals and there is never

a dull moment. Love Me Like

A Man has a Texas sway, Shine

A Light On Me is a good song.

Every word is clear and fizzing

with meaning. If only Bobby

Bland was still around to stroll

on and duet… man, he surely

would! Terry Harris is an assured

bassist, Roy Martin a masterful

drummer and the sparks fly

from Steve Wright’s fluid guitar.

Encore time brings the three

women all together for an

acapella gospel tune, then band

members return for a rousing

Rolling Stones jukebox hit...and

it’s emphatically NOT Stupid

Girl or Under My Thumb! great

entertainment from three

splendid ensembles.

Pete Sargeant


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23rd July - 29th July

elles bailey | vincent flatts lawless

hot tin roofs | ruzz guitars blues revue

storm warning | blackballed

spike drivers | the achievers

the hard chargers | max & veronica

reverend robert | pistol pete wearn

damon t | innes sibun band

oliver darling & the dirty robbers

lewis creaven | buzzin hornets

troy redfern | worried men

7 days of blues music | 20 bands | hog roast | bbq

ale and cider festival | outside stage

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