128

ALBERT LEE | JIMMY HALL | MALAYA BLUE | LIL ED | STEVE HILL | SNOWY WHITE | DAVID SINCLAIR | CHRIS BEVINGTON
OCT/NOV 2022 ISSUE 128 £5.99
JOANNE SHAW
TAYLOR
IS NOBODY’S FOOL!
ERJA
LYYTINEN
TROY
REDFERN
IS WINGING IT WITH HIS NEW ALBUM
RORY
BLOCK
AIN’T NOBODY WORRIED
PLUS FEATURES, NEW MUSIC,
RECORD REVIEWS AND GIG LISTINGS

shemekia
copeland
done come
too far
“Powerful, ferocious,
clear-eyed and
hopeful...She’s in such
control of her voice
that she can scream at
injustices before she
soothes with loving
hope. It sends shivers
up your spine.”
–Living Blues
with special guests Sonny Landreth & Cedric Burnside
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4 ISSUE 128
BLUESMATTERS.COM

CONTENTS
FEATURES & REGULARS
INTERVIEWS

NEWS...NEWS...NEWS...NEWS...NEWS...NEWS... NEWS...NEWS...NEWS... NEWS...NEWS...
CHRISTONE
KINGFISH INGRAM
SCOOPS JAZZ FM
AWARD NOMINA-
TION AHEAD OF
LIVE UK TOUR
THORBJØRN RISAGER & THE BLACK
REVEAL VIDEO FOR “NAVIGATION BLUES”
Fast becoming an icon of his musical
generation, American Blues guitarist
and singer Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram
blasts onto British shores for his UK
tour this October, tightly clutching
highly coveted Jazz FM award nomination
for ‘Best Blues Artist’ 2022.
Following his sell-out London show earlier
this year, ferocious public demand
will see Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram
to return to the UK stages with a full
headline UK tour this October. The
6-date tour which will see the singer
perform in Sheffield, Birmingham,
Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester and
London.
Since the release of Kingfish, his
Grammy-nominated 2019 Alligator
Records debut, guitarist, vocalist
and songwriter Christone “Kingfish”
Ingram has quickly become the defining
blues voice of his generation. From his
hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi
to stages around the world, the now
22-year-old has already headlined two
national tours and performed with
friends including Vampire Weekend,
Jason Isbell and Buddy Guy (with whom
he appeared on Austin City Limits). He
was interviewed by Sir Elton John on
his Apple Music podcast, Rocket Hour,
and released a duet with Bootsy Collins.
In January 2021, Ingram was simultaneously
on the covers of both Guitar
World and DownBeat magazines, and
graced the cover of Living Blues in late
2020. Rolling Stone declared, “Kingfish
is one of the most exciting young
guitarists in years, with a sound that
encompasses B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix
and Prince.”
Denmark’s premier roots-rockers Thorbjørn
Risager & The Black Tornado have
released an official music video for “Navigation
Blues,” the title track off their new
album, out September 30th via Provogue
/ Mascot Label Group. A sepia-tinged
pre-war blues stomp that sees Risager
yearn, “Truckloads of darkness here, and
my matches are soaking wet…will this
black night ever end,” the song spins an
ominous tale of being lost in an abyss, with
no direction home. “Sometimes your GPS
is just not working and your maps are torn
apart and you don’t know what to do or
where to go,” Thorbjørn reflects.
Over the past twenty years, Thorbjørn
Risager & The Black Tornado has blazed a
trail across Scandinavia, Europe, Canada,
the US and Asia. They’ve been captivating
crowds with their dynamic stage presence
and a sound that fuses soul, Chicago blues,
boogie and rock ‘n’ roll with a voice where
Ray Charles, Van Morrison and Billy Gibbons
meet in the middle. They’ve brought
dancing shoes to Europe’s largest festival
stages and low-light noir-ish blues to Jazz
clubs around the globe.
The band have already released the lyric
videos for “Fire Inside” and “Watch the
Sun Go Down” from the album.
WATCH
Two decades on the road have given the
band an incredible ability to know what
makes people move – in both feet and
heart. On Navigation Blues, they use this
skill with complete precision, whether it
be the front-porch blues of “The Way You
Make Me Feel” to roof-raising rockers
such as “Fire Inside” or “Headed for the
Stars” to the gentle ache of “Blue Lullaby”
and “Heart Crash.” But their showmanistic
sense of adventure is never far away,
which can be seen on the rock ‘n’ roller
“Hoodoo Lover” or the boogie of “Taking
the Good With the Bad.”
Their prolific travels around the globe
have swept up fans across every corner,
including non-other than Elwood Blues
himself, Dan Aykroyd! Who hailed their
“Hot rhythm and blues”, saying Risager
has “got a great voice, great delivery and
feels the blues. The songs are original, but
sound like they come from a Stax recording
session circa 1965.”
The band are in white-hot form and will be
showcasing their new material across Europe
for the rest of 2022. “Playing live in
front of an audience makes you feel alive.
That’s the best way to describe it, I think.
It’s good to feel alive,” he smiles.
6 ISSUE 128

RECORD ROUND-UP
Legendary Live Blues Albums
The world of blues cannot be defined by one generation, one particular
genre of the blues, country blues, electric blues, blues/rock, it’s all
a bit of a gumbo. However, live blues albums came into prominence
at the beginning of the 60s and defined a part of the blues that was
largely untouched on vinyl, a live recording. Technology was in its
infancy compared to today, but with these first two choices, we see
just how good things were over 60 years ago. Any live album aims to
capture the true nature of the performance, but not all succeed. Live
At The Regal, and Newport 1960 certainly do. These albums are a
catalyst for any aspiring blues musician, whatever your age. This was
the beginning of the golden era of vinyl. Thankfully, it is receiving a
new lease of life.
B.B.KING - LIVE AT THE REGAL
In 1964, after playing the blues for well
over a decade, B.B.King arrived in Chicago
at the legendary Regal Theatre located at
1641 East 79th Street. The blues in America
around this time had been in a slump, that
is until the so-called British Invasion, The
Rolling Stones, to name just one. What they
did virtually overnight, was to turn America
back onto its own heritage. The gig opened
with, Everyday I Have the Blues, a song that
immediately springs to mind when anyone
says the name, B.B.King. With a backing band
of six musicians, King goes on to record one
of the finest live blues albums of all time,
with Eric Clapton, John Mayer, and Carlos
Santana among the musicians heavily influenced.
Even though the album was recorded
in the early 60s, the quality is
as good as anything that you
will hear today, even with
advanced technology. King’s
guitar, Lucille, has never
sounded as sweet as t does
here. How Blue Can You Get is probably the
most covered of all King’s songs, I’ve heard
so many versions, but none of them come
anywhere near this performance. To be in
a small theatre watching this legend of the
blues create a legendary album that is still as
important today as it was back then, would
be worth more than all the gold in the world.
Side 2 commences with, You Upset Me Baby,
another all-time classic blues ballad. It’s not
just the music that you hear playing that
makes this such a standout album, it’s the
feeling that resonates from the vinyl into
your very soul, this is why vinyl records are
selling in such vast numbers again. Greatness
and legend are words that are bandied about
frequently nowadays, but Live At The Regal
deserves such acclaim. Help The Poor concludes
one of the blue’s finest live shows to
ever be recorded. If you want to learn about
the blues, avail yourself of a copy of this on
vinyl. Start your journey here, let this album
be your compass.
MICK FLEETWOOD AND
FRIENDS CELEBRATE PETER
GREEN AND THE EARLY YEARS
OF FLEETWOOD MAC
As well as writing about legendary live blues
albums, I feel it is only fair to mention one
that is far more recent, yet just as important
in many ways. The celebration of Peter
Green and the early years of Fleetwood Mac,
happened a few short months before Peter
Green passed away. A small intimate gig at
the world-famous London
Palladium right before the
pandemic shut everything
down, would capture
performances from some
of the biggest names in
music. This was the brainchild
of Mick Fleetwood,
drummer and life-long
friend of Peter Green. He
called up a few friends and
had a couple of rehearsals
at his home in Hawaii,
invited some more people,
and hey presto, a gig that will last in people’s
memory forever. The house band for the
evening consisted of, Mick Fleetwood, Zack
Starkey, Rick Vito, Johnny Lang, and Andy
Fairweather-Low. What followed was one of
the greatest gigs of modern times, taking us
back to the very first Fleetwood Mac album,
hearing tunes that had been written and
performed by Peter Green, some of which
had never been played in a live environment
before. To hear these songs given a new
lease of life by stellar musicians is a thing
that I shall never forget. And because the gig
has been released on vinyl in a deluxe boxset
along with Blur-Ray DVD, I can relive it
whenever I want to. Having only heard some
of these tunes sporadically over the years,
watching and listening to this momentous
gig, I believe it has breathed new life into
the songs. It would be nigh on impossible to
single out one single performance, that is the
beauty of this box-set package. Being able
to listen to this on vinyl is one of my dearest
enjoyable times. So sit back, drop the vinyl
on the deck and enjoy some of the best blues
ever to make it onto a record.
Stephen Harrison
Julie Harrison
8 ISSUE 128
BLUESMATTERS.COM

'BLACK & BLUES REVISITED'
TOUR DATES 2022
28 OCT - BEWDLEY, St. Georges Hall
(Album Launch Show)
6 NOV - SALTBURN, Balmoral Club
9 NOV - BEDWORTH, Folk Club
11 NOV - ASHWOOD, Woodman Folk Club
12 NOV - MALVERN, St. James Church
15 NOV - SEDGEFIELD, Candlelite Live Music
16 NOV - BANBURY, Folk Club
19 NOV - WILLOUGHBY, Village Hall
20 NOV - TWICKENHAM, Twickfolk
22 NOV - HAMILTON, Quarter Acoustic
23 NOV - DUNFERMLINE, Folk Club
Tickets available from
www.sunjay.tv/tour
“One of the UK's finest young Blues stars.”
– Iain Anderson, BBC Radio Scotland
New album released October 14, 2022 available to pre-order from
www.sunjay.tv

ALBERT CASTIGLIA
WITH BLUES
MATTERS ISSUE 127
FEATURE | RORY GALLAGHER
We featured Albert in the last issue of
Blues Matters and here he is looking
delighted to be holding a copy!
THE MIGHTY
KINGFISH
Here’s Christone Kingfish Ingram with
his copy of Blues Matters 127 featuring
Walter Trout on the cover.
BERNARD ALLISON
& LAURA CARBONE
RORY GALLAGHER’S
DEUCE
50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION BOX SET
Here’s one of our amazing photographer’s,
Laura Carbone, with the one
and only Bernard Allison and his
article in Blues Matters.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rory
Gallagher’s “Deuce” sophomore solo album
from 1971, a deluxe CD boxset will be released
by UMC on Friday September 30th.
The extensive celebratory release digs deep
into the Rory Gallagher Archives and will
include a new mix of the original album, twenty-eight
previously unreleased alternate takes,
a six-song 1972 BBC Radio ‘In Concert’, and
seven Radio Bremen radio session tracks. The
package will contain a 64-page hardback book
with a foreword by Johnny Marr of The Smiths,
unseen images by the late Mick Rock, essays,
and memorabilia from the album recording.
The 2CD and 3LP will be cut down versions
from the deluxe box and there will be a special
D2C 1LP of the “BBC In Concert – Live at The
Paris Theatre, 13 January 1972.”
“There was one day when I was playing along
with the Deuce album which was a complete
turning point for me as a guitar player”
– Johnny Marr
Released in November 1971, just six months
after his eponymous solo debut, Rory Gallagh-

er’s second album, Deuce, was the summation of all that
he’d promised in the wake of Taste’s collapse. Rory wanted
to capture the feeling of a live performance, so he would
look to record immediately after live concerts while keeping
production to a minimum.
He chose Tangerine Studios, a small reggae studio, in
Dalston in East London, due it’s history with legendary
producer Joe Meek. With Gerry McAvoy on bass guitar
and Wilgar Campbell on drums, the album was engineered
by Robin Sylvester and produced by Rory. Deuce features
many Rory highlights, from the blistering Crest Of A Wave
to the Celtic-infused I’m Not Awake Yet.
BLUESMATTERS.COM ISSUE 128
11

YOU & THE STARS
FEATURE | RORY GALLAGHER
The album will be released by UMC
in four different formats including
four-CD box set, three-disc black vinyl,
single disc green vinyl, and digital
download.
The 50th Anniversary Edition includes
the following features:
Martin Bates with Elles Bailey at
Buxton Opera House.
• 2002 Remix and Remaster of
Original Album
• 64-page book with unseen Mick
Rock photos and a foreword by
Johnny Marr
• 42 Previously Unreleased Alternate
Takes – BBC and Radio
Bremen Sessions
• Mastered at Abbey Road Studios
Below: Contact sheet of photos taken by legendary British rock
photographer Mick Rock at Rory’s “Deuce” recording sessions
Martyn Dix with Gerry McAvoy in
Kent in 2019.
Garry wilsdon with Taildragger singing
bold head at ain’t nothin but Soho
London. Garry says:
“I got pulled out the audience and I
thought my head was the prop until he
handed me the mic, great fun.”
DO YOU HAVE
ANY IMAGES OF
YOURSELF WITH A
FAMOUS BLUES
MUSICIAN?
Send them to us and we’ll try to feature
them in the magazine. Tell us your
name, who you are with and where
you were and you might just appear in
these pages!
Send your image and info to:
design@bluesmatters.com

We need YOUR songs!
Album 5 is well on the way and recording starts December 2022.
The Band are working with a number of very well-respected songwriters
and are well on the way to putting an Album together.
If any writers would like to submit a song for possible consideration &
inclusion, we would be delighted - please contact Chris via the Website
and we would love to talk and work with you. The closing date is 30th
November 2022.
Upcoming live shows:
THE STABLES MILTON KEYNES OCT 1
CLEETHORPES BLUES FESTIVAL OCT 23
HARTLEPOOL BLUES FESTIVAL NOV 11
LOOE BLUES FESTIVAL DEC 3
DARLINGTON BLUES CLUB DEC 9
EDINBURGH BLUES CLUB DEC 10
GREAT BRITISH ROCK JAN 13
BLUES FESTIVAL, SKEGNESS
For merch, news and tour tickets, please visit
WWW.CHRISBEVINGTONORGANISATION.COM

THE ILLUSTRATED BLUES OF BRIAN KRAMER
BEHIND THE COUNTER
WITH JOHN CAMPBELL
As I was learning of “all things Blues” as a youngster in New York in
the early 80’s, one of my many jobs I navigated through was a bike
messenger. Always listening to my cassette tapes in a Walkman of
the choice Blues of the day, as I sashayed through traffic, weaving
and bobbing through red lights, taxis, and City busses.
One afternoon a package delivery took me to Greenwich Village and
I stole a moment to pop into my favorite guitar store; Matt Umanov’s
Guitars. I could never dream of affording the sumptuous Gibson’s,
National resonators and such, but the folks behind the counter were
always kind enough to let me try them out. I walked through the door
and saw one of the sales staff, John Campbell sitting behind the counter
with a Gibson guitar in hand.
On the other side of the counter was another man, also with an
acoustic guitar and they were both engaged in an intense jam. It
was early in the week and no one else was in the store at that time,
I slowly walked around, pretending to be engaged with various instruments
hanging, but was close enough to soak it all up. Song after
song, they played off each other with care and great intensity.
I knew John as the nicest guy at the store but wasn’t aware ofhim
as a performer. Lightnin’ Hopkins was the reason I got into the
Blues and I had never heard or saw anybody before who
sounded so close to him.
Every note and phrase from John embodied Lightin’. It
was masterful and effortless and the dude playing
with him was in step with everything he threw
at him. After a few songs Matt appeared from
the back room with a Stratocaster in hand
that apparently was being set up for the
gentleman jammer. As he went over to
inspect it, I took a moment to ask
John who that was that he was
playing so eloquently with.
“Oh, that’s Ronnie Earl. He
plays with the band Room Full
Of Blues. They have a gig in town
tonight and he needed an adjustment
on his guitar”.
I’d never heard of him but I was sure going
to look him up now. I picked up a small bodied
Gibson that I clearly couldn’t afford and started
picking some Delta style Robert Johnson that I was
starting to figure out. When I stopped, I saw that Mr. Earl
was standing close by listening in and said “hey, that’s not
bad kid, keep going with that stuff”.
Every time I would come into Umanov’s Guitars, John would always
be engaging and I would talk to him about Lightnin’ Hopkins,
Frankie Lee Sims & he would demonstrate something for me if
he had a moment; a lick or a turnaround. Soon enough I started
to see him at various Blues festivals in and around NY State and
suddenly it seemed that everyone was talking about him as he got
more and more National recognition. I’d seen him a dozen or so
times live through that whole period, he became a local hero for
me and many on the New York Blues scene, cheering him on as his
star rose.
For someone like me, trying to discover and develop an understanding
of the Blues as a young man, John Campbell was
someone real to look up to. When he passed away suddenly in
1993, it was an unbelievable shock that rippled through the Blues
community and beyond.
More folks should know John Campbell’s name and music and
that is why I created this tribute illustration of a true gentle-man
with his fierce, unforgettable Blues.
14 ISSUE 128
BLUESMATTERS.COM

LAMONT DOZIER
1941 - 2022
With thanks to Mark Ede of BigIAM Agency for this Obituary
NEWS...NEWS...NEWS...
LAURENCE JONES
RELEASES
‘DESTINATION
UNKNOWN’
Blues Matters was, like us all, very sad to
hear of the passing of Motown songwriting
legend Lamont Dozier at the age of 81.
A true song-writing giant, Lamont
joined Motown as a singer, producer and
songwriter in 1962. After a slow start he
talked/tricked the reluctant Supremes
into singing a song rejected by another
group on the label, ‘Where Did Our Love
Go’ which ended up a smash hit. From
that point on there was no looking back,
and it started a run of 10 number ones
for the group. Apart from also providing
classic hits for the likes of Marvin Gaye,
The Temptations, Four Tops and other
Motown greats, Dozier also found time to
have a few successful records of his own,
and in more recent times he worked with
the likes of Black Eyed Peas, Kanye West
and Phil Collins.
Lamont was such a
sincere soul with true
kindness and caring
The final album he ever recorded was the
2018 release, ‘Reimagination’, a project
that saw the coming together of his roles
as both artist and feted songwriter. As
the album title suggests, ‘Reimagination’
revisited just a small percentage of the
dozens of hits Lamont wrote as a part of
Motown’s famous Holland-Dozier-Holland
songwriting team. Songs like ‘Baby
Love’, ‘How Sweet It Is’, ‘Heatwave’, ‘This
Old Heart Of Mine’, ‘You Just Keep Me
Hanging On’ and other classics.
The ‘Re-imagination’ album also featured
cameos from a whole host of music
A-listers, such as Gregory Porter, Todd
Rundgren, Graham Nash, Rumer, Sir Cliff
Richard and more, all of whom were
more than delighted to pay homage to
a songwriter whose songs became the
soundtrack of not just of a certain generation,
but all generations. Songs that
remain widely performed by artists today,
of course.
Blues Matters spoke with the album’s
producer, Fred Mollin, who himself
has worked with many dozens of other
‘household name’ artists. Fred told us:-
‘Lamont Dozier, the Dozier of the famous
Holland/Dozier/Holland writing team, was
my friend, and I had the great honor of
working closely with him, especially on the
last album of his life. HDH’s songs and productions,
along with The Beatles, changed
the face of modern popular music, but also
changed the world.
Motown and the Beatles. Without them, I
don’t know where we would be.
Lamont was such a sincere soul with true
kindness and caring. The stories behind his
songs are amazing, the songs themselves are
timeless, and truly prove that the great songwriters
are to be held in the highest esteem,
for the art and emotion that they can create.
using only 3 to 4 minutes. They are to be
compared to the great writers of books, and
the great directors of film.
Lamont is forever. I lost a great friend, but
the music he made will never be lost, and his
contributions to the world and the good that
it has done, will be living on. That is truly a
monumental legacy and one that few in music
can claim to the degree that Lamont can’.
Blues Matters also spoke to Jo Harman,
a well known name on the UK blues
scene, who had the honour of duetting
with Lamont on the album’s lead single,
an evocative ballad version of the classic
‘Reach Out, I’ll Be There’. Jo told us
‘I was incredibly sad to hear that another
link to our shared cultural history, Lamont
Dozier, has passed on. I was lucky enough
to duet with Lamont a few years ago, albeit
from the opposite sides of the Atlantic, with
a tour planned shortly after the release. The
tour sadly had to be cancelled due to his
ill-health, and for me it really felt like losing a
once-in-a-lifetime experience - to learn, and
to be in the same space as someone who had
moulded and shaped modern musical history,
was an honour and a privilege I’d never
come by ever again. A beautiful man. What a
legend. What a legacy. RIP Lamont’
Blues Matters sends condolences to all
involved, safe in the knowledge that his
music, at least, lives on.
LAURENCE JONES’ brand new
album ‘Destination Unknown’ was
released on September 9th via
Marshall Records.
Taken from the upcoming album the
first track ‘Anywhere With Me’ is the
perfect morsel to whet fans’ appetites,
simultaneously giving long time fans
what they want as well as introducing
the new direction that Laurence Jones
is taking on this, more Rock oriented
record.
THE COMMONERS
RELEASE ‘TOO
MUCH’, THE 2ND
SINGLE FROM
THEIR FORTHCOM-
ING ALBUM
Canadian classic roots and blues rock
band The Commoners release Too
Much, the second single from the
forthcoming album Find A Better Way
on Friday August 26th.
The album is released on CD, limited
edition vinyl and digital by Gypsy Soul
Records on Friday November 4th. The
CD and vinyl editions are available to
pre-order from thecommoners.ca.
Possessing a sound tapped from
the oaken belly of a whiskey barrel,
The Commoners are a four-piece
Roots/Blues Rock band from
Toronto, Canada.

DANI WILDE’S PHENOMENAL BLUES WOMEN
PRISON
BLUES
In May and June, 1939, experienced
Folklorist Herbert Halpert from the Library
of Congress made a visit to the Woman’s
Camp at Parchman Farm, the Mississippi
State Penitentiary. He arrived with a mobile
recording unit in a converted ambulance
that he called his “sound wagon.”
In the Parchman sewing room, he asked African-American
female prisoners if they would
like to sing for him. He told them they could
sing for any length of time and on any topic.
The women’s acapella performances would
eventually be released on an album entitled
‘Jailhouse Blues’ for The Rosetta Label.
Parchman Farm would become known for
its musical alumni, including Son House,
Bukka White and even Elvis’ father Vernon
Presley, who served eight months of a three
year sentence for changing the amount on
a bank cheque. Whilst renowned father and
son musicologists Alan and John Lomax had
spent time recording predominantly male
prisoners at Parchment in 1936 (they also
discovered and recorded Leadbelly at Louisiana
State Penitentiary), Herbert Halpert was
especially interested in capturing the voices
of the women. Halpert’s work was set apart,
because he didn’t just record groups of women
singing old spirituals, he also recorded
solo performances of work songs and lyrics
the women had written themselves about
their life experiences.
The female prisoners at Parchman were separated
onto white and black wards in Camp
13. They were forced to work, primarily
making clothes, mattresses and bedding for
3,000 prison beds. They also canned food,
the produce of the male inmate’s physical labour
in the prison’s plantation fields. Parchman
Farm’s crops produced a huge amount
of revenue for the State of Mississippi which
generated an incentive to imprison more
labourers for the fields. Between 1930 and
1936 in the USA, incarceration rates for
black people rose to become around three
times greater than those for white people.
Parchman Farm Penitentiary was notorious
for its incredibly harsh working and living
standards. It was known as the
most brutal of all the Southern
Prison Plantations. Lomax
expressed to the New York
Post in 1957 that “The state
penitentiary system at Parchman is simply
a cotton plantation using convicts as labour.
The warden is not a penologist, but an
experienced plantation manager. His annual
report to the legislature is not of salvaged
lives; it is a profit and loss statement, with
the accent on profit.” In 1972, a Federal
Judge insisted on reform after declaring that
Parchman Farm violated the Constitution
and was an affront to “modern standards of
decency.”
Of all the women who stepped up to sing for
Halpert, arguably the most remarkable was
Mattie May Thomas, who recorded four solo
songs. She was serving her second and she
sang openly, and with sincere, deep emotion
about her experiences. On 31st May 1939,
in the sewing room of the Mississippi State
Penitentiary, Mattie May Thomas explained
how she would perform “a made up song,
just about being in prison, alone,” and then
with wonderful resonance she began to sing
her story:
“In the empty belly, black man
In the year 19 hundred and 9
I was a little, young hobo,
Empty belly from all up and down the line…”
She then continued to holler using metaphor
and creative imagery to express how despite
growing up in poverty and being locked up
in a hellish prison, she remained strong,
overcoming every hardship:
“Leaping spiders, Lord, they began
to bite my poor heart
But let me tell you baby, they crawled
away and died
I wrestled with the hounds,
black man, hounds of hell, all day
I squeezed them so tight,
until they fade away!”
Perhaps Mattie May’s stand out recording
that day though was a track entitled ‘Dangerous
Blues’, a song she had part-learned in
Nashville but developed adding in her own
ideas:
“You keep on talking ‘bout
the dangerous blues.
If I had a pistol I’d be dangerous too.
Say, you may be a bully, say but I don’t know.
But I fix you so you won’t give me no trouble in
the world I know.”
Her voice is both commanding and chilling,
and her lyrics are captivating. In hearing her
song, you can’t help but question how and
why Mattie May Thomas ended up in the
prison. Was she defending herself having
been bullied or abused by a man? The ma-
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jority of women in American prisons today
have been victims of violence prior to their
incarceration. 79% of women in federal and
state prisons reported past physical abuse
and over 60% reported past sexual abuse.
Was Thomas simply standing up for herself?
Another great voice on the record is that of
prisoner Eva White. Eva White and Mattie
May Thomas each recorded a version of a
song called ‘No Mo’ Freedom’ for Halpert.
I prefer Eva White’s version as her diction
is a little better and so it’s easier to follow
her story. It is quite likely the two women
had heard Ma Rainey’s ‘Chain Gang Blues’
as there is a slight overlap between a few
of the lyrics, however White and Thomas
each branch out, bringing their own prison
experiences to their lyrics.
“When those jurors found me guilty,
that old mean clerk he wrote it down
I could tell by the paper that
I was Parchment Bound”
Although the song is mostly about the
enormous hardship of having her freedom so
wrongly taken from her, I love the strength
of White’s last line as she sings that “Someday
I will go free and I’m going to treat all
you people just how you have treated me!”
Under Jim Crow law, black people were
horrifically discriminated against by a justice
system that could be better referred to as
an ‘injustice system’. As you listen to White’s
vocal performance, you find yourself rooting
for her, that one day she might somehow be
vindicated and able to hold to account the
individuals and the system that failed her.
A total of 13 women featured as soloists
on Halpert’s 1939 prison recording, as well
as some groups. They showcase a range of
sacred and secular, up-tempo spirituals and
blues ballads, all acapella. Many of the songs
directly address the brutality of prison life
and the injustice of being wrongly imprisoned.
Halpert and the Lomax’s were so important
because they gave a voice to the regular folk
who might otherwise have never been heard.
Alan Lomax called this ‘Cultural Equity’,
‘exploring and preserving the world’s expressive
traditions with humanistic commitment
and scientific engagement’.
Whilst male blues artists such as Son House,
Bukka White and Leadbelly forged successful
music careers having got out of prison,
the women Halpert recorded fell into obscurity.
You can find the Women’s recordings
produced by Halpert for The Library of Congress
on you-tube though, or buy a physical
copy of ‘Jailhouse Blues’ which is a copy of
the original 1936-1939 recordings, released
for the Rosetta Label in the 1980s.
Whilst these female inmates remained
obscure, some of biggest female names
in 1920’s and 30’s blues released prison
themed songs. Ma Rainey, the Mother of the
Blues, recorded her composition Cell Bound
Blues for Paramount in 1924:
“I walked in my room the other night
My man walked in and begins to fight
I took my gun in my right hand
Told him, folks, I don’t wanna kill my man
When I said that, he hit me ‘cross my had
First shot I fired, my man fell dead
The papers came out and told the news
That’s why I said I got the cell bound blues”.
Here Rainey boldly gives her perspective on
domestic violence, showing that there are
two sides to each story!
Rainey had had her share of run-ins with
the law. It is said that Ma Rainey was once
arrested and held in a cell overnight having
been caught holding an ‘indecent’ lesbian
party at her home (this was in 1925,
when being gay was sadly seen as a crime).
Rainey’s good friend, none other than the
Empress of the Blues herself Bessie Smith,
arrived with bail money for Rainey the
following morning. A few years later, Rainey
would release ‘Prove it on me blues’, where
she proudly reveals her lesbian identity and
then challenges whomever might find fault
with her sexuality to ‘prove it on’ her. She
was an LGBT role model, decades ahead of
her time.
Another great Prison song ‘Joilet Bound’
was co-written by Memphis and Joe McCoy
in 1932. They tell the story of a man who is
wrongly accused of murder and sent to Joilet
prison:
“Now, the police comin’, with his ball and chain,
mmm-mmmm
Police comin’, with his ball and chain
And they ‘cusin’ me of murder, never harmed a
man”
Joilet prison once held more inmates than
any other prison in America. Conditions
there were horrific, infamously lacking
running water and in-cell toilets until 1910.
Minnie’s song was culturally important
because it drew attention to the inequality
in the justice system, especially in black
communities.
These phenomenal blues women could’ve
stuck to less controversial lyrical themes
about love and relationships, but instead,
they used their powerful blues voices to sing
about things of great social importance such
as discrimination, domestic violence, and a
justice system that was not fit for purpose.
NEWS...NEWS...NEWS...
WALTER TROUT’S
NEW STUDIO
ALBUM ‘RIDE’,
OUT NOW
IMAGE: Laurence Harvey
However fast or far a man travels, he
can never truly outrun his past. Walter
Trout knows this better than anyone.
As he embarked on his 30th solo
album, Ride, the iconic US blues-rock
guitarist found himself eyeing the
horizon and the green shoots of his triumphant
late career. There was a new
record deal with Mascot/Provogue. A
move from California to Denmark with
his beloved family. Even now, aged 70,
Trout was still writing fresh chapters
of his life story.
No doubt, Ride has a charging momentum
and a modern energy, with Trout
broadening his musical palette and
taking the pulse of an era reeling from
both pandemic and politicos. And yet,
when the veteran songwriter reached
for guitar and notepad, he found
himself walking once again amongst
the good, bad and ugly scenes of his
extraordinary backstory.
“This album is a snapshot of how I
was feeling through this pandemic,”
he says. “I think I still have something
new to say about the world, and that’s
important to me. But my life has been
one hell of a ride, and when I listened
back, I realised there were a lot of
songs about dealing with the past.”
“My wife and manager Marie knew I
needed to make music. So her present
to me for my 70th birthday was
a brand-new record deal she had
negotiated. My producer, Eric Corne,
scoped out a new studio in LA, and my
plan was to fly home to make a new
album in May.”
BLUESMATTERS.COM ISSUE 128
17

IN PICTURES | LAURA CARBONE
WHITE
MOUNTAIN
BOOGIE
AND BLUES
NEW HAMPSHIRE - USA
Nestled on a 72 acre pasture in the White Mountains
of New Hampshire is one of the biggest outdoor
camping and blues events, the White Mountain
Boogie N Blues Festival. In it’s 25th year, over
10,000 people stand up and boogie, enjoy top acts,
maple syrup and fresh mountain air. It’s a winner
of the Blues Foundation prestigious “Keeping the
Blues Alive Award” for Festival of the Year.
Eric Gales
Carolyn Wonderland
Mudd Morganfield and Rick Estrin
Ghost Town Blues Band
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BLUESMATTERS.COM

Winner of the 2021 JUNO Award Best Blues Album!
truenorthrecords.com
The new album out Sept. 30
Includes the single
How Bad Do You Want It
The third CD in the Power Women
of the Blues series, this is a tribute
to beloved songs.
Available October 7
stonyplainrecords.com

IN PICTURES | LAURA CARBONE
KITCHENER
BLUES FESTIVAL
ONTARIO - CANADA
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
Ronnie Baker Brooks
The Kitchener Blues Festival is one of the largest blues events in
Canada, celebrating the best of traditional and cutting-edge blues
– as well as modern rock, R&B, gospel, swing and more. Within it’s
20 year history it has grown to a 4 day, signature event with 40
performances from local to international artists on 7 outdoor stages
in downtown Kitchener and attracts over 200,000 visits in 2022.
The province of Ontario Canada turns out for this event hosting this
festival for free for all to enjoy with love and support for the Blues!
Quincy Bullen
Melissa McClelland
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BLUESMATTERS.COM

LAURA CARBONE | IN PICTURES
Billy Branch
NORTH ATLANTIC
BLUES FESTIVAL
MAINE - USA
In the summer you can go to Maine to get the Blues! The
North Atlantic Blues Festival is considered one of the premiere
blues-rooted festivals set in the picturesque town
of Rockland Maine with the Atlantic ocean as its stage
backdrop. This 2-day festival just had its 29th year and is
so legendary it has its own Mississippi Blues Trail Marker.
It features all blues and soul heavy hitters on the stage
and then takes to the town for dancing in the streets and
the legendary Pub Crawl at night.
Ruthie Foster
Tommy Castro
Tinsley Ellis
BLUESMATTERS.COM ISSUE 128
21

LUEBLOODSBLUEBLOODSBLUEBLOODSBLUEBLOODS
DIRTY
STREETS
WWW.DIRTYSTREETSMUSIC.COM
Memphis-based rock band Dirty Streets
are releasing more new music – the title
track, “Who’s Gonna Love You” is available
digitally. Their seventh studio album,
Who’s Gonna Love You, was produced by
Grammy Award winner Matt Ross-Spang
(Jason Isbell, Margo Price, John Prine)
and is set for release on September 30.
The band recorded the new album at the
legendary Sam Phillips Recording studio
in Memphis. The title track oozes with
southern rock guitar licks, gritty blues
and a pinch of soul as singer Justin Toland
explains its origins, “Who’s Gonna Love
You’ was born the way a lot of songs are;
sitting on the edge of the bed in a hotel
on tour just trying to voice what’s inside.”
Continues Justin, “Sometimes a feeling
is so thick in the air that you can almost
see it, and at those moments I just try
to see the steam settling into my mind.
Like sucking in spiritual smoke so I can
spit out whatever that thing is. This song
was one of those and seemed to capture
that longing you feel when you’re away
from your loved ones. You always try to
communicate your love long distance, but
it can be difficult.”
Scan the press on soul-groove outfit
Dirty Streets and you’ll see numerous
references to rock, soul, and dirty-blues
touchstones like the Faces, Humble
Pie, Otis Redding, CCR, and more. Spin
Dirty Streets’ records and you’ll hear
all of those echoes, plus others—some
jazz timing, some acoustic balladry. But
by and large, what you’ll hear is a raw,
rowdy blend of Motown, Stax, and rock—
the pure American blood-beat moving
through the heart of Memphis groove.
Dirty Streets’ bloodlines, metaphorical
and real, aren’t difficult to trace. Austin-born
Justin Toland found his own musical
food early through his father, a classic-rock
aficionado who turned his son on
to the Stones, Creedence, soul music and
the Stax sound. At 17, Toland relocated to
Memphis and met Thomas Storz, a native
of the city, through mutual friends. In a
scene wherein few of their friends cared
much for older music, Toland and Storz
quickly found common musical ground
and began playing groove-grounded rock
with a series of temporary drummers.
It was Storz who finally brought on board
Andrew Denham, a Shreveport-born
drummer and British hard-rock fan who’d
recently moved to the city, just down the
block from Storz’s own home. Passing by
Denham’s house weekly, Storz heard the
sounds coming from inside and mentioned
Denham to Toland, who at first
thought it couldn’t possibly be this easy.
Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light make music
steeped in tradition with modern, lyric-forward
songs and snaking chord progressions;
their self-titled album, out today, finds the
band reimaging songs of others – Joanna
Newsom’s “Colleen” and a “lost” Johnny Cash
entry among them, along with Gillian Welch
and Dave Rawlings’ “Strangers Again” – while
also presenting originals nearly a decade in the
making. Throughout, the songs are as sweet
and biting as the nectar and venom in Sumner’s
voice, while simultaneously highlighting the
acrobatic range of her brilliant bandmates Kat
Wallace (fiddle/harmonies), Ira Klein (acoustic
guitar), Alex Formento (pedal steel) and Mike
Siegel (upright bass).
The band’s most recent single, their version
of Joanna Newsom’s “Colleen,” was noted
for its “artful” interpretation of the mystical
folk ballad, a song which has earned numerous
examinations of its fascinating lyrics
throughout the far corners of the internet. The
album’s first single, “Strangers Again,” was also
featured on The Bluegrass Situation. There’s
a thread through the songs in this Traveling
Light album of people feeling other or finding
they’ve transformed into strangers, whether
it’s to someone they were once close to, or to
themselves,” Sumner says.
“Easton,” originally written for Sumner’s
bluegrass band, Twisted Pine, marked a
turning point for Traveling Light, signaling the
magical moment when the group realized how
like-minded they were when it came to interpreting
songs together. “If You Love Me” offers
their take on a “forgotten” Johnny Cash poem,
written in 1983 yet resonant today: “The
fluctuating worth of this very terminal earth/
And the satellite that glows at night above
me/Won’t bear upon my mind, but concerning
humankind/I won’t care if you’re there and if
you love me.”
“Come Along, Rowan” is a banjo tune originally
coined to coax a friend’s baby to join the
family – his mother did, indeed, go into labor
after listening to the voice memo. “The Arms of
Your Mother” was a product of a songwriting
workshop in which the provided prompt was
the word cradle. Sumner is, in fact, no stranger
to the stage. She spent her early career on the
bluegrass circuit, singing and writing with the
genre-bending Boston group Twisted Pine.
Since setting out on her own, Sumner’s songs
have been critically acclaimed, winning the
Lennon Award in the folk category of the 2021
John Lennon Songwriting Contest for her song
“Radium Girls (Curie Eleison);” earning her a
spot in the Kerrville New Folk Competition,
and being chosen two consecutive years by
WBUR/NPR as one of the top Massachusetts
entries in the Tiny Desk Competition.
Originally a classical flutist from the dusty
Mojave desert, Sumner relocated from
California to Boston a decade ago intending
to study Composition and Film Scoring at
Berklee College of Music. While at school, she
found herself in the orbit of roots musicians
like Molly Tuttle, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, and
John Mailander who introduced her to a trove
of traditional music, started her off with a few
chords on the guitar, and encouraged her to
write her own songs. In the short time since,
Sumner has become one of the most vital voices
in Boston’s thriving roots music scene.
RACHEL
SUMNER
WWW.RACHELSUMNER.ORG
LUEBLOODSBLUEBLOODSBLUEBLOODSBLUEBLOODSB
22 BLUES MATTERS! ISSUE 128

BLUEBLOODSBLUEBLOODSBLUEBLOODSBLUEBLOODS
ERIN
HARPE
ERINHARPE.COM
IMAGE BY ADAM KENNEDY
JOSH HOYER
& SOUL COLOSSAL
WWW.JOSHHOYER.COM
Erin Harpe has been called “one of the most dynamic, talented
and exciting roots rocking blues women on the scene” by
Living Blues Magazine. The singer, songwriter, guitarist, and
band leader was recently named New England’s “Blues Artist
of the Year”.
Once described as “Bonnie Raitt on modern performance enhancing
drugs” for her work with her award-winning electric
blues band Erin Harpe & the Delta Swingers, more recently
Erin has been gaining attention as a celebrated acoustic
guitarist and purveyor of 1920’s and 30’s finger-style country
blues. Erin grew up learning the style from her dad, Neil Harpe,
and watching local Piedmont blues luminaries such as John
Cephas & Phil Wiggins, Archie Edwards, John Jackson, Eleanor
Ellis, and Warner Williams, at Washington DC’s famed Archie’s
Barbershop.
Erin gets back to her roots in acoustic blues for her new Country
Blues Duo (a.k.a. “CBD”) with longtime partner/bassist Jim
Countryman.
Appropriately dubbed “shit-kicking blues,” on a recent UK
tour, the new duo creates a very full sound with their downhome
duo, which features Erin on acoustic guitar, vocals,
kazoo & foot percussion, with Jim on ukulele bass and backing
vocals. Their energetic performances transport the audience
to the Delta, with vintage classics by the likes of Memphis
Minnie, Mississippi John Hurt, Tommy Johnson and Blind
Blake – elevated by Erin’s own interpretations, and mixed in
seamlessly with original compositions and country blues takes
on other popular songs. Erin Harpe CBD is a must-see roots
act that will get any crowd moving.
Erin and Jim have toured all over the US and Europe, and
opened for many great blues artists including Buddy Guy,
James Cotton, Honeyboy Edwards, and Roomful of Blues –
and Erin even got to open for ZZ Top (solo)! Besides performing,
Erin is also an educator, and has taught workshops on
country blues guitar in the US (including the Augusta Heritage
Center’s Blues & Swing Week) and Europe, and has released
an instructional video through Stefan Grossman’s Guitar
Workshop entitled “Women of the Country Blues”.
Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal
have lived up to their name for
the past decade, spreading bold
yet nuanced soul/R&B through
constant touring and regular
releases. Averaging 125 shows
a year and already eight albums
deep (including live releases),
the ultra-authentic sextet is
sharing the healing power of
love and empathy through melody,
lyricism, groove, and dance.
“Whether it gives people courage
or solace, joy or a place to
heal, that is what my creations
are for,” asserts Hoyer. “To show
them that they are not alone. To
bring people together.”
A performer since childhood,
Hoyer discovered his songwriter’s
voice through high
school jazz choir improvisation.
He later honed his talent with
years of jamming in the famed
blues and roots scene of his
native Lincoln, Nebraska, and
its legendary Zoo Bar. Having
further shaped his songcraft
with spells in Oregon and New
Orleans, he returned to Lincoln
where he was mentored by the
likes of Little Jimmy Valentine
of The Heart Murmurs, renowned
bluesman Magic Slim,
and late guitarist/singer Sean
Benjamin. “Hoyer sang with fire
and a natural joy,” raved Rolling
Stone after his powerhouse
performance on Season 12 of
NBC’s The Voice (Team Blake).
Hoyer formed Soul Colossal
in 2012, completing the
award-winning band with Stephen
Cantarero (bass), James
Cuato (sax), Blake DeForest
(trumpet), Harrison ElDorado
(drums), and Benjamin Kushner
(guitar). Hoyer handles Hammond
organ, electric piano, and
lead vocals.
Night after night, Hoyer & Soul
Colossal leave it all on stage,
passionately delivering their
fresh take on super-relatable
soul music coast-to-coast and
across Europe. Visceral, gutsy,
and relentlessly real, they channel
Stax, Motown, and Muscle
Shoals, New Orleans, Philly, and
San Francisco through Hoyer’s
cultured compositions, lived-in
vocals, and supple, hornsflecked
arrangements. Smoky
late-night vibes and sometimes
playful arrangements cradle
thought-provoking lyrics, virtuoso
musicianship, and uplifting
sentiments that linger long after
the show.
Highlights have included headlining
European festivals, playing
major U.S. fests, and sharing
bills with Booker T Jones, Irma
Thomas, The Muscle Shoals
Revue and George Clinton. In
the studio, they’ve worked with
Wilco’s Ken Coomer and New
Mastersounds’ Eddie Roberts.
Listen closely and you’ll hear
New Orleans parade beats,
vibrant Detroit and New York
R&B, and the funky stylings
of Rufus Thomas and his Stax
Records cohorts. Repeat spins
reveal echoes of Donny Hathaway’s
spiritual ruminations, the
worldly heartache of Charles
Bradley, and the chordal complexities
of Herbie Hancock and
early ‘70s Santana.
LUEBLOODSBLUEBLOODSBLUEBLOODSBLUEBLOODS
ISSUE 128 BLUES MATTERS! 23

INTERVIEW | ALBERT LEE
ALBERT
LEE
Iain Patience
Rob Blackham
Albert Lee is one of the planet’s most
celebrated, admired guitarists. Often
known as ‘the guitarists guitarist’, he has
been working professionally for around
sixty years and has covered almost every
imaginable musical genre, save, perhaps,
for classical music.
Originally from Shropshire, Lee was largely
raised in Blackheath, south-east London,
where he agrees to have been fortunate
to be learning guitar and living in the early
1960s as the UK music world exploded into
global prominence. Now mostly based in
California, we catch up as he prepares to
head for Lubbock, Texas, to play the Buddy
Holly 85th Birthday Festival, alongside
many of his close friends including Peter
Frampton, Duane Eddy, James Burton
and Steve Cropper.
Albert explains Holly’s music this way: “Buddy
was a big influence on me. And after he
passed, about twelve or thirteen years later,
I became a Cricket myself! It was amazing,
a lot of fun. I’m still very close to those guys.
I’ve been very lucky; I’ve been around for a
long time so you get to play with a load of
other people, you know. It’s just what happens.
I guess I’m very grateful for that.”
He laughs when I mention Elvis’ old guitarist
James Burton as just one of those guys Lee
has previously played alongside: “Yea, well
he’s supposed to be coming down to play at
Lubbock this weekend. I’m looking forward
to seeing him again down there. We’ve done
a few gigs together and that’s been great. It’s
just great to have him play on those old Elvis
songs we all do and love.”
COUNTRY BOY
AT HEART
Talk turns to how it feels to be playing alongside
all those guys who were seminal to the
development of Rock n Roll, blues, country
and soul music: “It’s just great to be able to
play with all those guys. You know when I
was off playing with the Everly Brothers it
was amazing but when they weren’t talking
to each other I was doing stuff mostly with
Don. Don gave me his guitar, an original Everly
Gibson J200. He was just very grateful
to have a sidekick (when not talking to his
brother, Phil), and that was me. He didn’t
want the guitar to not be played, to end
24 ISSUE 128
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up in a museum or something like that,” he
confirms. Eric Clapton has also gifted him a
Gibson Les Paul that he still plays on sessions
from time to time.
I remind him of catching him play with the
Everlys and Duanne Eddy in the UK; Albert
instantly smiles: “That was a great tour. It
was one of our favourite tours, everybody
loved it. And playing with Earl (Scruggs) and
the Scruggs Revue, that was just great fun,
great times for us all. I played on a track and
ended up getting a Grammy for it – which
is great. It’s really nice to be honoured like
that, even these days! I’ve been nominated
about four times and I’ve won twice, so it’s
really pretty cool! Then there’s that whole
RocknRoll Hall of Fame thing – I don’t really
know about that,” he laughs again.
“There are people in there, in that, I don’t
really think deserve it!” he adds with a
shrug. “It’s not RocknRoll, they’re just like
pop-stars. They sold a lot of records but they
don’t really contribute to the music.”
Lee is also known for his work with US modern
Americana-country music giant Emmy
Lou Harris. He recalls his time with her
band, the Hot Band, as being a time of huge
personal pleasure and importance:
“It was around the mid-70s, and I’d always
loved good country music. I’d played in a
country band for a couple of years in the UK,
so I soon realized I was never gonna make a
living doing it and back then everybody was
playing through Marshall stacks; they all
wanted to be Eric Clapton or Jimmi Hendrix.
So, when I came to the States, I thought, well
these are people who really appreciate what
I’m doing here, how I play, what drives me. I
knew when I joined the Hot Band that this
was it. I thought, well, I’m living here now,
this is what I should be. It really made my
decision to settle here easy. Country music
has changed a lot since then, of course. I love
Americana but that country-pop stuff that
comes out of Nashville now, has no relation
to what was happening, say, thirty years ago!
I grew up on George Jones and Buck Owens,
you know those old country music greats.”
Anyone with even a passing interest in Lee
knows his version of ‘Country Boy,’ a track
that in many ways captures his extraordinary
musical genius tethered to some truly fabulous
guitar picking. Asked how it became
almost viral online (YouTube has around one
million hits so far) Albert shrugs and says:
“It was very gradual really. We did it and it
was part of the reason we got our record
deal! This was with Heads, Hands and Feet,
of course. We were doing gigs – not quite
auditions – but gigs where various record
people were likely to be in the audience.
And it worked, they were arguing, they were
fighting over us, so you know, it all worked
out just fine for us! We were a pretty good
band!”
“But we decided to go off and do other
things course, and I went off and joined the
Crickets!,” he adds with a grin.
Known as Mister Telecaster, among countless
other accolades, Lee has an Ernie Ball
Music Man signature model which has three
pick-ups rather than the Fender’s two. He
reckons this is a guitar that works best as a
daily gigging instrument: “Yea, I’ve a Music
Man signature for most of my work. I love
it, great player and sound, does everything
I want of a guitar, really! I’ve been playing
them around thirty years now. Though if I’m
playing a session I often take along a Fender
B-Bender.”
A frontman member of UK band Hogan’s Heroes,
Lee is characteristically modest about
his own role in the band, an outfit that often
attracts mega-stars from Clapton to Willie
Nelson and Dave Edmunds to their gigs:
“I’ve known Gerry Hogan for ever really,
we’ve been friends since the 1960s. He was
running a steel-guitar festival each year in
Newbury and he called me up one day and
said ‘I’m thinking of branching out a bit and
having some guitar players as well as steel
players. Would you consider doing a set?’
To be honest, I was a little nervous about
it. I’d never fronted a band at that time. He
said ‘It’ll be easy. We’ll pick out a bunch of
songs!’ So we tried it, rehearsed a bit, picked
out a couple of gigs and it went really well.
So, I thought, yea let’s do it. It’s easier than
I thought! That’s when I started doing the
regular thing with Hogan’s Heroes. I get
across to England once or twice a year and
do a tour with them. I’ve been doing it now
for over twenty-five years, and it’s still great
fun. They got me to sing. I’d done a couple
of tunes with the country band before that
but it forced me to do a whole set! I’m really
grateful for this time cos it changed the way
I play and sing really. The British gigs are
going really well and I’ve just been over for
around five weeks and I’m back on tour in
September or October. And I fell into playing
with Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, always
with some great members. That’s always
been great fun too, maybe played with them
for around twelve years now.”
As to guitar style, Lee is famed for his distinctive
sound and method – described once by
Emmy Lou Harris this way –‘His sound is unmistakable,
often emulated, never equaled.
When Saint Peter asks me to chronicle my
time down here on earth, I’ll be able to say
(with pride if that’s allowed) that for a while
ALBERT LEE | INTERVIEW
I played rhythm guitar in a band with Albert
Lee!’ Lee describes it in simple terms:
“I liked, my favourite players are like Scotty
Moore, James Burton, those guys were my
first influences. I realised some of those guys
were playing with thumb-picks. So, I tried
using a thumb-pick but I just couldn’t get on
with it. I decided I’d try using a flat-pick with
the fingers. I kind of developed it on my own.
I discovered a few years later that many
others played that way too; James Burton
plays like that. It just takes practice, and
it’s now like what I’ve always done. I never
practice much but the Covid lockdowns
found me spending more time alone with my
guitar. I mean practice is what I do when I’m
out on the road, it’s done on the road. Now
we’re getting back out, I’m trying to build up
my callouses on the finger-tips. Speed isn’t
what it’s about. I try to be melodic always.
That’s the secret, I think. There are a lot of
fast players out there now, the opportunities
online and the like to learn guitar are amazing
nowadays; nothing like my time, playing
a record, slowing it down, pulling the needle
back over and over till you got the notes! “
“Fortunately, the people who come to my
gigs are of my age so they still like and buy
vinyl and CDs. The industry has just changed
so much these days with all those downloads.
Not my kind of thing really. I still put
out my own music, produced with friends, to
disc and sold at my gigs.”
In such a long-lasting career, it’s no surprise
to learn Lee has also played a part with Eric
Clapton on a few occasions: “I‘ve known
Eric since the sixties when I knew all those
guys. And I played on a session with him
back around 1979; And after a couple of
days of recording he said ‘I’m looking for
a second-guitar. Would you like to come
along and join me?’ I said, yea! I did that for
around five years and it was good fun. I’m
mostly known as a country player but I feel
at home playing most types of music, except
for heavy metal!” Lee laughs at the thought
before adding, “I’ve no interest in that! I play
all the genres that I like. I’ve also played at
Eric’s Crossroads Guitar Festival a few times,
always great to meet up and great fun.”
Closing, Lee says: “I’m just happy to be able
to keep on working. That’s not always easy in
this business. I’m 78 now, so if I can carry on
playing for a few more years I’ll be a happy
man. Looking back, we all got into guitar
because of Lonnie Donegan, playing by ear. I
look back and I feel I’ve been really fortunate
to have been a Cricket and to have worked
with my heroes, the Everly Brothers, for so
many years. I’d probably have still been there
if they’d been both still alive!”
BLUESMATTERS.COM ISSUE 128
25

INTERVIEW | ERJA LYYTINEN
ERJA LYYTINEN
WAITING THE
FOR
DAYLIGHT
Adam Kennedy
Antti Karppinen
Perhaps the title of the new album by Erja Lyytinen
will resonate with a lot of readers. That being ‘Waiting
For The Daylight’. Following two years of life during
the pandemic era we have all been waiting for
something. Whether that be a return to some
semblance of normality or the return of live
music.
For the entrepreneurial Finn, the challenges
of running her own business
during a global pandemic were not
easy. “My emotions were going
up and down because you had to
survive. I run my own company, so
I needed to think about finances
and how to balance them with the
economics. We were trying our
best to invent all sorts of things to
overcome this strange, weird period
we all experienced for two and a half
years,” explains Erja. “I think for most of
us, it’s the insecurity that eats you up
when you don’t know what’s going
to happen. What’s the future going
to be like? Although most people
who work in the art scene are
probably used to that. We might
not have all the schedules and
calendars fixed for the next
five years, but maybe for half a
year. But even with half a year,
it’s better than being in a spot
where you don’t know what’s go-
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BLUESMATTERS.COM

ing to happen next week.” Moving forward,
she adds: “I’m hoping that people will enjoy
more music and art and all those cultural
things that we weren’t able to do during
those two years.”
With time on her hands during the pandemic
era, the Queen of the Slide Guitar got to
work on her latest release. “I had started
to work on the album before the pandemic.
Some of the songs were done during the
pandemic. There’s a lot of emotions and
feelings from that time on this album,”
proclaimed Erja. “The name of the album
Waiting For The Daylight reflects very well
the present time in many ways. Although the
song itself is not about just the pandemic,
it’s about losing your friend to a long-term
illness.”
The benefit of having time off the road was
that the high-flying Finn was able to truly
process her emotions and reflect. “I feel that
I’ve had the chance to delve deep into my
emotions during these two years because
you went through such a lot of colours in a
lot of emotions. Maybe I had the courage
to also go deeper with the song topics. And
so, I think there’s quite a lot of heavy topics
in there,” said Lyytinen. “There’s one song,
which is about sexual harassment. Of course,
there are songs about love lost. There are
lots of feelings and heavy topics on there.
But then again, sometimes you must talk
about these things.”
One topic which resonated with Erja Lyytinen
is the subject of bullying in schools
which features in the artist’s latest single,
‘Last Girl’. “It’s about growing up, bullying
and being less of a part of a friendship
group. But also, a bit of heartbreak,” says
Lyytinen. “In the music video, we have
a young girl who is playing her part as a
student. In the beginning, she’s playing a
bit of a violin. And then, in the end, she is
rocking with me and playing electric guitar.
It was so much fun doing this - we created
“WE RIPPED
THE WHOLE
PLACE DOWN”
this small school classroom scene.” Erja adds
that: “There’s a point where me and my guys
were being the badass students there, and
we ripped the whole place down. But with
this song and with this music video, we want
to emphasise the fact to consider others and
especially in schools when they are young
kids - bullying is not cool. I think the topic is
really important.”
With further themes of love and loss
featured on her latest offering, it feels as
though Waiting For The Daylight brings in
an element of continuity to Lyytinen’s recent
studio albums Stolen Hearts and Another
World. “Of course, it’s always a continuation
of whatever you’ve been doing. I feel that
this album reflects who I am at the moment,”
explained Erja. “There are quite heavy riffs
in there - it’s not just a blues album. I think
it’s more like we were trying to honour the
music of the 60s and 70s. I haven’t heard this
album yet on vinyl, but I’m pretty sure it’s
going to sound awesome.”
Just like Another World, Erja Lyytinen’s
latest album was self-produced. This
process was something which she enjoyed
immensely. “I felt that I was finally in a place
where I’m experienced enough to be able to
produce my own music and my own album. I
know how the music works. And nowadays,
ERJA LYYTINEN | INTERVIEW
I can also use Pro Tools quite well. With
the last album, I was still getting to know
how the software works. And with Another
World, it was a lot longer process with that
album. So, I feel like, on this album, I had a
chance to dig into the songs and the sounds,”
said Erja. “I’ve been in the music business
for quite a few decades already. I feel like
now I have the confidence to produce
my own music.”
Aside from recording her latest album, so far
this year the Queen of the Slide Guitar has
spent a lot of time on the road whilst performing
across mainland Europe and even
making appearances in far-afield destinations
such as Algeria and a return to Canada.
“We started to do some festivals in the summertime,
which has been great. It’s always
nice to play for live audiences. The feeling of
the audience now when everybody’s more
relaxed, and people are hugging and kissing
again, it’s so wonderful,” says Lyytinen.
However, the artist is overjoyed that she
will be making her return to the UK before
the end of the year. “I’m looking forward
to coming to the UK. I haven’t played there
since 2019. It feels like a long time. I’ve been
messaging with my fans and friends in the
UK all the time during the pandemic. But
now I’m looking forward to coming to the
UK,” says Erja. “We’ve got this nice little tour
together with Dom Martin, who is doing
quite well right now. So, I can’t wait to come
to the UK; I’ve missed my friends there.”
For the remainder of the year and beyond,
Erja Lyytinen will concentrate on promoting
her new album on the road. “From the
beginning of October, we’ll be doing tours
in Germany and Finland and then in the UK.
Every year I do my Blue Christmas tour. And
this year, I’ve got a couple of very cool artists
joining me,” says Lyytinen. “Next year, we are
planning tours and shows. So, getting back
to the normal touring life. But I’ve already
started to think about the next album, which
is interesting. So, it means that I’ve enjoyed
making this album, and I’m very proud of it.”
Waiting For The Daylight – the new album
from Erja Lyytinen will be released by Tuohi
Records on October 7th. The artist
will be touring the UK throughout
November. For ticket information
and further details, please
visit www.erjalyytinen.com.
Ville_Juurikkala
SCAN ME
BLUESMATTERS.COM ISSUE 128
27

4
DAVID SINCLAIR
Paul Davies
Supplied
With reference to David Sinclair’s professional
life as a journalist and as a musician,
the one has informed the other and vice
versa. As a musician initially playing in new
wave bands, David became a sought-after
music journalist writing informatively for
universally read publications before finding
his feet as a blues musician and band leader.
It’s a genre of music in which he has gradually
taken larger musical strides releasing
albums firstly as David Sinclair, then with his
Trio, followed by the David Sinclair Four.
With Apropos Blues, he has reverted to
the imprimatur of his name as a solo artist.
On this musically entertaining and lyrically
astute record, he is backed by three superb
band musicians: guitarist Geoff Peel, bass
player Jos Mendoza and drummer Rory
Mendoza. Also guesting is harmonica
king Laurie Garman, Feargus Murphy on
keyboards/Vocals, Glasgow rapper Johnny
Cypher appears on the lively album opener
Hip Hopping and David’s son, Jack, contributes
drums/vocals/keys, Jack also produced
and mixed this album.
Moreover, Apropos Blues is inspired by
a living blues legend of David’s familiar
acquaintance as he reveals to Blues Matters
Magazine: “I guess this is a fairly typical
album of mine, insofar as it’s rooted in the
blues and in a traditional rock and pop music
from Britain. But it’s specific insofar as it was
as a part of my other gig, as a journalist, that
I’ve been spending a bit of time with Billy
Gibbons of ZZ Top. I’m a great fan of ZZ
Top and I’m a great fan of Billy Gibbons.
I think he’s just an incredible character
with a very deep knowledge of blues music
and what the blues is all about. One of his
favourite words that he often throws into
the conversation is ‘apropos’ which he uses
in a slightly ironic way.”
David further reveals the creative influence
of this album titled word: “It’s very much up
his street, that nod to a kind of French bohemian
art rock sort of world that he slightly
inhabits. I thought, well, I should write a song
called Apropos Blues because that would
just sum it up. I kind of base it on one of his
songs, an obscure Billy Gibbons track from
one of his solo records, and I thought that
was the real starting point, the inspiration. I
mean, my version obviously doesn’t say anything
like his. He’s a guy from Texas, and I’m
a guy from London, but there was a definite
inspiration there that I found very helpful
and apropos. So, there you go.”
It’s as crystal clear as top grade tequila
the influence Billy Gibbons has on David’s
musical psyche. His looming presence is a
giant gracious shadow that stretches back
to David’s first meeting with this Texan top
draw guitar-slinger as he recounts:
“I’ve been a big fan of ZZ Top for a long,
long time. The first time I ever met him, I
interviewed him for Kerrang magazine in
1980. Then as Eliminator was just starting
to hit big and they were over playing a gig
up in Hanley. So, I’ve met him way back then.
In more recent times, I’ve interviewed him
for various things, and I’ve always got on
well with him: he’s a fantastic raconteur.”
He further explains Gibbons’ influence: “I
love the persona that he’s built around his
music and his life and ZZ Top is a full-time
gig. There’s often a problem with the blues
in that the people who make blues music are
often quite a long way removed from anything
to do with the original blues as it was
created by the original people who made
that music. Gibbons has a way of inhabiting a
persona that is a genuine blues persona that
he’s taken on. He lives it, you can’t have an
image and an attitude like that part time, it’s
a full-time thing. He keeps that beanie hat
on the whole time. He has that beard to deal
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BLUESMATTERS.COM

with. Every time he goes out, he loves it. He
inhabits it very easily. He’s very comfortable
in his skin. I think he’s a genius musician, and
just a very unique character in the world that
we that we all love and appreciate.”
David proudly elaborates on the presentation
of the songs throughout this recording:
“I guess the certain presets that Billy
Gibbons takes, that I’ve personally taken on
board, is to keep it simple rather than make it
very complicated or fast and flashy.” Sinclair
has his very British take on music that is
American in origin and it’s a philosophy he’s
infused tracks such The Bands Of London
with: “Well, that was a lockdown song as a
lot of bands are just kind of washing up on
the shore now a couple of years after and it
was born out of frustration of not being able
to go and see any bands,” David laments:
“It was something that’s been my life blood
all of my life and I was shocked to discover
how much I missed the whole business.
That you had to stay in and couldn’t go and
see any bands. So, the theme of the song is
I want to see the bands of London. I want
to go out and see a band and obviously the
place I’m in is London. Then that got me
to thinking of all the great London bands
when we do it live. I always shout out; I want
to go and see The Rolling Stones. I want to
go and see The Who. The Yardbirds. From
the past, or the present, there’s so many
great bands in any area that you come from.
I’m from London and London’s a great place.
It has a great heritage and it’s got a wonder-
ful history of producing the most brilliant
bands ever.”
selling point. I thought that was all to do with
the riffs and the music. But he said, ‘these
lyrics are fantastic, that’s what sold it to me,
I’ll take it’. I was shocked because I hadn’t
really thought of the lyrics. I didn’t think, I’m
a big writer, so I can write lyrics. I just sort
of thought it was part of what I had to do.
So, having gone on from there, I’ve always
taken the writing of the lyrics seriously, but
became aware that it is an important thing
and I feel a bit more pride in the lyrics as
they are a key element to whatever it is I’ve
got to offer,” David continues: “I love writing
and I’ve always found writing to be something
I can do. It’s not such a challenge as
playing the guitar, for instance, which is very
hard to do, I still find. It’s a great outlet and
it’s a much different sort of writing. There’s
a lot of similar things you need to do. You
need to work to a deadline, you need to get
the thing done, you need to work to a brief
and there’s a sense that you can’t just write
any old words, you’ve got to be aware of who
your audience is, and what you’re trying to
say, and you wrap it all up and get it done on
time. It’s not that far removed from the journalism
thing. It’s just a slightly more esoteric
kind of way of expressing yourself.”
A cover of Chuck Berry’s Bye Bye Johnny
is the final track on Apropos Blues and
David has had many encounters with blues
legends including seeing Chuck Berry live:
“I saw Chuck Berry play a couple of times,
on his visits over here, and I was absolutely
shocked at just how mercenary and how he
generally didn’t seem very bothered. That
was the other end of the spectrum.” Where
DAVID SINCLAIR | INTERVIEW
there’s a downside there’s also an upside
to the blues: “I met BB King and went on
his tour bus with him for a while, in the
early days of my journalism, and he was
a wonderful guy,” beams David at this
cherished memory:
“I really loved him and he’s great in terms
of being a band leader and had almost like
a rulebook for his band. You used to hear
those stories about James Brown firing
musicians. Well, BB King was a bit more benevolent
than that, but he was just as tough.
They had all sorts of rules and behaviour
codes and dress codes as well. He had a
poignant way of talking about his old days as
a farm labourer. I said to him, ‘why does your
band wear suits’? It’s a very different sort
of feel to the blues bands that come out of
England. And he said, ‘jeans and work shirts,
that’s for working in the fields and we don’t
do that anymore. We wear suits because
we’re doing a proper job. We want respect
and that’s how we show you some respect
and we hope that you’ll show us the same
respect’. It never occurred to me that the
slovenly British blues guys were ‘we’re
just off from the road in a T shirt and jeans
and that’s how we roll’. The real blues guys,
John Lee Hooker, any of them, they would
always want to be well turned out, it’s an
important thing.”
With respect, and major apropos, to David’s
well-turned-out album of eleven engaging
blues tracks, that’s about as apropos to the
blues as you can get!
To return to the theme of being
a musician and journalist and,
given the high quality of tunes
on Apropos Blues, you would
imagine that songwriting comes
easy to David Sinclair: “That’s
an interesting thing because
once you start on this kind of
a journey, you find out things
about other people and you find
out things about yourself.”
I met BB King and went
on his tour bus!
Warming to this subject David
tells me: “I remember when I put
my first record together, it was
an album called Hey in 2006,
and I was shopping around for
some distribution, and I went to
Proper. I think they are now the
biggest independent distributor
in the country. There was a guy
there called Alan and I gave him
the CD and he said: ‘I don’t know
about the music, but I love these
lyrics’ and it never occurred to
me the lyrics being any kind of a
BLUESMATTERS.COM ISSUE 128
29

VANEESE
THOMAS
LIVE: IN PICTURES | JOE BONAMASSA
JOE BONAMASSA and KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD LIVE IN
NEW YORK 19.08.22 by CRIOS PHOTOGRAPHY
“One of our best and criminally underrecognized powerhouse
voices & songwriters, Vaneese Thomas, daughter of
Soul Music icon Rufus Thomas, returns for her ninth album
and her first for the
growing Blue Heart
Records. kinetic blend This of could rock, blues,
well
be Thomas' tour-de-force
slick and full of power. A ton
songwriting effort as she
or co-wrote all penned
of -Jim
special guest artists like
12
“The sound is a sophisticated,
soul, and R&B influences that’s
Jimmie Vaughan, Mike
Flanigin, Carolyn Wonderland,
Carmen Bradford, Johnny
Moeller, Marcia Ball, Anson
Funderburgh, Mike Zito, Guy
Forsyth, and Michael Cross raise the fun factor even higher and make
this one of the most enjoyable releases of 2022.”
- Mike O’Cull
Rock and Blues Muse
www.thetexashorns.com
EQ @thetexashorns3
MALAYA BLUE
malayabluemusic.com
LIL RED & THE ROOSTER
lilredandtherooster.com
DAVE KEYES
davekeyes.com
blueheartrecords.com
E Q D
@blueheartrecs
PUBLICITY AND PROMOTION
www.blindraccoon.com

INTERVIEW | SNOWY WHITE
SNOWY WHITE
DRIVING ON THE 44
Paul Davies
Supplied
Snowy White’s easy going, humble, matter
of fact nature belies an illustrious career
in music that’s to die for. It’s an adventure
in sound that he continues with Driving
On The 44: a deeply satisfying album of
songs that covers all the points of his
musical compass.
There are deep notes of jazz rock, conventional
blues, Santana inflected high vibes
and alluring blue-hued instrumentals
all deliciously delivered in his trademark
cool style.
As a seasoned pro, Snowy’s endearing
warmth has seen him play with pre-eminent
artists such as Pink Floyd, Peter Green,
Thin Lizzy, Mick Taylor, and Roger Waters.
However, it’s his successful sideshow as a
solo artist that has garnered high praise and
respect from his peers, critics and dedicated
fans from the moment his hit single Bird Of
Paradise was released and flew up the charts
to perch in the Top Ten at number six.
Being someone who has experienced lengthy
periods of success, there are no discernible
airs or graces about the man who has flown
in private jets and has been quartered in five
star hotels as the main guitarist in Roger
Waters’ touring band, as White recalls:
“I got the call in 1999 from Roger for a small
tour and he said we start rehearsals in New
York in three days. That small tour lasted
thirteen years for me,” deadpans White.
Since then, Snowy has been on a productive
roll with Driving On The 44 his sixth album
release since unplugging himself from Roger
Waters’ touring extravaganza. The title track
has an anecdotal on the road narrative but
Snowy is quick to scotch any autobiographical
notions as he opens up: “I like looking at
maps and travelling from one city to another.
I love the panorama. And I was looking at a
map and I saw St. Louis and Highway 44 and
I thought that would make a nice title for a
song. There was no real memory of it, or me
driving down it - I’m sure I have done - and
I’ve probably flown over it a few times as
well. But it was just an idea that I thought
was a nice title. I looked at the map and I saw
that the 44 went to Wichita Falls and I made
a song about it.”
From this moment of inspiration, White
mapped out the rest of the album which he
recorded at home with his son, Thomas, on
drums: “All the song ideas came specifically
for this album, which we started recording at
the beginning of last winter. I spent the winter
with me and my son on drums at the studio
here where I started putting down ideas,
demos, and it gradually just took shape.
But there was nothing that’s been hanging
around for a long time at all,” details White
as he reveals the inspiration behind some
of the songs: “On Keep On Flying there’s a
line ‘she was young and beautiful planning
to go far, found herself in downtown Tokyo
dancing in the late-night bar’. And I really did
meet a girl and she ended up in LA on some
TV programmes. And she kept going, you
know, she kept on trying. And she got where
she wanted to be.”
Dave Gilmour asked me
if I could play bass and I
just sort of said yes...
The album opener, Freshwater, has a widescreen
jazzy blues groove that exudes the
cool, laid-back nature of White on record: “I
had great fun recording with my son Thomas
on drums. We’ve an electronic drum kit
because we’re in a semi-detached house so I
didn’t want to annoy the neighbours. So, we
use that on most tracks, and it took a bit of
getting used to. Thomas says that playing it
is really good and it’s like a real sound so I’m
quite pleased about the way it turned out.”
This album, in many ways, is a summation
of everything Snowy has done in his solo
career, there’s jazzy blues, pure blues songs,
blues instrumentals on which there seems
to be a breadth of his musical influences:
“Well, yeah, I think what happened with this
album was I didn’t have any particular idea of
a direction for it. I just felt like doing certain
things and they came together. It wasn’t a
plan, I just recorded the songs.”
Snowy recruited Max Middleton (Jeff Beck,
Chris Rea) to play keyboards on the album:
“I’ve known Max since the 70s and he’s
played on a lot of my albums, so I sent the
files from my studio to him, and he put some
piano and organ on and that’s how we did
it.” As an accomplished musician, White also
plays bass on the album and recalls how
he first picked it up in rehearsals for Pink
Floyd’s 1977 Animals tour:
“When I met the guys in the studio Dave
Gilmour asked me if I could play bass and
I just sort of said yes. I thought, how hard
can it be? So, then they wanted me to play
bass and I phoned my friend Jim Cregan and
asked if I could borrow his bass because I’ve
got about three weeks to play these songs.
I got blisters on my right-hand fingers and
Roger one day suggested I play it with a
plectrum. I had no idea,” chuckles White. “I’m
a fairly easy-going chap so nothing really
bothers me. I enjoyed certain aspects of
it. And occasionally I didn’t enjoy it. But if
you’re not playing your own music and must
play another guitarist’s parts, I’m not very
good at it. It was hard work, but it actually
did me good.”
Snowy struck up a rapport with Dave Gilmour
that found him playing more than the
occasional live solo: “Dave kept saying things
like ‘why don’t you do a guitar solo here’ and I
just launched into a guitar solo. I had no idea
of the context and the fact that people were
probably disappointed because they had
been expecting Dave to play that part didn’t
really occur to me. Dave is a generous guy.”
Snowy struck up a similar rapport with Peter
Green and played on Green’s In The Skies album
but their friendship started some years
earlier: “It was a bit funny when I was playing
the blues and learning in my bedroom down
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on the Isle of Wight. When I was in my teens,
I used to listen to Clapton and Santana and
then Pete became the guitarist I admired the
most. So, when I ended up in London, I met
somebody, a drummer, who had his phone
number and I called him. We didn’t have
mobiles, so I went all the way down the road
to the coin box, one of the red telephone
boxes and I phoned him up and I thought,
well, he’s just going to tell me to go away,”
White continues, “But I said I’m new in town
and wondered if I could come down and have
a jam? And he said, ‘Yeah, come down’ and
that is how we met. He had a very generous
spirit. He was living with his mum and dad in
their house in New Malden at that time. So,
I drove down there, and we played a little
bit. He was very friendly, and his mum and
dad and the parrot were there and the dog,
too. Then his mum said, ‘do you want to stay
for dinner’? But the reason I told you about
staying in my bedroom listening to Pete play
and try to learn what he did is because a
couple of years later, we were quite friendly
by then, he came down to my parents’ place
and spent a couple of days there and it didn’t
occur to me until later that was a bit surreal
because he was sleeping in my bedroom. I
was in the spare room. The guy I’ve been sitting
there for months trying to learn how to
play a bit like him was in my room. My mum
thought he was a nice boy as he helped with
the washing up and stuff. It was around
the mid 70s. He was fine at that time. It
was early on before he went stranger.
He just wanted to be an ordinary man in
an ordinary job. I don’t think he wanted
to be involved much in the music business.
That was his choice. He was fine and just
wanted to muck in.”
Then Snowy became the custodian of
Green’s famous Gibson guitar: “I was living
in London with a girlfriend. I was doing a few
bits and pieces on the guitar, I was playing
but not out playing, and he used to come and
stay and sleep on the sofa. Then one day he
came around and asked if I would look after
all his gear. So, he brought all his gear around
his Les Paul, his amp, his record collection
and his tapes with John Mayall and he wanted
me to look after all of it as he didn’t have
anywhere to settle down and didn’t want to
be surrounded by all that stuff.”
Snowy continues: “ He offered me his guitar
for £100 and I didn’t have £100. The only
way I could have bought it is if I sold my
guitar and I didn’t want to do that. I thought
if I buy Pete’s guitar and sell mine and he
wants it back I’ll have to give it back to him.
He sold it to Gary Moore for £150. I told
Pete that I would keep it for him, put it in
the loft and won’t touch it and one day you
will want it back. He said that he had already
sold it to Gary!”
Snowy White played his final concert in
2019 at The International Economic Forum
in St. Petersburg, Russia, in what turned out
to be a shambolic situation as he explains:
“I got a call from an agent and I said ‘no, I
don’t want to go to Russia.’ He told me what
they wanted to pay me, which was a lot of
money, and he said think about it. I thought
about it and about a month went by and then
he called me again and said they still want
you to play, and I said’ no I don’t want to go
to Russia.’ This agent said, ‘what if I can get
you some more money’?’ I thought about
Richard Bailey, Kumar Harada, and Max
Middleton and it’s big money for them. So, I
said if they get us business class flights and
rehearsal time, I’ll do it.”
Snowy tells me more: “On the day everything
was running late, and we went on around
midnight and only got to play about twenty
minutes with two bands waiting to follow
us.” With no plans to tour this album and
dedicating more of his time to oil painting,
Snowy White may have come to the end
of the gigging road. Nevertheless, and
as Driving On The 44 proves, he has
plenty of creative juice left in the tank
to keep recording music.
ROAD
TO THE
BLUES
DAVE
THOMAS
#1
Dave Thomas is at the top
of his game with a Number
One in the Roots Music
Report’s UK Album Chart
in 2021 and 2022. He also
reached the Top 10 in the
USA and Australia.
BUY NOW:
www.davethomasblues.uk
BOOK NOW:
dave1968thomas@gmail.com
ONE
MORE
MILE
#1
DAVE
THOMAS

HILL
STEVE
34 ISSUE 128 BLUESMATTERS.COM

Iain Patience
Scott Doubt
Steve Hill is likely to be a new name to
many but back home in Canada, this guy has
a fast-growing reputation for serving up
generous helpings of powerful blues-rock
music with his fretwork always upfront and
his singer-songwriter credentials wellearned
over many years at the sharp end of
the music business.
With a Juno (a sort of Canadian Grammy)
already in the bag together with a handful
of Maple Awards (similar to the Memphis
IBC awards, in reality) Hill is clearly a man
to watch. We caught him on the verge of
the release of his latest ten-track album, No
Illusion, for a chat about his career, the new
album and blues music generally.
Like many before and after, Hill lists Led
Zeppelin as one of his personal influences
before picking out many of the blues cannon’s
finest from Muddy Waters and
Howlin’ Wolf to the Stones:
“I’ve been playing for many years now,
working and gigging all over. Though I’m
mostly based in Canada, I play the States
and Europe whenever the chance arises. I’ve
always loved good rock music – who doesn’t
really – and I have a deep love of blues music
that has always been a recurrent theme in
my own recordings going back well over
twenty years now,” he says.
“The Juno is a real honour. It’s really a
Canadian Grammy. I won a bunch of Maples
mostly, so it’s all good. I started out professionally
in 1993, about thirty years ago. So
I’ve been doing this a long time now! My
first album actually came out around 1997.
I started playing clubs when I was around
sixteen, pretty young but great times. It’s
sort of what I’ve been doing my entire life. I
started playing guitar aged thirteen and just
keep on going. Then straight to playing clubs
so except for Covid it’s been that way now
for thirty odd years.”
Thoughts and talk turn to Covid and its
effects on Hill’s work and the birth of the
new album:
“When you’re used to being on the road
about 125 days a year, suddenly to
lose that was a huge thing, a real
STEVE HILL | INTERVIEW
“I’d been thinking about releasing an acoustic
record for a while and, strangely, the timing
just was perfect. I had three or four songs
that didn’t fit well with the rest of the album.
They had been written in a different context.
So I took those songs – I’ve had my own studio
for around twenty years now, and found
hard-drives and some cool, unreleased stuff.
And it all came together really, really easily.
It felt as if it was meant to be, really. Overall,
it gave me the time to write some more
songs and finish the record. Though it went
easily together, it took a bit longer than
expected and there are about six songs
left from what would have been the
original album. So, I wrote loads
difference to life.
Being at home all
the time was tough but
things are now finally back
to normal. This, my new album,
No Illusion, was originally slated
for release in 2020, so when Covid hit
here I already had a finished version. It was
mastered, everything done, then it was to
come out in April. Then of course Covid hit in
March so I decided to postpone the release.
By the time it was finally ready to launch it
wasn’t exactly the same record; it had some
of the same songs and some other, more
acoustic songs I’d written down in California
about five years ago. I took those songs
and some other songs I had but had never
releases – more acoustic, really. I knew by
then I’d be stuck a couple of years without
any real touring so I was now playing more
soloing, cause I didn’t have a crew anymore.
You know, I couldn’t tour with a band but I
could tour to an extent as a solo artist.”
more songs during Covid and recorded pretty
much the whole thing. It started out as a
sort of one-man-band record; some songs
had been written with that idea in mind.”
“I was over in France with a musician I
know, Rico; we were working together at
his place in Lille. We were touring and real
busy, which is always cool. But I had one day
off and we decided to go to his studio and
record a new song I had, All About the Love –
which ended up as the first track on the new
record. I don’t know why but I heard – you
know how it goes, in my head – horns. And
every time I played the song I heard horns
there. So it felt like it just needed those
horns in there. Rico’s had studios over there
in France for over twenty years and he’s had
bands and he picks up the best musicians.
So I figured I’m sure he can get me a really
good horn section for this. So that’s what
we did and I was so impressed by the end
of our tour that I went back with him to his
studio and recorded some more stuff with
that track and others. Originally, I wanted
horns on that one opening track but in the
BLUESMATTERS.COM ISSUE 128
35

end I had horns on the whole record. It sort
of gave me a different palate. From years
of being a one-man-band, it just felt like
something else right there. I’d been playing
everything, doing overdubs, playing pedal-steel,
most instruments, and then last January
I had one song that was missing from
the record. I found this song, Follow Your
Heart, and thought it had a lot of potential.
I had a pretty good demo but the drumming
was just sort of okay!”
“Luckily, I’m friends with UK player Wayne
Proctor. We’ve been friends for about ten
years. I did a double bill with Olly Brown
back then, about ten years ago, and that’s
when we first met. Then about five years
ago, I was touring Germany and did a show
with Ben Poole and then I followed that
about four years ago with a tour with King
King. And so Wayne was just always part of it
all and I’ve always loved his drumming. I love
him as a contemporary drummer; he can play
a bit just behind the beat and that’s what you
want! It helps that tightness and every time
I played with King King, I’d listen to the band
afterwards and find that basically I would
listen to Wayne. I really enjoy his drumming.
So I asked him to play on this one new album
and he said ‘Sure, just send it over!’ He has a
studio, so I had this song and didn’t like the
drumming so sent it to Wayne and when it
came back I couldn’t believe what he’d done
with it! So, he ended up playing on six songs;
He’d send back mixes that were much better
than mine! So he also ended up mixing the
records, then it went to a guy for mastering
but I preferred Wayne’s mastering In the
end, Wayne played drums, mixed and mastered
the whole record.”
“The album comes out in November which
is after my European tour in October where
I’m playing Switzerland, Germany and Netherlands;
Germany and UK are great places
to tour.”
Steve Hill’s new album, Dear Illusion, is
released by No Label Records on November
11th via www.stevehillmusic.com
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INTERVIEW | SUNJAY
Q&ASUNJAY
Virtuoso blues musician Sunjay releases
his new album, Black And Blues Revisited,
in October, the follow-up to 2015’s Black
And Blues album.
During the early stages of recording,
Sunjay’s mother died suddenly, and her loss
permeates the resulting album with an additional
level of emotion and intensity.
Sunjay chatted with BM’s Andy Hughes about
inspirations, guitar playing, and belting it out
in the studio
Your video for The Easy Blues has an
authenticity to it, because of the ease and
simplicity with which its delivered. Do you
think that authenticity and simplicity are
what blues music is about?
I’m not sure about ‘simplicity’, but ‘authenticity’
is something I was really keen that the
video should have. When we were setting it
up, someone suggested that we should have
a camera in the control room, taking a view
through the glass into the studio, and then
some shots with the cameraman walking
around. I said no, because the idea was
that the whole thing was done in one take,
which it was. The idea is not that we sat for
four hours and made a video that looked as
though we sat down and played the song in
one take, the whole idea is that we did the
song in one take, and recorded it, and that’s
what happened.
Is there any sort of blues presence in India?
I’m not aware of it if there is. I know that the
folk band Show Of Hands have been over in
the 1990’s and done some recordings with
some Indian folk musicians, but there is a
folk tradition in most cultures around the
world. I don’t think blues music is really a
part of the culture of India.
Please accept condolences on the loss of
your mother, do you think that her loss has
affected you and influenced you as a writer
and as a musician?
Thank you, yes, my mum died a year ago
last Monday. I think the loss has influenced
me. I think the loss of anyone close affects
someone, but especially the loss of a parent,
I think that does affect everything. My dad
was talking about losing his parents, and he
said that once you lose your parents, you are
an orphan. It’s a relative concept when you
hear someone else talk about it, until you
actually experience the death of a parent
yourself.
Andy Hughes Jane Jordan
I have always believed that sorrow and
loss are an essential ingredient of blues
music, do you think you need to have
suffered in some form or another in order
to really understand how to write and
perform blues songs?
I was talking with a friend of mine who is a
prolific songwriter, and he told me about
the time when he and his wife moved to
the countryside for a year, and he said that
that was the happiest time of his life, and he
didn’t write one song for that entire time. I
asked him if he thought that it was because
he had no actual suffering in his life, and
therefore nothing he needed to write about
to express how he was feeling, and he agreed
with that. I think that a degree of discomfort
is necessary for songs with emotional
input in them, less so for simply pop songs
about love and so on, but more so for deeper
material.
What inspired your interest in blues music?
My dad mainly. I saw a documentary when
I was a small child called The Day The Music
Died, about Buddy Holly, and Richie Valens
and The Big Bopper who died in the plane
crash with him. There were interviews with
Don McLean and the Everly Brothers. So, I
was keen on Buddy Holly and my dad was
fine with that. He played the guitar, and I
pretended to play his guitar, and he got tired
of me breaking his strings, so he bought me
a small guitar with nylon strings, and they
are a lot harder to break. I think Buddy Holly
was influenced by a lot of the original blues
musicians. My dad played in folk clubs and
played a range of material, and he used to
fingerpick a few blues songs, and one of the
songs he played was Monday Morning Blues
by Mississippi John Hurt, which is on my new
album.
But you were not keen to follow
the folk tradition?
I became more interested in fingerpicking,
and developing my style as a guitar player.
My dad did try to teach me fingerpicking, but
he really struggled with it. He could show me
chords and strumming chords, and now to do
a walking bass line, but after that, it was just
not his thing. So I more or less taught myself
from then on, I watched people on TV, and
just worked out for myself how to do what I
wanted to do.
So, you moved on from Buddy Holly to
other musicians?
I did yes. My dad was an avid video recorder,
he had a collection of about five hundred
video tapes he had made, and I went through
those, and listened to a lot of stuff. In the
80’s I got into AC/DC, and for me they are a
blues band. I know that a lot of what they do
is considered heavy rock, but it has a lot of
blues influences in it.
Do you collect blues music?
Not specifically, no. I do like a lot of diverse
things. I know a lot of people say that, but in
my case it’s actually true.
Do you think you need to be a good technical
player to be able to play blues well?
A lot of the original blues masters got by
with really rudimentary guitar playing, but
do you feel you need something more than
that for your music?
A lot of engineers and producers try to
emulate the original sound and atmosphere
of the old blues masters, to make their
recordings sound like that. Someone
once said to me that the way to do
it was to record something, take
the tape outside and wrap it
around a tree and leave it
for six months, to get that
‘weathered’ sound. I
think that’s one of
the stupidest
things I
have
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ever heard! Technology has moved on so
much, and everyone expects crystal clear
clarity in everything they hear. I think there
is an expectation that sound will be crystal
clear. I know that people will use everything
they can to get a perfect recording, but
that’s not always a good thing, I think.
Why not?
Well, I am a huge Status Quo fan, and in
my eyes, they are a blues band first and
foremost, and I was really disappointed to
hear that they play to a click track. I thought
that is really not playing live in a true sense.
I think that people do miss cues or come in
at the wrong time, or mess up the ending of
a song, but to me that is part of the authentic
experience of a live show, so I don’t like
everything to be as perfect as that.
How did you choose the
musicians on your album?
The drummer Josh Clarke who engineered
the album, I started working with Josh during
the lockdown, we did a single together,
I enjoyed working with him. Josh plays in
Kate Rusby’s band but he loves blues. Josh
Jesbury the bassist I met when I was on tour
with Eve Selis and we got on really well. Lee
Southall the harmonica player has been on
quite a few of my albums, and we’ve gigged
together, and he’s a good friend of mine. Bob
Fridzema the keyboard player was the wild
card of the bunch. I got into Joanne Shaw
Taylor’s music, and I went to see her just
before lockdown, and she was just amazing.
I have never seen anyone own a guitar like
she did, zooming up to the twentieth fret
without looking, she was sensational, and
Bob was playing keyboards on the tour. Bob
and I hooked up on Facebook and I asked
him if he’d play on my album, and he agreed
right away. Bob has been on tour with King
King and Walter Trout, he is regarded as one
of the best keyboard players around.
Is there anyone you would
like to work with?
Yes, and it may seem odd for a blues musician,
but I would love to work with Adele, I
think she is really interesting and a genuine
person. But in blues terms, it would be Bonnie
Rait, I think she is fabulous.
Are you going to make another album of
blues classics, or will your next album be
original material?
I’m not really sure to be honest. I started
three albums last year, ideas I had during the
lockdown period when everyone was forced
off the road. I was late to live streaming,
mainly because the day before lockdown
started, I trod on my laptop and that was out
of action, and I couldn’t get it repaired for
quite a while. I wasn’t really comfortable to
be feeling like I was asking for money, but I
decided to have a go and I did a collection
of love songs around Valentine’s Day. One
of the albums has become Black And Blues
Revisited, and the next album may actually be
my first album of entirely original material,
but it may include some covers which was
the other album idea I was working on, so
we’ll see what works out.
Do you have a favourite track
on your new album?
I do, I think Built For Comfort
is my favourite,
and Statesboro’ Blues, because it felt like a
breakthrough in the studio when I recorded
it. For a long time, I was told I was a guitar
player who sang, and I didn’t think that was
a fair reflection of what I do. I think there
is a limit to what you can do vocally when
you are playing intricate fingertstyle guitar.
But when I recorded those songs, I really
felt good singing them. You can’t really tell
on the finished recording, but when I was
singing Statesboro Blues, I was really belting
it out, and it felt great. It makes me feel good
about my vocals. I played rough versions
to my family and friends, people who are
friends for other reasons than my music.
The reaction I got was that I sounded really
SCAN ME
good, which was wonderful, and they are
downloading my music, and seeing me as
a musician, which is exactly what I want.
That is what any musician wants.
Sunjay’s new album “Black & Blues Revisited”
is released by Mighty Tight Records
on October 14th. See Sunjay on tour from
October 28th until November 23rd. Tickets
and album info: www.sunjay.tv
BLUESMATTERS.COM ISSUE 128
39

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INTERVIEW | TROY REDFERN
TROYREDFERNREDFERN
Colin Campbell Adam Kennedy
winging it
I got the chance to chat with slide guitarist,
singer songwriter, band leader Troy
Redfern; first at Edinburgh where he was
supporting When Rivers Meet on his solo
tour, finishing with an online chat at his
home. Hard working, enthusiastic and when
he is unleashed onto a stage, he gives onehundred
percent, high- power entertainment.
He also has a new album out The
Wings Of Salvation. This and other topics
were discussed.
I start asking about how he feels about being
a soloist: “First time solo was supporting
Robert Jon and The Wreck. Had never
soloed before then. Had a kick drum with
me, that was hard work. I learned my lesson
on that tour. Then I supported The Sweet. A
story there: I was in the dressing room and
thought T Rex were bluesy on Twentieth
Century Boy, when I came out to do last
song, I asked the audience whether they
wanted blues or Glam rock, they wanted
the latter. So, I did Get It On, slide version.
I met a friend of Marc Bolan later who
said Marc was heavily influenced by blues
music. He used to sing Howlin Wolf songs in
the dressing room. By the end of that run,
the solo thing, I can take anywhere, you’ve
got no one to come with you. You can bring
it right down and off to any tangent with
the show,” he says with evident pleasure.
We turn to discuss the new album
and its genesis:
“The last album was written over the course
of a year, I demo-ed it all, backing vocals
included and sent it to the studio. With the
new album, I started with a blank canvass.
I worked with Dave Marks, bass player and
all round intuitive musical guy, as well as a
great keys playe. I did forty original ideas
and whittled them down, we bounced off
each other for ideas. It took us four weeks
after starting with nothing, I’ve never done
that before in such a small amount of time.
The hardest part was writing the lyrics for
ten songs. Normally I write the song, I’ll
have a vocal melody, guitar part, then I’ll
build it up. It pushed me to see what I can
do, but I work well under pressure. If you
get a deadline, I manage to do it. What I
like about the new album, It’s a snapshot
of time, it’s not this long drawn thing over
a year with fragments of ideas coming
together. The last album was to do with the
producer Paul Winn who had a particular
vision for that. It was more rock orientated.
On the new one, the brief was I wanted it
more rounded and three dimensional. You
must decide how many guitar tracks to do
because you might lose that dimension.
We didn’t want to fix things in post. We
wanted it to sound like an old album. Like
when Zeppelin recorded, the drums were
not edited, it had to be real. So, there’s no
auto-tuning, it’s basic guitar on one track.
It’s easy to do drop ins and choppings, I had
to do a lot of takes to do it the way Dave
wanted it. There are rock elements to the
album but it’s broader than that. We looked
at the songs being in groups of three: rock,
Americana, and blues tracks. It flows well.
So, I ask, is there a theme or concept to the
album?: “They are self-contained songs.
I put an album of instrumental tunes out
on Bandcamp that had drastically different
elements to previous work. That said,
you never know what will sell. You must
be careful not to put your blinkers on too
much. We didn’t want the new album
over-produced so there were no tracks you
couldn’t replicate live.
Does he consider himself to have a particular
musical style?: “I know what elements
are in there, also the way I write is different.
When I pick up a guitar I just try, play,
and not think. I try to listen to what I’m
doing after the fact. Then I capture that and
build on it. It’s not a conscious songwriting
way, it’s more gut feeling and following that
idea. There are elements of Son House and
Chris Whitley and even Aerosmith. When
growing up, I wasn’t a guitarist who learned
these people’s solos so I can’t directly
reference their music, because I can’t
play it! What comes out are your
own interpretations of things
through whatever technique
I have. You cannot
help playing as yourself,
I am no Stevie Ray
Vaughan!”
“it channels
the energy
you have
as a kid”
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TROY REDFERN | INTERVIEW
And what influenced you?: “The first thing
I remember listening to when six years old
was Queen, A Night At The Opera. I
listened to my brother’s record
collection initially. Then when I
was ten, I got into listening to
Van Halen and Aerosmith. My
parents bought me a guitar.
I listened to the Beatles, Jimi
Hendrix, Son House, Climax
Blues Band. I always liked the
energy of Hendrix.”
So, the blues element to your musical
style was influenced by Son House?:
Absolutely! Other players, like Jonny
Winter. My favourite type
of blues music is the Hill
Country style, the like
of R.L Burnside,
Fred McDowell.
The rural blues felt
and sounded more
real. The identity for
me was what I liked.
Slick Chicago style did
not really do it for me.
The more organic approach
appeals to me. With
Jonny Winter there is a
lot of energy to his style
as well, the rawness attracts
me to these sorts
of players What I
would advise if I
could go back in
time is surround
yourself with
people who are
on the same
page and want
to do the same
SCAN ME
thing as you. If you’re not careful you can
end up wasting time with people who don’t
want to do the same thing as you. Align
yourself with the right people. I’m from a
rural area. You need to meet people, the
industry is all about meeting people. You
don’t want to fake being nice, you either
are or not.”
What guitars and styles he prefers brings a
swift response: “When Brothers In Arms by
Dire Straits came out, I wanted to play saxophone!
My parents were not going to pay
£500, so they got me a clarinet because the
music teacher said this was similar! I didn’t
like getting music lessons. Then I watched
the film Back To The Future and found out
about Van Halen. High energy rock music
of that time in the 80’s, as an early teen
that music is perfect for that time in your
life. It’s good nostalgic music for when
you get older, but it channels the energy
you have as a kid. My brother had a good
record collection. I put together a band
at school and loved it. I spent some time
with Joe Gooch who played with Ten Years
After. I wrote music with him as well. Then
I eventually built my own home studio, so
all the ideas I had growing up, I was able to
get ideas recorded. This is still a kick for me
now. Through chance meetings at Festivals,
I met Darby Todd in Poland. He offered his
services as drummer and contacted Dave
Marks for bass and Ron “Bumblefoot”
Thal on guitars. He introduced me to some
amazing players and to be around them,
this lifted my project. Surround yourself
with people who are better at doing things
than you are! On drums for the new album
is Paul Stewart from the band The Feeling,
he is an amazing drummer. He has a unique
feel, he blasted it out when we went to the
recording studio.”
We finish with a nod to future plans and
working the latest release: “Three singles
from the new album will be coming out.
Touring in Europe November to December.
Manny Montana, Robert Jon’s Tour
Manager arranged this. These will be full
band gigs with Finn McAuley on drums and
Kiera Kenworthy on bass. We will be doing
a headline tour next year. Playing support,
you are playing in front of someone else’s
audience but a percentage of them might
want to buy tickets for your show. It’s
about building up a fan base.”
Troy Redfern’s new album “The Wings
of Salvation” is available from www.
troyredfern.com.
Troy is special guest on DARE’s
UK tour from October
6 - 29, 2022.
Tix: www.thegigcartel.com
BLUESMATTERS.COM
ISSUE 128
43

ROAD
TO
THE
BLUES
DAVE THOMAS
Colin Campbell
Pete Smith
Dave Thomas is a Welsh singer songwriter
guitarist and bandleader. He has several
critically acclaimed albums in his
own right varying in musical styles.
Anyone with an interest in blues
music knows his deep lineage from
stqrting with 1950’s and 60’s
roots. By the late 60’s many
blues-based bands were
turning to more progressive,
psychedelic vibes. One of
the best known of the
era was Blonde on
Blonde, which
Dave joined in
1969. The
band was
successful
and
regularly
toured
with
bands such
as Deep Purple
and Genesis.
Recently Dave
released a
44 ISSUE 128
BLUESMATTERS.COM

new album Road to The Blues.
Coming from Wales, a land steeped in musical
history, I ask about his own origins:
“I was brought up in Newport in South
Wales, an industrial dock town. My father
was a miner’s son and my mother was the
youngest of a family of fifteen, she had ten
elder brothers. At one stage, nine of these
were in a male voice choir in the docks, so
music was in there before I was born. My
Aunt was from Devon and played piano. I remember
there was a piano in the Hall when
I was young, then it disappeared. My father
bought me a tin drum, that disappeared as
did a plastic saxophone he bought me. They
got me a cat because I was distraught - that
lasted a week! Many years later, I realised
the evil Ogre was my uncle who didn’t like
memories of him being in the Docks being
brought into the old Victorian house we
all rattled about in. We had a lodger with a
harmonium, she played in a Baptist Chapel,
she let me pedal the wheels for her. The
early influences with music were to do with
hymns. I was five and cried when singing
We Plough the Fields And Scatter, there’s a
chord change there that felt so emotional
and I associate this with listening to blues
music at a later age. My uncle, in a fit of
remorse bought me a harmonica. I taught
myself to play Bobby Shafto, that was the
very beginning! I got my hands on a mandolin
but couldn’t play it. Then I listened to
early Rolling Stones and Beatles. Before that
I got into Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry. I
was eight when I first heard It Really doesn’t
Matter Anymore by Buddy Holly, a Paul
Anka song. Then my mother saved up for my
twenty-first birthday and contributed to me
buying my first guitar, a Hofner I still use, it’s
great for playing slide with.”
Dave recalls his blues journey:
“My first band was called Skid Row and at
thirteen I could be found in dodgy Caribbean
basement bars in the Docks area playing
to a lot of black folks who adopted me!
There was a cracking blues band in Newport
then, The Cellar Set, who let our band play
between their sets in Church Halls. That
band went to London and became Blonde on
Blonde They made their first album and the
lead singer Ralph Denyer left and formed
another band. They got me, and this was
two weeks before I was supposed to start
University. My mother was mortified! I was
on the road for three years with them. They
were described as a seminal Prog Rock
band, a great experience, hard going. Then I
worked at an aluminium smelting works to
make enough to buy a Morris Minor car and
drive off to London. First band I joined was
Robin Le Mesurier’s Reign. He went on to
play guitar with Rod Stewart. The reason I
left that band was they were offered a job as
being The Wombles! I was back on my knees
in export packaging next. I then started playing
blues in Folk Clubs throughout England.
I was in a duo called Short Stuff with Hugh
Gregory for four years, got my degree, and
got a job working in advertising for twenty
odd years!”
“In 1986, I got involved in a project that
ended up with me playing Knebworth at a
Christian Rock Festival called Greenbelt in
front of 25,000 people. I remember thinking,
this is another fine mess I’ve got into but survived
it. In 1996 I was in Montreux for the
Jazz Festival. I got a message to phone MPL
(McCartney Productions Limited). I’d been
entered into a national competition about
Buddy Holly, and this was to do with people
doing their own interpretations of Buddy’s
songs. I recorded a solo album called Cold
Harbour which had my version of It Doesn’t
Really Matter Anymore, so back to the beginning.
They took me to the Texas Embassy
in London, rehearsed with some celebs.
Whenever I could, I would make and produce
an album. I think I have fourteen out including
the Blonde on Blonde ones. Blues For
Otis (Spann) got acclaim. I love piano players
most, then harmonica and then guitarists
in the blues genre. I was in the middle of divorce
proceedings and my lawyer said ‘This
is jolly good news, Mr Thomas; I suggest you
do something you enjoy for very little money
for a while because any money you make will
disappear… ‘ I went back to music!”
The way I play
is very easy
“I had no right to write a blues song of my
own, this was black man’s music. What
changed that was I used t be involved with
Shakedown Blues for ten years. Gerard Homan
would bring black American artists over
to do gigs in the UK. I ended playing with
forty black Americans, all of different styles.
Wallace Coleman the harmonica player and I
made an album together in Cleveland where
he lived. He was the only harmonica player
Robert Lockwood Junior ever used. I met
and played with him because I knew the language
of the blues. We made a double album
in 2006 Repossession Blues. Later I went
to record, this was when Robert Lockwood
Junior became very ill - they wheeled me in
DAVE THOMAS | INTERVIEW
with his family and band. I wrote an album
with Wallace about things I observed and
felt. I had my flight delayed by a day and so
was able to attend his funeral. One of the
speakers was a son of Robert Johnson. I can
write a blues song now; a couple of divorces
has helped that!”
Asked if he considers himself to have a particular
style, Dave responds:
“I’m laid back as a person. The way I play is
very easy. This informs my guitar style a lot.
My favourite blues guitar player is Matt Guitar
Murphy. I’m more impressed by a jazzy
technique than heavy rock, blues on the
edge of jazz. BB King and T Bone Walker are
huge influences on my guitar style. Having
been in front of Deep Purple and Steve Miller
I know how loud musicians can be. A story
from the gig at The Dome in Brighton related
to talking with Steve Miller’s bass player. He
said, you didn’t get paid enough as a hired
hand! I like collaborating with musicians who
are better. A lot of good blues is conversational.
I’m not a raging frontman but very
happy with it. Connecting with the band
on stage is important. This became more
evident after lockdown. Robert Lockwood
Junior’s best advice was You got to get behind
the man. He meant; you are not there to
show off, if you do your solo that’s great then
step back into the rhythm section because
the man would be someone like Muddy
Waters. There are clear jobs to do especially
if you’re playing Chicago blues. The voice
is also most of value. I get a feeling with UK
blues bands they disregard the voice; this is
a very important factor in a band. Reading
about the composer Chopin I read, in order
to be a good piano player, you have to be
a good singer first. I’m a singer first, guitar
player second! I play my guitar upside down
never read music, self-taught guitarist. The
classic twelve bar notation of blues is akin
to a Shakesperean Sonnet. Blues is essential
to my life. The blues is your friend, stay true
to your own blues. I found this out in early
puberty and it’s been reinforced the older I
get. It’s about finding your own voice, your
own truth.”
Dave talked about a few tracks from his
album Road to The Blues.
It’s the first blues album where I’ve written
most of the stuff. That defines a first for me.
There’s heartfelt blues mixed with tongue
in cheek phrasing. Song writing on my own
starts by playing acoustic guitar, but blues
albums are about the lyrics for me. My writing
partner is Julia Smalley. A quote from J.
B. Lenoir - ‘Keep on going if you know you
are right!’ That’s to do with being true to
yourself. That is a joy and a duty. I will keep
on going until I drop. Best advice came from
Robert Lockwood Junior. ‘Keep your eye on
the money,’ Dave ends with a laugh!
BLUESMATTERS.COM ISSUE 128
45

PLAY YOUR
BLUES AWAY
THE 1962 ‘BLUESBREAKER’
Add soul to your sound with authentic 1960s valve
warmth. The 1962 truly encapsulates the spirit of the
blues. A 30W icon made in the UK.

LIVE MUSIC
SAMANTHA FISH
15 OCT OXFORD O2 ACADEMY2 OXFORD
16 OCT MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2 MANCHESTER
18 OCT BRIGHTON CHALK BRIGHTON
19 OCT EDINBURGH QUEENS HALL EDINBURGH
20 OCT KK’S STEEL MILL WOLVERHAMPTON
21 OCT GLASGOW SAINT LUKE’S GLASGOW
22 OCT SOUTHAMPTON BROOK SOUTHAMPTON
23 OCT NOTTINGHAM ROCK CITY NOTTINGHAM
24 OCT CARDIFF TRAMSHED CARDIFF
25 OCT NEWCASTLE WYLAM BREWERY NEWCASTLE
26 OCT LONDON O2 SHEP BUSH EMPIRE LONDON
27 OCT BATH KOMEDIA BATH
KING KING
16 OCT NORTHAMPTON ROADMENDER NORTHAMPTON
20 OCT SOUTHAMPTON 1865 SOUTHAMPTON
21 OCT HANGER 34 LIVERPOOL
17 NOV BELFAST EMPIRE MUSIC HALL BELFAST
WHEN RIVERS MEET
14 OCT CARDIFF CLWB IFOR BACH CARDIFF
16 OCT GLOUCESTER GUILDHALL GLOUCESTER
21 OCT HUDDERSFIELD PARISH HUDDERSFIELD
23 OCT YORK CRESCENT YORK
29 OCT LIVERPOOL ARTS CLUB LIVERPOOL
30 OCT MILTON KEYNES STABLES MILTON KEYNES
02 DEC PLANET ROCKSTOCK MID GLAMORGAN
21 JAN HRH NWOCR OXFORD
KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD
15 OCT BRISTOL O2 ACADEMY BRISTOL
16 OCT DE LA WARR PAVILION BEXHILL ON SEA
18 OCT LONDON O2 SHEP BUSH EMPIRE LONDON
20 OCT PYRAMID AND PARR HALL WARRINGTON
21 OCT EDINBURGH QUEENS HALL EDINBURGH
22 OCT SHEFFIELD O2 ACADEMY SHEFFIELD
23 OCT NEWCASTLE TYNE THEATRE NEWCASTLE
TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND
02 NOV THE HELIX DUBLIN, IE
04 NOV THE LONDON PALLADIUM LONDON
05 NOV THE LONDON PALLADIUM LONDON
06 NOV THE LONDON PALLADIUM LONDON
09 NOV MANCHESTER ACADEMY MANCHESTER
10 NOV O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW GLASGOW
KINGFISH INGRAM
15 OCT LEADMILL SHEFFIELD
16 OCT 02 INSTITUTE BIRMINGHAM
18 OCT ROYAL CONCERT HALL GLASGOW
19 OCT UNIVERSITY SU NORTHUMBRIA
21 OCT 02 RITZ MANCHESTER
EMMA WILSON
02 OCT PIZZA EXPRESS, SOHO LONDON
18 NOV TEMPERANCE LEAMINGTON SPA
19 NOV TENBY BLUES FESTIVAL 2022 ENBY
20 NOV WHITBY BLUES FESTIVAL 2022 WHITBY
25 NOV CRAWDADDY CLUB RICHMOND, SURREY
01 DEC BRACKNELL BLUES CLUB BRACKNELL
04 DEC RIPLEY BLUES CLUB HARROGATE
14 JAN GT BRITISH ROCK & BLUES FEST ‘23 SKEGNESS
09 APR HRH BLUES 2023 SHEFFIELD
JACK J HUTCHINSON
5 OCT THE RAILWAY WINCHESTER
8 OCT THE BRICKMAKERS NORWICH
9 OCT THE CRAUFURD ARMS MILTON KEYNES
14 OCT THUNDERBOLT BRISTOL
19 OCT BANNERMANS EDINBURGH
20 OCT THE WATERLOO BLACKPOOL
21 OCT RILLIANS NEWCASTLE
22 OCT HRH BLUES V CROWS LIVERPOOL
12 NOV ST AUSTELL BAND CLUB
19 NOV WHITBY BLUES, RHYTHM & ROCK FESTIVAL
2 DEC LOOE BLUES RHYTHM & ROCK FESTIVAL
THE MILK MEN
7 OCT SWANAGE BLUES FESTIVAL SWANAGE
22 OCT HRH BLUES FESTIVAL LIVERPOOL
11 NOV BARNOLDSWICK MUSIC & ARTS LANCASHIRE
12 NOV HALLELUJAH FESTIVAL HARTLEPOOL
13 NOV THE FLYING CIRCUS NEWARK
08 DEC HALF MOON PUTNEY
17 DEC THE MUSICIAN LEICESTER
CHRIS BEVINGTON ORG.
01 OCT THE STABLES MILTON KEYNES
12 NOV HARTLEPOOL BLUES FESTIVAL HARTLEPOOL
10 DEC THE VOODOO ROOMS EDINBURGH
DANA GILLESPIE
09 OCT WHITBY BLUES FESTIVAL
DOM MARTIN
20 OCT TAPESTRY ARTS BRADFORD
21 OCT MANCHESTER RUGBY CLUB MANCHESTER
22 OCT THE WHARF STOURPORT
23 OCT THE HARLINGTON FLEET
25 OCT THE HALF MOON LONDON
26 OCT THE FACTORY WORTHING
27 OCT BOURNE MUSIC CLUB SITTINGBOURNE
28 OCT FARNDON COMMUNITY CLUB CHESTER
29 OCT MACKENZIE HALL BROCKWEIR
07 NOV THE 1865 SOUTHAMPTON
08 NOV THE ROBIN BILSTON
09 NOV THE GRACE LONDON
10 NOV THE YARDBIRDS CLUB GRIMSBY
11 NOV HALLELUJAH FESTIVAL HARTLEPOOL
13 NOV THE CAVES EDINBURGH
09 DEC NAN RICES NEWRY
ALL INFORMATION CORRECT AT THE TIME OF GOING
TO PRINT. PLEASE CHECK WITH THE VENUES BEFORE
TRAVELLING OR BOOKING HOTELS

RMR TOP 50
ROOTS MUSIC REPORT’S BLUES ALBUM CHART
POS ARTIST ALBUM LABEL
1 DELBERT MCCLINTON OUTDATED EMOTION HOT SHOT
2 CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE MISSISSIPPI SON ALLIGATOR
3 SHEMEKIA COPELAND DONE COME TOO FAR ALLIGATOR
4 JANIVA MAGNESS HARD TO KILL LABEL LOGIC
5 THE TEXAS HORNS EVERYBODY LET’S ROLL BLUE HEART
6 BREEZY RODIO UNDERGROUND BLUES WINDCHILL
7 EDGAR WINTER BROTHER JOHNNY QUARTO VALLEY
8 JOHN NÉMETH MAY BE THE LAST TIME NOLA BLUES
9 MAVIS STAPLES CARRY ME HOME ANTI
10 KENNY NEAL STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART RUF
11 ANTHONY GERACI BLUES CALLED MY NAME BLUE HEART
12 DERRICK PROCELL HELLO MOJO! CATFOOD
13 TODD SHARPVILLE MEDICATION TIME DIXIEFROG
14 PETER VETESKA & BLUES TRAIN SO FAR SO GOOD BLUE HEART
15 TAJ MAHAL & RY COODER GET ON BOARD PERRO VERDE
16 MIGHTY MIKE SCHERMER JUST GETTIN’ GOOD LITTLE VILLAGE FOUNDATION
17 DAVE THOMAS ROAD TO THE BLUES BLONDE ON BLONDE
18 SILENT PARTNERS CHANGING TIMES LITTLE VILLAGE
19 KAT RIGGINS PROGENY GULF COAST
20 ALEX LOPEZ NASTY CRIME MAREMIL
21 STEVE HOWELL & THE MIGHTY MEN BEEN HERE AND GONE OUT OF THE PAST
22 DENNIS JOHNSON REVELATION BOODA LEE
23 KEB MO GOOD TO BE... ROUNDER
24 THE B. CHRISTOPHER BAND SNAPSHOTS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR GUITAR ONE
25 HARRISON KENNEDY THANKS FOR TOMORROW ELECTRO-FI
26 DEMETRIA TAYLOR DOIN’ WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO DO DELMARK
27 WALTER TROUT RIDE PROVOGUE
28 EMANUEL CASABLANCA BLOOD ON MY HANDS KINGS COUNTY BLUES
29 RYAN LEE CROSBY WINTER HILL BLUES SELF-RELEASE
30 JOHNNY SANSONE INTO YOUR BLUES SHORTSTACK
31 PHANTOM BLUES BAND BLUES FOR BREAKFAST LITTLE VILLAGE FOUNDATION
32 DAVE WELD & THE IMPERIAL FLAMES NIGHTWALK DELMARK
33 ALBERT CASTIGLIA I GOT LOVE GULF COAST
34 BRAD ABSHER TULSA TEA HORTON
35 TINSLEY ELLIS DEVIL MAY CARE ALLIGATOR
36 ORPHAN JON AND THE ABANDONED OVER THE PAIN VINTAGE LANELL
37 JIM DAN DEE REAL BLUES SELF-RELEASE
38 DYLAN TRIPLETT WHO IS HE? VIZZTONE
39 DAVID LUMSDEN ROOTED IN THE BLUES SELF-RELEASE
40 TOMMY CASTRO A BLUESMAN CAME TO TOWN ALLIGATOR
41 ERIC CLAPTON NOTHING BUT THE BLUES REPRISE
42 VAL STARR & THE BLUES ROCKET HEALING KIND OF BLUES SANDWICH FACTORY
43 DIUNNA GREENLEAF I AIN’T PLAYIN’ LITTLE VILLAGE
44 LARRY MCCRAY BLUES WITHOUT YOU KEEPING THE BLUES ALIVE
45 TRUDY LYNN GOLDEN GIRL NOLA BLUE
46 MICK KOLASSA I’M JUST GETTING STARTED! ENDLESS BLUES
47 VANEESE THOMAS FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT BLUE HEART
48 CAROLYN WONDERLAND TEMPTING FATE ALLIGATOR
49 PATTY TUITE HARD CASE OF THE BLUES THREAD CITY PRODUCTIONS
50 THE DIG 3 THE DIG 3 SELF-RELEASE
www.rootsmusicreport.com

Steve Yourglivch
Chris Wilson & Kit Wood
NOBODY’S FOOL
Artistically Joanne Shaw Taylor is in the best place
of her life right now. Since signing to Joe Bonamassa’s
label Keeping The Blues Alive she got to
record the album of blues covers she had always
wanted to and released a stunning live album,
Blues From The Heart Live. Both received critical
acclaim and are still riding high in blues charts
across the world.
What better time to go into the studio and record
a new album that focuses on Joanne the songwriter
and singer? With the production team of Joe B
and Josh Smith, who are gaining an ever-growing
reputation of getting the best out of artists, that’s
exactly what Joanne has done. The resulting
album is called Nobody’s Fool and is expected to
be released later this year.
Joanne is now based in the USA and when I caught
up with her via Zoom was in the midst of photo
shoots and other gruelling media duties expected
of artists these days. As always, though, she was in
good spirits and keen to talk about the new album
which she is clearly very proud of.

INTERVIEW | JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR
“Having released two albums that are really
traditional blues albums within the space
of about twelve months I realised that if
ever there was a time to record an album
of songs that just felt right without having
to worry too much about playing too many
riffs or having them swing a certain way this
was it.” Joanne tells me. “‘I could sneak one
out that was me writing whatever I felt like
writing,” she adds with a smile.
“I just sat down and messed around with
it. I’ve never really written to a specific
audience base or been too obsessed with
having like three shuffles, three rocky ones
and three slow ones, you know. But this
time I did play around with acoustic guitar
and wrote more melodic lines. It was really
good fun.”
To me, it works very well. It’s great to
hear another side of Joanne Shaw Taylor
emphasised that maybe sometimes gets
missed. It can become easy for great guitar
players to write tracks that are a vehicle for
the instrument, it’s refreshing to see Joanne
display a talent as a songwriter and singer.
I love that straight from the opening title
track, Nobody’s Fool, the vocal is very much
to the forefront. Joanne agrees:
“t’s a funny thing but I don’t see myself as
just a guitar player, the older I’ve get the
more I think of myself as a singer who happens
to play guitar as well. There are others
in this genre who are firstly guitarists who
also sing, I’m more a mixture of guitarist,
singer and songwriter. It is important to me
to have that vocal to the forefront because
after all it is the vocal that sells the song.
I’ve been very lucky in my career to have
great mentors around me, people like Dave
Stewart, he told me when I was 15 that
most of the public would cite the guitar solo
in Hotel California as the greatest ever, but
that was because it’s in a great song.”
Having said that, the track Nobody’s Fool
also contains a tasty guitar solo in its midst.
Joanne points out:
“I remember in the studio, Joe and Josh
both giving a tremendous amount of help
finding solos that were more melodic and
actually fitted the song better.”
Bad Blood follows the title track and it
has a cinematic feel to it, I could imagine it
as the theme music to one of those spaghetti
Westerns. “Yeah, I agree, when
I demoed that one out I had it a fair bit more
up tempo. In the studio Joe and Josh both
said they heard it with that spaghetti
western vibe straight away. I ought to
get the label to release it as a single so I
can make a video, dress up like Clint Eastwood
and ride a horse.”
Won’t Be Fooled Again is track three, and it
isn’t a cover of The Who. Rather it’s quite a
dreamy atmospheric ballad with Joe adding
some guitar.
“It certainly isn’t a Who song, it’s about as
far removed as you can get,” Joanne laughs.
“It’s actually one of my personal favourites
on the album, I like pretty ballads. It was fun
because it’s a little out of my wheelhouse as
a guitarist but very much my wheelhouse as
a writer. Joe is such a versatile player it was
fun to include him on that one to see what
he came up with and trade off a little bit.”
I wondered if the album had been recorded
in one go or spread over a period of time.
Joanne told me the whole thing was done
in a single week. “We were on a really tight
schedule; I wrote it in about three weeks
and then flew to L.A. and recorded in a
week. It was both the quickest and longest
week of my life!”
Joe is just the
ringleader
That sense of continuity and the feel of the
chemistry happening does show through:
“We got away with it a bit by using Joe’s
band so obviously they play together a
lot and are very tight. They shoved me into
the middle of it! We cut two or three songs
per day, so we were very together by the
end of it.”
Just No Getting Over You is another softer
track. I told Joanne I felt it had a Tedeschi
Trucks feel to it. “Oh nice! I hadn’t picked up
on that, but I like that. For me it’s a mix of
Sheryl Crow and The Stones, a kinda swagger.
It was actually one of the first ones I
wrote. I like that still has a nod to the blues.”
Runaway is probably the poppiest song on
the album and was one of the few where
Joanne had the lyrical ideas ahead of the
music. “You should hear the demo, it was a
lot more poppier, they really reeled me in.
Actually, the demo was a bit more aggressive,
they turned it into something beautiful,
a more Joni Mitchell kinda vibe. Which
was lovely as I was staying in Laurel Canyon
where her house was. It’s hard to be there
and not think of Joni Mitchell.”
Another of my favourites is Then There’s
You. It has a rock’n’roll feel going on:
“That was a lot of fun. That was originally
written for the Reckless Heart album, and
it just didn’t fit that album. So, I sent the
original demo to Joe and Josh and they
loved it. We re-recorded it and it works
really well for this album.” It has another
super guitar solo too.
It has been well documented that Dave
Stewart of Eurythmics fame discovered and
mentored Joanne as a young teenage performer.
So, it should be no surprise that he
guests on a super cover of Missionary Man.
“Dave has been a very good friend and
mentor for a couple of decades now. He
was one of the first to encourage me to be
more than just a guitar player, he thought I
had a voice both vocally and lyrically, that
I had something to say which shaped me as
an artist. With that song I did an acoustic
version that was bluesy and heavy and
sent it to Joe and Josh. When we got to the
studio, they had worked it out into how it
sounds now. I really like it; I think it has a
White Stripes vibe. Dark and funky. Dave
was in L.A. at the time so I was a bit cheeky
and asked if he would come in and do it.”
On this track, and actually throughout the
album, there are some super backing vocals
happening, I asked Joanne about those.
“Oh, they are brilliant. They came in and
over one day did bv’s on seven songs. You
know three-part harmonies; and that’s
real singing. I couldn’t do that. They were
fantastic.”
Working with Joe and Josh certainly seems
to have opened up lots more scope and
possibility for Joanne to broaden her vision
in the studio. “I hadn’t really thought about
it but previously we did the covers album,
so this was the first time with new material.
It was a bit nerve wracking in terms of
sending them songs. I think Josh was a bit
worried before-hand that I hadn’t written
any songs, Joe has known me longer and
knew it would be OK. Most of the demos
I sent were just me and an acoustic. It was
great to hear their ideas in pre-production.
For once I felt like I was in a band, it was a
collective effort. Joe and Josh really compliment
each other too. Josh is effectively the
band leader, he does all the charts, directs
the band etc, and he has his own vision. He
wrote a song for this too which I love, New
Love. Joe is just the ringleader, not many
people have his amount of studio experience.”
52 ISSUE 128
BLUESMATTERS.COM

THE VIRTUAL BLUES | INTERVIEW
The track New Love actually closes
the album and does it perfectly, it’s a
bouncy upbeat number with some
great sax going on.
On the track Figure It Out there is a guest
appearance by Carmen Vandenburg of
Bones UK and Jeff Beck renown. Probably
not an obvious choice to record with
Joanne but it certainly works. I wondered
how it came about.
“I used to baby sit Carmen! She went to
school with Django Stewart, Dave’s son.
When I was fifteen or sixteen, I moved
down to London and they looked after
me, so at weekends I looked after Django
and Carmen. And we both lived in London
around 2014/15 so saw each other a bit.
So, it worked out well as she was in L.A.
at the time.”
The Leaving Kind is another super
well-written song. Really slow and retrospective.
“I wrote that originally as a slow
acoustic piece and had it around for a few
years. I was struggling to find a way to really
make it work. Joe added some lyrics and
I was super happy when I heard it back. I
don’t think I would ever have taken it down
the route they pursued. And it was nice to
have a big melodramatic guitar solo.”
JST
The next job is to think about how these
songs will fit into a live setting alongside the
rockier and more traditional blues songs in
the back catalogue. It’s a challenge Joanne
is relishing and already thinking hard about.
There are tour dates in the book including
visiting the UK in December.
“We know we must promote the new
album. And there are some older songs we
have to play because it would be strange
if we didn’t. Then there are songs we’ve
done heavily for a year or so that you need
a break from just to freshen it up. Also, we
can change a few numbers each night, mix it
up a bit. It’s nice not to play the exact same
set list every night. It keeps it fresh.”
The UK part of the tour kicks off on 22nd
November at Cardiff and continues for
about three weeks, check the dates out
on Joanne’s website. I for one am looking
forward to hearing these new songs live.
Joanne Shaw Taylor’s new album “Nobody’s
Fool” is released by KTBA Records on October
28th. The album is available from www.
ktbarecords.com
Joanne tours the UK from November 22nd
until December 11th. Tickets available
from www.joanneshawtaylor.com
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53

TEDESCHI TRUCKS
BAND
Stephen Harrison
Adam Kennedy
It is a very rare thing these days, or any day
for that matter, to have a husband and wife
playing in the same band. But that is exactly
what happened back in 2010.
Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks each had
their own band, but decided that it would be
best for them to combine forces and have
their own band as one unit. In twelve years,
Tedeschi Trucks have become one of the
finest blues and blues/rock bands that have
ever graced the scene.
In that short time, Tedeschi Trucks has
evolved into one of the most successful
bands in the blues genre. Along the way,
Tedeschi Trucks has amassed awards from
all parts of the blues and blues/rock worlds.
In 2014, Blues Music Awards made them the
Best Blues Band, Blues/Rock album of the
year in 2017, and Grammy Award Winners
in 2018.
So far they have released four studio albums
and three live albums, the last live album was
a rendition of the iconic, Layla And Other
Assorted Love Songs ( Derek And The Dominoes)
during the lockdown, entitled, Layla
Revisited, Live At Lockin’. 2022 has seen the
band embark on something quite unique in
terms of an album release. Not one album
for 2022, but four albums, all connecting and
revolving with one another. It is a musical
journey of epic proportions, each album
having the title, I Am The Moon, then subsequent
mini titles to mark each album.
Having been fortunate enough to review all
four albums, I can say without fear or trepidation
that this collection of music is the
finest of their wonderful career so far.
It represents their feelings for gospel, soul,
and of course blues music. As a touring band,
they are due to play a series of gigs in The UK
in November. I’m sure that many of the songs
on the I Am The Moon series will feature
heavily in the live shows. I, for one, can’t
wait to see this amazing band on their latest
adventure.
I AM THE MOON:
I. CRESCENT
I Am The Moon is the first of
four albums that are being
released by Tedeschi Trucks
Band. 24 original songs will make up the
four albums that have been inspired in no small way by a 12th
Century poet by the name of Nizami Gonjavi. The basis of the
poem was used as a huge influence on the making of Layla, And
Other Assorted Love Songs, which Tedeschi Trucks covered
in a live setting a couple of years ago. It seems that Layla was
the main character behind the original poem. Anyway, back
to the album in question, I Am The Moon contains just five
songs, but has a playing time of well over thirty minutes, so
in essence, you are getting a full album of material. Hear My
Dear opens the album in true Tedeschi Trucks style. Susan
Tedeschi’s vocals pour through the speakers better than I
think I’ve ever heard her before. The whole band is on fire
right from the start, and Derek Trucks’ slide guitar work is
something to behold. The mixture of soul, R “n” B, and blues gel
so well together, as they always have done. Harmonies play a
significant part in this band’s make-up, never more so than on
the title track, I Am The Moon. Alongside great musicians, the
harmonies and vocal talents ooze through this song like a knife
through butter. There is not a chink in their armour, nothing
is out of place, whether it is with the writing, playing, or the
overall production. The final track, Pasaquan, is a twelve-minute
instrumental that will take you back to albums in the 70s.
Now, back then, long instrumentals could be a tad boring, but
not this one.
I AM THE MOON:
II. ASCENSION
This album contains seven
songs of such brilliance, just
as brilliant as the first album
in the series. Playing With Emotion
opens II Ascension, and it certainly does not disappoint. Susan
Tedeschi has one of the most powerful soul, blues, and gospel
voices around today. The emotion of the song hits you from
the off. An amazing collection of musicians pull together to
make this song so full of feeling and yes, emotion. As usual,
Derek Trucks takes the lead and rhythm guitar duties and does
not disappoint. The band has the very rare ability to make a
studio album and have the same feelings as a live performance.
Believe me, that is not as easy as it sounds. That is what makes
Tedeschi Trucks so special. A combination of awesome musicianship,
fantastic writing, and know-how as to providing the
listener with a unique experience. Ain’t That Something sees
GABE Dixon sharing vocal duties alongside Susan, I’m almost
at a loss for words as to how good this song is. So Long Saviour
is as blues as you can get, and also quite raunchy in its delivery.
For me, this is where the heart of the band lies, blues with a
hint of raunchiness and devil-may-care attitude. The horn
section contributes so much to the album, as on every album,
and in a live setting, they are truly remarkable as a unit. This
4-album collection will, in my view, go down as one of the 21st
century’s greatest amalgamation of blues, soul, and gospel
music. It is a rare thing for one band to contain such beauty
and craft in everything that they do. Tedeschi Trucks band is
phenomenal. A collection of musical genius.
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I AM THE MOON:
III. THE FALL
The third installment in this
fabulous montage of musical
delight starts with Somehow,
written by Gabe Dixon and Tia Sillers.
Each of these albums although in a series of 4, has an identity
of its own. This opening track amplifies that so well. The sweet
vocals of Susan Tedeschi with the band, and in particular,
Derek Trucks playing as if his very life depended on it. I find
that The Fall is a much looser album than the previous two. It
seems to have more swing and liquidity about it. The tracks on
this album are slightly harder, more blues and rocky, a sort of
in-your-face approach. Whenever anyone mentions Tedeschi
trucks, they automatically rave about the vocal talents of Susan,
and the extraordinary playing of Derek, and these are two
very understandable points. However, that’s not all that this
band has in its arsenal. You also need to consider the writing
capabilities of both Susan and Derek, and also other members
of the band. Take for example Gravity, written by Gabe Dixon
and Oliver Wood. This song gives way to the dirtier side of the
blues, the raunchy side, it swings like hell. All six tracks here,
move and swing more than the first two albums, but still there
remains an underlying sense of soul and emotion. I can’t think
of any other band that is capable of producing albums like this,
especially in a series such as this. The final track, Take Me As
I Am, once again demonstrates the beautiful voice of Susan
Tedeschi. A very fitting way to end another fantastic milestone
in this marvellous series of albums. Bravo.
I AM THE MOON:
IV. FAREWELL
This is the final piece of the
musical jigsaw. The fourth album
of this amazing collection of material
from this truly amazing band. Over
the four albums, the tempo and music have twisted and turned
every which way. That is what brings me the most joy, the
ever-changing moods and genres, soul, gospel, and of course
blues. Soul Sweet Song epitomizes this so well, the actual title
of the song leaves you in no doubt as to what the tune will be
like. I swear that both Susan and Derek have become more accomplished
artists through this whole adventure. With songs
such as this, they have grown and taken these songs to a new
plateau. The mainstay of the band is the vocals of Susan and
the playing of Derek, but let’s not forget just how good they
are as songwriters. Their songwriting skills have evolved along
with their musical interpretations, making the four albums
such a pleasurable listening experience. What also shines
through are the wonderful backing vocals and the production
of everyone involved. This is an all-around wonderful production
by great musicians. There are six songs on this album, each
one a musical gem. The release of four albums back-to-back is
not your everyday occurrence, this release by Tedeschi Trucks
will be remembered for a very long time. Not just because of
the release of the four albums, but because of the magnificent
songs that adorn these four albums. I sincerely hope that many
of these songs will get to be heard in a live environment later
this year when Tedeschi trucks band plays in the UK. That
would be the icing on the cake.
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55

JO CARLEY
& THE OLD DRY SKULLS
Adam Kennedy
Jo Carley and The Old Dry Skulls are looking
to bring something a bit different to the
blues world. Jo is a self-confessed Voodoo
Queen who has been sent to raise a little
hell and entertain you. The group’s offering
has been described as “Voodoo sounds
and syncopated rhythms of the blues,
but uniquely delivered with an old-timey
vaudeville twist.” And if that doesn’t get
your attention, then nothing will.
The British outfit are getting ready to
release their eagerly anticipated new album
‘I’ll Put My Voodoo On You’ in November.
Of course, the pandemic era provided the
group the time to get creative. Speaking
of the pandemic, Jo said that: “Not being
able to play live was very difficult. We had
to cancel so many gigs, and it was just one
disappointment after another. It just gets to
a point where you’re like, I’m not sure if I can
take any more disappointment.” However,
the silver lining to this prolonged period of
downtime was that the artist could concentrate
on making new music. “We love writing
music as well. So that was good, in a way, that
we got to just spend time writing,” said Jo.
The group also used the downtime to further
delve into the world of recording techniques.
“The three of us have big interests in recording.
We’re quite nerdy about it. We’re always
talking about microphones and recording
gear. So, we did a lot of research as to how to
make the best of what we’ve got,” explained
Jo. With their forthcoming release, the
group used a combination of contemporary
and analogue recording techniques. “We’re
recording on to Pro Tools. So, at least, we’re
not recording all to tape - even though I’d
love to. That would be a dream come true,
but it’s just not available to us to do that,”
said Jo. “We mix onto tape, so it goes from
the computer onto tape when we’re happy
with the mix we’ve made.” Of course, tape
adds a whole layer of complexity to the process.
“Once it goes to tape, there’s no way to
change anything. You’ve got to be really sure
what you’re doing,” said Jo. “We put a lot of
trust in Ed, the mixing engineer at Gizzard
Recordings, and he seems to know his stuff.”
Supplied
Jo Carley and her partner Tim form twothirds
of the trio. The benefit of living
together was that whilst other groups were
separated from their band mates, their husband
and wife writing partnership was able
to continue during the lockdown. “We basically
turned our house into a recording studio.
We got rid of the couch and everything
and turned that into a live room. The house
just became this rehearsal room and
recording studio. Which it still is; we
haven’t put it back. I think it’s going to
stay that way. It’s just a really creative
space,” explained Jo Carley.
In terms of how the pair work
together in the songwriting process,
Jo said: “Tim writes all the music
because he’s the guitarist. I write
the melodies and the lyrics
we do 50/50. Usually,
he’ll have a riff,
and if I like it, I
will do a bit of ad
lib. We record
our ideas and
then listen back
to them. We can
then expand on
those ideas.”
The songs
composed by Jo
Carley and The
Old Dry Skulls are
set in a fictional
world where anything
can happen.
“With our second
album, we created
this underworld on a
faraway tropical island.
It’s kind of frozen in time
in the 1930s and it’s inhabited
by zombies, witch
doctors, voodoo queens
and down and outs,” explains
Jo. “All of our songs
are based on characters and
happenings that are on this
island. The last three albums,
basically, are a continuation of
what goes on in that island.”
Whilst the rest of the world was delving
into streaming movies and TV shows such
as Tiger King during lockdown – that wasn’t
of interest to Jo Carley and the Dry Skulls.
“It’s weird because this place and these
characters are almost real to us. It’s kind of
like watching a Netflix series. What’s going
to happen next? But we’re the ones planning
what’s going to happen next,” she said.
“Me and Tim, we both love reading horror
novels and watching horror films - I like the
older ones.” This ghoulish fascination also
feeds into the music which the pair enjoy.
“It’s usually got dark, lyrical content. We
are usually attracted to that, for whatever
reason. I think I like being artistically scared.
Not scared in real life, but you know, when
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JO CARLEY & THE OLD DRY SKULLS | INTERVIEW
on a roller coaster, watching a horror film or
reading a horror book.”
Despite the fictional nature of the band’s
songs, there is more than meets the eye
to the group’s lyrics. “I prefer lyrics about
escapism rather than real-life stuff. But
our songs are open to interpretation,” she
says. “Not all of them, but a lot of them have
double meanings and those double meanings
kind of reflect on what’s happening in
current times.”
The group have recently been touring
across mainland Europe including their
debut shows in Hungary. “We’ve played
in Germany, Belgium, and Holland quite
a lot. They really get us. The difference in
language doesn’t really matter. We get the
German audiences dancing. So that’s always
good,” said Jo.
In addition to their wonderful musical
creations, Jo Carley and The Old Dry Skulls
embrace the spirit of Vaudeville with their
theatrical stage shows. “It’s not something
I started doing straightaway. It just kind
of developed over time,” said Jo. “I would
do it in one song, and then a couple more.
And then you pick up tricks of the trade on
the way through your gigs. James our bass
player has really got into it as well, he’s quite
expressive with his playing. It’s really good
fun, especially with the subject matter of our
songs. You can’t be too serious; you’ve got to
be a little bit theatrical.”
Moving forward the group will continue to
promote their new album by touring. “We’ve
got the Hallelujah Festival in November and
a few more gigs in England,” said Jo. “We’ve
got an Italian tour in November as well for
a couple of weeks. Then we’re back gigging
and touring in March next year, and that’s
the UK and Europe.”
I’ll Put My Voodoo On You by Jo Carley and
The Old Dry Skulls is out on 14th Nov via
Voodoo Shack Records.
“We basically turned
our house into a
recording studio”
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57

MALAYA BLUE
BLUES CREDENTIALS
Paul Davies
Boo Marshall
Not universally known as a music Mecca,
Norwich, however, does have a bustling
music scene in and around its medieval city
centre and it was the scene for a gang of
notable musicians to enter Norfolk’s county
lines to lay down the tracks that comprise
Malaya Blue’s fourth album, Blue Credentials,
on which, like the canary mascot of
Norwich football club, she sings sweetly
on this recording’s twelve blues and jazztinged
soulful songs.
Overseen by Grammy Award winning
producer Dennis Walker, famed for his
work with Robert Cray and BB King… the
aptly titled Blue Credentials takes Malaya’s
music up a notch or two on this prestigious
recording. She tells me how she hooked up
with this highly sought-after producer: “Our
collaboration started after Heartsick, and
before Still. My manager, Steve Yourglivch,
sent Heartsick to Dennis and we didn’t
hear anything back for quite some time. We
thought that maybe we had fallen below
the threshold. Then suddenly, Dennis got in
touch, and he was like, ‘oh, my god, her voice,
she’s great,’“ Malaya enthuses:
“But what he did feel was that we needed to
develop the songs and I needed to develop
my skills as both a songwriter and as a vocalist.
So, he came on board and said he’d be
interested in working with us. I immediately
realised that I had to go back to school, unlearn
some bad habits, and accept that when
somebody like that comes into your project
you don’t ask questions. You don’t criticise.
You don’t use your ego at the front of your
decision making you say yes, please. Thank
you very much. What would you like me to
do? So that was pretty much the theme.”
Malaya enlarges upon working with this
blues production legend and the performances
that he inspired from her: “Dennis
has sadly since passed and part of the eulogy
that his wife wrote was to say help another
musician. So, I think when he got the album,
which I’m sure was one of many that he
received over the course of a year, I think
he heard something that he thought had
potential and I was the lucky pick out of the
hat. I was the one that he decided: I think I
can work with this artist. She’s got most of
it but hasn’t quite refined her craft, so he
taught me. He told me about the language I
was using in my songwriting. He told me to
talk about storytelling, about delivering and
how to let my voice resonate like most singers
that I would have seen. I’d get to the end
of the sentence and put a little ‘oody-doody’
in there and Dennis was like, no, don’t do
that, let the listener, who’s on the journey,
let them spend time with what you’ve just
sang so they can absorb it - we don’t want
any distractions. Something as simple as that
has made a huge difference. I like to think on
Blue Credentials that we nailed it.”
I like to think on
Blues Credentials,
we nailed it!
It is abundantly clear the galvanising effect
that Dennis had upon the evolution of Malaya
as an artist as she reveals the hard work
that went into the making of Blue Credentials:
“I write the songs for about a year and,
as I’m getting them into demo stage, which I
can do here at home, we listen to them and
see where are they going. Sometimes, a song
will sit around in the think tank, and we’ll
write something else that’s much stronger.
So, the other one gets burned and that’s the
process. I don’t know what I’m going to write
until the muse comes or I wake up at three
o’clock in the morning with a song in my head
and I think I’ve got to get this down. So, the
whole process is done and dusted,” she continues:
“Then we choose our tracks that are
going to feature on the album, that’s when
we start thinking about musicians, studios,
and the studio recording. All the work is
done in the studio at home to begin with.”
Blue Credentials was recorded at Ashwood
Studios, Norwich, some three miles
from Malaya Blue’s home where the band
were quartered and hung out after a day’s
recording. Being the consummate hostess,
Malaya also cooked for everyone as they
planned their next day in the studio. Malaya
details how she was able to corral a bunch of
top-grade musicians to travel over to sleepy
Norfolk to record this album: “We had
guitarist Brett Lucas come in from Detroit.
Bass player Richard Cousins came in from
Switzerland. Johnny McCullough, on Hammond
Organ, came over from Ireland and
Sam Kelly, Drums, travelled from London. So,
we had to kind of coordinate. We also had
to pick up a bass amp. I picked up Richard
from Norwich airport. It was a case of lots
of phone calls on that day. But when we all
got here and had a cold beer and all the bags
were in the rooms, and all the instruments
had arrived in one piece with the luggage,
there was a huge sense of relief, because
then we knew it was actually happening.”
Malaya effectively became an electric
landlady as well as the principal artist during
the recording of Blue Credential: “It’s a huge
amount of planning, even for the food for
four days for the four guys and I’m like the
head chef. But it went really well and, on one
night, I also took them all out for fish and
chips because Richard Cousins (Robert Cray
Band) when he landed said ‘I need a beer and
some beige food’ so we did a fish and chip
night as well.”
Malaya also had her boundaries tested during
the recording of the album’s stand out
track Howling Mercy - a dark song about the
long-lasting trauma of abuse - as she tells
me: “From the get go, when I was sent Howling
Mercy, I said to Steve, I don’t know if I
want to go there. This is dark matter. This is a
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difficult sociological discussion in a song and
that’s where blues comes from talking about
difficult societal issues. But I didn’t know
if I felt brave enough or mature enough to
not only take on a sociological issue but also
such an important one. So that was very
tricky, and I spent a lot of time working out
how to approach it.”
Malaya continues: “Fortunately, we were
given the very first original that was done
with John Campbell and we had a second
iteration which was recorded by one of
Dennis’s girlfriends, at the time, with
Dennis playing bass. So, it was the evening
before the recording, when we’re all sat in
my lounge, and we were all scratching our
heads wondering how we’re going to make
this work and I said we need to go back to
that original version where that song was
born. What we had was this huge expanse
and this repeating riff, but, at the same time,
we needed to tie it into the body of work for
it to be cohesive and make sense and this
is where you have everything extremely
pulled out and pulled back. The voice and
the story are doing all the work then you
have the breakdown and the percussion,
and the instruments come back or start up,
that’s how we come out of that track.”
Malaya is rightly proud of the significance
of her performance as she explains: “It was
very important because, outside of my work
in music, I work in mental health. This is the
area that I work in, and it was important
to me that I didn’t make the story frilly
because it’s not funny: it’s serious. That was
a really difficult song, because I had to pay
an homage to its origins and whoever wrote
that personal story had to be acknowledged
as well.”
One of Malaya’s many musical idols is Bettye
LaVette, for whom Brett Lucas is band
guitarist, and she recalls seeing her blues
heroine in concert: “I have a funny story
because we were at the front of the stage,
and I put my glass on the edge of the stage.
As she strutted, in her Bettye LaVette way,
across the stage with absolute confidence
and dominance, she kind of looked at my
glass and flicked her fingers at me and my
glass like I’ve been told off at school. She
was brilliant. She was raw, honest, and Brett
Lucas was playing guitar that day and that
was the first time I met him. He was masterful
onstage and looked fantastic: a beautiful
guitar player and Bettye was great.”
Honest, raw, and masterful is as good a summation
of Malaya Blue’s performance on her
outstanding new album Blues Credentials.
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59

INTERVIEW | JIMMY HALL
Jimmy Hall neither looks, or more importantly,
sounds his age. Considering that
he first hit the attention of blues fans
with his legendary southern boogie
blues band Wet Willie back in the
mid-nineteen-seventies.
The band blew out of Mobile Alabama, a
place synonymous with the very best of
blues and soul music, with Jimmy front
and centre on vocals, harmonica, and
saxophone. The band’s famous signature
song Keep On Smilin’ hit the Top Ten of the
Billboard Chart in 1974.
Back in those days, Wet Willie recorded
for the legendary Capricorn Records,
a personal ambition of theirs, and they
stayed with the label for seven albums
before moving to Epic Records. Singles
Street Corner Serenade and Weekend
maintained Wet Willie’s profile by cracking
the Top Forty.
Currently out on tour with Hank Williams
Junior, Jimmy took a little time out to kick
back and recall some of those halcyon
early days, and to chat in detail about his
exciting new release.
Considering that blues music is mainly
based on expression of sadness in varying
degrees, I say, your vintage number Keep
Smilin’, and your current album cut Jumpin’
For Joy are really breaking the mould. I
think you must be a pretty happy guy to
still be doing this after all this time Jimmy:
JIMMY
HALL
READY NOW?
Andy Hughes
Bob Seaman
“Do you know, Keep Smiling was a pep
talk to myself. I got the idea one day
just looking at myself in the mirror, and
thinking, you’ve got this, you can do this,
just keep on putting one foot in front of
the other, stay happy, stay focused, and
everything will work out just fine. I never
dreamed for one second that I would write
a song that would last this long. Fans write
to me and tell me that my song got them
through some hard times. Medics wrote
during the pandemic and said that they
played the song before they went to work,
to get them ready to deal with what was
going on. It’s incredible. I always sing it in
my live shows, and my wife Karen, we’ve
been married a while now, she will say that
she is really tired of hearing that song. I
say that the fans want to hear it, even now
after all this time, and that’s a great thing
for any musician.”
“The song Jumpin’ For Joy was written
with my good friend Jeff Silbar, we’ve
been writing buddies for a good long time
now. We had a writing session during the
lockdown at Jeff’s place in Studio City. We
had a song title, Ready Now and he said
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JIMMY HALL | INTERVIEW
he had another title, ‘Jumpin’ For Joy’, and I
figured I could come up with something to
go with that. What makes me jump for joy
is my relationship with my wife, how we got
together, and when I thought about that, we
had the song done and ready to go in twenty-four
hours.”
“Some songs come easy, some are less easy, I
guess that’s the same for anyone who writes
songs. I know I like Jump Blues, and Swing,
and old Big Band tunes, and old rock and
roll music, things like Shake Rattle And Roll,
stuff like that. I wondered how some of the
old guys who used to do that stuff would
sing this song, and that gave me some ideas
on how to make it work. Jeff came up with
some real interesting turns and curves in the
arrangement, and anyone who learns how
to sing and play it is going to find those in
there.”
Time to go back a little into Jimmy’s history
as a musician, specifically back to the days
when he was first acquainted with the harmonica
and the saxophone. It’s not surprising
to hear that Jimmy comes from a musical
family: “My mother sang and played piano
in church, and she also sang in a barbershop
quartet, so she knew about singing. From
when I was about six or seven, she knew I
had a good singing voice and a good ear for
melody.”
“The first instrument I learned was the violin
in sixth grade, we had a teacher who came
in once a week. When I got to seventh
grade, there was a school band, and you
could play various instruments. My mother
told me that she loved the saxophone and
I should switch, and I did, and I played alto
sax all through school.”
“When I was sixteen, my older brother gave
me a harmonica for a birthday present. It
was a chromatic, and it was much too complicated
for me to get to grips with it, with
the slide and everything. I asked him to get
me a simple ten-hole harmonica and he did,
and I found that much easier, and I took to
that much better. I didn’t know anyone who
played the harmonica, but I loved listening
to it. I used to listen to The Rolling Stones
playing Little Red Rooster and they were
playing blues, and everyone was listening to
them. I was a huge Stones fan. I did like The
Beatles, and I appreciated what they did,
but I always preferred The Stones. I listened
to people like Slim Harpo on the radio, and
just absorbed everything I could. If I ever
found anyone who played the harmonica, I
would ask loads of questions about how to
do this, and that. I learned the techniques
for inhaling, and bending notes to make the
harmonica bluesy, and I loved that. Working
with Wet Willie has meant that I have been
able to meet a lot of my early heroes, people
like Taj Mahal, his Natural Blues is one of my
all-time favourite albums.”
Every musician, and band, is a product of
their influences, that’s the way it has always
been, and always will be. So, it’s natural for a
player like Jimmy to pick up tricks and licks
from his heroes like The Rollin Stones, and
Taj Mahal, and others. But the tricky part for
any new band on the way up and looking to
make their mark, is not letting those influence
show too much. It’s about absorbing
those influences, and making them into your
own unique sound, as Wet Willie did. So how
did Jimmy set about weaving his influences
into his band’s music, and turning them into
something that was Wet Willie, and no-one
else?
“When we formed Wet Willie, we really,
really wanted to sign to Capricorn Records,
that was our big ambition. We moved to
Macon Georgia so we could be where they
were, because of their huge influence on
blues and soul music. They were always considered
to be a ‘southern rock’ label because
of The Allman Brothers, they were always
tagged with that. A lot of southern rock
was very guitar-based and it had its roots in
country music.”
“We loved the soul side of things as well,
and mixing that soul feeling into our music is
what inspired me, and set Wet Willie apart
as a band. Coming up the late 1960’s Sam
Cooke was one of our all-time heroes, and
Phil Walden who was the CEO of Capricorn
Records worked as a manager for people
like Otis Redding and Arthur Conley, so
we were around the real epicentre of soul
Joe has a very
natural way of
working in the studio
music, hearing it all the time. That was our
influence, that was the sound we loved, and
that’s what we wove into the sound of Wet
Willie, and it still has its influence on what I
write and record today.”
The new album, Ready Now, is produced by
modern blues heroes Joe Bonamassa and
Josh Smith, so how did that collaboration
come about Jimmy?
“I had worked with Joe on some of the
projects he has produced. He produced an
album for Reese Wynans who plays keyboards
on this album. Joe knew Reese when
he played with Stevie Ray Vaughan, and he
wanted to produce an album for Reece as a
birthday gift, he told Reese he could have anyone
he wanted to play on it. Reese asked me
to contribute, and I sang a duet with Bonnie
Bramlett, and the title track.”
“That was my first experience of Joe as a producer,
although of course I’d heard his work
and admired him very much as a guitar player.
Joe has a very natural way of working in
the studio. He has great instincts, he knows
when to tell a player to bring it up, and when
to take it down. He knows when it’s time
to call it a day and come back tomorrow, so
working with Joe and Josh was really good,
I enjoyed it immensely. Josh played some
wonderful guitar on Girl’s Got Sugar, I think
he and Joe brought their very best game to
the album sessions. All the musicians on the
album brought their ‘A game,’ and I am so
delighted with the work we all did together.”
The big question Jimmy, are you bringing
your sax and harmonica, and a band over to
the UK for us to see you?
“Well, I don’t have any firm plans right now
for a tour, but I do love working in the UK,
I came over with Jeff Beck, in fact I’d be on
the road with Jeff now if Johnny Depp hadn’t
stepped in! Maybe I’ll pop along to one of his
film shoots, see if I can take over for a day
or so! Seriously, I do want to come over, and
my management are talking to a number of
international promoters and tour organisers,
so I would ask fans to keep an eye on the
website, and we’ll be sure and come and see
you just as soon as we can.”
Fans of the endlessly wonderful Wet Willie,
or fans of any soul-tinged blues rock-aboogie
music should do just that, and in the
meantime, check out Jimmy’s album, which
belies his age, and draws on his experience.
It’s a wonderful piece of work, check it out.
Jimmy Hall’s new album “Ready Now”,
produced by Josh Smith and Joe Bonamassa,
is released by KTBA Records via www.
ktbarecords.com
BLUESMATTERS.COM ISSUE 128
61

LILED BLUES ROYALTY
Colin Campbell
Paul Natkin
Lil Ed Williams has had a long and varied
career as a blues artist, he is known as the
frontperson for Lil Ed and The Imperials
who mix their own brand of rocking blues
with a Chicago shuffle. They have been
entertaining audiences for over three decades
now, their raw boogie-based sounds
appreciated worldwide.
Live performances are joyous occasions, fullon
and energetic. Williams usually wears a
Fez in tribute to his uncle the late bluesman,
J.B. Hutto. Blues Matters caught up with him
recently in Chicago. As always, he was upbeat
and positive about his musical journey.
We talk initially about his town, Chicago:
“The weather’s nice, things are rolling pretty
good I guess, can’t complain. I try to be happy
and keep busy. It’s all I know,” he laughs.
Growing up, Ed was mostly influenced to
become a musician through his family, Aunts
and Uncles in particular, but one shone for
him and that was J.B. Hutto, his Uncle:
“We sang in Church, then came home and
sung. Maybe even break out the guitar and
play some blues. That was the main thing
every weekend in our house. We would do
Gospel and J.B would break out with some
blues, music like Muddy Waters, John Lee
Hooker and all those old guys. It was not natural
to play the blues for me. I grew up on the
West side of Chicago. There was a lot of soul
music going about at this time; The Temptations
and The Chi-Lites, Aretha Franklin. In
my neighbourhood that’s what you listened
to, those sorts of cats. We were going to the
Bars and dancing. Uncle J.B. would come
and play for the family then we connected
with the blues music. Most of the time there
was soul music around. Sometimes Uncle J.B
would bring his band and they would play
in the back yard. My Uncle would walk over
the garbage cans and do a full show, this was
so exciting. We would be upstairs on second
floor looking over the bannisters. The
grown-ups were having a ball in the yard! No
kids. Back in the day we were not allowed
to be with the grown-ups when they were
having fun.”
When Hutto came to play at the house, this
was where Lil Ed got his guitar lessons…
“He would show me little grooves and
patterns. He taught me how to play drums
first. He knew how to play and taught me so I
could play with him. He saw I was interested
by the slide technique to guitar playing. He
started me off by playing rhythm guitar. He
didn’t show me the slide techniques. I didn’t
know at the time that he knew if he showed
me how to play rhythm that I would eventually
learn the slide technique. I showed my
brother the rhythm and he learned this, and I
would start to pick. That’s how I learned the
slide technique and then played with Uncle
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J.B. He would come to the house. Me and
my brother would tell him, we’ve got a show!
People in the audience looked at us, then
he would come in and make the people clap
for us. He told me to get his guitar from the
car and we would rip the place apart. It was
awesome. He also said don’t plan on anything,
let the music take you to where you
want to go. I took this advice; I don’t even
use set lists. I let the music carry me,” he
says with evident delight.
“My first gig in Uncle J. B’s band was at
Vegetable Buddies in South Indiana. I
remember it being huge. It held four
hundred people. It had tree trunk tables.
I remember J.B. jumping off the
stage and walking these tables and
beckoning for me to do the same!
He gave me a look, when you got
that you knew and I jumped off
the stage and when I squatted on
the floor, I heard something rip, it
was my blue jeans. I managed to
bounce back up and back on stage
and the people went nuts. I had to
tie my sweater round me the rest of
the night! I was maybe nineteen then.
My brother was seventeen. It was scary
being on a stage that size. We’d never seen
that amount of people at a show. We played
small west side Taverns. When I first started,
we played in this one Jazz Club. Back then,
they had the mirrors and disco lights. We
thought we were in the big time. I don’t think
people were paying much attention to us.
We were just happy to be playing there. The
guy in charge paid us ten dollars a man!”
“It’s just my style, a bit of J.B., Muddy Waters
and John Lee Hooker. What I learned from
J.B. was If you’re going to do someone else’s
song make it your own. I learned if I do this,
I make it my own. I never fully copy songs.
When people want to hear Muddy Waters,
they can put on an album and listen. When
they come to see me, they get the whole Lil
Ed treatment. I do things in my own style.”
Again his laughter ripples.
Lil Ed signed for Alligator Records;
he disclosed some background to this,
including playing thirty-three songs to
him in three hours.
“When I first got on Alligator Records and
met Bruce Iglauer, he was fascinated I was
doing older guy’s songs but in my own way.
You Don’t Exist Anymore, by Percy Mayfield,
I made into a shuffle. That changed the
repertoire and caught Bruce’s eye and ears.
I didn’t know how to act in the Studio, I treated
this like I was playing in a Bar. I saw the
people behind the glass in the studio looking
on and they were hollering. I just jumped
from one song to the other. I don’t talk a lot
on stage. People who come and see me know
my history. I was playing in a place called
Blues on Halsted Street. My old rhythm
player Dave Weld knew Bruce at Alligator
Records. Dave tapped me on the shoulder
and said Bruce was in the house. I didn’t
know he was a record Producer, I just said
that’s cool. At the interval Bruce talked to us
about making his debut album for Alligator
Blues is not
leaving; it’s going to
get better!
records - could I do a couple of songs. This is
what we wanted to do with our band. Before
this you could go in a booth, pay money, and
record something. It was $100 to do this. We
didn’t have that amount of money. I was still
working at the Car Wash and got off early to
go and play at the Studio.”
Ed resumes the tale: “Pookie (James Young)
my brother drove School Buses; he got off
early. Both of us walked in our work clothes.
Dave was the only one in the band wearing
a tie. We had no idea what we were going to
play. I made some stuff of my own. Bruce put
our headphones on, I’d never heard myself in
this form. It sounded cool. At the end Bruce
said we’ve got thirty-three songs; I think
we should make an album! That was almost
thirty-five years ago.”
Over three decades later, Ed explains how
it is now: “We’re family now, not musicians.
Ten years in, this felt the case. J.B. said to get
LIL ED | INTERVIEW
musicians you’re really going to love and if
you treat them right, they’ll stick with you.
Mistreat them, they’ll definitely leave you. I
kept that in mind, which was the time I had
some hardship times. My God stuck with
me. The band said when you get yourself
together, we’ll stay with you. A lot of people
thought we had separated; we just took off
some time until I got together. Bruce was
there when we got back together. They
stuck there with me! Touring, though, is
becoming a little like work. It was great at
the beginning seeing cities and towns and
ripping up with the music. It’s still good
but I would prefer to not go too far. I
have had my fun overseas and the
way the economy is just now I don’t
want to go overseas.”
Over the years, Ed has seen the
changes in Chicago: “The scene
is way lighter than when I first
started. There were Blues Clubs
on every corner, especially on
the west side. Blues Clubs then
were laid back but still there. The
Clubs were packed then, as well as
the Soul Clubs. Now there’s hardly
any music on the west side, the Clubs
are for Rappers. North side have a few
Clubs, main ones are Buddy Guys, Rosa’s
Lounge on the west side, Kingston Mines.
Rosa’s is like my little home. There was this
Club years ago in a basement. I went in at 8
o’clock, when I came out, it was 8 o’clock the
next day! It had no windows. It was dark all
the time, no clocks.”
“I’m writing some new stuff, I’m ready to go
into the studio sooner or later with Bruce.
My wife Pam writes, she’s written more
songs than me lately. I got to get on the ball!
We should be ready in a fortnight. I really
want to start a buffing and waxing business. I
worked at the Car Wash for ten years, that’s
my thing when I’m not doing anything else.
Just enough to keep ends meeting! I worked
during the pandemic at a Car Wash.”
“Blues is a joyful thing for me. There is a
little sadness in it. But blues reminds you the
grass is greener on the other side. People
have the blues, but we grow older with the
blues. That’s what I would say about the
blues! We’re playing at Kingston Mines, and
we are recruiting a lot of youngsters. We’re
getting a new following and that’s a good
thing. Twenty-one-year-olds are asking me
about my music. The youngsters love it. It’s
like me starting all over again. Blues is not
leaving; it’s going to get better!
For further information see website:
www.liledblues.com
BLUESMATTERS.COM ISSUE 128
63

INTERVIEW | JOHN FUSCO
FUSCO - COME ON IN!
Tim Arnold
A revival tent, one of those canvas pole
tents in a camp meeting outside of town.
And the preacher man in the tent has got
some spiritual messages rooted in church
that reach deep inside and reminds us that
gospel blues ain’t going nowhere any time
soon … thank God.
And here comes another one…
Supplied
Horseback Jesus rode into town
Looking for a bath and a shave.
So many scars down across his back,
They thought he was a runaway slave …
He stopped to get a little bread and wine
Down at the Border Saloon.
They wouldn’t let no brown man inside
So he spent the night out under the moon.
All the people started to gather around
To listen to the song he sang.
He said, ‘I see your crops are dying from the
drought.’
And by 6 o’clock that morning, it rained.
He said that he was just passing through
To see a blind man down in Ciudad, Juarez
You’re hearing John Fusco, an accomplished
screen writer and feature film producer
(Crossroads, Young Guns, Thunderheart, Hidalgo,
and The Highwaymen, among others)
who’s also written three novels. (See Blues
Matters! #118, Feb/March 2021 for this
writer’s earlier story on Fusco, “Can You See
the Light?”). Fusco is a genuine story-teller
who brings a fresh, unique perspective to
his tales, many of them rooted in a dusty,
hard-scrabble southwest, roots you can
feel in his music. Categorizing these roots
goes something like this - blues, gospel,
alternative country, Latino – but ultimately
demands its own definition. Peyote blues?
What you’re hearing is a ground-breaking
expression of the blues wrapped in the
spiritual essence of gospel. The arrangements
are straight ahead, soothing, clearly
created to deliver the words, the stories, the
messages, with a fiddle, couple of guitars,
a mandolin, a horn here and there, some
back-up vocals and harmonizing. And the
preacher’s keys.
Borderlands is a third CD – Borderlands
(Rocket 88 Records) – it demonstrates the
unique cinematic story-telling style Fusco
brings to his music. Or as he describes it,
“the wild west soul of America.”
He rides Horseback Jesus into Ciudad,
Juarez, tells a story about a ‘ white black
bird that turned into a dove – like hate
turned to love” – and gets himself shot by
Cactus Jack as he “holds his (cross-bearing)
arms out wide.” “Go bury that Jew,” Jack
shouts, and “ … Jesus drew a final breath,
Said ‘Forgive them Father … they know not
what they do’.”
And while our preacher man is careful to
pronounce Jesus as “Hay-soos,” it is clear
this is the Jesus described in the Bible’s last
chapter, Revelation 19: 11-21, as written
by John the Baptist, “I saw heaven standing
open and there before me was a white horse,
whose rider is called Faithful and True. With
justice, he judges and wages war… His eyes
are like blazing fire, and on his head are many
crowns. He has a name written on him that
no one knows but he himself. He is dressed
in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the
Word of God. The armies of heaven were
following him, riding on white horses… on
his robe and on his thigh he has this name
written, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”
But it was Horseback Jesus that really
kicked the door wide open for this album, as
John Fusco describes it in a recent conversation.
“Horseback Jesus is a crucifixion of another
kind,” he tells me: “This book of songs all
started with Horseback Jesus,’ Fusco says.
“It was one of those experiences; a hard-todefine
emotion pulls you to the piano, you
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JOHN FUSCO | INTERVIEW
“Light it up,” he says, and does: a Hank
Williams fiddle moves it along.
Don’t ya tell me what to think ..
what kind of whiskey I should drink …
just a simple man, do the best I can,
Like to play my guitar real loud.’
hit a chord that you feel and a progression
unfolds from that emotion, it opens the
spigot and the lyrics are drawn out of you by
the music. The music made me follow that
character, on his horse, into this tense, divided
border town - and let it flow. It set the
tone for the songs to follow, whether narratively
linked or connected by mood, and it
just started to form into a spiritual road trip
through the badlands of the imagination,
and where we are now, heartbroken by our
history repeating itself at its darkest levels.”
It’s one of ten cuts on Borderlands – nine
of them original. Incredibly original. All of
them tell a part of a story …. Like Coyote
Man:
‘You’re a sailor on the sand, Coyote Man …
and the Devil’s own right hand.
Your refrigerator truck gets stuck
so you leave our cargo truck baking in the sun
- sixty people dead.
The Sinaloa Cartel give you one last drink
from hell – that’s where they’ll say you fell.
I’m gonna catch you if I can, Coyote Man.’
And you know damn well He can.
Rio Hondo John is John the Baptist in
Fusco’s “Dance of the Seven Veils.” Drawn
from Mathew 14, El Padrone’s (King Herod)
wife (Herodias) offers his niece Sally Mae
(brought to later life by Oscar Wilde as Salome),
a reward of her choice for performing
a dance on his birthday. Her mother persuades
Salome to ask for John the Baptist’s
head on a platter.
The gospel that is the blues. A preacher
man’s interpretation of gospel music that
conjures up its history but is setting the
stage for a whole new version of it.
Borderlands was produced, engineered and
mixed by George Walker Petit in his Stowe,
Vermont studio. Petit, an accomplished
multi-genre musician with deep roots in the
Blues and Jazz, also plays guitars, bass, and
various percussion. Russ Lawton of the Trey
Anastasio Band plays drums on all tracks
while fifth generation Acadian fiddler and
mandolinist Patrick Ross joins Fusco on several
countrified numbers. Guesting on Dobro
and electric slide guitar on two songs is Petit’s
old friend and bandmate, Matt Backer - a
brilliant musician and guitar slinger. Michael
Hartigan contributes a heartfelt accordion
performance on ‘Horseback Jesus’. Backing
Fusco on vocals is acclaimed soul singer
Ashley Betton. Jane Boxall also adds her marimba
expertise to the recording with Stuart
Paton on congas and bongos.
Go dig up some of the old gospel music
from the ‘50’s and 60’s, like classic albums
from A.A. Allen, a Pentecostal evangelist
known for his faith healing and deliverance
ministry. Listen to “God’s World, by Richard
Page, from his album “Keep on Holding On.
Pure blues. A tender, lead guitar backed by
a Hammond B-3. Or “Search Me,” another
Page piece from “Songs of the Spirit of Life.”
A rockin rhythm blues thing driven by a
walkin bass and his Hammond.
And just when you’re settled in to Fusco’s
slow smooth gospel blues he shifts gears,
picks up the pace and leans in real close to
the mic, his rugged, smokey voice telling his
story to you, one-on-one:
‘Hey country girls and country boys,
let’s take it outside and make a little
“Churchified Noise”
“That was probably the only song I’ve
written without an instrument,” he explains.
“I was bird hunting with my dog up in the
woods … I kind of got into this groove. I got
back home and got up on the piano and I
knew it was going to be almost the spoken
word. And I was thinking about those blues
guys that would sing through a cigar box to
get that effect.
It’s Run, Red Dog, Run that will likely lead
Borderlands up the charts. Shufflin dancin’
music. Bout an Indian medicine man named
Verdell who drives all night to Tuba City
to do some peyote prayer, gets a visit from
Crazy Horse, loses his car and ends up on a
white man’s ranch. Before they kill him he
goes out to the pasture where a hundred
horses are feeding on dust. When he closes
his eyes to meet his maker, the creek rises,
and saves the horses.
No blues album would be complete without
a song about that woman. And here it
comes: Cyanide Whiskey – this woman will
… love you like a sweet angel, but you’ll wake
up with the devil in the bed…
‘She’s like cyanide whiskey
Arsenic wine.
She knows how to kill you slowly
And you know damn well she’s gonna take
her time
As she kills your peace of mind.’
Talk about the gospel that ‘tis the blues …
And then …
‘Whenever good luck tries to hitch a ride
bad luck shoots her through – with misery,’
…writes Fusco in Bad Luck Rides Shotgun.
‘Cause if I didn’t have bad luck, Baby, I’d have no
damn luck at all.’
His rendition of “Ain’t No Grave” – a traditional
American gospel song - punctuates
Borderlands; it’s the final cut and leaves no
doubt about Brother John’s inspirations for
his gospel-rooted blues adventure …
‘When he heard that trumpet sound
He rose up outta the ground
There ain’t no grave
Could hold His body down.’
You’ll feel it all in John Fusco’s “Borderlands.”
BLUESMATTERS.COM ISSUE 128
65

ORY BLOCK
Colin Campbell
Sergio Kurhajec
Rory Block has been internationally regarded as
a top, female traditional countr- blues picker and
fan, and possibly the best acoustic blues artist
around today.
In a career spanning thirty-six releases, including
Awards galore including seven Blues Music
Awards, she celebrates early American roots
blues music. Her latest release, Ain’t Nobody
Worried, represents the third volume of
her Power Women of The Blues series
where she continues her musical journey
by paying homage to her predecessors.
When the chance to chat with Rory
via cyberspace at her home near
New York turned up, I grabbed
it with both hands.
So, what took you into blues,
I ask: “A hard one to say
because sometimes you feel
the music has always been
there. Before I was born, my
parents were musicians. My
father rented a room from
Pete Seeger’s parents at
the epicentre of Greenwich
village. Before I was born,
Woody Guthrie, Josh White,
Leadbelly, Pete Seeger, they
all gathered there. The day I
was born there was probably
music. It’s so inseparable to
me. Everyone was doing music
including Bob Dylan who came
to my father’s sandal shop. There
was music everywhere. This shop
drew musicians including Stefan
Grossman. Blues and country musicians
were there. John Sebastian,
Maria Muldaur, that was just life. I
was able to look at people and make
an opinion if they were great and had
an aura of greatness. Bob Dylan did
when he first signed to a label.”
What about Stefan Grossman’s influence
on your playing blues music, I next wonder:
“He opened up the whole world of music to me.
I knew what blues was as I had heard Muddy
Waters, Odetta and Josh White. In the day, they
were singing songs of blues genre in the 60s. I met
Stephan in Washington Square Park where musicians
would group stylistically. You could move from
group to group and hear good music. He gave me a
record Reeling the Country Blues. He was friends
with the people who were rediscovering early blues
music. He had an early Charlie Patton recording and
I got to hear all this because he made reel to reel
tapes for me when I was fourteen and still living with
my parents. I would sleep with my headphones on
listening to two hours of rediscovered blues music
and this changed my life,” she confirms with a grate-
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ful nod to Grossman.
“Father was a violinist, mother had recorded
and sung with a wonderful bluesy voice.
They went to Washington Square Park
busking. It was impossible to say where
music became my life, it was always there,”
she adds.
Why choose the blues genre? I next query:
“This is as difficult to explain as why you are
in love with somebody. If you say I’m in love
with this person, are you in love with them
also: it was Chemistry and I fell in love with
it instantly. The sound was so haunting and
beautiful. It was exactly what I needed to
express what was in my heart, especially at
that time in my life. I was about ten years old,
and I started teaching myself how to play.
Picking out melody was simple. Froggy Went
a Courting was the first song I learned. The
open strings made the melody. That got me
excited about playing guitar.”
Influences on her playing come as little true
surprise to anyone who remotely knows her
musical passions and style. “Robert Johnson,
Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Reverend
Gary Davis, Charlie Patton. Prior to that, I
was playing folk guitar tunes and country
picking guitar style like the Carter family. I
also studied Classical guitar for two years.
Listening to Julian Bream and loving what
they were doing. I transferred this directly
into how I play and translated some country
banjo, this was via my father who played
clawhammer banjo. That really worked for
Robert Johnson. Classical play had little
notations on the music showing you to play
louder or softer or faster or slower. When
I started playing Robert Johnson style, I
noticed it would speed up and slow down. I
called that ‘the music is breathing.’”
“I’ve had advice but it was negative. When
you listen to Willie Brown, he plays full
force and pounds the notes. When I played
Europe and Australia, I was told not to play
like this. When I teach guitar, one of the
most frequently addressed issues is getting
to make people put more of their body into
playing and to stop being polite and too
careful because you have to put drive into
your playing. Much as Mississippi John Hurt
was a finger picker, he played with power.
My father stomped his foot, so I did too, that
was the way the great players played in my
world. The advice was to take it easy, don’t
play that way, you’ll break the guitar!”
Mississippi Fred McDowell is probably the
most significant sole influence however, as
Rory is quick to explain: “Mainly how to play
slide guitar and the versatility of playing
slide. He played multiple notes with one
piece of metal. He taught me that you can
do slide anyway you want to, like a tennis
backhand, anything. You can use any finger
or any length of finger. Learning, I always
overshot or undershot, I couldn’t find tone,
the vibrato was too fast. I like to give credit
to Bonnie Raitt; she played on one of my records.
We were mixing the tune and I heard
something that made me learn to do what
I wanted to. This was an example of how to
relax when playing. Taking a stroll up the
neck of the guitar I called it. I began learning
and finding that sweet spot on the guitar. It’s
personal, you have to do a bit of instruction
for yourself. It took me a couple of years to
do anything worthy, then you get the right
tone. Rob Davies, my husband and Producer,
says I play slide like the way I sing, it’s like a
voice. (There followed an impromptu online
guitar tutorial to explain how she played!) I
also learned a lot from Brendan Crocker of
the Notting Hillbillies at Ontario. The way
he played, taught me a lot about tone. Blues
slide can also be percussive I discovered,
John Hammond told me to use a socket
wrench and I use that now.”
What about the background to the making
of ‘Ain’t Nobody Worried’, I suggest: “The
way I make any tribute album is by random
listening. This one was for female artists
60s to 80s. I thought about Martha and The
Vandellas, Gladys Knight, I listened to them.
I do things on impulse; I don’t have a defined
process. I just choose by listening to a variety
of tunes that are exciting. Everything on the
record, including Freight Train, is something
that rocked my world and I wanted to hear
again. There will be detractors asking why
I am doing versions of the world’s best
songs by artists like Mavis Staples. I’m not
wanting to make a better version; they are
enshrined in musical heaven. I do it for the
joy of it and I’m just letting people know
I love these songs. In my live broadcasts
during the shutdown that’s when people
started requesting songs. I asked permission
by the artists to sing their songs, such as
Dion. I see a desire for nostalgic music. The
theme is to show how female artists had a
huge impact on the music business across
the board. They brought their amazing
approach and changed everything. I’ve done
a lot with early blues, Memphis Minnie and
the likes. The tracks I recorded for Ain’t
Nobody Worried, span fifty years and that’s
early American music in its own right. I think
there’s a craving for nostalgia right now. It
was a pretty safe time in the 60s. We could
protest against war, and we didn’t have a
million worries. Everyone had good spirit
then. The music here takes you back to the
feelings we felt then.”
Following the tragedy of Covid shutdowns
and lockdowns Rory says she has plans for
live support gigs again in mind:
RORY BLOCK | INTERVIEW
“I’m dipping my toes into the water regarding
live events. I did the New Orleans Jazz
and Heritage Music Festival, some private
parties. I wasn’t looking for shows but the
shows always email me. I was hesitant at
first. I have dogs and cats - they won’t fit into
a tour bus. I have shows that will coincide
with the record’s release. There’s nothing
like a live show!”
For Rory, blues has an evident self-meaning
and importance: “It’s all about the heart and
soul and language of the heart and spirit
within. It is a cry from the soul, deep soulful
music, gritty, real and natural. Early blues
was a direct hit to the heart,” she reckons.
Rory then offers a few words of advice to
aspiring, younger musicians, and her views
on being successful:
“Don’t do what anyone else tells you to do.
Don’t stop until people know who you are!
When you first start out people tend to criticize
a lot and it hurts. You have to believe
in the inspiration you have to keep on doing
it. When I first won a blues award, I couldn’t
believe people cared what I did. It made me
gain confidence. It didn’t make me arrogant. I
believe things are channeled by ways of creative
energy and you can tap into it. When
Stevie Wonder played on my record that was
another landmark. I thought if nothing else
good happens to me I’m good with this one.
Standing next to him playing solo on my tiny
humble song at the start of my career I felt
so nourished and supported by him agreeing
to play. His best advice to me was you are
the artist. This made me realise I didn’t have
to keep on backing myself into a corner with
the record label. This was before I signed
for Rounder Record label. Bonnie Raitt
gave me similar advice when I was on the
road. I asked her about artistic freedom and
pressure from record labels to do the music
a certain way. She has always done it her way
and had artistic freedom.”
“Be yourself is the best advice I can give to
anybody, that makes you unique. I always
felt pressure to do my music a certain way. I
don’t know, why should anyone feel pressure
doing what they love musically. You have
to make a unique take in the music world.
There are a lot of ways in which to sound like
other people and be homogenized. I always
want to keep it real and be myself regarding
music. I think I owe a tremendous thank you
to the intelligent music audience; they made
labels and me able to sell music that was way
off the charts, and they made a movement
out of it. That’s the thank you I want to make
to the Blues Matters public. Thank you
appreciated!
BLUESMATTERS.COM ISSUE 128
67

CHRIS BEVINGTON
ORGANISATION
Stephen Harrison
Laurence Harvey
The Chris Bevington story has, as you
would imagine, a few twists and turns along
the way. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing
Chris personally for quite a few years, and
I’ve seen many a live gig that has made me
come away feeling on top of the world.
When you watch a 9/10 piece band hit
full-throttle, it does leave a lasting impression.
Four albums along, however, the world
for Chris Bevington changed dramatically. So
as we sat in the summer sun chatting about
everything blues and beyond. But let’s start
where it all began.
“It started when I was 50. I decided when I
reached that age, I wanted to do something
that up until then I’d never managed to
achieve, and that was to create a blues band
in the way I wanted it to be. I had the chance
to invite some very special musicians along
and to add a brass section, it was a big band
that wasn’t designed to make money, it was
designed to make good music.”
If you look around the world of music today,
especially the blues world, you will notice
that there are hardly any bands that are
set up like this. A 9/10 piece band is almost
unthinkable, but a unique core-element of
the Chris Bevington Organisation.
“I wanted to make a mark and do the best
gigs that I possibly could with the people
that I had around me, that was my ambition.
To have the power of two guitars, two vocalists,
and the brass section alongside, the
music can go in all sorts of directions. The
first person that I contacted was Scott Ralph,
I knew of his outstanding musical ability,
and I knocked on his door; he said, ‘this is
the perfect time for me, I’ve been looking
for a project to get involved with.’ It was as
simple as that. Then of course Jim Kirkpatrick
joined the band, and we were off and
running with these two amazing musicians
as the song-writing partners and front men
of the band.”
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve known Chris for
many years, and I’ve seen this band evolve
from the very beginning, I was putting their
name forward as a band to watch out for
from the first time that I heard the first
album. Ironically, Jim and Scott didn’t know
each other before coming together for this
project. Their talents quickly shone through.
“Jim and Scott, when they started working
together were just like fireworks going off.
It was an explosion of ideas and great music,
bringing in the brass section, getting the
right backing vocals. Putting everything in
place was their forte. The band just gelled
from the get-go, and then we were ready to
start work on the first album. There were a
few covers on the first two albums, but you
could see the partnership of song-writing
developing very early on.”
From a nucleus of a band to getting the first
album out happened quite quickly, but as
you all well know, with an album, you have to
get out there and support it with gigs. Chris
hit upon the idea of sending a copy of the
album to The Robin 2 in Bilston. They loved
it and offered the band eight gigs at venue
on the strength of listening to a demo of the
first album.
A second album quickly followed with the
band playing to rave reviews and charting on
the IBBA many times. The acid test for any
band is to write an album of original material.
Hey presto, ‘Cut and Run’ was released
pushing the band to heights unknown.
“Cut and Run was special, it proved to a lot
of people - not me, but other people - that
Jim and Scott were capable of writing a full
album of amazing songs as well as producers.
They can both do the production side of
things as well as play, sing and write. It’s the
perfect combination that made Cut And Run
what it was - an album of blues and blues/
rock songs in a ten-piece setting”
Over the first couple of albums, Chris drafted
in guests to play on the first two albums,
Robert Hart, Steve Overland, Rebecca
Downes, and Pete ‘ Sarge’ Frampton to name
a few. This not only served the band well
recording-wise, but also alerted everyone to
the fact that this band that was going places
quickly. Following on from the runaway
success of Cut and Run the band released
what, for me, was the joint album of the year
in 2020, Sand And Stone. So, what do you do
when the band crashes and burns? Straight
after the release of Sand And Stone, Chris
received a phone call from Scott saying he
was leaving the band. As the solo career of
Jim Kirkpatrick was going into the stratosphere,
he also left the band as did a few
more. The guts of the band had been ripped
out. Many people would have called it quits,
but not Bevington.
“What we are doing is from a writing point
of view, we need to get on and start the next
album, but obviously I don’t have Jim and
Scott on board anymore, so I’ve contacted
a few people to see if they would be willing
to write some songs for us, people such as
Lester Hunt, Paul Long from the BBC, and
also Gary Davies who has already completed
68 ISSUE 128
BLUESMATTERS.COM

one song and is currently working on another
two. I’m also getting help from within the
band. Mark Hargreaves is writing some stuff,
so things are coming together nicely.”
To produce another album even close to the
last two will be a massive undertaking. To do
it with a totally new line-up is akin to climbing
Everest. Anyone who comes into the
world of music should look at this current
project and think to themselves,’ that’s how
you do it, elbow grease.’
“I’d like to think that by October 2023 we’ll
have pretty much got the album down.
Realistically that’s what I’m aiming for. Then,
it’s just a case of getting it packaged up and
ready to release. That will keep me busy for
the next twelve to fourteen months. The
good things are that there are different
styles within the band, and everyone brings
something to the table. It’s taken a lot of
planning but I think we are in a good place
right now.”
The only downside to all of this is getting
the new members of the band in synergy
with one another, getting the right blend.
This obviously takes time, especially when
you are trying to get songs sorted for a new
album. As we chat, we delve slightly deeper
into the workings, trials and tribulations of a
band this size.
“Buxton Blues Festival, which we played yesterday,
( 7th August) was a great gig although
we did have two dep vocalists because of a
mix-up at the last minute date- wise. We had
a rehearsal last Friday, with a dep drummer,
so we’ve been up against it from day one. But
we pulled together and got through it. There
was no way I was going to cancel Buxton
Blues Festival. One, because that’s not who I
am; and two, I didn’t want to let Lynn Fearns
down at the last minute, because she works
so hard in putting the festival together. Gigs
don’t just happen on, say, a Saturday night.
All the planning and arranging starts the
previous Tuesday, organizing everyone, especially
with a band the size of ours, so that’s
another reason not to cancel a gig, too much
effort has already gone into the process.”
I think the problem for Chris, is the fact
that he has had to become a bona-fide band
leader, whereas before there were two main
figures in the band he could rely on to make
sure the music side was spot on. Now, he’s
the boss. And with any band there will be
clashes of personalities. In a 9 or 10-piece
band that can double the work.
“I’ve got to learn, and I’m ok with that, it’s
new and a bit daunting at times but I’m enjoying
the learning process. You grow into it.
You have to trust your instincts more, and I
have to listen to people, and use my ears a lot
more. But as I said, it’s an enjoyable learning
curve. You are getting closer to the music,
seeing how this or that works.
It’s almost a brand new job. My
job beforehand was more on
the organization side, organizing
gigs and such. I could leave
the musical side in the capable
hands of very skilled musicians,
but that has all changed now, so
new beginnings for us all.”
As long as I have known Chris
Bevington the thing that always
strikes me is his willingness to
keep going no matter what life
throws at him. Musically, this
journey he has been on for the
last ten years, has produced
some of the greatest blues and
blues/rock to come out of England
for many years. If you haven’t
heard any of the albums,
then you are doing yourself a
huge injustice. I wonder where
he got his influences from,
what was the spark that lit the
way on this musical highway.
“I’d have to say, Jim Kirkpatrick,
to be honest. And that
is not being detrimental to
all of the fantastic musicians
that have helped me along the
way, and had the pleasure of
playing with. But Jim gave me
such confidence as a musician
and helped to shape the band
into exactly what I wanted it
to be. As a musician, there are
very few as good as Jim, in
every sense of the word. He’s
a lovely person and a huge
talent. I’m so pleased that his
solo career is taking off the
way it has done. He deserves
it. I would not be the
musician I am today, or in the
position that I am in today,
without Jim Kirkpatrick.”
One final question as we sit
in the evening sun. If you
could play any venue in the
world, what would it be?
“The Royal Albert Hall
because of its iconic status,
and possibly Glastonbury,
that would suit Chris Bevington
Organisation perfectly
lol” If the next album
has the same success as the
previous albums don’t write
it off. The Pyramid Stage
could be hosting this huge
band in the future. Believe
me, they would not be out
of place.
BLUESMATTERS.COM ISSUE 128
69

BIG
BLUES
REVIEWS
⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆
Keeping The Blues Alive Records
Since signing to Joe Bonamassa’s KTBA label Joanne
has released two well received albums, one of blues
covers and a live recording, so this is in many ways
her proper debut with the production team of Joe
and Josh Smith at the helm. Does it deliver? You bet.
Joanne has been encouraged to write songs that display
her singer songwriter skills with more emphasis
on her vocal abilities. That’s not to say there isn’t some
sublime guitar playing, there certainly is but it’s honed
now to fit the song and that also applies to the soloing,
especially on songs like the title track and Then There’s
You. Nobody’s Fool is first off and it’s great to hear the
vocal forward in the mix as it cuts through the bluesy
opening. Joe adds some tasteful guitar to Won’t Be
Fooled Again, a dreamy atmospheric ballad. Just No
Getting Over You reminded me of Tedeschi Trucks but
with a dollop of Stones swagger. As much as any of the
tracks here, it highlights the confident song writing
displayed by Joanne on this album. This is followed by
Fade Away, another gorgeous ballad lamenting lost
love, with the unexpected addition of heart wrenching
cello taking it to another level. Runaway contrasts
that by being perhaps the most poppy song here, quite
girly and again shows Joanne’s newfound confidence
to include it, it reels you in and there’s lots of musical
twists keeping you hooked. Dave Stewart joins the
party for the Eurythmics cover, Missionary Man. The
song is full of blues iconography lyrically and it works
well. The Learning Kind is a slow-paced song about
lost love, it’s retrospective and yearning, beautifully
written and executed. Just when you think the track
has reached its natural conclusion Joanne throws in a
wonderful solo that fades away into the distance. New
Love is the perfect closing track, upbeat and bouncy.
The sax intro is as perfect as it is unexpected. Joanne
sings, new love I need it, I think on this album she’s
found it, she’s in good hands and with a perfect balance
of JST the guitarist and JST the singer songwriter this
just might be her best album yet.
STEVE YOURGLIVCH
ALEX LOPEZ
NASTY CRIME
MAREMIL
“A modern-day master of
the blues” - “A formidable
force in contemporary
blues. That’s what the music
industry is saying about this
guy and the album tells you
why. Starting off with the
rousing World on Fire you
now this album has been
arranged with style and
produced with class, smooth
and with real depth of sound
four guys sound like 8. Alex
Lopez has a great rock/
blues voice, and he can
play that guitar too. He has
with him Kenny Hoye on
keyboards, Steve Roberts
on bass and Kana Leimbach
on drums and they all do
their ‘thang’ very well.11
songs in two acts and I
found my two favourites
right at the end, but before
that I Don’t Care has
a drum running through
it that was just perfect.
When The Sun Goes Down
is pure honkey tonk blues
that will have you tapping
your feet to the beat the
minute it starts. A little bit
of the Rolling Stones with a
stripped back voice clears
out and above the great
music. The title track Nasty
Crime, just over 4 minutes
of edgy blues, Holy Woman
sounds like you are listening
to a classic and then Hooked
then comes out of nowhere
a bluesy/jazzy fun and
clever arrangement that is
pure blues. my favourite, 6
minutes and 60 seconds of
sexy, gorgeous sounds on
That’s Alright. 6.60 seconds
is a long song, but the music
reminded me of being in a
cool lounge, chatting and
having a cocktail and then
suddenly you’re aware of
this beautiful music. The
album is being called a
“multi-faceted gem” an “impressive
work” and a “must
hear for blues/rock fans”
Nasty Crime, a powerful
statement about the world
we live in today...If you like
your blues edgy with a good
mix of influences, you’ll love
Nasty Crime.
WHISKEY
MYERS
TORNILLO
JEAN KNAPPITT
THIRTY TIGERS RECORDS
This is the sixth release from
this six-piece genre defying
group. They always bring
something different to the
roots-based style and these
twelve tracks self-produced
release is their best yet in
this reviewer’s opinion, full
on unapologetic foot tapping
tunes from a band on the
rise. From the opening
trumpet tones of Tornillo to
the last acoustic reflective
song, Heart Of Stone, this
is a pleasure to the listener.
The tune, John Wayne sets
the tone with a bass line and
groove to lap up, then add
some backing vocals from
the McCrary sisters, some
harmonica and backbeat,
amazing. Guitar licks a plenty
on this release accentuates
the overall feel, Antioch
being a case in point, even
some brass here with a great
rhythm, this tune deals with
domestic abuse, this band
is no holds barred in their
lyricism. The song Feet’s
has a Southern rock style,
boogie rocking beat about
being on the road, great
harmonies, slide guitar, great
tone. Whole World gone
Crazy keeps a good melody
and slows the tempo. For
The Kids is a plea too keep
a broken relationship going,
plaintive lyrics rise with
great backing vocals. The
Wolf brings Classic rock to
the fore. Mission To Mars is
a quirky intergalactic jazzy
tune. There is even a Stax,
Muscle Shoals approach to
Bad Medicine. Heavy On Me
slows the pace, a song written
and sung by John Jeffers,
another highlight. Other
Side is another anthemic
tune full of rhythm and great
guitar riffs.
COLIN CAMPBELL
BREEZY RODIO
UNDERGROUND
BLUES
WIND CHILL/BLOOS RECORDS
Breezy Rodio is an individual
not just a band name, he
hails from Texas in USA
where he has gained a good
reputation as a blues guitarist
and vocalist releasing a
couple of albums in his own
right and providing support
on a Joe Barr album in 2021
called Soul For The Heart. A
significant bonus is that he
has acquired the services of
Anson Funderburgh, who
plays guitar on two tracks
and produces the album. I
fondly remember listening
to several of his albums in
the 1990’s with the Rockets.
Breezy plays a modern style
of Chicago blues on this
album mixing traditional
elements alongside some
soulful songs that are played
and sung impeccably. Well
supported by four backing
musicians that include the
talented Josh Fulero on
Harmonica, all the material
is original and very strong. I
particularly liked Lightening
Strike which is driven by
Breezy’s lead guitar work
and the instrumental The
Asymptomatics which
brings in some funky jazz
elements. Breezy Rodio has
a unique playing style, he
uses his thumb instead of
the more traditional pick
for his custom-built Olivia
Rhino guitar, the result is
a very pure sound that has
tremendous depth and plenty
of rhythm. His vocals are
more traditional although
he does have a very smooth
tone that reminds me of
Robert Cray at times. This
is what I consider to be a
“complete” album, the fourteen
tracks combine well to
provide a sumptuous blues
that has variety but never
strays too far from the core
Chicago blues sounds, highly
recommended release by an
accomplished artist.
ADRIAN BLACKLEE
THE DIG 3
SELF-TITLED
INDEPENDENT
The Dig 3 consists of Andrew
Duncanson on vocals
and guitar, Multi-instrumentalist,
Gerry Hundt and Ronnie
Shellist. This is an album
of pure raw, down, and dirty
blues, just as blues should
be. The opening track, You’re
The One highlights this very
intention of raw blues. Gravelly
vocals, foot-stopmin’
percussion, the harp blowing
in the background, and guitar
riffs bringing up the rear.
Every Drop kinda reminds
me of early Canned Heat in a
way, maybe it’s the delivery
of the vocals along with
the relentless blues beat. I
digress, by the second track,
I’m already in love with this
album. With albums such
as this, what you get is plain
and simple blues, nothing
more, nothing less. You don’t
need bells and whistles, big
production, or overstated
playing, with a blues album,
the bare essentials are
usually all that you need.
This album has that in abundance,
great playing, great
vocals, and lyrics, and three
guys who obviously love
and understand the blues.
Southern Fantasy changes
the mood slightly bringing
funk and soul into the mix.
The tempo is brilliant, you
can’t help but tap your feet
and move around the room
whilst listening to this. These
three guys are the epitome
of traditional blues artists, it
seems as though the album
was made on a whim, in
the studio, start jamming,
and hey presto, out comes
a brilliant blues album of

REVIEWS AUG/SEP 2022 REVIEWS AUG/SEP 2022 REVIEWS AUG/SEP 2022 REVIEWS AUG/SEP 2022
RORY
BLOCK
AIN’T NOBODY
WORRIED
Stony Plain Records
This is the third volume in the series Power Women Of
The Blues produced by Rory and Rob Davis recorded
in Kentucky Studios. Rory sang, played guitar and slide
guitar, bass, and drums on this release. Here she delves
into the American songbook from the 60s through to
80s on these eleven tracks. They are all written or
feature female singers including her own reinterpretation
of Lovin’ Whiskey her most requested song for
thirty years. They are all lovingly restored songs sung
with passion and true feeling for that song. I’ll Take
You There, opens the release and has that Gospel feel
with raw vocals. Midnight Train To Georgia is soul driven
from the heart. My Guy, the Mary Wells classic has
a jazzy feel, such a joyful mix. Fast Car is an honest reinterpretation
of the Tracy Chapman tune, some great
slide on this and a good backbeat.
original songs. The last two
songs, Tell Me The Place,
and In My Kitchen, are
labelled as bonus tracks.
Maybe they were added at
the last minute, whatever
the reason I’m damn glad
that they made it onto the
album. They complement
the album so well. All in all,
this album made me smile,
made me feel good, and
made me realize that raw
dirty blues still has a place
in the world. Don’t believe
me, take a listen to it. You’ll
soon change your mind.
STEPHEN HARRISON
CHRIS
ANTONIK
MORNINGSTAR
SECOND HALF RECORDS
Tribute albums do
not get much better
than this one
Koko Taylor’s Cried Like A Baby is full on country
blues sung with passion and sultriness. Love Has No
Pride made famous by one of Rory’s influencers Bonnie
Raitt is well arranged. Then the tempo rises with,
I’d Rather Go Blind, sung with full emotion and fine
backing, vocal range powerful. Dancing In the Streets,
is full of joy and verve. You’ve Got A Friend shares that
vulnerable tone of Carole King’s tones just beautiful.
Final tune, Freight Train samples Rory’s amazing guitar
picking emulating Libba Cotton. Tribute albums do
not get much better than this one.
COLIN CAMPBELL
Canadian blues-rocker
Chris Antonik gives us a
big album here! It clocks in
at 70 minutes, has lots of
big guitar and some heavy
lyrics too. On his fourth
album Chris gives us 14
originals, written in collaboration
with several collaborators,
including five with
Britain’s Ben Fisher, starting
with the melodic Pilgrim
which features some exciting
guitar work as Chris
sings of heading out on an
odyssey of discovery. Ben
also co-wrote In Our Home
which Chris sings with his
partner Alison Young (who
also plays sax on several
tracks), the funky Be Here
Now and the bluesiest track
on the album, We’re Not
Alone, the former featuring
harmony vocals from Mike
Mattison of Scrapomatic,
the latter guitar from Paul
Deslauriers. Ben’s final contribution
is The Promise Of
Airfields, an enigmatic title
and the longest cut on the
album as the band creates
a widescreen soundscape
with a five-person horn section
and scintillating guitar
from Chris. Quite what the
song is about is unclear,
but Chris is certainly on a
journey of discovery here!
Elsewhere Chris duels with
Jarekus Singleton on Waves
Of Stone which veers between
heavy rock riffs and
spacey Floyd interludes and
plays some tough guitar on
the horn-heavy and catchy
rocker Back To The Good.
In contrast Chris appears to
be singing tenderly about
his son in Little Man: “You
are the best in me, it brings
out the thirst in me to be
the better man, help you
where I can”. Learning To
Love You is a song about
finding love again and has
suitably ecstatic guitar
and an earworm chorus,
a tune that brings to mind
Jefferson Starship, no bad
thing! The album closes
with Grace, an elegiac tribute
to a loved one with fine
harmonies and restrained
piano backing, Chris delivering
a big solo on the later
part of the tune. This is an
album that you need to listen
to several times over as
it reveals ever deeper layers
of interest, both musically
and lyrically.
JOHN MITCHELL
THORBJORN
RISAGER &
THE BLACK
TORNADO
NAVIGATION
BLUES
PROVOGUE/MASCOT
LABEL GROUP
This Danish rhythm and
blues septet have been
together now for over
twenty years, their new
release is another marker
of how the band’s sound
has evolved with their own
personal twist. Still one of
the best live acts on the
European blues circuit they
know how to entertain,
and this their eighth studio
release continues that
theme. Twelve well-crafted
tunes start with the title
song Navigation Blues with
a moody stomping blues
tune, Thorbjorn’s soaring
vocals have never been
better, then the band just
gets cranking the rhythm.
Watch The Sun Go Down,
ups the tempo with a Texan
twang and smooth groove,
the bassline is the key. The
acoustic take to the ballad,
The Way You Make Me
Feel adds sweet tone full of
harmonies and bold brass.
Fire Inside is a rocking tune
with anthemic chorus and
cool guitar lick. Blue Lullaby
is achingly beautifully sung
gentle tone. Taking The
Good With The bad is just
phenomenal boogie, great
groove. Whatever Price is
another rousing feelgood
tune with smooth rhythm
and groove, the band
ripping up the pace. Time:
has a soundscape of its
own that builds up tempo
throughout, a highlight.
Something To Hold On To is
played acoustically and full
of passion lyrically. Hoodoo
Lover has a country feel
with a twist. Headed For
The Stars is full on boogie
with a dose of rock, groove
laden. Last tune, Heart
Crash ends the release with
gentle tones, very mellow
and soulful. Musical artistry,
highly recommended.
COLIN CAMPBELL
DAVEY
PATTISON
BLUES BAND
MISSISSIPPI
NIGHTS
WINDMILL STUDIOS
As the first track kicks off,
I know this album is going
THE TEXAS
HORNS
EVERYBODY
LET’S ROLL
Blue Heart
to be one of those exactly
as it says on the tin, which
for me is no bad thing.
Driving beat, boogie piano,
harmonica and some stella
guitar playing, wrapped
around some classic vocals.
Have a Look At Yourself
is the up tempo first track
that takes you by the hand
and has your fingers tapping
and your ears looking
forward to what’s coming
next. Davey then tells a
wonderfully slow story of
the title track, Mississippi
Nights where I feel like
I’m there, looking up at
the stars on the edge of
the big river, drinking beer
and squashing mozzies on
my neck, that’s one of the
joys of music I love, it can
transport you to a different
time and place, from Essex
to the deep southern delta.
Next track, Daydreaming
Now there’s a whole bunch of top-notch guests on this
CD: the opener has Carolyn Wonderland in fine voice
introducing the main act themselves, whilst Lone Star
legend Anson Funderburgh contributes an exemplary
Texas blues guitar solo. Elsewhere you’ll find people
like Anson again, Jimmie Vaughan, Mike Zito (lend an
ear to Why’s It Always Gotta Be This Way for a classy
piece of Texas R’n’B with something of a dirty musical
touch), Johnny Moeller and Marcia Ball, all big Blues
names these days, and all doing something far more significant
than just “popping up”. Let’s not forget though
that this set is in fact about The Texas Horns.
these guys know
their stuff, and
have done for a
long time
It would actually be difficult to do that anyway, due to
the big, brassy riffing of tenor sax man (and blues harpist
for Watcha Got To Lose) Kaz Kazanoff, the fruity
baritone playing of John Mills and the powerhouse
trumpet of Al Gomez, or each man’s own individual
instrumental breaks. Lend an ear to the instrumental
I Ain’t Mad With You for a classy example early in the
running order. The thirteen songs range from the rocking
Alligator Gumbo to the moody soul-blues of Die
With My Blues On, one of two fine vocal showcases
for Guy Forsyth, via the likes of JB Lenoir’s instrumental
J.B.’s Rock, the soul-jazz of The Beatles’ I Want You
(She’s So Heavy) or the bright, Caribbean-styled Apocalypso.
All the tracks here run around the three-and-ahalf
to four-and-a-half minute’s mark, so stay focused
and exciting, never descending into a string of solos.
That’s as it should be, these guys know their stuff, and
have done for a long time.
NORMAN DARWEN
www.bluesmatters.com ISSUE 128 BLUES MATTERS! 71

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THE MILK
MEN
SPIN THE
BOTTLE
Independent
Short, spiky maximum rhythm and blues is what the
Milk Men are all about and they return with ten originals
on their newest release. Comprising of vocalist,
Jamie Smy, Adam Norsworthy on vocals and guitar,
Lloyd Green on bass guitar and drummer Mike Roberts,
they rip through these tunes at breakneck speed.
Driving It, sets the tone with a doft to Pete Townsend
noticeable on this pacy tune. Cheap Seats brings some
funky licks mixing a ZZ Top style with Stevie Wonder
melody it works well. Go Go Baby is just brilliant, fun
and a catchy chorus, the hook and melody are superb.
Adelaide brings something different to the all-round
feel, mixing in some acoustic for good measure.
this band is on
the rise with this
stunning release
How Do You Think I Feel eases the tempo, a well-crafted
tune about a relationship breakdown, great harmonies,
acerbic lyrics make this stunning. Sing The Blues
goes to the band’s roots, husky vocals full of passion
and a driving guitar riff. Gabba Gabba Hey, a tribute to
The Ramones; changes the course to pure infectious
Glam Rock with a twist, sung to an audience this will be
an instant crowd pleaser. Fabulous; mixes Elvis moans
with a ZZ Top shuffle, add a fantastic bassline and away
you go, tremendous. Highway Woman lets the band
hone into a Jimi Hendrix vibe whilst keeping their own
signature lyrics. Last song, Bad Seed shows the band’s
dark side with a nod to Dave Gilmour on the lilting solo.
Eclectic mix of tunes, no fillers, this band is on the rise,
with this stunning release.
COLIN CAMPBELL
keeps me there, without
any fanfare, the keys on this
song are so well woven with
the guitar and vocals, it’s as
if they’re one instrument.
Hitting the fourth song,
Feel Like Screaming I’m
completely under the spell
of this story being told, as
the slide guitar cries, I can
feel the anguish, I take back
what I said about being
exactly as it says on the tin.
Davey and the gang are
more complex than that, I’m
getting from the songs that
he went from heartbreak
to desire as the next two
tunes, I Got the Hots for
You and Pretty One suggest
a newfound love. Houston
Street Blues is a swampy
song that fits in very nicely
and my only regret about it
is, it’s not longer and I feel
the same about the album
as there’s only two more
tracks to go, nine in all.
This album is easy to listen
to, this is good, old-school
blues.
BARRY BLUESBARN
HOPWOOD
RITCHIE
DAVE
PORTER &
DEBRA
SUSAN
THE STORY SO FAR
Independent
I’ve been lucky enough to these perform in a live setting
as just a duo with Ritchie playing a mean guitar and
Debra taking vocal duties. This album contains thirteen
original songs, with Ritchie writing the music, and Debra
writing the lyrics. The album kicks off with, I Can
Hear A Train A Comin’ a blues title if ever I heard one.
Michael Tingle joins them on drums on all the tracks,
keeping the beat going just enough in the background.
Debra’s vocals on the opening track resonate perfectly
with the tempo, Ritchie providing blues guitar riffs,
without the need to overstate the issue. The Story So
Far is not the type of album with huge production or
complicated wizardry, it’s just a laid-back blues album
with carefully thought out lyrics and some wonderful
guitar. Lonely And Blue does exactly what it says on the
tin. Brooding lyrics, a hint of desperation in the vocal,
and a guitar sound that almost seems like it is actually
crying. The whole album has an understated feel, no
need for shredding guitar solos or screeching vocals,
it’s just pure blues coming from deep inside of both of
these people. As the album progresses, the songs take
on more of a blues/rock venture while still retaining a
deep blues feeling. Ritchie just takes it up a notch on
the guitar, giving it a harder edge.
do yourselves a
favour, and add it
to your collection
As the songs take on a harder edge, Debra Susan’s
vocals act accordingly, moving up and down the scale
with relative ease. You Make Me Feel Bad In A Good
Way, in my opinion, has the best vocal arrangement
on the album, not that any of the other vocals are not
up to scratch, but the vocals here are nothing short of
brilliant. That’s the beauty of this album, pure blues
and blues/rock combining to showcase the talents of
these great artists. This album has thirteen great original
tracks, do yourselves a favour, and add it to your
collection.
STEPHEN HARRISON
IMAGE: ROB BLACKHAM
DURHAM
COUNTY
POETS
OUT OF THE
WOODS
INDEPENDENT
Hopefully
Quebec-based
outfit Durham
County
Poets won’t be
insulted at being
called dad blues,
because I mean
that appellation
entirely positively.
This
album is im-
maculate in every way; intelligent
lyrics and perfectly
crafted tunes, crystalline
production that allows
the listener to understand
every word of every track
on first hearing, perfectly
arranged horn section accompaniment,
every-notecounts
restrained melodic
guitar soloing. Exactly the
kind of stuff that those of us
around in the 1970s used
to call ‘laid back’. As with
everything in life, there’s a
trade-off involved, and in
this case, it’s the raw excitement
of the blues in its less
refined formats. But unless
you crave that every single
damn time, you should be
BLUES MATTERS! ISSUE 128

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THE
BONE-
SHAKERS
ONE FOOT IN
THE GROOVE
Independent
One Foot In The Groove is a celebratory 25th-anniversary
album from this legendary band. Based in
L.A. which has spawned so many great artists over
the years, the band has produced such a remarkable
album here. The main protagonists in the band
are Randy Jacobs, who hails from The Motor City,
Detroit Nate Brown, and Jenny Langer The album
contains new songs and a few very carefully chosen
covers. The opening track, Mr. Alice Doesn’t Live Here
Anymore, was originally written and recorded by Bob
Dylan. The legendary funk, soul, and blues background
of this band are so evident here. This is such
a great version of a sometimes forgotten classic. The
whole vibe of this album is funk, soul, and blues, with
hints of gospel thrown in for good measure.
fine with something as good
as this. There’s a sole cover
of Dylan’s Not Dark Yet
from Time Out of Mind, one
of the set’s highlights, with a
further 11 originals and not
a single dud. The opener,
Working On It, is a clever
relationship dissection song
I wish I could have penned
in honour of a certain ex.
Mean Old Dog Blues is the
closest things get to breaking
into a sweat. It’s technically
a boogie number, of
the type ZZ Top might have
come up with after indulging
in some nice and mellow
high-end hash. Together In
The Groove flirts with funk
and almost succeeds in the
seduction. In sum, one for
the grown-ups, sure. But if
you are a grown up, give it
a listen.
hitting the sweet
spot at every turn
The guitar playing of Randy Jacobs is something
to behold, not overstated, just full of emotion and
feeling. I Am The Blues, really needs no explanation.
It’s exactly how I feel about this album. Vocally and
musically, this band is hitting the sweet spot at every
turn. This is without a doubt a mighty fine album. Big
Legged Man is one of the best songs that I’ve heard in
a very long time. Written by Randy Jacobs, this song
has everything. Feelings, emotions, and some downand-dirty
playing. It’s hard to imagine that a better
album could come from these guys, but I’m sure that
they will have no problems in proving me wrong in the
future. I Forgot To Be Your Lover, ft. Bernard Fowler
of The Rolling Stones backing singer fame is probably
my favourite track on the album, but it’s a hard choice
to single out one particular tune. This is an album that
every blues, funk, and soul lover need in their collection.
Trust me, you will not be disappointed.
DAVID OSLER
STEPHEN HARRISON
MANNY
FIZZOTTI
NOBODY
UNDERSTANDS
ROCKHAUTE MUSIC
Manny Fizzotti is seemingly
one of those musicians who
can flit from one instrument
to another, and between
genres with apparent ease.
The twelve tracks that
form Nobody Understands
range from the blues rock
of opener Crying Shame
to the solo acoustic blues
of Lockdown Blues, the
banjo-tinged country
hoedown of Cowboys on
the Run, which at only 46
seconds is far too short, and
the ambient jazz of John
Coltrane’s Naima which
closes this finely crafted
collection of songs. Writing
nine of the twelve tracks,
with type for a stop for
Route 66, the solo guitar
and vocal version far closer
to Nat King Cole’s reading,
than many guitar-centric
covers. There are also some
guest musicians, ranging
from the harmonica player
Giles Robson, who’s stirring
playing lights up many of
the songs, to the drummer
Brendan O’Neil on drums,
during the slow blues of
the second track Useless.,
with is singing, stinging
guitar lines recalling such
players as Albert King and
David Gilmour. The singing,
playing and song writing
is strong throughout, with
Fizzotti playing many of
the songs with his skills as
a writer, guitarist, singer,
bassist, and keyboard
player adding much to
the sound. Blues albums
rely on many of the same
ingredients, ranging from
soulful vocals and solos,
strong rhythms and good
band performances, all of
which feature throughout
the whole of Nobody
Understands.
BEN MACNAIR
NICOLE
CASSANDRA
SMIT
THIRD IN LINE
LILJEKONVALJ RECORDS
Nicole is an Indonesian-Swedish
singer
who has been based in
Edinburgh for a few years
now. She has been in a few
bands including being lead
singer for Blueswater Band
and her own duo Smitten
all blues genre based. Her
debut release though
pulls in more than bluesbased
songs and previous
influences on her career,
these twelve well-crafted
songs are jazz, pop and soul
infused marking this as a
stunning production by
a wonderful talent. Bold,
imaginative, quirky melodic
tunes make this more than a
concept album. The opening
track could be a soundtrack
to a film, Wolves has a great
string arrangement and
visceral lyrics, she has such
strong vocal range it really
makes you sit up and listen
to every chord. Lily Of The
Valley encapsulates the
experimental jazzy moody
tones to the release and is
a stunning song, ethereal
backing brass section
takes this to another level.
Sundown changes the mood
on this soul infused sensual
tune. Intonation, features
Joseph Malik and has a
funky vibe to it, vocals interlay
well with the groove.
GEOFF CARNE
& THE RAW ROX BAND
The ‘Rock the Blues’ e.p.
NEW E.P.
OUT
NOW
GEOFFCARNE.COM
SUNJAY
BLACK
AND BLUES
REVISITED
Mighty Tight Records
Some people sound exactly like you think they will.
Big guys with ham hands and fearsome beards, wearing
worn Levi’s, squinting from under their Stetsons,
full-on blues shouters, giving it everything they’ve got,
and backing it up with some mean guitar of their own,
and some classic blues backing from guys they like to
record with. You may not expect an early-twenties Anglo-Indian
man from the West Midlands, whose Black
Country vowels only occasionally permeate his educated
speaking voice, to sound exactly like a dyed-inthe-wool
blues veteran from deep down in the South.
But that just underlines how you should never judge by
appearances, visual or auditory.
utterly perfect finger-picking
guitar
This album is absolutely the proverbial real deal. Sunjay
has assembled a collection of top-class musicians to enhance
his latest album offering. This is companion collection
to the Black And Blues album, and it follows on
where that left off. With a one-two of Built For Comfort
and Statesboro Blues, Sunjay impresses existing fans,
of which there are a growing number, and new converts
of which I am surely one, that this is traditional blues
standards given a dusting and a polishing, and a brandnew
up-to-the-minute sound, without detracting for
one minute from the magic that has made these nuggets
last for so long. It’s the combination of Sunjay’s utterly
perfect finger-picking guitar on Hesitation Blues
and his deeply authentic vocal delivery that really does
shine a new light on these venerable classics. He even
manages to put his unique guitar and vocal stamp on
Dust My Broom, which has probably been covered
more than any other classic blues cut ever heard. His
real skill as a fingerstyle player, highlighted on the final
track, The Easy Blues, is the wonderful end to a fabulous
collection, and a must for anyone looking for some
old masters given a respectful and original modern
take. You can hear just how much of a blast they had
making this album, it’s recommendation right there
to get a ticket and see Sunjay and friends do it all on a
stage near you. That, that you own this album by then,
is a given.
ANDY HUGHES
www.bluesmatters.com ISSUE 128 BLUES MATTERS! 73

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TROY
REDFERN
THE WINGS
OF SALVATION
RED7 Records
Armed with a Dobro resonator guitar
plugged through a Magnatone Twilighter amp, Troy
has managed to combine them into his blues rock-slide
repertoire on this stunning new release. It’s raw with
no fillers, autotuning or overdubs. The ten new tracks
are set free with the help of producer and bass player
Dave Marks and drummer Paul Stewart. Whether it be
the Southern rock approach to the opening high tempo
‘Gasoline’, or the raw energy of the last song ‘Heart and
Soul, this is a musical gift that keeps giving. Ten selfpenned
tracks continue with ‘Sweet Carolina’, a nod to
glam rock, infused with a Rolling Stone vibe. This is his
best work to date. ‘Come On’ is a full-on blues boogie
party with dexterous slide solos and a triumphant
chorus. ‘Navajo’ could be a song from film soundtrack.
It has a unique soundscape about the Long Walk by the
Navajo nation, alluding to present day lack of personal
freedom. ‘Mercy’
is all about the
backbeat groove
and deals with
a broken relationship,
with
an almighty
chorus taking
the song to
another level.
‘Can’t Let Go’
slows the
tempo and
emotion,
and holds a
steady rhythm.
The lyrics are delivered
with a snarling sneer. ‘Dark Religion’ has its own
swagger. It sounds like a prequel to two of Redfern’s
previous songs, ‘The Line’ and ‘Ghosts’. Very melodic.
‘Profane’ ups the tempo with a psychobilly punk style,
real headbanging riffs throughout. ‘Down’ has a voodoo
beat of its own with an incredible guitar solo.
COLIN CAMPBELL
Quest is laid back, with
some rapping vocals from
Kameelah Waheed adding
texture to it. Sour As Candy
keeps the sonic landscape
ethereal and uplifting. Dragonheart
is synth infused
with sweet vocal harmonies.
Something Borrowed,
Something Blue is both
entrancing and evocative of
deep feelings and somehow
works here. Ahmen mixes
spoken word with soaring
vocals very inventive. Last
song, Role Models closes
with eerie cello backing
Nicole’s sultry vocals and
builds up to a sonic crescendo.
A wonderful debut.
COLIN CAMPBELL
“IT’S RAW WITH NO
FILLERS, AUTOTUNING
OR OVERDUBS”
IMAGE: ADAM KENNEDY
LAUREN
ANDERSON
BURN IT ALL
DOWN
INDEPENDENT
This is the first album that
I’ve come across from
Lauren Anderson, so I was
certainly going in with a
very open mind. The album
opens with the rocking title
track, Burn It All Down. An
in-your-face hard rocker
of a song that takes no
prisoners at all. The rest of
the album becomes more
mellow and lays at the door
of the blues, rather than
the hallway of rock. Soul Is
Mine is a perfect example
of this mood swing, a sultry
drawl with brooding guitar,
just what the blues doctor
ordered. Zombie Blues
features a guest appearance
on guitar from Albert
Castiglia. Now I’ve heard a
lot of Albert’s work in the
past, and let me tell you, he
certainly brings his blues
chops to this tune. The
album progresses along the
highway of the blues for
the rest of the time, delving
ever so slightly back into the
rock side, but only enough
to dip its toe in the water.
Being a relative newcomer
to Lauren Anderson, I have
to admit that I really like
this album a lot. Her vocals
are wonderful, and all the
tracks are written by her, so
she has the whole gambit.
I’d love to see her in a live
environment, raw and full
of energy. I think that a
live gig would propel her
even higher than this great
album has already done.
Like A Woman finishes the
album with true style. This
particular title sums up
Lauren Anderson so
well. Like a woman,
she grabbed the
music world by the
horns and showed it
she’s arrived.
STEPHEN HARRISON
JUDITH
OWEN
COME ON
& GET IT
TWANKY
Judith Owen has a
long career in British
Jazz and other
forms. Born into a
Welsh family where
her father was a singer
in the chorus at
Covent Garden and
she was surrounded
by classical, opera,
jazz and the fine arts.
She has been a solo
performer for many
years, including
appearances with
Bryan Ferry, and
has had 13 critically
acclaimed
releases as a
solo artist, she
is, incidentally,
married
to actor Harry
Shearer (This Is
Spinal Tap, The
Simpsons, Saturday
Night Live). This is
her first post-lockdown
release, and it
really demonstrates
her soft and smoky
voice, set against a
cabaret jazz set up
74
BLUES MATTERS! ISSUE 128

JIMMY
HALL
READY NOW
of piano, trumpet, bass &
drums. She opens with a delicious
version of Blossom
Dearie’s autobiographical
Blossoms Blues; her voice
sultry and pure but bringing
a touch of humor as she
sings in the third person,
seemingly questioning
Blossom’s charms. Mary
Lou Williams Satchel
Mouth Baby follows, and
she delivers with a lot of
sass. One of my heroes
was the late George Melly
and Owen’s version of The
Spinach Song really reminded
me of the old grandee
and the humor of the song
(originally in the album
Reefer Blues Vol 3) with
all its double entendres
hits home delightfully. And
so, the album continues:
slightly off mainstream jazz
classics played beautifully
REVIEWS OCT/NOV 2022 REVIEWS OCT/NOV 2022 REVIEWS OCT/NOV 2022 REVIEWS OCT/NOV 2022
Keeping The Blues Alive Records
Veteran vocalist Jimmy Hall’s new album is an affirmation
of the notion, it’s good to be alive. Jimmy’s reputation
as harmonica/sax/vocalist from southern blues
legends Wet Willie is assured, thanks to his standard
Keep Smilin’, and an apparently inexhaustible ability
to be out on the road playing live shows. From the
kicking drumbeats of the opening cut Jumpin’ For Joy,
the stall is set out for a collection of bang up-to-date
blues and soul cuts from a voice that has dimmed not
one iota in the intervening years. The standout highlight
track is A Long Goodbye, a slow-burning blues
rooted in soulful keyboards and harmonies, with
Jimmy’s heartfelt lament for a lost love underpinned
by some tasteful guitar from album co-producer Joe
Bonamassa. Of course, you know Joe is going to garnish
the song with another from his endless repertoire
of peerless guitar solos, and he obliges with spine-tingling
flurries of notes underpinning Jimmy’s heartfelt
emotional pleas. It’s true to say there are no egos on
this record – every player is top of their tree, and they
all give everything to the music they are making.
That’s the message
Jimmy Hall is offering,
and we are absolutely
delighted to pass it on
Another favourite song here is Without Your Love
which features Jared James Nichols with an aching,
utterly tasteful guitar solo. The final track, Eyes In
The Back Of Your Head is a cautionary tale from a
veteran to a young gunslinger, with its spare acoustic
backing, it’s a final reminder, not needed of course, of
just what a powerful blues voice Jimmy Hall still has.
If this album enjoys the success, it entirely deserves,
then we can hope that this combination of talent will
reconvene and make some more uplifting joyous blues
and soul music like this. Heaven knows, the world certainly
needs it. Get a copy of this album, play the title
track, listen to the message of redemption it contains,
and feel better about everything. That’s the message
Jimmy Hall is offering, and we are absolutely delighted
to pass it on.
ANDY HUGHES
and interpreted skillfully
by Judith. The only song
that, for me, misses the
mark is her version of He’s
A Tramp where he vocal just
loses the desperate longing
that the original had, the
playing is superb, and her
vocal is immaculate, but it
is a song that will always be
compared to the Peggy Lee
version. Otherwise, Dinah
Washington’s Big Long
Slidin’ Thing is right on the
mark and Jerome J. Leshay
& Bobby Troup’s Nice Girls
Don’t Stay For Breakfast
has the right louche presentation
to even beat out
Julie London’s version. 14
great jazz numbers and it
puts you right in the front
table at the club.
ANDY SNIPPER
SOUTHSIDE
JOHNNY & THE
ASBURY JUKES
I DON’T WANT TO
GO HOME-LIVE IN
ENGLAND
INDIGO RECORDS
I must start this review with
a heartfelt apology. Back in
August 1979, I attended the
Knebworth Festival to see
Led Zeppelin. One of the
opening acts was Southside
Johnny & The Asbury Jukes.
As a 17-year-old I couldn’t
appreciate just how dynamic
and talented this band
was and still are. Thankfully
my blinkered vision is no
longer an issue. This album
was recorded live at The
Opera House, Newcastle,
England in 2002. The history
of this band is second
to none, formed in 1976
by Southside Johnny, and
a young guitarist by the
name of Stevie Van Zandt,
better known for his work
with Bruce Springsteen.
The similarities between
the two bands are hard to
escape, members of both
have regularly played in
each other’s band on numerous
occasions. Onto the
album, the title track is also
the opener on the album. A
wonderful soul, rocking vibe
emanates from the entire
band, with gravelly vocals
and a thunder hammer beat
from the drums giving the
audience a lesson in how
to open a show. Alongside
the usual instruments is
the heartbeat of the band,
namely, The Miami Horns.
Even though the album was
recorded in 2002, it sounds
as fresh as a daisy. No time
to draw breath between
songs, the pace is relentless.
Rock “n” roll, funk, soul, gospel,
and blues, this array of
musicians have everything
but the kitchen sink in their
locker. Gin Soaked Boy is
a fantastic blues tune. The
mere title suggests that
this will be oh-so bluesy.
That’s the beauty of this
band, their ability to twist
and turn at the drop of a
hat. The version that I have
been sent is on a lovely
blue vinyl which I feel adds
to the enjoyment of the
performance. Cadillac
Jack’s Number One Son is
as rock”n” roll and boogie as
anything I’ve heard before.
. I wished I’d have been a
bit savvier back in 1979.
But, I’m not going to waste
a single moment so that
I can enjoy this magnificent
album and this truly
remarkable band.
STEPHEN HARRISON
MIKE
BROOKFIELD
NEW ALBUM
GEOFF
CARNE &
THE RAW
ROX BAND
THE ROCK THE
BLUES EP
Independent
‘BUILT TO LAST’
OUT
NOW
MIKEBROOKFIELD.COM
As the title suggests this is a six track an EP so there is
not much in the way of material to work with. Add in
the fact that two tracks are different mixes so I am really
struggling to get a handle on where Geoff is heading
and thinking. Apparently there was a previous EP,
Love Gun, released in April this year and albums in both
2020 Big Town and Shakedown in 2021 so I can only
point you in those directions. However the title track
Rock The Blues opens things up in quite a nice melodic
way. Geoff’s vocals whist by no means the strongest
every committed to tape are very acceptable, strong
and clear. The track perhaps sits in the territory of early
Bad Company and similar bands which is fine with me.
I was sent the CD with no accompanying personnel details
so I can only surmise that Geoff is also responsible
for the guitar parts as well.
Nothing wrong
with the songs
or with the
playing at all
For sure we have drums, bass, rhythm and some keys on
here as well. What there is in the way of music is nicely
produced with fine balance and placement of the players.
Restless Child, Give Me A Sign and Never Giving
Up complete the tracks. Tracks 2 and 4 are then given
a “Chilled Mix” outing but actually what I wanted was
more content. Perhaps the original idea was to eventually
combine the two EPs together as an album but
we will never know. A missed opportunity I think. So all
things considered a bit of a let down but only in terms
of presentation. Nothing wrong with the songs or with
the playing at all.
GRAEME SCOTT
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JOHN ANGUS
BLUES BAND
ONE MORE TIME-EP
Independent
I have been fortunate enough to see these guys performing
in a live setting. Then, as with this EP, what
you see is certainly what you get. Blues and blues/rock
delivered with ferocity and also with humility and understanding.
This band is a no-nonsense blues band
that also points the finger toward the blues/rock side
of the fence. Four tracks, all of which were written by
John Angus. The opening track, Hey Mamma, bursts
out like a freight train hurtling along the tracks at full
tilt. Blues/rock riffs and train-like harmonica reverberate
throughout the song leaving you in no doubt as to
what this band is all about. Life’s What You Make It,
carries on in a similar vane, all members of the band
bringing something to the table. As I attested to earlier,
I’ve been fortunate enough to see these guys live, raw
energy and an eye for detail are just two superlatives
that can be leveled at them.
This is a fine EP
from a great band
With John Angus taking lead vocals and guitar, the rest
of the band have space to bring their own talents to
the table. Bram Duckworth, for instance on lead guitar,
produces some sublime solos on each track, but not in
a show-off way, just a consummate guitarist, who has
refined his chops. I can see that this band has evolved
in their relatively short time together, a tightness that
comes with great musicians that enjoy working in a
band environment. The final track, Sinners, begins with
fine keys courtesy of Andrew Hutchins, who also joins
in with backing vocals. This EP brings the band to new
beginnings somewhat, not a total overhaul, just a tweak
here and there, proving that it doesn’t do any harm to
bring in fresh ideas. This is a fine EP from a great band.
Check them out whenever you get the chance.
STEPHEN HARRISON
CORKY SIEGEL’S
CHAMBER
BLUES
MORE DIFFERENT
VOICES
DAWNSERLY RECORDS
Melding blues rooted music
in a Classical form may not
suit everybody but when
the person experimenting
thus is Corky Siegel then
you must take stock. In
2017 he released Different
Voices which blended
harmonica tones with a
Classical string Quartet.
Here he again explores the
opposing musical spectrums
with aplomb. This
release will challenge the
rule book on blues playing
and push cultural barriers
of the same aside. There
are ten tracks here with
multi-instrumentalists and
guest singers. All arrangements
feature Corky even
the bonus track Penguins In
The Opera House, a poem
set to music narrated by
him to a string arrangement.
No Ones Got Them
Like I Do starts the release
blending harmonica tones
with violins featuring Lynne
Jordan on vocals. Insurance
is a Toronzo Cannon song
sung by him here but with
a raw string driven backing
that blend so well with
quirkiness. There Goes My
Man has haunting vocals
by Marcella Detroit and
great percussion, laid back
feel. Little Blossoms Falling
Down also has haunting
lyrics sung by Frank Orrall,
DAVID
SINCLAIR
APROPOS
BLUES
Critical Discs
With an album title inspired by Billy Gibbons, see the
main interview with David Sinclair for a thorough
explanation, album opener, Hip Hopping, has a new
wave/R’n’B vibe that jumps about like a bulging-eyed
frog in mating season. Joined by Glasgow rapper,
Johnny Cypher, it reveals an inventive rhythm and
blues approach to the ten tracks that makes up Apropos
Blues. The big, bold, banger that’s Borrowed
Rhyme - perhaps a reference to his career as a music
journalist - and the title track puts rhythm firmly in its
place ahead of the blues as these tracks grip the ears in
a pleasurable sonic headlock.
Sinclair not only
nails his message
but slams it home
A switch of tempo, the upbeat melody of Bands Of
the London releases the pressure. It’s a sharply drawn
lockdown lament about the badly needed live music
scene. Sinclair not only nails his message but slams
it home with his committed band of musicians who
adrenalise these songs with top playing. For balance,
Years Are Gone slows the pace down with melancholic
ruminations set to a wistful burning blues vibe. Continuing
his observations on lockdown life, No Time
Left To Lose, with its sublime catchy refrain, cool slide
play and moaning harmonica by Laurie Garman, is arguably
the smartest of songs on this quality recording.
Then again, there are more than a few contenders. The
modern kitchen sink lyrical drama of When Her Ship
Comes Sailing In and its R’n’B musical nuances could
be a top-grade Squeeze song in another life. Won’t
Be Divided contains some neat guitar work by both
Sinclair and his co-writer Geoff Peel. Oddly, the bittersweet
tale of Fell In Love With L’Amour, and Sinclair’s
vocal delivery, feel as though it has the influence of
prime-time Hugh Cornwell to it. A racy cover of Chuck
Berry’s Bye, Bye Johnny tails this album of apropos
top tunes.
PAUL DAVIES
great arrangement. Joyful
Jambalaya ups the tempo
on a harmonica fueled
instrumental with added
strings. Oasis, features
Ernie Watts on saxophone
another experimental tune
that syncopates well. Twisted,
is a jazzy blues number
with Corky on vocals.
Down So Low has Tracy
Nelson giving a powerful
sultry delivery on this dark
slow tune. Hine Ma Tov
Blues, has Ukrainian singer
Cantor Roytman with string
and harmonica backing, a
beautiful piece of music.
Something here for any
music lover, a masterpiece.
COLIN CAMPBELL
THE PHANTOM
BLUES BAND
BLUES FOR
BREAKFAST
LITTLE VILLAGE
This USA band have been
performing and recording
for over a decade now,
prior to this they performed
as Taj Mahal’s backing
band during the 1990’s.
With this pedigree I was
eagerly looking forward
to reviewing this CD, I was
not disappointed as this
album is full of soulful funky
blues material, aided by the
inclusion of both Trumpet
and Sax players within the
band format. The album has
been dedicated to founder
member Mike Finnigan
who sadly passed away in
2021 but with the aid of
technology his vocals and
keyboards can be heard
on the track OK, I Admit
It which was originally
recorded as a demo. The
band are also fortunate
to have attracted several
guest players including
Bonnie Raitt and Curtis
Salgado. The majority of the
songs are covers originally
performed by a variety of
artists from both blues and
soul genres. The album
starts with a lively version
76
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LAURENCE
JONES
DESTINATION
UNKNOWN
Marshall Records
Considering Laurence Jones is still only thirty years
old. he’s managed to cram an awful lot of music into his
short career. This is his sixth studio album, albeit the
first one on Marshall Records. Add to that a list of people
that he has opened for, such as Van Morrison, Buddy
Guy, and Jeff Beck. Now, these are seriously bigname
blues artists. If that were not enough, he’s been
described as being in the top-ten guitarists in blues/
rock. Not bad for thirty. I digress, the album, Destination
Unknown is proof if proof were needed that his
guitar skills are worthy of such acclaim. The album
opens with, Anywhere With Me, a hard rocking thunder
hammer of a song. Despite the rocking sound of
the guitar, Jones demonstrates his other skills, namely
being a great singer-songwriter, and a great vocalist to
boot. This album leans predominately toward the rock
side of blues/rock whilst still having at least one foot
firmly entrenched in the blues. Gave It All Away, however,
has a more ballad-type style, softer vocals but
with a huge guitar sound lurking in the background.
of Sam and Dave’s I Take
What I Want which includes
some fine saxophone from
Joe Sublett, it is quickly
followed by a cracking
version of Curtis Mayfield’s
Move On Up which has
a strong Reggae theme.
The blues are showcased
on Muddy Water’s song
She’s Into Something and
Sam Cooke’s Laughin’ and
Clownin’ which is sung by
Curtis Salgado, the vocals
on the other tracks are
shared by Larry Fulcher and
J L Schell. It is good to hear
Laurence Jones
still has both
feet firmly
entrenched in his
first love, the blues
There is no doubting this young man’s credentials,
every track is so well produced and delivered. The
rest of the musicians on the album play their part
magnificently, especially on the keys. Always there,
never imposing, just happy to provide the perfect accompaniment,
as all good keyboard players should.
Throughout the whole album, I get the feeling of a
carefree attitude from Laurence Jones, not arrogant,
just confident in everything that he does. In my view,
this will only increase as time goes on. What we have is
a very talented young man who can switch from rock
to blues/rock, and back into the blues at the drop of a
hat. All ten tracks on the album are original songs, no
covers are needed on here. The final track is also the
title track, Destination Unknown. This is the bluesiest
track on the album proving that with all the rock and
blues/rock, Laurence Jones still has both feet firmly
entrenched in his first love, the blues.
STEPHEN HARRISON
Tony Braunagel on drums
and percussion, a musician I
remember from his sojourn
in Back Street Crawler in
the mid-seventies. In fact,
all the Phantom Band members
have had interesting
and varied musical careers,
but they all come together
to perform the music they
love under the guise of The
Phantom Blues Band. An
enjoyable album that leaves
you with a real feel-good
factor.
ADRIAN BLACKLEE
DON
WASHINGTON
D.W. JUMP
INDEPENDENT
Don Washington resides
in New York and is a music
teacher. He is a multi-instrumentalist
and on his
newest recording plays all
instruments, including harmonica,
guitar, drums, and
banjo. He learned the piano
at age five and was the
youngest of five children.
His back catalogue is based
in blues and other musical
styles. Here he wrote nine
of these eclectic tracks. The
instrumental, Cut To The
Left is an upbeat melodic
tune with driving harmonica.
Next Son House’s
Death Letter Blues keeps a
bluesy tone this overridden
by classical piano playing
and Gospel vocals again
upbeat. Diagonal Flying is
another instrumental, here
he shows his prowess on
guitar and amazing organ
playing. DW Jump is a jiving
saxophone driven instrumental
full of twists. Fresh
Tracks slows the tempo on
this blues infused song full
of pleading lyrics and great
rhythm. I’m Walking has
a great groove and sung
with authority and style
about disillusionment in a
relationship with his partner,
vocal style reminiscent
of BB King, lots of piano a
great groove. Let Me Tell
You About My Baby is a
positive upbeat love song
very catchy full of rhythm.
Lying In My Sweet Baby’s
Arms has Gospel tones and
keeps to the flow of the rest
of the release. Maddie Moo
is another well-arranged
instrumental soaring horns
here. Oh Romeo is a steady
rolling blues tune. The final
track, a cover of Big Maceo
Merriwether’s Worried Life
Blues is a superb interpretation.
Great musicianship
by a true talent.
COLIN CAMPBELL
SILENT
PARTNERS
CHANGING TIMES
LITTLE VILLAGE RECORDS
This three-piece band along
with a few guests in the studio
has produced a debut
album that will have people
talking about it for years
to come. How’s that for an
introduction? The band
consists of, Tony Coleman
(drums & vocals), Russell
Jackson (bass & vocals), and
Johnathan Ellison (guitar &
vocals). Between them they
THE
BONESHAKERS
‘ONE FOOT IN THE GROOVE’
NEW ALBUM
OUT
NOW
BIT.LY/THEBONESHAKERS
ROBERT
BILLARD
& THE
COLD
CALLS
STOP
Independent
This is the debut release from Canadian singer songwriter
and guitarist Robert Billard with band members
comprising; Clayton Hill on drums, Tobin Frank on bass
and an assortment of other guitarists including J.W.
Jones, Wild T Springer and pianists Kenny Blue Boss
Wayne and Murray Peter on these ten tracks. Robert’s
vocal delivery is powerful, at times hypnotic as on the
first track Road To Nowhere a stomping tune of seeking
salvation. Six Ptarmigan rocks the tone with some fine
guitar licks, again lyrically this is so good, dark earthy
tones here also. Waiting For The Land To Dry has a
rootsy feel to it a great rhythm to this one. No Shape
For Talking has some fine slide playing, it is all about
the story though. I’ll Leave You is a dreamy highlight;
bass line holds this and marries well with Robert’s
cutting vocals, so many musical layers. Groove: is the
most bluesy tune where the band just excels with the
rhythm, raw and gutsy.
powerful vocals,
tight band, a
masterful debut
Well Enough Alone is a powerful break up song, sung
with venom to a steady beat. Waiting On Time has a
laid-back feel, beautiful and melodic. Nothing Can Stop
Me Now has a great keyboard spotlight and a cool vibe.
Last song, Home, is an articulate ballad featuring Tonye
Aganaba duetting on a soulful song, longest track on
the release and very anthemic. Highly recommended,
edgy guitar solos, powerful vocals, tight band, a masterful
debut.
COLIN CAMPBELL
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DAVE
THOMAS
ROAD TO
THE BLUES
Blind Racoon Records
Welsh singer songwriter, singer and guitarist returns
with an album bursting with blues tunes. Thirteen
tracks and only one reinterpretation, the final track,
Chuck Berry’s Memphis Tennessee which has an impressive
acoustic rendition. Recorded and co-produced
with Steve Jinks who also plays bass and drums here,
there is something for every blues lover on this album.
A wonderful brass section and piano punctuates the
tunes by James Goodwin. Lyrically and structurally the
title tune starts the relaxed pace to the release, all band
members add to the sweet soulful vibe that this album
has in abundance.
there is something for
every blues lover on
this album
The Lady’s Not For Turning has a catchy rhythm and piano
playing that compliments Dave’s sweet guitar picking.
Eye On The Money is a feelgood tune about touring
on the road, catchy chorus, with saxophone interludes.
Another Girl slows the tempo, Dave’s vocals blending
with the subtle piano notation. Everywhere Man, is
another road story, with the emphasis truly on the big
band feel, again saxophone vibes being front and centre.
Leaving San Francisco, has a Chicago blues feel and
fine guitar solo which accompanies the harmonica perfectly.
Rose Tinted Love is a steady rolling blues song,
with a laid-back, easy-going melody. Last Thing has a
wonderful bassline then the organ playing lifts this
tune, a highlight drenched in blues feelings. Pretty In
Pink has a superb rhythm and subtle lyrics. This album
is basically a melodic blues album, plenty of sentiment,
great lyrics, and wonderful orchestration.
COLIN CAMPBELL
IMAGE: LAURENCE HARVEY
share vocal duties, it’s a rare
thing to have three amazing
singers in one band, but
that’s exactly what you get
here. Ain’t No Right Way To
Do Wrong opens this fine
album in wonderful style.
A hard thumping drum
note bursts into such a
marvellous tune, with Tony
Coleman delivering vocals
so good, and so on the money,
my immediate thought
was, if the rest of the album
is half as good as this, I’m
in for a real treat. Well,
guess what? The rest of the
album just gets better and
better. It’s a rare thing to
get a debut album that has
such a profound impact on
me, but this is one of the
rare ones. Every tune is brilliantly
delivered with such
great playing, it’s akin to
an orchestra almost. Each
member of the band brings
so much to the table, both
vocally and musically. Never
Make Your Move To Soon is
a take on the original classic
by B.B. King. It’s not a
parody, far from it, it’s a tale
of B. B. King celebrating his
birthday told through the
eyes of Silent Partners. I’m
sure if he heard it, he would
love every minute of it. Love
Affair With The Blues just
about sums up this album.
It’s easy to see that these
guys know what the blues
means and how it should
be played. From songs that
make you want to get up
and jig around to songs that
you need to sit still and let
them wash right over you.
I’ve run out of superlatives
for this album. If you love
the blues, then you must
go out and get this album.
Trust me, you’ll thank me
for it.
STEPHEN HARRISON
FREDDIE
SLACK
MR FIVE BY FIVE
THE SINGLES
COLLECTION
1940-49
ACROBAT MUSIC
Okay right from the get go
I have to admit that I have
never really investigated
Freddie and that is both a
curse and a blessing when
attempting to review such
a collection of forty nine
singles. What is certain is
that throughout the two
CDs there are many well
known songs, brilliant
vocalists including Johnny
Mercer, Ella Mae Morris,
Margaret Whiting and
many more. Freddie’s
career began as pianist
with Jimmy Dorsey in the
1930s before moving on to
Will Bradley’s Orchestra
and eventually fronting his
own ensemble. If you like
the swinging mix of Boogie
Woogie piano sitting within
the context of those outstanding
big bands of the
war years then you will be
enthralled. Selected from
the vaults of Columbia,
Decca & Capitol and aurally
very well transposed to CD.
Beat Me Daddy Eight To
The Bar gets us underway
at a terrific pace, fingers
flying over the keys, punchy
horn breaks and collective
vocals from the orchestra.
Loved the version of Down
The Road A Piece stripped
down to a trio arrangement.
Rocks In My Bed and Goin’
To Chicago are lovely early
Blues with Joe Turner’s
superb vocals. The Thrill Is
Gone featuring Ella Mae
is the original Lew Brown
and Ray Henderson song
not the one to become
famous with BB King. That
Old Black Magic is indeed
the well known one. I particularly
enjoy Whatever
Happened To Ol’ Jack with
its slightly quirky morbid
lyrics delivered by Bobby
Troup. Loads of strident
piano throughout, as you
would expect, exciting and
packed with energy. This
collection could be thought
of as being a bit niche, but I
believe there is plenty to be
enjoyed by us all.
GRAEME SCOTT
DERRICK
PROCELL
HELLO MOJO!
CATFOOD RECORDS
Working with Zac Harmon
as producer, Derrick offers
us nine originals, four
written with regular collaborator
Terry Abrahamson,
three with Catfood boss
Bob Trenchard, two solo
efforts and one cover. The
studio house band is The
Rays, plus a four-man horn
section. Derrick’s strong
vocals are well suited to
the style of music that this
studio band creates, and,
in turn, they rise to the
occasion in interpreting
his songs, in other words,
a match made in heaven.
The first three tracks on
the album are exceptional,
starting with Skin In The
Game, a slinky soul rhythm,
superb horns, rousing guitar
and clever lyrics about love,
describing how you must
“sit down at the table, buy
your chips with a piece of
your soul”. The title track
has a New Orleans feel
while lyrically describing
how a new relationship can
bring your mojo back, even
after being hidden away for
a long time! The Contender
may be the standout cut on
the album as the band hits
a soulful stride and Derrick
and Bob conjure up a lyrical
account of an ageing boxer
who still wants to fight, to
have “the taste of blood
again, even if it’s my own”,
topped off by Zac’s stirring
solo on the outro. Broken
Promise has a swampy feel
before the female chorus
and horns bring a touch
of Motown to the chorus.
A Tall Glass Of You has
clever lyrics in which lots of
drinking analogies are used
to compare with his girl, the
horns feature strongly on
I Can’t Say No and Colour
Of An Angel is a soul ballad
with a fine vocal performance.
Derrick plays some
solid harp on Baby I’m Lost,
the chorus enhanced by the
backing vocalists. The cover
is a surprise, The Kinks’
Who’ll Be The Next In Line,
reimagined as an urban
blues with horns. Closer
Bittersweet Memories is a
fine ballad with the horns
at their sweetest, plus fine
guitar and sax solos. Anyone
who enjoys the soulful
end of the blues spectrum
should seek out this album.
DYLAN
TRIPLETT
WHO IS HE?
VIZZTONE
JOHN MITCHELL
As the album title suggests,
here’s a new artist with his
debut album. I strongly suspect
though that we won’t
be asking who he is for too
long, on this evidence he’s
got the ability to take the
blues world by storm. He is
twenty-one years old and
born in St. Louis, Missouri,
and he has here an admirable
and thoroughly entertaining
release. Take a listen
if you can to the swinging
blues shuffle of the opening
Barnyard Blues, with its fine
lead blues guitar by Christone
“Kingfish” Ingram) and
easy rhythm, plus of course
Dylan singing effortlessly.
Bill Withers’ Who Is He
(And What Is He To You) is
more threatening in sound
as Dylan becomes more
and more suspicious of his
lady’s behaviour. In contrast
Dance Of Love is an early
70s styled soul dancer,
and All Blues is a vocal and
bluesy version of the Miles
Davis number (lyrics by
Oscar Brown Jr), it’s good
to note the presence here
too of guitarist Dr. Wayne
Goins, Head of Jazz Studies
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MIKE BROOKFIELD
BUILT TO LAST
Golden Rule
This new album from Mike
Broomkfield feels in many
ways, like confirmation of
his talent. He is working in
a genre that has been
trodden by many of the
greats, Tom Petty, Dylan,
Steve Earle, Springsteen, all great storytellers and all
capable of painting pictures that are instantly clear
in the confines of a three-minute song. It is difficult
to actually stand out, but Broomfield manages it. His
tales have an element of the colloquial and he avoids
putting them into any context other than his Irish &
Liverpudlian roots. He has also put a very good band
together to put the songs over in the best way, Paul
Moore on bass gives the music its heartbeat, Dave
McCune’s drums center the music and Peter Eades
keyboards add elements of space and sparkle, needless
to say that Brookfield’s guitar playing is excellent
as well as his vocals. The song titles tell stories in
themselves, East Village Vinyl Queen, Built To Last,
Delirium Town all paint pictures and the songs behind
them don’t fail.
a different gem
every time
One of my favourites on the album is Dunkirk Spirit,
looking back to the reality of the so-called Dunkirk
Spirit and wondering where it has gone today, very
much in a Steve Earle style but also very much a
British tale. Snatched It From My Hand has a superb
guitar solo opening, fast pace while Speedway has a
keening and reflective sense to it. He is a very good
songwriter, he wrote all the songs here, and even
better guitarist, and the album is one of those that
you listen to all through and then go back to pick out
the gems, a different gem every time.
ANDY SNIPPER
rocks the house. Hoochie
Coochie Man has the audience
joining in on this well
delivered classic done in a
more laid-back style with
feeling. The band gives gusto
to Born In Chicago, some
great guitar work here.
Tequila Nights brings some
funky blues to the stage
some exceptionally good
vocal delivery also, a crowd
pleaser. Another Fine Day
has a shuffle to this one,
then the groove is the thing
here. The instrumental,
Juke turns into a bluesy jam
full of tone. Shake Your Hips
is full on rhythm and blues,
as is the haunting Triple
Trouble. The release closes
with the up-tempo tune,
The Creeper, harmonica
tones are superb here and
the band just gets into
the groove. A brilliant live
release full of passion and
drive.
COLIN CAMPBELL
STARLITE
CAMPBELL
BAND
LIVE
SUPERTONE RECORDS
This husband and wife
duo is a great live act. I can
testify to that, having had
the enormous pleasure of
seeing them perform at
Butlins a couple of years
ago. They are without a
doubt a great blues, and
blues/rock outfit. Not only
that, but they do have some
great musicians wrapped
JO CARLEY
& THE OLD
DRY SKULLS
I’LL PUT MY
VOODOO ON YOU
Voodoo Shack Records
When someone tells you to think outside of the box, it’s
usually for a good reason, well think outside of a very
big box. This three-piece band is not your ordinary runof-the-mill
blues outfit. What they are is a three-piece
band playing blues with a huge theatrical, vaudeville,
extravaganza look about them. I’ve been very fortunate
to see these guys perform live and let me tell you,
it is a brilliant experience. The music is a take on blues,
don’t expect Muddy Waters or Bessie Smith, this is totally
different. Musically as well as visually, Jo Carley &
The Old Dry Skulls give you more to think about than
your average band. But this is not all about theatricals,
the band is sublime in their playing. The album kicks
off with Alligator Blood, a lively, blues-based up-tempo
little ditty that immediately put a smile on my face.
The instruments that are played are as surprising as the
actual end product. mandolin, archtop guitar, double
bass, and a kick rattlin’ shoe thrown in for good measure.
This is what I mean when I try and explain the band
and album. It’s off-the-wall blues, honky/tonk, and boogie
with a pinch of country all mixed like a gumbo. By
the second track, Don’t Need No Devil, I’m pulled into
this album hook line, and sinker. I love the quirkiness
of the lyrics and the musicianship is top-drawer. Each
song on the album, there are eleven in all, is written
and played so well. Blackbird has a honky tonk, slightly
country theme which only goes to accentuate the versatility
of the band in my view. What springs to mind
with this album is the air of simplicity, nothing overthought,
or overdone, just a band who knows exactly
what they want, and how to put it to an audience. That
is what this album conveys, great music, simple. I suggest
you sit yourself down with a drink, relax and let Jo
Carley &The Dry Skulls take you somewhere you would
never dream of going.
STEPHEN HARRISON
at Kansas State University,
who supplies some fine
jazzy blues playing; he also
wrote the biography of Chicago
blues legend Jimmy
Rogers. Those looking for
more straight blues though
should try Dylan’s covers
of Jimmy McCracklin’s She
Felt Too Good and Lonnie
Brooks’ Feels Good Doin’
Bad (Christone certainly
shines again, guesting on
this one), or his own composition
Junkyard Dog. There
is also the lovely R n B
ballad I’ll Be There Waiting
and the wonderful moody
soul of Marvin Gaye’s That’s
The Way Love Is. An album
that is very highly recommended.
NORMAN DARWEN
PAOLO
DEMONTIS
& THE GOOD
GHEDDO
LIVE BLUES BLAST
INDEPENDENT
Italian harmonica player has
a new band and released a
live album recorded in the
venue Birra Ceca Pub82.
The band also include lead
singer and guitarist Vincent
Petrone, Paolo Sclaverano
on bass and Luca Bozzola
on drums. They play fourteen
tracks including three
originals; Talking To You,
a lively foot tapping blues
song, I Believe, a funky
number and Don’t Touch
My Blues, a slow guitar
infused tune in the Freddie
King style. The essence of
the band is caught from the
off on the powerful harmonica
driven Talk Is cheap.
I Wish You Would has dark
tones and a steady rhythm
section adding the groove.
Lollipop Mama gets the
party started a version that
a band
who knows
exactly
what they
want
www.bluesmatters.com ISSUE 128 BLUES MATTERS! 79

REVIEWS OCT/NOV 2022 REVIEWS OCT/NOV 2022 REVIEWS OCT/NOV 2022 REVIEWS OCT/NOV 2022
STEVE
HILL
NO ILLUSION
No Label Records
This is likely to surprise
many. Hill is a longestablished
Canadian
blues-rock picker with
a truly significant history and a host of
hard-earned Canadian Awards including their own
Grammys – known as Junos – and almost ten Maples,
akin to Memphis Blues Foundation IBAs. A great friend
of another Canadian guitar wizard, Paul Des Lauriers,
Hill actually stepped in to fill his shoes with a leading
Canadian blues outfit when a relatively unknown
youngster taking his first professional artist steps.
This gives a flavour of just how important to the music
and the Canadian scene he really is. Starting out with
the concept of a one-man-band set-up, Hill developed
the project to include horns and the assistance of UK
bluesman Wayne Proctor who plays drums throughout
and handled both mixing and mastering for Hill. No
Illusion is a very fine addition to Hill’s catalogue. His
twelfth release to date, it ricochets along nicely with
a determined drive always pushed by Hills’ fine – at
times blistering – fretwork and a keen ear for that
always welcome Memphis Horn sound that keeps
feet tapping and people dancing. No Illusion is due for
release on Hill’s own No Label Records label on November
11th, and truly would make a very fine Xmas
gift for any blues-lover who likes their blues full-throttled,
loud and proud!
IAIN PATIENCE
a very fine addition
to Hill’s catalogue
TOO SLIM
& THE
TAIL-
DRAGGERS
BRACE
YOURSELF LIVE
Vizztone
Too Slim & The Taildraggers are at the peak of their
powers,a formidable power trio that embraces blues,
rock n roll, and classic rock in a Texas-tinged cocktail.
Live arenas are their forte and this recording from
their home ground of Ohme Gardens, Wenatchee WA,
captures the full blistering show. Tim Langford has led
the band since 1986, by my reckoning this is the 7th
live album alongside 14 studio recordings, and we get
the pick of the crop played to an enthusiastic crowd of
believers. Mississippi Moon kicks things off, all ringing
guitars and tight rhythm section and blues imagery.
Then we’re straight into Fortune Teller, a driving hard
rocker with some dirty guitar solos to keep you nodding
along to. Cowboy Boots next, the crowd lapping
it up straight from the recognisable guitar intro. A
tale of hardship and trying to earn enough to get by
and stash some cash in your cowboy boots. Devil In
A Doublewide is more of the same riffing Southern
edged rock. He whips the crowd up again going into
Free Your Mind with its protest song feel and more
rocking guitar.
When Whiskey Was My Friend is next, exploring the
age-old story of drinking to forget a lost love. The
guitaring on these almost goes into a psychedelic
cloud. Letter fires straight in next, a rock n roller with a
Chuck Berry vibe running through, the band clearly at
home and enjoying themselves.
the band clearly at
home and enjoying
themselves
The intro to My Body slows the tempo down again,
and Slim picks out some tasteful guitar licks as he sings
about not being put into the cold ground, burn my
body set my ashes free. Blood Moon with its Hendrixy,
Troweresque intro keeps the pace slower and is none
the worse for that, for me an album highlight. Twisted
Rails is the longest track here at eight minutes plus,
it’s slow opening gradually building as Slim sings about
trials and tribulations and trying to ride those twisted
rails, with ample space for the solos and interplay.
Good Guys Win is a good choice to finish up with, a fast
upbeat rocker leaving everyone feeling good.
Too Slim & The Taildraggers are super good at what
they do, after twenty plus albums and heading for
forty years on the road I doubt this will win new followers,
but fans will love it.
STEVE YOURGLIVCH
around them. So, the live
album, it reminds me of the
kind of 70s live album that I
came to love so much. This
has everything, long songs,
great solos, and the feel of
an audience enjoying every
last minute. The set kicks
off with, Brother, written by
Simon Campbell, a brilliant
thundering blues opener.
When you have a situation
like this, husband and wife
playing in the same band
and writing songs together,
you are producing music
with the other half of you,
if that makes sense. The
closeness of the relationship
pours through these
songs, which makes them
more joyous. Of the eight
songs, seven of them are
written by Simon and Suzy,
with the one exception
of the last song. We’ll get
to that later. Cry Over
You, is a mega ten-minute
blues song that brings
Simon’s vocals to the fore,
way before he produces
a stunning guitar solo in
keeping with the mood of
the song. That’s why I say
it reminds me of 70s live
albums, extended songs,
and extended solos, what’s
not to like? Suzy takes the
vocal duties on, Guilty, and
boy does she do it justice.
Beautiful lyrics, with a voice
to match and the band coming
together slowly, building
behind the vocals. It is a
truly great song, and done
so well. This whole album
makes me feel so good, the
recording is spot on, you
can almost feel the audience
in the background, it’s
a very well-put-together
album. So, to the final tune,
A Whiter Shade Of Pale,
needs no introduction. And
to help it along, Josh Phillips
of Procul Harem fame plays
the keyboards. This album
is brilliant. Nuff said.
STEPHEN HARRISON
GEOFF
MULDAUR
HIS LAST LETTER
MOON RIVER MUSIC
This double album is not
what you might expect
from Geoff Muldaur, or
maybe it’s exactly what you
would expect. Having been
part of Paul Butterfield’s
Better Days Band, Muldaur
has spread the word of folk
and blues music as much as
anyone. This double album
features some brilliant old

REVIEWS OCT/NOV 2022 REVIEWS OCT/NOV 2022 REVIEWS OCT/NOV 2022 REVIEWS OCT/NOV 2022
blues and jazz songs, mostly
the ones that are not automatically
on the tip of your
tongue. It’s compilations
like this that get my journalistic
juices flowing. To be
taken back in time, to the
world of simple folk, jazz,
and blues. The album opens
with, Black Horse Blues,
written by Blind Lemon
Jefferson in 1926, and has
been covered by the likes of
Bessie Smith and Ida Cox.
What makes this album
unique is the fact that Geoff
Muldaur has added Clarinet,
Bassoon, French Horn,
and Cello to the mix. The
sound and arrangement
are magnificent. There are
songs by Jelly Roll Morton,
Thomas “ Fats” Waller,
Duke Ellington, and J.B.Lenoir
included here. The mix
of traditional blues and jazz,
accompanied by a wonderful
horn section and great
orchestral arrangement
turns this into a trip down
memory lane, the likes of
which you would never
imagine. On top of all this,
you have the brilliant vocals
of Muldaur himself, twisting
and turning through
dixie-land jazz, and smokey
bar-room blues. Boll Weevil
Holler, is a tune that I had
completely forgotten about.
To hear it being reproduced
in this fashion is one of
life’s little pleasures. Add
to that a lovely little ditty
by Jimmie Rodgers, and
what you are left with is
a truly wonderful album
of great tunes. I listened
to this album early in the
morning, otherwise, I would
have been solely tempted
to pour myself a rather
large single malt to add to
the ambiance. I digress, This
is just a wonderful album
crammed full of brilliant
songs, brilliantly arranged.
To finish the album off, a bit
of operatic singing courtesy
of Lady Clarion McFadden.
This has made me a very
happy man indeed.
STEPHEN HARRISON
FREDDY
JOHNSTON
BACK ON THE
ROAD TO YOU
FORTY BELOW RECORDS
This is Freedy’s ninth
release and is based in
the Americana roots style
but there is more to that
on these ten self-penned
tunes. He is a composite
songwriter who writes
quirky memorable and
infectious tunes. It is the
melodic tones that he
orchestrates so well. The
opener and title track
exemplifies his wonderful
song writing technique and
melodic charm that is the
theme through this release.
There Goes A Brooklyn
Girl has a swagger about
it, well-crafted lyrics great
musicianship. Madeline’s
Eye has some twangy slide
guitar licks, very catchy and
up tempo, Darlin’ is acoustic
guitar driven, some sweet
harmonies with Aimee
Mann on this very honest
song. Tryin’ To Move On lets
the band loose on a rocky
tune David Raven on drums
giving an intense backbeat
with Dusty Wakeman
keeping the bassline. The
Power Of Love has a soaring
melody line with added
vocals of Susan Cowsill.
Somewhere Love, slows
the tempo, Freedy’s vocals
have never been better and
the string arrangement by
Stevie Blacke lifts the tune.
That’s Life is self-explanatory
about the circle of life,
a duet with Susanna Hoffs.
Trick Of The Light has a
glow of its own and is sung
with emotion, his guitar
playing is subtle a lot of layers
to this one. Final tune,
The I Really Miss Ya Blues
flows well and catches the
listener with an infectious
feelgood sound. He is simply
a unique talent.
COLIN CAMPBELL
WHEN
RIVERS MEET
FLYING FREE
TOUR LIVE
ONE ROAD RECORDS
Still on a crest of a wave
musically and garnering a
huge fan base, it was a no
brainer that When Rivers
Meet would bring out a
live album and here it is;
thirteen tracks of the finest
musical calibre incorporating
different styles
including blues, soul, rock
all tinged with honesty and
an eagerness to entertain
and make a connection with
the audience, which is palpable
on every track. Here,
Grace and Aaron Bond have
gathered a stunning band,
including Roger Inniss on
bass guitar and James Fox
on drums and keyboards.
Hard to imagine this is the
band’s first headline tour
and incorporates songs
from their two albums and
two E.Ps. They go through
the set list at a blistering
rate changing tones with
every instrument they play,
and the audience laps it up,
an hour of music, starts with
the anthemic, Did I Break
The Law and ends with the
power driven Testify. In between
you get the cigar box
slide snarling guitar stomp
to Walking On The Wire,
visceral vocals here. My
Babe Says That He Loves
Me has lilting harmonies to
a rocky beat. Highlights are
the slower melodic numbers
Don’t Tell Me Goodbye,
Bury My Body and
the hauntingly beautiful,
Tomorrow. Freeman again
starts with superb slide and
Grace’s vocals soar through
the hall; rhythm section
makes this fully charged.
They enjoy themselves on
stage and play the crowd on
Innocence Of Youth which
is groove laden. Inclusive,
fun, emotional, high-octane
music, this is what a live
album should be, this is the
essence of Where Rivers
Meet are in their career to
date, five-star performers.
COLIN CAMPBELL
www.bluesmatters.com ISSUE 128 BLUES MATTERS! 81

REVIEWS OCT/NOV 2022 REVIEWS OCT/NOV 2022 REVIEWS OCT/NOV 2022 REVIEWS OCT/NOV 2022
EMANUEL
CASABLANCA
BLOOD ON MY
HANDS
INDEPENDENT
Based in Brooklyn, this
singer songwriter and
guitarist may be a relatively
new name in the blues to
some but what a powerful
debut release. Sixteen
songs of varying musical
styles that transcend blues
music to a different level.
This musician has it all and
his repertoire is astounding.
He has called on some
special guests including
Eric Gales on the amazing
title track Blood On My
Hands, Jimmy Carpenter
on saxophone on the catchy
Anna Lee and Kat Riggins
on the haunting ballad Like
A Pulse, which has such a
good melody. Emanuel’s
vocals have a tenor style
with the smoothness of
Gary Clark Junior, he
has such a range vocally.
Opener starts with thunder
and lightning then bang into
an eerie almost trippy tune,
Afraid Of Blood. In Blood
features Paul Gilbert with
a blistering riff, laid back
feel to this. Bloodshot Eyes,
features Albert Castiglia on
another heartbreaking song
with a punch. Nashville
has a country blues vibe,
some slide and harmonica
drenched playing from
Felix Slim. Sunday Talks is
full of reverb and blending
keyboard then enveloped
by his smooth guitar work
taking the listener to the
church of Emanuel. Thicker
Than Blood is about true
friendship, catchy groove.
Testify is a great shuffle
tune, rocking the blues.
Devil’s Blood deals with
moral issues and has a
defined bass line, a superb
song. Blood Money, My
Nerves and Shaky Tables
all deal with hard human
emotions, edgy guitar work
and vocals throughout.
Final track Rotten Pockets
is dark and sinister. Very
highly recommended.
COLIN CAMPBELL
PAUL JONES
THE BLUES
UMBRELLA MUSIC
Whenever you get to thinking
about British Blues music,
you automatically think
about, Cyril Davies, Alexis
Korner, and of course, John
Mayall. But, Paul Jones is as
much a part of the British
Blues story as any of the
aforementioned guys. As
part Of Manfred Mann, he
was a huge part of the early
60s blues boom. This album
is a compilation of his life’s
work in the blues. Without
You, recorded in 1963 is
the first on this fine double
album. Not only is Paul
Jones a great blues singer,
but he also writes, plays
harmonica, and turns his
hand to acting on the odd
occasion. The second track,
Sonny Boy Williamson, is
obviously a song written by
Paul as a tribute to one of
the blue’s finest artists, and
a fellow harmonica player.
The reason behind this
album is simple, it highlights
a lifetime’s dedication
and love of blues music,
for which Paul Jones has
travelled far and wide.
5-4-3-2-1 as everyone
in England over a certain
age is aware, is the theme
tune that Paul wrote for
the fledgling pop tv show,
Ready Steady Go! This was
performed by Manfred
Mann, and it helped to put
pop music firmly on the
agenda of television. Noah
Lewis is another blues artist
that has heavily influenced
Paul Jones, so the track,
Noah Lewis Blues should
come as no surprise to
anyone. Twenty One tracks,
tracing the journey of one
of the most creative and
dedicated musicians that
this country has ever seen,
covering all the musical
projects that he has been
involved with, is a must for
any blues collection. Songs
such as, Like Mother, Like
Daughter, with Mick Pini
guesting on vocals, show
a softer side to the blues
whilst still retaining the
core of what blues music
is all about. All in all, this is
a compilation of some of
the finest British Blues that
you are ever likely to come
across. Get it into your
collection. You’ll be glad
that you did.
STEPHEN HARRISON
ROBERT JON
& THE WRECK
WRECKAGE
VOLUME 2
KTBA Records
The California rockers are back,
this time with ten songs either
recorded live or as live in the studio
spanning the past three years. They are one of the best
live performers around and are extremely diligent
musicians. Featuring guitarist and lead singer; Robert
Jon Burrison, Andrew Espantman on drums, Steve
Maggiora on keyboards, Henry James on lead guitar
and Warren Murrel on bass, they form an almighty
powerful musical unit. Openers, She’s A Fighter and
Waiting For Your Man were recorded this year live
in Belgium and epitomize what they bring to a stage,
hypnotic rhythm, and showmanship. Rescue Train is
an old tune of theirs this time reinterpreted in Shuffle
Brothers Studio, Tennessee.
a band at the top of
their game, highly
recommended!
As is their classic take to The Band’s The Weight. The
new tune Old Hotel Room slows the tempo down,
pitch perfect vocals to a laid-back sound, recorded at
Sunset Sound. Likewise, Dark Roses has a similar tempo
and mood about the loss of a friend, a superb track.
On The Road is an old favourite revitalized here full-on
energetic track where the band rocks out, every member
having their solo. Cannonball is another recent
release from their Last Light On The Highway album,
here this instrumental has added guitar solo, a particular
favourite when played live. The guitar laden riffed,
Something To Remember Me By and the final classical
instrumental Witchcraft were both recorded at a DJE
session two years ago. A wonderful compilation from a
band at the top of their game, highly recommended.
COLIN CAMPBELL
82
BLUES MATTERS! ISSUE 128 www.bluesmatters.com

IBBA TOP 40
INDEPENDENT BLUES
BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION
www.bluesbroadcasters.co.uk
POSITION ARTIST ALBUM
1 BERNIE MARSDEN TRIOS
2 THE JUJUBES RAGING MOON
3 DAVE THOMAS ROAD TO THE BLUES
4 SHEMEKIA COPELAND DONE COME TOO FAR
5 RORY GALLAGHER DEUCE: 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
6 STEVIE WATTS ORGAN TRIO LIVE AT PEGGY’S SKYLIGHT
7 GA-20 CRACKDOWN
8 TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND I AM THE MOON: III. THE FALL
9 SILENT PARTNERS CHANGING TIMES
10 BREEZY RODIO UNDERGROUND BLUES
11 KIRK FLETCHER HEARTACHE BY THE POUND
12 WHISKEY MYERS TORNILLO
13 THE TEXAS HORNS EVERYBODY LET’S ROLL
14 JOHN NEMETH MAY BE THE LAST TIME
15 ORPHAN JON & THE ABANDONED OVER THE PAIN
16 DEMETRIA TAYLOR DOIN’ WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO DO
17 EMANUEL CASABLANCA BLOOD ON MY HANDS
18 THE COMMONERS FIND A BETTER WAY
19 THE FIREBIRD SMITH BLUES BAND NO TURNING BACK
20 PAUL JONES THE BLUES
21 THE DIG 3 THE DIG 3
22 MICKEY JUPP UP SNAKES, DOWN LADDERS
23 DERRICK PROCELL HELLO MOJO!
24 P.J. O’BRIEN HIGH COST
25 BRAVE RIVAL LIFE’S MACHINE
26 THE BONESHAKERS ONE FOOT IN THE GROOVE
27 ELLES BAILEY SHINING IN THE HALF LIGHT
28 BOB CORRITORE & FRIENDS YOU SHOCKED ME
29 MARCUS KING YOUNG BLOOD
30 CHRIS ANTONIK MORNINGSTAR
31 ROB HERON & TEA PAD ORCHESTRA THE PARTY’S OVER
32 THE SWAMP POETS EMERALD RIVER PROJECT REVISITED
33 EVA CARBONI SMOKE & MIRRORS
34 LAURA EVANS STATE OF MIND
35 SOUTH ISLAND RHYTHM KINGS STILL THAT WAY TODAY
36 THE ALLIGATORS STRAIGHT TO TAPE
37 DANNY R & PAUL GILLINGS 100 TO 1
38 LEVI PLATERO DYING BREED
39 MISSISSIPPI HEAT MADELEINE
40 THE CINELLI BROTHERS NO COUNTRY FOR BLUESMEN
IBBA PRESENTER’S
PICKS OF
THE MONTH
SEPTEMBER 2022
BERNIE
MARSDEN
TRIOS
THE BONE-
SHAKERS
ONE FOOT IN THE GROOVE

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www.bluesmatters.com ISSUE 128 BLUES MATTERS! 85

NEW STUDIO ALBUM
JIMMY
HALL
ReAdY NoW
Produced by
Joe Bonamassa & Josh Smith
“
For Music Lovers Only:
It's hard to improve on all I've recorded through the years but
that hasn't stopped me from trying. I collaborated with some
very talented songwriters and a stellar band and the result is
the BEST record of my career! So Get Ready for a newfashioned
album that will Blow Your Mind !!
”
- Jimmy Hall
AVAILABLE IN STORES & KTBARECORDS.COM
AVAILABLE NOW ON CD, DIGITAL & STREAMING

H I G H L Y A N T I C I P A T E D
NEW STUDIO ALBUM
JOANNE
SHAW TAYLOR
NOBODY’S FOOL
Produced by Joe Bonamassa & Josh Smith
“WITH MASSES OF CROSSOVER APPEAL,
NOBODY’S FOOL HAS THE POTENTIAL TO
BE HUGE, AND 13 YEARS AFTER HER DEBUT
ALBUM SHE MIGHT WELL FIND HERSELF
THE NEXT OVERNIGHT SENSATION.”
- RECORD COLLECTOR MAGAZINE
“JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR’S NEW ALBUM IS
ALREADY BEING REGARDED AS HER BEST
TO DATE.”
– GUITARIST MAGAZINE
MORE INFO AT JOANNESHAWTAYLOR.COM
AVAILABLE IN STORES
& KTBARECORDS.COM
AVAILABLE NOW ON CD, VINYL, DIGITAL & STREAMING