Kris Dollimore – 02/01/1978 (Sun Pier Recordings).

Former lead guitarist and founder member of the cult 80s band The Godfathers, Kris Dollimore has taken some time to release his debut solo album. Since leaving The Godfathers in 1990 he has certainly diversified, playing with those such as Adam Ant, The Damned, Del Amitri and country-rock singer Eileen Rose. 02/01/1978 is the result of Dollimore’s abandonment of session playing to concentrate on writing. Inspired by the blues of John Lee Hooker, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Robert Johnson he has produced an album of highly original songs. Opening with Groundhog, a jangly John Lee Hooker blues with thumping drums from Wolf Howard, Dollimore leads us off into his world. Brother Ray is an acoustic blues and a foot-stomper to boot. His frenetic guitar crosses over into mountain music at times and this sets the standard of guitar playing for the rest of the album. Dollimore continues in the acoustic vein with The Enemy. This incorporates slide guitar and keeps both the standard and the pace up. Miss Emma Jane is a storming blues that is on the rock side and played in a Rory Gallagher style. He goes all broody on Loved Up Blues and listen to the lyrics here because in many cases, it can be very true.

The interestingly titled The North Kent Post Industrial Hillstomp Blues is a modern blues shouter, nothing more, nothing less. The next one, Take What’s Mine, is a plodding blues that is surprisingly hypnotic and he goes back to acoustic for the country blues of Cry For Me. One small gripe with this is that there isn’t enough edge, something that the rest of the album has in heaps. The John Lee Hooker influenced Caned is a return to form and the gentle acoustic blues rock of Rollin’ Stone takes us on another journey. T.V. Eye, co-written by Iggy Pop, is another blues influenced rocker and the closing track, East Of England is a slow acoustic finish that runs for over 6 minutes and is the perfect end to this first solo album. I hope that it won’t be too long until the follow up.

http://www.krisdollimore.com/

David Blue.

Jinder – I’m Alive (Folkwit Records).

25 year old Jinder is described as a travelling singer/songwriter and storyteller. Certainly the travelling part of that statement is not in doubt as he has toured relentlessly in the UK, Europe and the USA for the last six years. I’m Alive is his second album and opens with the traditional Country offering, Hill Country. This is a bouncy and energetic start for the man who was previously a founder member of the alt.rock band, Candlefire, who enjoyed chart success in 2002 with Sorrow Spreads Its Wings. A Song To Myself veers over to the alt.country field and he shows that he can be successful in both fields. He sticks with modern Country for Train In Your Voice, a slow, searching song that will grow and grow on you. Jinder is now firmly in the Americana area and Travellin’ Song is a great, sing-along, sit by the fire kind of song. He is proving himself to be a class act and Cicadas Café only goes to cement that feeling before he speeds it up a little for Life, which is modern Country served up in a traditional style. This is augmented by some top class steel guitar playing from Melvin Duffy.

Townes’ Blues is a reflective homage to Townes Van Zandt and this slow Americana offering confirms my feeling that I think we have found a new star. You would swear that Jinder was an American (he’s actually from Bournemouth) by the way that he easily travels around the styles and in Vacancy Here we have a powerful song delivered in a velvet glove. Jinder shows that he can deliver a powerful vocal on In My Time of Dying and this sombre cover slips into John The Revelator for a moment before going off into Fixin’ To Die Blues. This is the only cover on the album and that is testament to Jinder’s confidence in his own songwriting ability. That confidence is exemplified on 1922 Blues, a gentle Americana song that is peaceful and stunning in its simplicity. There are some more gentle sounds on Hazel County. This time though, he adds lovely harmonies and has certainly pushed himself to the forefront of British Americana singers. The album finishes with Shake Me and he goes all electric for it. This sounds like Bo Diddley on speed and builds up very well as Jinder gets emotional towards the end.

Jinder is well worth a listen and I’m sure that given the right circumstances, he will be one of this years breakthrough artists.

http://www.jinder.co.uk/
http://www.folkwit.biz/

David Blue.

Tom Doughty – Running Free (Corker Music).

Englishman Tom Doughty’s early influences include John Renbourn, Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy and Big Bill Broonzy so you can imagine that his own playing has come out as a cross of folk and country blues. Running Free is Tom’s second album and he opens with Your Picture Has Faded, a gentle blues with Western style influences. He has a unique slide guitar style brought about by being made disabled through an accident in 1974. You cannot detect his disability through his music and that is the way it should be. Randy Newman’s Real Emotional Girl is perfect for Tom’s gentle, unassuming style and he shows his diversity by tackling Robert Petway’s Catfish Blues. His guitar style and prowess is coming more to the fore and he turns in a strong performance here. The traditional Darlin’ Cora is another Western influenced trundler but I didn’t really know what to expect when I saw Eleanor Rigby on the track listing. What we get is a virtuoso performance on slide guitar and certainly a very different way to listen to this standard. He follows this up with another; Cole Porter’s Every Time We Say Goodbye and turns in another very acceptable piece.

Koa River is a slow instrumental that just washes your senses and the Charlie Patten song, Some These Days is, as you would expect, a solid country blues. My only criticism is that sometimes Tom’s voice is just a little clinical for my liking. Songs from the greats just keep on coming and Furry Lewis is next. Tom’s rendition of Brownsville Blues is certainly well played but it just lacks the spark of the original. He does have some of his own songs peppered throughout the album and the title track is one of those. This folksy offering is enhanced by the harp in the background. He’s on a roll now and it’s two self-penned tracks in a row. Something Ain’t Right is blues influenced but leans toward the folk side again. The Reverend Gary Davis’ classic Tears Come Rollin’ Down is often covered and Tom’s version is, like the rest of the album, laid back. Perhaps he should inject a little more passion into his voice because this song certainly needs it. Having said that, this is one of the highlights of the album. He finishes with another arrangement of someone else’s material. Black Orpheus is an instrumental, slightly jazz influenced and a perfect showcase for his slide guitar. However, it may not have been the best way to finish an album which is a good introduction to Tom Doughty’s work.

http://www.tomdoughty.com/

David Blue.