The Barcodes – Live! In Session For The BBC (Note Records).

This is The Barcodes fourth album for the highly rated independent label, Note and their first live set. A selection of 10 covers and five originals opens with Statesboro Blues, a jazzy version of the Blind Willie McTell classic. Relaxed, but then I’m used to more frenetic versions such as those by Pat Travers and the like. Individually, Barcodes are great musicians and they transfer that to the band as a whole. Parchman Farm, from their earlier album Independently Blue, is a Mose Allison standard that was also done in the past by Blue Cheer. This is pacey and punchy. Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson’s Sweet Lovin’ Mama, also from Independently Blue, is a laid back blues with Nick Newall on sax and Bob Haddrell on piano/organ up front again. Dino Coccia shows his class on drums as they drift into a percussion and harmonica segment. The intro to Crazy Life, from Keep Your Distance, tells the story of Zoot Money and, believe me, this is zany stuff! The song itself is little more than lounge room jazz. Halfway To Nowhere, from their last album, With Friends Like These, is a mid-paced blues with top class organ work and strong sax. They have a very clean sound but sometimes they may find it better to dirty it up a little.

That’s Alright, another from Keep Your Distance, is a standard 12 bar blues and Comin’ Home Baby throws flute and organ to the fore. This jazz/rock offering is like Ian Anderson in a cardigan. Willie Dixon’s renowned 7th Son is played as a Professor Longhair tribute however, I prefer this song on guitar. Outskirts Of Town has Alan Glen’s slide guitar heralding a slightly sleazy blues and Back At The Chicken Shack/T-Bone Shuffle is lifted by Glen’s harp but is otherwise a little too lounge room for me. Sonny Boy Williamson’s Checkin’ On My Baby, from Independently Blue, is given a sultry, jazzy treatment and may not be everyone’s taste. One of the self-penned numbers, Alan Glen’s Be Cool, (also from the heavily plundered Independently Blue) is a piano led blues that will get you going. The second of a trio of originals is the Coccia/Haddrell written Undercover Lover. This is from With Friends Like These and the live version is more than comparable to the studio edition. The Snitch is another from With Friends Like These and is a bit of a jam as the band gets down to some grooves. They finish with a final cut from With Friends Like These, another archetypal Mose Allison song, I Don’t Worry About A Thing. Allison flitted between blues and jazz and that just about sums up The Barcodes too. This is what they are all about, good musicianship and great fun.

http://www.note-music.co.uk/

David Blue.

Paul Cox – Real World + Five Live (Note Records).

Paul Cox’s latest album, his third for highly acclaimed British label Note Records, confirms his status as one of the country’s leading blues/soul vocalists. Al Green’s Are You Lonely is a soulful R&B opener and Cox’s vocal is as good as ever. He has that ability to bend notes and the tonal quality is excellent. Hold On To Your Dreams is a ballad where the power comes through and shows that he is one of the best in the genre. Real World is sung in a Joe Cocker style. This is a classy, blue-eyed soul/rock crossover. Already Gone is a slow piano bar blues. He gives us highs and lows and goes from a lion to a lamb within a few bars. Paper Thin is a rocker and allows Cox to let rip. He shows that he has many facets to his voice on this John Hiatt song. Ain’t Gonna Be The First To Cry is another classy, tight soul/blues and is followed by the funky R&B of Heart Of Stone. You’re Born, You Live, You Die is a barroom blues with the welcome addition of slide guitar.

Walk In The Dark brings us more soulful tones from the big man. Derek Nash’s sax solo is worthy of a mention too. Cox’s passionate vocal comes through loud and clear on Sam Cooke’s Change Is Gonna Come, a soul/gospel effort. Allen Toussaint’s blues rocker, Brickyard Blues (Play Something Sweet), has Chris Farlow-esque tones. Rolling Back The Years has a big sax influence over the shuffling R&B. The live version of Change Is Gonna Come is a big, bold statement of his vocal talent. Three further live tracks, John Mayall’s Walking On Sunset and Van Morrison’s Nation Son and Caravan provide the full gamut of Cox’s style – jaunty party blues, adult rock with incisive guitar fills and blue-eyed soul. He finishes with BB King’s The Thrills Gone, a classic tune given a staccato guitar treatment by John Slaughter. Cox gives it his own personality and surely he has to have one of the best voices in the business.

http://www.note-music.co.uk/

David Blue.

Pat Travers – Stick With What You Know (Provogue).

Life In London is an outstanding track from his back catalogue and he has lost none of his power in the intervening period. This takes me back to my late teens when I would eagerly wait for each new Pat Travers album to come out. A high octane start which will not disappoint Travers’ fans. Crash And Burn is not a sign of what is to come and although his voice has seen a bit of action over the years there’s not much sign of it. He is still a top guitarist as well as he shows on a trademark wailing solo. I Don’t Care is a traditional rocker with a rebellious theme and the headbanging really starts by the time we get to Heat In The Street and Pat starts to warm to the task. Elijah is storming rock with soaring guitar and the Jimi Hendrix classic, Red House, gets a first play by Travers. This has been covered by many, including Albert King, and this is as good a version as any that I have heard. Travers is a very expressive guitarist and it is this that has kept him on top for so long. Another cover follows and this time it is Robert Johnson’s If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day. He rocks this up big time for a fantastic track. The third cover in a row is an Albert King song, Oh Pretty Woman, most famously covered by Gary Moore. How good would it be to have the two of them trade licks on this? Travers’ version is powerful, as you would expect. The strangely titled PT Nutz Aka Linus And Lucy gives the bass player a bit of the spotlight. It’s a rocking instrumental with manic drumming and shows his latest band to be a tight unit. Snortin’ Whiskey doesn’t conjure up anything other than hard rock but, in fact, it’s a blues, albeit on the hard rock side. Snortin’ whiskey and drinkin’ cocaine, don’t you just love the bad boys? Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights) is an old favourite of mine and one of the songs that turned me on to the blues. He rocks up the intro but when he gets into the song, it is marvellous. There is a big audience participation on this one as he puts in an electric performance. This has dual guitars throughout and he comes back for two encores as the audience bays for more. The first of these is PT’s Solo Time. He gets all the pedals out for this one and he makes his guitar produce all kinds of sounds, including violin at one point. He has to be indulged, don’t you know! He closes with the third of the associated Albert King songs, Born Under A Bad Sign. He tries to keep on familiar tracks with this one but he can’t help himself and before long he’s off into one of his solos.

Not many are better and even less have lasted longer – young pretenders, you have just had your ass kicked.

http://www.provoguerecords.com/

David Blue.

Canned Heat—Christmas Album (Ruf Records).

Noddy Holder famously said “ It’s Christmasssssssssssss” and each year we get a raft of Christmas related albums and singles to listen to for a couple of weeks before discarding. Blues rock legends Canned Heat are no different to most bands and have released an album that spans history. There are two versions of the band here with three tracks from the original, and best loved, line-up. The bands first delve into Christmas records happened when Skip Taylor met Ross Bagdasarian of Chipmunks fame in 1968 and they decided that it would be a good idea to have The Chipmunks record with The Heat. The result was The Christmas Song and it is so surreal. It has its humorous moments as the Chipmunks butt in and I think that by not using this song, the advertising people have missed a great opportunity with the new Chipmunks movie coming out for the holiday period. However, they did not miss the chance to use Christmas Blues for a Heineken advert from 2003 to 2005. There are three versions of the song on offer, a standard 12 bar blues, a painfully slow, grungy alternative version with harmonica on form and Dr John on piano and a more upbeat bonus live version with Eric Clapton guesting on guitar and John Popper from Blues Traveller on harp and vocals. Other tracks include seasonal favourites Deck The Halls and Jungle Bells, both given the Canned Heat treatment. Nothing is sacred as the boys turn their attention to Boogie Boy (Little Drummer Boy) and the Christmas cheer is spread with lines such as ‘children need to guns when we got the boogie’. Another well known track is Santa Claus Is Coming To Town and this is turned into a swinging instrumental but they also give us Santa Claus Is Back In Town, which is a rousing boogie. Add a classic Heat boogie on Christmas Boogie and a tearful barroom blues, I Won’t Be Home For Christmas, and you’ve just about covered all of the holiday emotions. Don’t Worry, Santa will soon be here.

http://www.rufrecords.de/

David Blue.

Delta Moon –Clear Blue Flame (Jumping Jack Records).

It’s two years since Delta Moon’s last album and Clear Blue Flame has been much anticipated. The eponymous title track opens proceedings and it is rootsy & gutsy with a whisky stained vocal – classic Americana. Blind Spot is blues tinged roots with beefy slide guitar. The only thing missing is the vocals of Kristin Markiton from the last album, Howlin’. In fact, the band has changed dramatically since that 2005 album and they are now essentially a vehicle for Tom Gray and Mark Johnson with Ted Pecchio on bass and Tyler Greenwell on drums as their main backing. Money Changes Everything has more than a nod to Bruce Springsteen and John Hiatt. It’s not a cover (written by Gray) but it does sound so familiar. Gray could be called a Southern Boss! The addition of fiddle gives this a bayou feel. Trouble In Home is the bluesiest track so far. Excellent slide makes this grinder a favourite. Jessie Mae is another that could be a cover, its sound being so authentic. They stay in the blues zone for this rocker which is driven by the rhythm section and underpinned by the guitars of Gray and Johnson.

Cool Your Jets continues with the same vocalist and is another blues flecked rocker. The band revolves around the slide guitar and they produce no nonsense music. Life’s A Song has good harmony and is blues rock of high calibre. This is one track where the dual guitars get to rip it up. Stranger In My Hometown is a rootsy blues with mandoguitar and laid back slide -- a surprising favourite. Lap Dog is a grinding blues with some of the best guitar work of the album. I’m A Witness is hard to compartmentalise but I’d say middle of the road rock with obligatory slide. The only cover on the album, Mississippi Fred McDowell’s You Done Told Everybody is an acoustic blues with high class slide from Gray and Johnson. Music as it should be –raw and honest.

http://www.jumpingjackrecords.com/
http://www.deltamoon.com/

David Blue.

Alabama Slim & Little Freddie King – The Mighty Flood (Music Maker).

Alabama Slim (from Alabama, surprisingly) and his contemporary, Mississippian Little Freddie King are two of the biggest names in blues (in the case of Slim this is quite literal as he is almost 7 feet tall) and when they get together, people take notice. Both lost all of their possessions during Hurricane Katrina and had to flee to Dallas, Texas. Their trials and tribulations have manifested themselves on The Mighty Flood. The eponymous title track opens proceedings and is a graphic description of the New Orleans flood via a Chicago blues. Please Leave My Money Alone is a slow, rhythmic blues but they return to the Chicago fold for Crack Alley. This has the first introduction of Slewfoot’s harmonica and although the song is pretty standard stuff, it is very earthy. The pace on Way Down In The Bottom is still quite sedate and this is a slow heartbeat of a song. I Got The Blues lifts the pace a little. It’s a tale of lose job, lose woman, get the blues with reverb guitar for the soundtrack. I love the way that they get maximum returns for the economy of effort. Going Upstairs keeps up the pace and even increases it by a bit – simply another tale of broken relationships.

The dulcet tone of Slim’s spoken lyric on Mr Charlie makes for a great tale and there are more of those dulcet tones on Coming Home. John Lee Hooker influences can be heard throughout the album but none more than on this with just guitar and voice. This is music made up of the most base of elements. His voice has more of a strained quality on Waiting On You and again there is nothing too fancy – they just get on with the job. The two guitars are independent but they are together at the same time. They swap vocalists with great aplomb and King takes over for Lord, I’m Good For Something, which heralds the return of the harp and has a drumbeat for about only the second time so far. This organic Gospel is top drawer. King keeps the vocal for I Don’t Know What To Do and it is all over the place, even with drums again, but does come together in the end. The main point to push here is the passion of the artists and it is this passion that conquers all, especially in the vocal. They reprise the title track as an acoustic blues to finish with and have the harmonica wailing for New Orleans and the same deep vocal as the opener.

These guys need to be heard and appreciated – do it!

http://www.musicmaker.org/

David Blue.