Underground Ballroom – Contradictions (Underground Ballroom).

Lancaster based Underground Ballroom are a four piece band that blend blues, funk, jazz and rock to produce a sound rarely heard these days. The opening track, Drawing The Line has a contemporary feel with blues influences. Main songwriter, Mike Atherton takes care of the vocals and his delivery on this sets the tone for the rest of the album. Big Road is an often covered song but Underground Ballroom has turned it into a funky blues with Jake Jackson excelling on keyboards and the staccato delivery is used to great effect. It’s back to the self-written songs with Devil My Deceiver, a classy, urban soft rocker that is blues influenced sophistication. The boys show their background on I’ve Got To Use You which I can only describe as Prog Rock meets the blues and this theme continues with Here, Looking In Your Eyes. This 8-minute epic harks back to the halcyon days of the genre. The title track is funky and Love Lies Bleeding follows on very well to give an uplifting finish to a more than competent album. Jake Jackson excels again and Atherton pours his heart into it.

Underground Ballroom delivers contemporary, urban blues that we will all want to hear more of.

http://www.undergroundballroom.com/

David Blue.

Various Artists – Eat To The Beat (The Dirtiest Of Them Dirty Blues) (Bear Family Records).

Modern day rappers may think that they have got a monopoly on innuendo and smutty lyrics, but, as is shown on this collection of bawdy blues from the 1940s and 1950s with one each from the 60s and 70s, nothing in this world is new. This album has twenty eight tracks of the most suggestive, and sometimes outright filthy, lyrics that the blues has to offer. Starting with 1945s I Want A Man (Who’s Gonna Do Right) by Annisteen Allen and Her Home Town Boys, a tale of a girl who wants her man to stand up all night we are taken on a journey with more double entendre than the entire series of Carry On films. Dirty Red’s Mother Fuyer has slurred lyrics to give the effect of swearing at the appropriate times and is of a high standard musically with some great piano playing. Dinah Washington is one of the more famous names on the album and the first of her two contributions, Long John Blues, is a tale of dentistry. This has been a favourite theme for innuendo for some time and Dinah fills this standard jazzy blues with references to drilling and filling cavities. Tom Archia and His All Stars give us Fishin’ Pole and there’s no need to explain what the suggestion is here. Weddin’ Day Blues by Cousin Joe with Pete Brown’s Brooklyn Blue Blowers is one of the upfront songs – there’s no hiding here on this speakeasy song. Another of the more famous contributors is Amos Milburn. His input is Hard Driving Blues, a standard blues but it is, after all, from one of the greats and he stamps his earthy personality all over it. The quaintly named Crown Prince Waterford offers up Move Your Hand Baby, a classy boogie-woogie with an energetic vocal. The standard of Julia Lee & Her Boyfriends’ Don’t Come Too Soon is very high even if the lyrics are a bit tame by today’s standards. Wynonie Harris is another of the albums luminaries and his I Like My Baby’s Pudding is a jazzy blues with a gritty vocal. By now I’m wondering just how many euphemisms you can get into one album! Some artists take their song seriously but that can’t be said of The Dominoes. Their Doo-Wop, Sixty Minute Man, has an exceptionally silly lead vocal and is on the album for novelty value only. Moose Jackson (Bullmoose Jackson) joins up with Tiny Bradshaw’s Orchestra for Big Ten Inch Record. This has a great use of a pause and shows that you can be frivolous and good. The Clovers give us Rotten Cocksuckers Ball, barbershop as you’ve never heard before. I’ll say no more! Chuck Berry had a number 1 with My Ding-A-Ling but Dave Bartholomew’s version pre-dates it by a number of years. I think that I prefer this big band, bluesy version. There are a number of styles on the album and The Treniers give us some post-war jump blues on Poon-Tang!

Jesse Powell & His Orchestra contribute The Walkin’ Blues (Walk Right In, Walk Right Out) and this big band style is the most prevalent on the album. He leaves it to your imagination to make up the rhymes and this is probably the best way to deliver this type of song. The wordy, The ‘5’ Royales with Charlie ‘Little Jazz’ Ferguson & His Orchestra provide Laundromat Blues – you shouldn’t have to think too much to guess what this one is about. Wynonie Harris returns, this time with Todd Rhodes’ Orchestra, for Keep On Churnin’ – so filthy yet so innocent. Dinah Washington also makes a return with Big Long Slidin’ Thing and, as I’ve said before, some are less obvious than others. This one is about a trombone, wink wink. There are some things that you don’t expect to hear and The Blenders’ Don’t Fuck Around With Love in a Doo-Wop style is one of them. I suppose it’s the contradiction that makes it attractive. Dorothy Ellis’ Drill Daddy Drill is a return to the often covered theme and is an energetic blues with all of the compulsory innuendo. The Royals Work With Me Annie is not a blues as such but leans more toward R&B/Doo-Wop and falls into the less in your face category. The Toppers’ I Love To Play Your Piano (Let Me Bang Your Box) is about playing the piano, apparently. One person that I did not expect to hear on this album was Jackie Wilson but he appears with LaVern Baker on Think Twice (Version X). You can hear LaVern giggle all the way through this as they put just about every swear word known to man. They have great rhythm though, no matter what. Snatch & The Poontangs featuring The Mouth on vocal throw up Two Time Slim, a true talking blues. This is how rap stars would play the blues and the Delta guitar in the background is sheer bliss. Chuck Willis’ Stoop Down Baby is tame compared to some of the others but it makes up for it by being one of the best musically. We’re treated to some Cajun by Boozoo Chavis who gives us LA Women Love Uncle Bud. This is another strong song musically and it’s helping to give the album a powerful finish. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins was never one to hide his light under a bushel and Bite It just confirms that. The album finishes with The Fred Wolff Combo and Somebody Else Was Suckin’ My Dick Tonight. Growling vocal, short and not so sweet, what else can I say?

Bear Family Records has also included a wonderfully informative booklet which includes the offending lyrics.

http://www.bear-family.de/

David Blue.

David Brake & That Damn Band – Spin Around (Westerland Records).

12 new songs, all played live, yes David Brake and That Damned Band are back. Live albums are notoriously difficult to pull off for many a reason and, in my opinion, every band that is worth its salt has to release at least one in their career. They open with the title track with a Bob Dylan style verse and Billy Joel rapid delivery a la We Didn’t Start The Fire. It has a strong, simple chorus and it allows the band to set out their stall as a tough live band. Greyhound Bus is good modern country rock and suits Brake’s easy style. He has the ability to become another great American storyteller. It’s so easy to listen to this band and they are on top form on Kayla Blue. She Owns My Bones leans toward classic country and although it’s a bit sedate for me I’m sure that it will please those many country fans out there. There’s some more contemporary country on Ugly People and I Got Friends is pleasant enough middle of the road fare.

Ignorant Hicks is Eagles style country rock and a jovial dig at city dwellers whilst the effortless Kingdom Of One is top class new country – a standout. Bottle Of Beer is more traditional country and not particularly inspired and Jennifer’s Leavin’ is standard fare new country. Things lift up with Bar Tab Blues, a great example of Brake’s excellent songwriting skills and the album finishes with Beer Gut. The fun filled lyrics obviously strike a chord with the men in the crowd and there’s some good interaction with the audience at the end but it’s a woman’s voice that you hear most clearly.

It takes a good band to pull off a live album – this is a good band.

http://www.thatdamnband.com/
http://www.davidbrake.com/

David Blue.

Mitch Woods – Big Easy Boogie (Club 88 Records).

San Franciscan Mitch Woods has assembled a stellar New Orleans band for what has been described as the Big Easy version of The Buena Vista Social Club. They open with the eponymous title track, a big band blues that verges on rock n roll, and it’s a great way to start. Erving Charles, Jr on bass, who is sadly no longer with us and Earl Palmer provide the driving force and they are complimented by some great other New Orleans old timers. Woods takes on the vocal duty in addition to his piano but it is his piano playing that transcends all. Thought I Heard Satchmo Say is a pleasant New Orleans shuffle and Fallin’ For You is a slow rock n roll stroller, both of which are played with heart. Mitch and the band stay in the rock n roll arena for Counting The Days which moves along very well and shows just how good a band they are. Mojo Mamba is a good fun-time boogie with an earthy voice from Woods and the telling introduction of female backing vocals. Mitch shows what he is about on Crescent City Flyer; this piano boogie is certainly from the high end of the market.

It’s back to the slow rock n roll for Heart And Soul To You and this is pretty standard stuff at best. He stays in the rock n roll field for Short, Sweet And Tender but things are speeded up quite significantly. This will be a real crowd pleaser and again shows Woods to be in the higher echelon of boogie-woogie piano players. Back In Your Arms Again is medium paced rock n roll and is lit up by the horns of Herb Hardesty, Clarence Johnson III and Fred Sheppard on tenor sax, Reggie Houston on baritone sax and the legendary Dave Bartholomew on trumpet. I Left My Baby At The Mardi Gras Cryin’ is played in a Professor Longhair style but the added guitar of Jimmy Moliere gives that different feel as he does his thing. The slow swinger, New Gert Town Blues is a fine example of Woods leaving the audience in no doubt that the piano is the star of this show. They crank up the pace again for I’m Ready, the Fats Domino classic, and this excellent version leads us up toward the end of the album in fine style. The closing track, The Ballad Of Dr Daddy O has a spoken narration about the first Black radio DJ and is a good story, if somewhat a strange way to end the album.

Also included is a DVD with a live New Orleans performance, recording studio footage, interviews, biographies and a discography. This all makes for a top class package.

http://www.mitchwoods.com/

David Blue.

Bob Brozman – Blues Reflex (Ruf Records).

Bob Brozman says that he has been playing guitar for 45 years and he’s just beginning to figure out some of the basics of music. I know what he means – he’s revisiting his deeply held ideas and re-evaluating them. Blues Reflex is the result and Brozman opens with the superbly titled Dead Cat On The Line. This is a stomping Delta blues where he plays all of the instruments apart from the drums and there’s a fantastic prelude speech by the Reverend J.M. Gates lifted from 1929. Brozmans National guitar playing is superb and he plays an instrument by the name of a duff bender which I think is an Arabic device of some sort, all of which, when added to his gruff vocal, makes for a wonderfully eccentric song. Rattlesnake Blues is a traditional tune given the Brozman treatment and his beautiful rolling guitar is the making of the song. He turns to the jazz genre for One Steady Roll and the French influences abound. Despite the exaggerated vocal it is his guitar that carries this one. Death Come Creepin’ is a good old Delta blues and Vieux Kanyar Blues is more contemporary. The overdubbing a la Les Paul is welcome and shows how innovative a guitarist he is. Only three of the thirteen tracks are not written by Brozman and Poor Me, written by Charley Patton, is one of them. This is very slow but is full of character.

The last of the covers is Skip James’ Cypress Grove Blues and this is an interesting version of the song. Brozman just about gets away with it and his guitar playing, as usual, is on top form. He goes on to give us a slide guitar master class on Little Tough Guy Blues before giving us a first on New Guinea Blues (I’m sure that no-one else has ever written a blues about that country). The song itself is a standard blues and little else. It’s Mercy We Need is the third instrumental of the album and is a sobering piece of music. Mean World Blues is bouncy but More Room At The Edge is probably one too many instrumentals. He seems to be running out of ideas but there are some Indian influences in the guitar work. The final track, Workman’s Song, is yet another instrumental and although he has been playing Hawaiian guitar throughout it is this one that sounds most like it. The album has petered out a bit but is worth buying at least for the first eight tracks alone.

http://www.bobbrozman.com/
http://www.rufrecords.de/

David Blue.

Bob Margolin – In North Carolina (Steady Rollin’ Records).

Blues veteran Margolin releases his first album on Steady Rollin’ Records and the former Muddy Waters guitarist gives us a personal insight to his blues world. To have played with Muddy Waters for seven years is testament to Bob’s playing and he can be seen playing alongside the great man on Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz. Just to prove his high level of musicianship, Margolin plays all the instruments heard on the album. He opens, appropriately enough, with a Muddy Waters song. Tell Me Why is a great song to start an album with and Margolin’s slide guitar and fractured solo compliment his understated vocal. The soft vocal is a good idea because it would be potential disaster to try and match Waters’ delivery. The title track is almost played to a tango beat and Bob turns in a silky vocal performance. This is the first of Margolin’s originals; the album is split roughly 50/50 between covers and originals, and gives an indication of his particular lyrical style. You Rascal You is a Sam Thread song and, as the title suggests, is a bouncy, good time song. It’s acoustic, unlike the first two, and I really have taken to it. Just Before Dawn is another original and is a slow Chicago blues. The Muddy Waters influence is there for all to hear, as is that of Johnny Winter who he also played with. He’s not a blues shouter by any manner of means and he’s kept his voice on a leash so far. It’s two self-penned songs in a row with the slow instrumental Colleen. This allows him to show off his guitar skills although he’s leaning towards country rather than the blues with this one. He returns to Muddy Waters for Lonely Man and he’s back to the blues, no mistake. Snappy snare and punchy guitar make for one of the albums highlights. A track from Bob Dylan may be a strange choice but this reminds me of The Rolling Stones, Wild Horses ilk – very good.

J.W. Henry’s Natural Blues is given a funked up treatment with slap bass. It’s a swing blues but an even more beefy sound would have been welcome. Margolin’s own Bring Me Your Blues has a very deep vocal and is painfully slow (no bad thing though) but he returns to the Chicago style blues for Lillian Shedd McMurry’s Red Hot Kisses. This has some of the best guitar work on the album and although he delivers a laconic vocal he does put a bit of rage in there at last. Hard Feelings is an acoustic blues that has Bob on top form again but Floyds Blues is another slow instrumental that doesn’t really go anywhere. She And The Devil continues in the sedate vein but this self-penned Delta blues has some of the best guitar playing that I’ve heard recently. Baby Baby Baby is played in a Sonny Terry/Brownie McGhee style with some added electric slide and gets top marks from me. The final, bonus, track is a spoken tale of blues bands, what songs they get as requests and other interesting things. It’s a bit of a strange way to finish the album and I, personally, would have preferred it if he had just finished with Baby Baby Baby.

This is a top class album from a man steeped in the blues. He’s played alongside two of my heroes and that would have been enough for me but he’s added the cream on top by releasing this.

http://www.bobmargolin.com/

David Blue.

Steve Ashley – Live In Concert (Dusk Fire).

Steve Ashley’s 60th birthday party was recorded for posterity and a number of his friends turned up to help him celebrate. Fairport Convention’s Dave Pegg and Simon Nicol help out on the jokey folk of I’m A Radio and Tinderbox contribute to the acoustic The Spirit Of Christmas. Pegg returns with orchestral backing for None Can Tell and Ashley’s voice shows no signs of his age. Springsong is the kind of song that we non-folkies would describe as finger in the ear stuff but Ashley’s Jethro Tull type vocal wins me over. Broken Wing is another gentle song but is not strong throughout and becomes rather bitty. Well Well Well is superbly played and is suited to Ashley’s laid back style whereas The Well At The Worlds End picks up the pace a bit and is the best track so far. Richard Byers on mandolin is the star here.

Back On The Road Again keeps the pace up with Ashley’s tales of bygone tours. There’s a good backing vocal here and Chris Leslie on fiddle fits in supremely. The Weapon makes it three up-tempo songs on the trot. This is an anti-war song but they lose it a bit at times and that’s a real shame. There’s a jug band feel to Easy Come and he provokes some thoughts on Ships Of Shame, a song about the need for our nuclear submarines. Ashley throws in some jolly English Folk on Family Love and he seems to perform better on the slower songs as shown on Once In A While. His gentleness pervades the album and his friends, Pegg, Leslie & Nicol plus Martin Brinsford, certainly back him well throughout. There’s some more of Ashley’s down to earth Folk on Feeling Lazy and the concert finishes with Say Goodbye, appropriately enough, with its earthy lyrics. Steve Ashley sings songs with a social conscience and these days, that’s no bad thing.

http://www.duskfire.co.uk/

David Blue.

The Barcodes – With Friends Like These (Note Records).

Britain’s foremost R&B label, Note, has a roster to die for and The Barcodes epitomise the quality on offer. Bob Haddrell, Alan Glen and Dino Coccia are the current incarnation and the guest stars compliment them perfectly. Opening with Taj Mahal’s Paint My Mailbox Blue they produce thirteen tracks of British R&B that is rarely matched. Val Cowell and Paul Cox guest on vocals and their voices fit together very well on this sultry blues along with Papa George on slide guitar and Roger Cotton on Hammond. There are only four covers on the album and the second, Mose Allison’s I Won’t Worry About A Thing, shows a bunch of top musicians on top of their form. This is played in Allison’s jazz/blues style and the newest member, Bob Haddrell, effortlessly shows his keyboard skills. However, it is Alan Barnes on sax that is the standout. The first of the originals is a result of many hands and Back At The 4 Aces is an airy instrumental that takes in jazz and a little bit of reggae. Jim Mullen adds his considerable guitar talents to this one. Great British blues musician Alan Glen is a much lauded guitarist, harmonica player and songwriter and his Petunia is next. This is slinky jazz of the highest order and has Glen written all over it, as you can tell from the guitar work. Everything Or Nothing is another Glen song and he showcases his harmonica this time – British blues from a British bluesman. He teams up with Coccia for Halfway To Nowhere, another good British R&B topped off by Zoot Money on vocal and Hammond.

It’s a full band effort for the instrumental Blues For Judy which is on the jazzy side of the blues again, with Glen’s guitar shining through. Can’t Hold Out Much Longer is a Little Walter song but the understated vocal lets it down a bit. I also thought that Glen would have given the harmonica part a better treatment. Coccia and Haddrell team up for the first time to write Time, Talk ‘n’ Trouble, a slow methodical blues that doesn’t really get anywhere. The Snitch is a band effort again and is plain and simply well played, British jazz/blues. They stay in the jazzy vein for Coccia & Haddrell’s Undercover Lover. Although it has the added extra of Nick Newall on flute it’s really nothing out of the ordinary. The last of the covers is a laid back version of Peter Green’s Watch Out. It’s jazzed up a little and I’m sure that it’s not what Green had in mind when he wrote it. It’s a low key finish with No Light In My Life. Well played, as are the others, and in the jazz vein which is a side of the band that has come out more than I’d hoped.

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

David Blue.

Alice Peacock – Who I Am (Peacock Music).

Singer-songwriter Alice Peacock presents fourteen original tracks on this, her third album. First known in the UK through touring with Lucy Kaplansky, she has gone from strength to strength with each album release and for this one she has returned to her own independent label. She believes that this gives her more freedom and time to develop. Opening with Different From The Rest she tries to prove this last statement to be true. This is piano-led, as is the rest of the album, and has American popular music stamped all over it. It’s good middle of the road stuff but it doesn’t quite live up to its name. Baby Come Back is sedate and not particularly exciting and it’s not until Here I Go Again that things start to improve. On this, she is vocally very good and although the music remains gentle it is starting to stir. I can’t say a bad word about it but it just needs that little something extra. Time is a slow jazz-based, Janis Ian type of song that is very relaxing and shows her to be an excellent songwriter. Taught Me Well builds up into a very good song and this is where Alice Peacock shines – the construction of her songs is exemplary. The problem is that she shares a genre with a number of singers who are of the same quality. Jon Bon Jovi would be proud of the rock ballad, Anyone But Me but she spoils it by following with the weak Runaway Day.

Love is a sultry acoustic based offering with Beatles-esque strings in the background and Only A Memory is reflective and airy with a lovely chorus. Her problem seems to be consistency and that is shown on I’m Still Here. This is pleasant enough but there’s nothing different and the follow up, Sunflower is another of the weak tracks. The album is starting to peter out and nice is about the only word I can use for Finding My Way. The title track does redeem things a little as Alice puts a little grit into her vocal and lets it rip. She does have a knack of writing a catchy chorus and this is an excellent example. There are tinges of New Country on If You Could Only See Your Eyes and this builds up very well. This could be another one that could make an impact in the AOR field.

Overall, this is a better than average album from an artist who has the song writing capabilities to make it in the very busy field in which she has chosen to pitch her tent.

http://www.alicepeacock.com/

David Blue.

Derrin Nauendorf – The Rattling Wheel (Rising Records).

This is Derrin’s first album with a full band and he continues to improve and deliver his songs in a different way. Universe Demands is one of two new songs as far as I can tell and delivers his usual stunning guitar work. This is a very powerful opener that confirms Derrin’s growth into a wonderfully mature artist and validates his choice to enter the full band arena. He raids his back catalogue effectively for a number of songs for his band to play and Shipwrecked is a case in point. This is from his last album, 2005s New History. The stripped down version is excellent and this is just as good with just a little hint of a backing vocal providing the finishing touch. He returns to his debut album, Natural, for I Won’t Turn My Back. This is also on his first live album, Live At The Boardwalk, and I feel that this is the seminal version. For me, the new adaptation loses a bit of the originals impact but it is a fantastic song anyhow. Derrin describes his 2003 album, Wasteland, as being from a very dark place and the haunting Where Two Men Go Tonight is a fantastic example of this. It builds up very effectively and will chill you to the bone. Queensland, from New History, is speeded up and benefits tremendously from the addition of a band. Quite superb!

Deliver Me An Angel is another from Wasteland but this doesn’t really gain anything from the extra bodies and possibly spoils what I believe to be one of his best ever songs. The first album, Natural, gets raided again for Reason You Came Here and this is typical Nauendorf, big guitar sounds and moody vocal. This song really suits the band format and I pick out bassist Rick Foot for particular praise. My Hurricane is the second, and last, of the new songs. There are more power chords and it builds just like a hurricane. This must rank as the highlight of the album and hopefully will help confirm 2007 as Derrin’s year. Shatter Like Stars completes a hat-trick as it has appeared on both of Derrin’s previous two albums. If you are hearing this for the first time then you are hearing an emotion-packed song that successfully makes the transition to a full band but I also suggest that you listen to both of the previous versions, you will not be disappointed. Long Road Home was first heard on Wasteland and this up-tempo version benefits greatly from the addition of mandolin, which is a masterstroke. I haven’t mentioned Derrin’s voice too much but it, like he, has grown up and he has a Paul Weller tone here. The closing track, All The Faces, is another from the dark Wasteland. It’s a sombre finish but it works very well. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Derrin Nauendorf.

http://www.derrinnauendorf.com/

David Blue.

Dave Arcari – Something Old, Something Borrowed EP (Buzz Records).

Erstwhile Radiotones frontman Arcari brings his style of alt. blues to the solo scene. Johnny Cash’s Blue Train is kept short and sweet but it played with Dave’s usual passion and cracking National slide guitar. The traditional Stagolee was really made famous by Mississippi John Hurt and Arcari gives it a fair treatment. He plays fingerpicked acoustic guitar and is the first time that I’ve really heard him sing without his renowned snarl – a pleasant surprise. Robert Johnson’s Travelling Riverside Blues has him return to National guitar and his vocals are maturing all the time. This song confirms that he is now an artist to be reckoned with. It’s Robert Johnson again on Preachin’ Blues and this is an old Radiotones favourite. Arcari returns to his manic style for a passionate rendition. The EP closes with Trouble In Mind and he returns to acoustic fingerpicking. Unfortunately, this is the weakest track but I suppose I can’t expect the same levels of energy throughout. I don’t think that this is his song but it does get better as it gets going.

http://www.davearcari.com/

David Blue.

Memphis Gold – The Prodigal Son (Chet Chandler).

Chester Chandler aka Memphis Gold has shared a stage with the best of them; Bernard Allison, Otis Rush, Taj Mahal and Robert Cray to name but a few. The thirteenth child of fourteen, he was mentored by his father, John, and the Reverend Robert ‘Tim’ Watkins whose claim to fame was that his song ‘That’s No Way To Get Along’ appeared as ‘Prodigal Son’ on the Rolling Stones album Beggars Banquet. So it is appropriate that Memphis Gold has decided to call his album Prodigal Son in an homage to his mentor. Come Wit Me features a funky bassline and is an excellent opener with Memphis Gold’s smoky voice complimenting it well. There’s a surprising harmonica break, considering the style of the song but it shows what a clever artist we have here. Don’t Let Her Ride is a vibrant, bouncy, staccato blues. There’s some tremendous barrelhouse piano from Kurt Gibbons and excellent guitar from the main man himself. This will easily be a favourite. He keeps the fast pace going with Crabcakes and it’s Gibbons again who makes himself the star on this happy tune. The pace is slowed down for Big Leg Woman which is a classic guitar blues that highlights Memphis’ lovely voice and top class guitar work. The title track confirms that he could have been a preacher himself. This is a chugging blues on the Gospel side. The instrumental Chicken It is enjoyable and enthusiastic and runs up to the more sombre and serious 3s Tonic. This is a slow, hypnotic blues that doesn’t change much throughout. What it does do is show that there is another guitar star on the block.

Preacher Blues swings along very well and the addition of horns from Robert Eldridge is of great effect. Memphis is not at his most PC on Test Drive That Woman but if you put aside the lyrical content then you have a good old time blues underneath with the horns on fire again. Serves Me Right has a lovely guitar intro and has a classic blues theme. This is an all round top song and really deserves to be heard by more people. The album has been well above average so far but the closing two tracks let it down somewhat. The instrumental Melt Down Baby is a strange one and doesn’t seem to hang together completely – maybe Memphis has suffered a meltdown of his own. The closing track, Bedroom Mumba, is most definitely the weakest track on the album and is a disappointing way to finish what is an excellent album.

http://www.memphisgoldprod.net/

David Blue.

Marion James – Essence (Soul Food Records).

Essence is the debut release from Soul Food Records, a new independent label from Nashville. They have picked a steady hand in the shape of Marion James
to guide their new journey and if the follow up releases show the same standard then they should be about for some time. Essence starts with Tables, a James original that is funky R&B of high measure. The Nashville born chanteuse shows all of her experience through her accomplished vocal. Add a very tight band and you have a recipe for success. Give Me Love is a slow blues with her guitarist (Jack Pearson) to the fore. He has a lot to live up to as the guitarist in Marion’s early 60s touring band was none other than Jimi Hendrix but Pearson is a star in his own rite having played in The Allman Brothers Band. He turns in a great solo and compliments Marion’s considered vocal very well. She returns to the funk for the self-penned My Mama and this is power all the way. Things are slowed down again for Let’s Straighten It Out, a straightforward, bluesy smoulderer before she goes off into the swinging blues of 24 Hours with the pianist on top form. Until The Real Thing Comes Along has her continuing to alternate between slow and up-tempo. This is jazzy, nightclub fare and her voice copes with it as well as it does on the other genres.

Please Don’t Waste My Time is a raunchy, Chicago style blues written by James and I Should Have Known is a classy, slow blues from Little Johnny Taylor – both are performed to the highest of standards. Be Anything keeps it slow and is another one for a dark, smoky nightclub. Marion tries hard to contemporise things with Feel It. It takes a while to get going and, then again, only just. This is a missed opportunity. So many will relate to You’re History Baby and I’m sure that many people will have said it in the past. This song, more than most of the others, highlights the undercurrent of power that Marion has in her songs and it builds up very well. There’s another of the slow, nightclub songs in I Want To Be Loved (But Only By You). It doesn’t really do it for me but it is sung by a performer who is comfortable in her own ability. The album finishes with an interview with Marion, interspersed with a couple of short songs played by her on piano. This gives us a wonderful insight into Marion the person and Marion the musician.

http://www.soulfoodrecords.com/

David Blue.

Johnny Nicholas – Livin’ With The Blues (Topcat Records).

Johnny Nicholas’ second release of 2005 was the original Livin’ With The Blues and followed the re-release of Thrill On The Hill. This album has seven new Nicholas compositions added to five classy covers and highlights both his song writing and instrumental skills. He begins with the Cajun style Froggy Bottom, a medium paced, infectious original that would grace the start of many an album. This is followed by another of the originals, Hill Top, which is old style country mixed with a jazz edge. This instrumental throws up some excellent individual performances, none more so than Floyd Domino on piano and Ray Benson on guitar. The Roosevelt Sykes song You Can’t Be Lucky All The Time is a hypnotic piano led blues that highlights Domino again and I’ll Be Around, a Chicago blues, confirms the status of Floyd Domino as the star of the album so far. Johnny’s voice shows a couple of cracks but this is an emotional song and re-affirms the loss of the veneer of his previous recordings. His voice certainly has matured into a top class instrument and this Howlin’ Wolf song suits him to a tee. The next original, Dirty People, bounces along nicely and has a good sax solo from Greg Piccolo. Teardrops On My Windowpane is another new song and is in the classic ‘Woke up this morning’ vein. The fractured guitar and sleepy sax make this a classy track.

The title track is a Brownie McGhee song and has the classic McGhee sound. Harmonica instead of accordion may have been a better option although with the electrifying guitar solo he manages to make the song his own. Talking of making a song his own, Nicholas turns in a version of Need Your Love So Bad that is completely different to the well-known Fleetwood Mac track. His vocal duet with Marcia Ball is sublime. Honeydrippin’ Baby is a swinging blues with added horns and the lightning fingers of Joel Guzman on accordion. Johnny goes all cowboy on us with Texas Drifter, which is surprisingly good for a genre of songs that I don’t particularly like. Red Young on organ keeps up the high standard of soloists. I’m From Texas is a big band blues (Texas Swing) that produces yet another great all round performance from the band. The closing track, Down In The Alley, is a little slow for my liking (those of you that have read my reviews will know that I like an album normally to finish on a high note) and really should be in the middle of the album. It’s pleasant enough and highlights Nicholas’ voice again but it’s nothing special although the little bit of slide guitar does lift it momentarily.

http://www.topcatrecords.com/

David Blue.

Jim Suhler & Alan Haynes – Live At Blue Cat Blues (Topcat Records).

Jim Suhler and Alan Haynes are two names that I’m not too familiar with but on reading their histories I’m surprised that I haven’t. Suhler has accompanied heavyweights such as George Thorogood and Haynes has played with Muddy Waters, Albert Collins and Hubert Sumlin, amongst others. No pressure then! They open with Too Poor To Die, a Louisiana Red song that is a pounding Chicago blues. This is a slide guitar festival and the Thorogood power is evident. Suhler has the vocal for this and passes it off effectively. Knockin’ At Your Door is an Eddie Taylor song and Suhler & Haynes give it a great slide guitar intro before going off into top class blues rock. I can’t remember if Rory Gallagher covered this but, if he did then Suhler & Haynes more than matched it. Haynes takes the vocal and although his voice is softer he does carry the same sort of effectiveness. They turn to Freddie King for I Wonder Why and Hynes keeps the vocal. Good enough version and that’s all I have to say. Down And Out In Texas follows and this is an original Suhler composition. This is a chugging blues where Suhler takes on the vocal himself and both provide some lovely guitar. Haynes is considered to be more of the blues stylist but their interaction is quite superb.

Don’t Do It is a good rocking blues that gets the crowd going and twin guitars swapping riffs is just what I want to hear. This is followed by Oh My Baby’s Gone which is a rhythmic blues played with ease and a slower Say Your Prayers. This is possibly the weakest track on the album and although I can’t complain about the standard of the guitar playing, there’s just something missing! They finish with a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s Are You Experienced. A mistake, I hear you ask? Maybe, but this is technically excellent although not up to the masters standard.

http://www.topcatrecords.com/

David Blue.

Edwin Holt – Second Time Around (Topcat Records).

Backed by the members of Johnnie Taylor’s band, vocalist and harmonica player Edwin Holt describes this album as “blues with funk on the side” and it’s difficult to disagree on the evidence of the 13 tracks on offer. He opens with the powerful I Don’t Think I’m Going To Make It and don’t be fooled by the understated start. Holt displays a strong voice and the band provides a rounded sound. The title track drifts off into a relaxing soul/R&B feel before Holt unleashes some surging harp and a pounding rhythm section for the self-penned Red Clay Back Road Mama. This is a fine blues indeed. You’re In For A Big Surprise is loaded with horns and gives a Big Easy sound with Holt continuing the excel on vocal. The funk comes in the shape of Back Line with its snappy bass line and organ. Holt’s voice takes on this new style with ease and the song, whilst not outstanding, is pleasant fare. He stays in the same vein for Somebody’s Getting’ It before returning to R&B on Steal Away where his voice is strangely reminiscent of Daryl Hall. There’s more guitar work creeping in as the album goes on and I’m certainly not complaining about that.

Jack About Nothin’ confirms my feeling that Holt seems to favour the R&B route and why not as he’s very good at it and certainly has the voice for it! I Want To Walk With You is a slow bluesy stroller and we get right back to the blues with Down To The Bone. The slide guitar makes this medium paced rocking blues a favourite. The classiest track on the album is The Right Reverend Of The Blues with the church organ at the start to give the air of authenticity. This is a thoroughly enjoyable swinging blues that goes off into a Blues Brothers style speeded up finish. A cover of Stevie Wonders Higher Ground is a surprise on a blues album but Holt funks it up, if that could be possible, and makes it a bit more staccato than the original. The vocal is great and the bass from Wes Stephenson is stylish on this very good cover. Holt closes with One More River To Cross and the emotion filled vocal is a tremendous way to finish.

http://www.topcatrecords.com/

David Blue.

Johnny Nicholas – Thrill On The Hill (Topcat Records).

Thrill On The Hill is Topcat’s 2005 re-release of Antone’s 1994 album and the move to CD has given it a fresh breath of life. This live album opens with Robert Johnson’s Kind Hearted Woman and Nicholas keeps true to the original but adds harp for a great live sound. House Cleaning Blues is another in the Delta blues style, this time with guitar and piano only. The first of Nicholas’ original songs is My Rice Ain’t Got No Gravy. This is more upbeat than its predecessors and slips into the rhythm & blues that Nicholas plays so well. Prince Charming (now we know where Adam Ant got the title) is a night club blues but very good nonetheless and the piano is superb. He returns to electric blues for the standard 12 bar of Blue & Lonesome before turning to the mandolin for, surprisingly enough, Mandolin Boogie. The introduction of this instrument adds a bluegrass fell to a top class boogie. Son House’s John The Revelator is given the Johnny Nicholas treatment and when singing a capella you have to do it very well – he, and his backing singers passed the test.

Nicholas shows that he can produce good adaptations of older songs and Johnny Young’s Sleeping With The Devil is a case in point. This rolling, swinging blues with its lung bursting harmonica breaks is excellent and shines out on an album of dazzling songs. I don’t know what it is about Cajun music but whenever I hear a song in that style I just can’t stop moving. The latest song to move me is Let’s Go To Big Houston and I’ve been whistling this for days. Another song, another style and Johnny goes all Jazzy on us for Tomorrow Night. It has some lovely piano work but this slow offering provides little else. The closing track on the original album was Johnny’s Deathray Boogie/Thrill On The Hill and the breakneck piano gets the crowd going again as it builds up to a piano duet towards the end.

Topcat have added four bonus tracks to augment the original eleven. There’s two of Johnny’s and two of Robert Johnson’s. Mandolin Moan is slow, slow blues but the mandolin still has that novelty value and gains it pass marks for that alone. Nicholas’ version of Stones In My Pathway is slightly different from the original but its cleaner sound is good in its own way. His slide guitar is excellent on this song that is seldom covered, probably because it is one of the more difficult Johnson songs to play. The last original song is the punchy guitar instrumental, Thinkin’ Bout Junior and the final track is a great version of Phonograph Blues. The best way to play Robert Johnson songs is to keep it plain and simple and that is exactly what Nicholas does here. In doing so he keeps the audience in the palm of his hands and that’s about the best accolade a live album can achieve.

www.topcatrecords.com

David Blue.

Johnny Nicholas And The Texas All Stars – Rockin’ My Blues To Sleep (Topcat Records).

Although this is a 2001 recording it probably hasn’t seen the light of day on this side of the Atlantic. Produced by Stephen Bruton, who also plays on the CD, this is Nicholas’ first recording for Dallas based Topcat Records. He opens with an original, the eponymous title track which is a rocking blues on the rock n roll side of the fence. It’s very reminiscent of Dave Edmunds’ style but when you add Nicholas’ silky voice it makes it a more rounded sound. The addition of horns is usually a good thing and Mark ‘Kaz’ Kazanoff (tenor sax), Rocky Morales (tenor sax), John Mills (baritone sax) and Al Gomez (trumpet) make up a mean horn section. Rain Down Tears is a sleek blues but sometimes a little too pronounced. The sax and guitar breaks are excellent, though. There’s a familiar theme to The Last Meal. This prison tale of a last, unobtainable meal for a prisoner is played in the big band style of blues and is not without humour. I’m A Fool To Care is a rock and roll shuffler and although it has a good sax solo it’s nothing out of the ordinary. The pace and standard lifts significantly on Lloyd Price’s Where You At? This is out and out rock and roll and Nicholas is certainly very good at that -- very enjoyable with top guitar work this time. So far, Nicholas’ voice has been very precise but on the strong blues of Reap What You So the veneer finally cracks as he injects a bit of passion to his vocal.

Woke Up Screamin’ sees the introduction of Marcia Ball on lead vocals and makes for a second very strong blues on the trot. The guitar player is given another chance and shows that he is technically superb. J.B. Lenoir’s Mama Talk To Your Daughter is good old time rock and roll and shows again the tightness of this band. They can do slow ones as well and In The Doorway Cryin’ is a case in point. Having said that, Nicholas does like to stay in the zone of rock and roll, R&B and blues. There’s more big band style blues boogie on The Hustle Is On. Just think Jools Holland but with a singing voice. There are some hot horns on this one. The well-known Things I Used To Do is given a rolling Texas treatment and is a good version despite it not being as vocally powerful as some of the previous incarnations. There’s more of that Texas All Stars sound on Fats Domino’s Before I Grow Too Old, the sound being full, round horns and a rolling, swinging rock and roll. They finish, as they started, with an original and Boogie Back To Texas does what it says on the tin. A great finish that shows a top band on top form.

www.topcatrecords.com

David Blue.

Robin Sylar – Tricked Out (Topcat Records).

This is a 2004 release from Topcat but deserves current look. Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Sylar opens with You’re Gonna Miss Me, a frenetic blues-based alternative rocker. This highlights his excellent guitar playing and his great experience shines through as the song comes to a cacophonic finish. He has played with some of the best in the business including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Doyle Bramhall, Big Joe Turner and Eddie ‘Cleanhead’ Vincent and was also a member of Canned Heat in the late 70s. Shaking All Over is the old Johnny Kidd classic and Robin rocks this up big time. This is music with attitude and a real echo-fest. Another classic song follows, this time in the form of Iko Iko. Apart from the phased vocal and a strange film dialogue at the end this is just a standard version of an oft recorded track. Hollywood Millionaire leans towards Country with some blues influences but allows Sylar to show his expertise on guitar. If anything, this is just a little too fluid, deconstructed, in parts. The Jagger/Richards song Heart Of Stone is classic 60s R&B with machine gun guitar and Little Walter’s Pretty Girls is given a rocking treatment with standout stinging guitar. Sylar throws in some Texas blues on Short Time but the spoken lyric, whilst ok, doesn’t really do the song any favours.

Back To Iuka is a storming blues with superb guitar again from Sylar and the vocal is the best on offer. This is the big standout of the album with a top performance from all of the musicians. Sylar doesn’t write too many songs on this album, in fact, Surf Puppy is the only original. This sounds like the theme tune to some dodgy 60s TV show but it is an interesting experiment in different sounds and colours – good fun. Willie Dixon’s Can’t Judge A Book is turned into a funky blues and is very organic, as much of Robin’s work is. One thing can’t be hidden is that Robin Sylar certainly enjoys his music and his enthusiasm is infectious. Pulp Fiction sounds abound on Misirlou and this is a great version with Sylar’s guitar the star. The great tracks keep on coming with Sugar Bee and when he sticks to the normal routes he is as good as anyone. His prowess on the harmonica shines through on this and you’ll feel like getting up to dance. The well known and oft covered Hand Jive is given a fair play and is no better or worse than many of the other versions that I’ve heard. I recently reviewed Tom Principato’s version of Wine Spo-Dee-Odee and Sylars great rocking version is another good attempt. A fast version of a good time song. Sylar finishes with a classic 60s guitar instrumental, Pipeline. This is an excellent version with various tones and speeds building up the song throughout.

Robin Sylar is on the unconventional side of the fence but it’s always good to have a trip over there every now and then.

http://www.topcatrecords.com/

David Blue.

Boris Boogaloo – Looking Back (Floppy Records).

The first of two 2006 releases, Looking Back is a showcase for Boris’ songs rather than his voice which is rather throaty for the opener, Crazy World Without You. Boris adds drums and electric guitars (not a common occurrence as those who have listened to a Boris album before will testify) for this love cheat themed blues which doesn’t have any fireworks but is a good song nevertheless. North City Blues is given some backing vocals which add to the atmosphere on a slow song that is not really a blues as such. There’s some added production on Losers Always Get It Wrong but some beefier bass would lift this into an excellent country rock tune. We have to wait until the middle of the album for the best track and the eerie Island Lady suits Boris’ nasal voice to a tee. They’re coming thick and fast now and Loving Days is another that suits Boris’ voice but this time he has got rid of the throaty voice – a slow, understated folksy offering. He keeps the huskier side of his voice for Merry-Go-Round and adds wailing harmonica. This reeks of sadness and is one to be built on for the future. The short album finishes with Cheating Girl which is country flecked and has a Bryan Ferry style vocal. There are a few styles in here and a number of songs that could go on to be picked up by other artists.

www.floppyrecords.co.uk

David Blue.