Altered Five Blues Band – Hammer & Chisel
Blind Pig Records – 2026
11 tracks; 45 minutes
Milwaukee’s Altered Five Blues Band have been together for over twenty years and this is their eighth album release and their fourth for the revitalized Blind Pig label. The membership of the band has been very constant over the years, led by guitarist Jeff Schroedl and vocalist Jeff Taylor, joined by long-term members, drummer Alan Arber, bassist Mark Solvesen and new keyboard player Steve Huebler; the album is dedicated to their late keyboard player Raymond Tevich. All the songs are original, Schroedl having a hand in all of them, Taylor involved in six, Solvesen, Huebler and Arber four. Jason Ricci adds harp to three tracks and horns appear on one. The album was recorded and produced at Tom Hambridge’s Nashville studio.
Altered Five’s stock in trade is to mix blues, soul and rock, Jeff’s vocals up to all the challenges offered by the music. The opening track features Max Abrams’ sax and Julio Diaz’s trumpet over a persistent snare beat that drives the tune, an exciting start to the album as Jeff celebrates his current situation: “someone please, knock on wood, ‘cos I Got It Good”. Jason Ricci’s dramatic harp work features prominently on the slow blues grinder “Dare Me To Do It” before he takes more of a support role on “Who Can You Trust” as Jeff asks us to be careful where we place our trust: “Some people ain’t all they say, who can you trust? Tell me something I can believe. Stick with people who treat you right, leave all the rest out of sight”. This is an uptempo tune with good lyrics and excellent piano, an early highlight. Jason’s final contribution is on “Can’t Shake It”, a fast-paced number in which Jeff recalls childhood incidents which still haunt him.
The remaining tracks are just the five band members. The title cut rings out with a solid guitar riff and warm organ as Jeff explains that he will not be told what to do: “with a Hammer & Chisel I’m breaking all the rules”. “Lotta Love Left In Me” sounds like a lost Muddy Waters track, a slow blues with Jeff’s solid vocals and relaxed piano and blues guitar and “Headline Blues” is in similarly bluesy territory. The band does soulful tunes well and “Hell Or High Water” is a great example here, Schroedl’s guitar opening the tune before Jeff’s aching vocal and the keening organ provide the soul element, one of the best tunes here: “Like the sky holds the stars and Earth got the moon, come Hell Or High Water I got you”. The mildly funky “My Love Ain’t A Lie” also falls into the soul area, recalling Johnny Rawls in some of the vocal phrasing and the way that the chorus comes in, another winner. The album closes with the funky “Crazy One” and a gentle tune that encourages us to look inside and find “The Will Of Man”, Schroedl’s guitar ringing out in fine style.
Good variety and musicianship, topped by a solid and versatile vocalist, Altered Five offer another solid album here.
