Big D & Captain Keys – Tales of Friendship
2023, Donor Productions
15 Tracks, 54 minutes
Big D and Captain Keys (Nico DeCock and Edwin Risbourg) are two members from the Belgian-based band, The BluesBones. They have indicated that they formed this duo to play some intimate shows for audiences that want to hear songs in the purist way possible. With just a piano, an occasional Cabasa, and their voices, it could be a difficult task to hold the listener’s attention for an entire album. However, with a few expertly written originals and great choices for cover songs, they definitely accomplished their goal.
The album opens with a soulful version of “Every Day I Have the Blues” and is followed by a wonderful, jazzy version of St. James Infirmary. The remaining covers include other classics, like “The Dock of the Bay,” “Crossroads”, “Have a Little Faith in Me,” and “Bring it on Home to Me”, as well as Chris Stapleton’s “Whiskey and You” and three carefully chosen songs from the extensive career of the brilliant composer/poet Tom Waits (“Picture in a Frame,” “Ol’ 55,” and “New Coat of Paint”).
Risbourg’s skill as a pianist is especially evident in the original song they co-wrote, “Demon Blues”. And the writing and vocals in “Broken Tears” is outstanding. That song is about homelessness and manages to capture both the despair and desperation of homelessness as well as the hope the singer is trying to instill.
“Life isn’t easy when you’re on your own.
What a life she’s living
She has to call the city streets her home.
And every night she’s praying.
Lord, can you see?
She needs a leap of faith, a sign that will change her destiny.”
An entirely different emotion is skillfully expressed in Risbourg’s song, “Betrayal”. In it he notes,
“No more cheating on me.
I’m locking you out of my life.
I hope that maybe when you’re somebody’s wife,
he’ll be lying and cheating on you, girl.
He’ll look you in the eye and says he’s got nothing to hide.
Betrayal!”
They end the album with a much more upbeat original that appears to be at least partly autobiographical, entitled “Seesaw Blues”.
The only relatively weak areas on this album are that there seems to be a lack of connection to the emotion of the song in their version of Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads,” and the backing vocals on “Bring it On Home to Me” seem to be not the best match with the style offered by the lead vocals. However, overall, this is an excellent album. Listeners are likely to be both impressed with the musical talent of DeCock and Risbourg, and also transfixed by their original lyrics.
