Big Dave & The Dutchmen
www.facebook.com/BigDaveAndTheDutchmen/
11 tracks/43 minutes
Big Dave is Dave Reniers and his website touts him as, “One of the best mouth-organ players in Belgium.” His backstory is as frontman of the Electric Kings and the Dizzy Dave Band. His latest band is Big Dave & The Dutchmen which began two years ago and focuses on old style Chicago blues from 60-75 years ago. All the songs here are originals written by Dave and the band.
Big Dave is a huge man with a big beard and gravely voice. The band is Roel Spanjers (Luther Allison, Smokey Wilson), piano and vocals, Mischa den Haring (T-99, Chung Kings) on guitars and vocals, Darryl Ciggaar (Dry Riverbed Trio, Ian Siegal, Minko) on drums and vocals and Dusty Ciggaar (Ian Siegal, The Rhythm Chiefs, Minko), bass guitar and vocals. Dave handles vocals and moth organ, err, harp.
They open with “Never Love Again.” Big Dave growls out the lead vocals and growls on the harp, too. This is a cool little shuffle with good piano and some quiet guitar licks that I enjoyed and made me want to hear what else these guys were up to. “I Dig You Baby” follows, another song that sounds right out of the Chicago blues songbook. Here Dave growls less and delivers a fine lead vocal with the band in full support. We get some big harp solos and the guitar and piano support is really good. “Screwdriver” is next and a bass line opens the cut. The band joins in and sets a good groove and then Big Dave’s harp joins the fray. He begins to sing and howl and at this point your foot is tapping and you’re really into it. Greasy harp, big vocals and a great vibe are the order of the day here.
Next is “Daring Haring” and we get our first good taste of the guitar; Haring lets it all hang out. It’s a cool instrumental and we get some nice backing by Spanjers on organ who then gets to take a nice solo, too. Then it’s “Trouble of the World,” a solemn and down cut with Big Dave bemoaning going home to live with God. His harp adds to the solemnity and feeling evoked here.
“Lonesome” is another somber track. Dave is left alone and yearns for what he’s chased away. Haring keeps a nice groove going on guitar as Big Dave testifies he can’t deal with things by himself. It’s another cool track. Organ and harp also help set the mood. “So Sweet” is a bouncy and fun number with Big Dave singing the praises of his baby. It’s a jumping little cut with 1960’s styled organ and some dirty harp for fun.
Next is “This Work” which has a great old school sound to it. Dave’s got the blues over his work and lets us know about it as he sings the blues. Nice, ringing guitar is featured here. “Never Love Again (Upbeat)” has the vibe of a Willie Dixon song. Big Dave sings about the lies he’s told and the not so honest life he’s led. He’s chased his woman away and now figures he’ll never love or be loved again. His harp work is solid and cool here, the piano is right out of Chicago and they deal the listener another winner of a song.
“When You Go to Sleep” is the next song. Sultry, greasy harp and down home guitar make this one slick. The guitar and harp play off each other about half way through the song in a pretty instrumental run. The final cut is “Blues Jumps In,” and Dave’s deep baritone returns to growl out the lead. He and his harp take turns to huff and puff and deliver a really nice performance. It’s deep, dark, gritty and really interesting. This solo finale is a great little song and wraps up eleven really good tracks.
What can I say? I really liked this album. I’ve never heard of Big Dave and his bandmates but they deliver some really nice songs in a traditional and authentic manner. Dave’s vocals are raw and cool. His harp is dirty and fun. The band is tight and make the music whole. I recommend this one to all traditional Chicago blues lovers!
