Cover photo © 2023 Joseph A. Rosen

 In This Issue 

Mark Thompson has our feature interview with Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne. We have ten Blues reviews for you this week including new music from Jason Ricci & The Bad Kind, Anthony Rosano and The Conqueroos, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Mizz Lowe, The Dig 3, Layla Zoe, Gary Moore, Popa Chubby and The Beast Band, Jörg Danielsen and The Rick Ray Band. Scroll down and check it out!

Born in Spokane, Washington, Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne (Kenneth Wayne Spruell) has enjoyed a remarkable career that has taken him around the globe. The awards and recognition for the dapper piano player continue to roll in, both from the US and in Canada, where he relocated several decades ago.

At the Blues Blast Music Award show in September 2023, Wayne was voted Keyboard Player of the Year by Blues Blast readers. He also recently received The Bobby “Blue” Band Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jus’ Blues Music Foundation at their annual awards show in Tunica, Mississippi.

“I haven’t felt that good in years. And that was a major surprise to me. It was nice to get that recognition for sure, to know that people have obviously been listening and watching and hearing about me. You get out there, you perform and hope that you’re being seen. I was told that they had been watching my career for a few years. So I said, wow, that’s amazing. It’s an honor. I did not have a clue.

“I remember when I got the call from Charles Mitchell, the founder and CEO of the Foundation. He explained who he was. I wanted to make sure he had the right Kenny Wayne, so I asked, you looking for Kenny Wayne Shepard? He said, hell no, I’m looking for Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne! I said, okay, because sometimes people call and they think that I’m a different person. Charles said, no, we know what you look like. So that was the first thing out of my mouth, to make sure that he had the right guy before I got all excited about that award was gonna go to somebody else! It was a big shock.”

Growing up in San Francisco, Wayne was fascinated by the music of Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, and an artist that may not be familiar to most people, Cal Tjader, who started out as a drummer, then became known for his skill on the vibraphone, making music in a Latin jazz vein.

“I was listening to Cal Tjader, Willie Bobo, and Mongo Santamaria. Early in my career, I had a group called the Latin Jazz Prophets. We did some jazz standards and Afro-Latin type of songs. I took a liking to the rhythms, and we had percussionists in the band, so that really struck my interest. When that music came on, it got the rhythm happening. We did a lot of Cal Tjader songs in that group I had back in the 60s. Man, His stuff knocked me out!”

His family had a piano that had been passed down through several generations, with Wayne’s father finally laying claim. The youngster was schooled by the choir director from church.

“I was part of the youth choir. My piano teacher was also the choir director and he played mostly organ. Everybody looked up to him. His name was Sir Jules Haywood, a classically trained pianist who had been knighted by an ancient Italian royal order. And he was just amazing. I took a liking to that stuff. When Sir Jules got that on that organ, it commanded your attention, with pipes going all the way up to the ceiling. His playing brought people inside the church, and it escorted them outside the church. We didn’t have too many blues records, but did have Ray Charles, Fats Domino, and Duke Ellington, and those are the only ones I remember.

“We had the rehearsal on the piano and musically, it was captivating for me. I was fortunate enough to study with Sir Jules for about three years. This was in San Francisco when I was studying piano with him. My dad was a minister in the church, and he got transferred to Los Angeles in 1955 into the Watts area. We had an arrangement to have another teacher work with me at that time, but it was just too far out away from the city. That was the end of the lessons.”

The young pianist kept playing, working in a number of small groups. They didn’t have sheet music to learn from, so Wayne resorted to the tried & true method of listening to records to learn the notes and arrangements.

“That’s when I started actually playing by ear. There was no other reference. They’d start singing on the record and I would find what their key they’re singing in and just improvise. I used to do a lot of improvising. While I wasn’t taking lessons, I would occasionally bring out some of my lesson books and go over them. That was kind of boring. So I would use different musicians as a reference. Let’s see now, what would Ray Charles do with this song? What would Fats do with this song?

“I also loved Errol Garner, the great jazz piano player. Another group I loved was the Three Sounds, with Gene Harris on piano, Andrew Simpkins on double bass, and Bill Dowdy on drums. I listened to them for a lot jazzier types of stuff. I’d use different references like that even when I was playing gospel music. Most of the gospel players were traditional, but when you hear a gospel song played by Ray Charles, you kind of want to play it that way. So that was kind of the way I started approaching music without having a teacher.”

When a cousin got drafted, he left his bass guitar at Wayne’s house. It gave him a chance to learn to play another rhythm instrument. He soon learned to fake his way around the bass well enough to start playing in bands.

In 1974, Wayne moved back to San Francisco. He was traveling with a band called Earthrise, fulfilling a yearning to be playing original music. The band had a British manager who wanted to add a bluesy gospel feel to their sound. Pretty soon he was hanging out with Sly & the Family Stone, the Doobie Brothers, and other acts, until 1980, when he relocated to Hawaii for a year.

“At those particular times, I wasn’t really doing blues. I don’t even know if I should say it was pop or some shit,. I always call it FM music. We were doing long, drawn-out creative jams, not blues at all. It was more rock than blues. I was introduced to blues artists a couple of times. Jimmy Reed was one of the very first,  in LA in 1962. Other than that, there was only one other guy, Sonny Rhodes, I played with him when I moved to San Francisco. That’s when I was writing more R& B types of music.”

Eventually migrating to Hawaii, the intrepid piano player was in a band with several musicians from Sly & the Family Stone. They worked around the various islands successfully for a year. His band mates loved the island life, but Wayne felt there was more of the world to see. It took another band to help him move on.

“There was a group there on the island called Joy Ride that needed a piano player. They had a woman as lead singer, who also played piano. At their shows, she would always call me on the piano because she wanted to be out front on stage. They had a tour of Canada around 1981 of all the Sheraton hotels across Canada. It was good money, accommodations, food, everything. I thought that sounded pretty good. Of course, once we there, they didn’t like it that much, being that it was the winter time. I thought the people were really friendly and nice. Vancouver was very much like San Francisco, being a seaport.

“I went back to San Francisco, put a band together and then I went back up to Canada, did a tour, got married, and stayed. That’s how I wound up this way. It’s always a woman. Musicians are usually looking for love in all the wrong places, but that grounded me, I’ll tell you that. You go to a place, you like the city, then of course, you find a lady who has a job and a place to stay, and you just make your home there. Of course, now it’s been about two or three of them. One wasn’t good enough, I had to go for three others.”

The pianist decided to record a tribute to Nat King Cole, using the subsequent CD to get a lot of work in five star hotels around the world. During one engagement in Costa del Sol, Spain, he shared the stage with a British piano player who covered everything from Frank Sinatra to Jerry Lee Lewis. His playing partner supplied the spark that changed Wayne’s career.

“ One night he said, can you play any blues? I replied that I could, but I didn’t know any blues song to sing. He said I reminded him of Champion Jack Dupree. At that time, I was thinking about recording with a bunch of guys I knew. They said, why don’t you do a blues album? I didn’t think of it being something that would catch on or even get played on the radio. It’s wonderful to have a blues record, you know, to show people you can play the blues. But how is that going to help me make a living?

“Anyway, so I said, okay, and I did one called Alive and Loose, my first album. We got about 20 people in the studio, and gave them some wine and cheese, and I sat there on the piano with the group, and we recorded, just as if it’s a live performance. I got some really great response the media . I even got a cover of a blues magazine. I thought, well, wait a minute, I’m getting more recognition playing this stuff than I did for everything that I’ve done for the last 20 years. Of course, the recognition I got over the years had been from fellow musicians. They knew my capability, but the media did not. So I thought the blues might work out.

“Then I thought, now that I got that record out of the way, I think I should work on some kind of image. I always did dress up with a suit and tie. I saw this movie called The Mask with Jim Carrey. When I saw those bright suits, I thought, with this boogie woogie stuff I’m doing, everybody seems to jump around. And I saw myself with those suits. So I went out and got the fabric, had a guy start making me those suits. He was into these big fedora hats with the big feather, the Cab Calloway type of look. That’s what I need, so okay, now I got the look.

“So, I’m the guy sitting behind the piano, boogieing. Next I needed a handle. A good friend of mine said, you know, you remind me of Amos Milburn, the great singer and piano player that did “One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer”. I remembered that my mother used to play that song all the time, but I never knew who the artist was. I started looking up some things about Amos Milburn, and found out his last album was The Return of the Blues Boss. So now I’ve got this zoot suit look. And I thought, Blues Boss. I going to just grab that one. I took the Blues Boss, the 40s look, and sort of make history with that.

Wayne was signed to Electro-Fi Records in 2001. His first release for Andrew Galloway’s label based in Toronto, Canada came out the following year, the first of three albums for the company. A simple twist of fate lead to another change in direction.

“My manager at the time, Rick Bates, wanted to get guitarist Roy Rogers to produce my next record. But Roy had just come out of some type of operation, and he needed  time to recuperate. And at that point, I wanted to get this record out. I didn’t feel the need in waiting around six or seven months while Roy recovers.

“ I did a performance in Toronto where Duke Robillard was playing on the same bill. Now, I had met Duke, but I couldn’t remember much about him. I saw him with Jimmy Witherspoon, but I was there to see Jimmy Witherspoon. I did my performance, after which Duke came up to me and he says, Man, I produce projects for Stony Plain Records? Would it be okay if I spoke with owner Holger Petersen on your behalf about doing a recording? I think he’d love it. I told Duke I wasn’t sure if Holger would go for it, since I had been on Electro-Fi. But Holger agreed and it all worked out where I moved over to Stony Plain with Duke producing.

“We went up to Rhode Island, where Duke lives, to record. He told me he had a guitar player for the sessions. And so we’re in the studio, we’re playing and Duke says, do you mind if I play on a couple of your songs? I said, no, feel free. I’d love to have you. Well, he played on the whole album! Every time the studio door opened up, they’d be bringing in a different amp. And I thought, okay, here comes the new guy I’m supposed to meet. But Duke would come back in with a different guitar and be ready for the next song. After we were done recording, I said, hey Duke, I never didn’t meet this new guitar player you were going to bring in! Duke said, yeah, I know, I decided I would do the whole thing.”

Released last year, his fifth album for Stony Plain, Blues From Chicago to Paris, was done in recognition of Willie Dixon and Memphis Slim. The idea for the album came out of the pandemic lock-down.

“They were only allowing duos and trios on stage. Four, five, and six piece bands just weren’t allowed, at least in Canada, unless it was a massive stage, and you had ten feet between each other. I didn’t know how long it was going to last or how I would come back. Then I started thinking about a trio. And I thought just a basic trio – piano, bass, and drums- wouldn’t quite do it for me because I like to hear a lot of different instruments playing. But then I thought of Memphis Slim’s piano trio recordings, and my deep love for Willie Dixon. So we start listening to their trio stuff, picking songs that a lot of people are not doing.

“We heard the Big Three Trio records, which Willie was part of. And I liked some of that because it had kind of like a Mills Brothers type of thing mixed with the blues. They had the vocal harmonies that were really nice. And I thought, well, that’s a rare thing that you don’t hear that a lot these days.

So we went with the concept of the blues from Chicago as both guys were based in Chicago, but Memphis Slim went to Paris and, and other parts of Europe. Many times he brought Willie over with him, so they they toured together a lot.

“We were just going to turn the mic on and play, mistakes and all. We did not try to go back to overdub and correct. We just played it. The goal was to not just play the song. We tried to capture the spirit that Slim and Willie had when they played, the playfulness between the two of them.”

In addition to Wayne on piano and vocals, the trio consisted of Joey DiMarco on drums and Russell Jackson on upright and electric bass. Jackson was a member of B.B. King’s band for seven years, and also backed up Otis Clay, Kenny Neal, and Lucky Peterson. He was nominated for the 2023 Blues Blast Music Award for Bass Guitarist of the Year, and for his work as a member of the Silent Partners.

“Russell and I both lived in Vancouver when he started playing more acoustic bass. I would hire him when I was playing piano lounges and stuff like that. Russell has a real good ear, great chops, and is not afraid to expand the music. We have been able to compliment each other without actually practicing. He loves that Willie Dixon slapping bass style, and that’s kind of the bass I like to hear on that type of stuff, especially the boogie stuff.”

The piano man is still excited about music, and plans to make another recording in the near future. He hopes that his record label will be there to support him in whatever direction his spirit takes him.

“ I’ve got some songs that I guess are more R& B. I kind of flip back and forth. My R&B stuff has a little bit more of a message to the world. Those are the kinds of songs I want to get out of my system, plus those kind of rare piano blues. You hear piano players in a blues band, but you don’t hear that thing like in the days of Memphis Slim, or Sunnyland Slim, or Roosevelt Sykes, those guys playing piano while the guitar is just strumming, instead of being the lead instrument. I’d love to get some of these traditional piano blues songs back out there again so people don’t think that the blues is only guitars and harmonicas. As years go on, it’s been a mission, to keep that piano blues stuff alive.

“ I can say that I have a deep love and respect for gospel music. My foundation really starts there. Some of my favorites include the Dixie Hummingbirds, the Blind Boys of Alabama, and the Soul Stirrers with Sam Cooke. They did uplifting music that I hear in a lot of the blues players. It was basically the gospel music like Ray Charles did, and then he went from there, changing the lyrics. That got everybody dancing, even in churches. It was a different kind of dance, but it was still a dance. And they got up and moved, and, and clapped and rejoiced. And that’s how I look at the blues.

“I would say from a piano aspect, if you are a gospel piano player, moving to blues is very simple. There are some key things that are a little different, especially some of the high notes, which are not really permitted in the gospel music, because they say that the high notes represent the Devil. And those boogie woogie piano guys, you know, the left hand is God and the right hand is the Devil. One’s trying to gain attention and the other one’s not. So, that would be what I would leave for everyone. The blues to me is definitely a spiritual journey, and one hell of a mission!”

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer Mark Thompson lives in Florida, where he is enjoying the sun and retirement. He is the past President of the Board of Directors for the Suncoast Blues Society and a former member of the Board of Directors for the Blues Foundation. Music has been a huge part of his life for the past fifty years – just ask his wife!

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Jason Ricci & The Bad Kind – Behind the Veil

Gulf Coast Records

https://mooncat.org

12 Tracks, 67 minutes

Jason Ricci has won numerous awards for his harmonica playing and he is believed by many to be possibly the finest harmonica player on the planet.  There are many opportunities on his new album to understand why so many people hold that opinion.  Behind the Veil is his debut release on Mike Zito’s label, Gulf Coast Records, and features seven original tracks and five covers.  Ricci provides vocals for several of the tracks, as well as playing both diatonic and chord harmonica.  He is joined by his wife, Kaitlin Dibble (vocals), Brent Johnson (guitar and backup vocals), Jack Joshua (double bass, electric bass vocals and backup vocals) and John Perkins (drums and backup vocals).  The album also features a few special guests including the remarkable Joe Krown (piano and Hammond B3 organ), Lauren Mitchell’s skillful backup vocals, and Joanna Connor’s impressive guitar contribution.

With three very distinctive lead singers who each write original songs, and unique interpretations of some famous covers, this album offers an intriguing variety of rhythms and moods.  It begins with “Casco Bay”, a song in which the influence of both classical music and Gypsy Jazz can be heard, followed by a somewhat retro sound for a cover of Rudy Toombs’ classic song written for Ruth Brown, “5-10-15.”  This track is beautifully sung by Dibble, with a magnificent harmonica solo at the end.

“Baked Potato” is an instrumental number co-written by Ricci and Stachurski Shawn Dustin which features Brent Johnson’s superb guitar tones.  And, if one song needs to be selected to demonstrate to a new listener why fans are in awe of Ricci’s ability to make sounds that seem physically impossible to make on the harmonica, either this track or the other instrumental on the album, (Booker T & the MGs’ “Hip Hug Her”) would be perfect examples.

Jack Joshua’s original leads to a drastic change in mood with his amusing accusation of his lover in which he notes, “You acted like I was a Cirque du Soleil clown!”  That song is followed by “Wrong Kind of Easy,” which offers a cool, jazzy, swinging ambience.  Dibble’s fine vocal ability is especially evident during the scat singing on this number, and Ricci’s vocals join hers toward the end as both turn acapella for the fade out.

Ricci’s gravelly, soulful voice is strongly emotive and perfect for the haunting version of “St. James Infirmary,” and gives it an almost Tom Waits-type vibe.  Once again, Johnson’s exceptional guitar tone adds significantly to the track.  And, this unique interpretation of the famous song ends with an astonishing harmonica solo that is clearly Bach-inspired, merging into a tiny sample from Beethoven’s “Fur Elise”.

The duet between Ricci and Dibble, “Why Don’t we Sleep on It?” is a light-hearted exchange in which Ricci wonders if he would be better off single again.  Dibble responds to each line, refreshing his memory regarding how that turned out for him in the past: “I’d have me a new hit record” “You’d have a felony on that Record!” “I’d have a million in the bank.” “You’d be selling bathtub crank!”  “I’d be chasing all kinds of tail.” “You’d be hiding yours in jail.” I’d be on the beach in Venice.”  “You’d be serving a six-year sentence.”  Ricci has been very open with fans regarding his past struggles with drug addiction and arrests and about the positive influence offered by his wife, so the honesty of these lyrics makes it quite meaningful as well as amusing.

A Bobby Rush cover, (“Ain’t She Fine”), a rock-leaning Dibble original, (“No Way”) and another Joshua original (“Shipwreck”) are also included on the album.  And Ricci’s cover of Dax Riggs’ “Terrors of Nightlife” will have listeners mesmerized, as this soul-stirring rendition is even better than the original.

Those who still purchase physical CDs will be treated to some beautiful artwork on the cover of this album, and also to very touching liner notes in which Ricci expresses his gratitude for his second chance at a good life.  Overall, Behind the Veil is a fascinating album that is causing a lot of excitement in the blues community, with good reason.  It is definitely one of the top ten albums to have been released this year.

Writer Anita Schlank lives in Virginia, and is on the Board of Directors for the River City Blues Society. She has been a fan of the blues since the 1980s. She and Tab Benoit co-authored the book “Blues Therapy,” with all proceeds from sales going to the HART Fund.

Anthony Rosano and The Conqueroos – Cheat The Devil

Whiskey Bayou Records

http://www.conqueroos.com

11 tracks – 48 minutes

New York native Anthony Rosano, now living in Virginia grew up listening to all of the British bands that were playing blues-oriented music. He quickly decided that he had a “spiritual connection” with those types of songs and notes that Peter Green is a particular influence on his music. Listening to Green then led him to John Mayall’s Blues Breakers and, in turn, the actual blues masters such as Freddy King and Muddy Waters.

He formed his first version of The Conqueroos in 2012. The band was quickly recognized for their performances and was selected twice as semi-finalists at the International Blues Challenge. While on tour in 2013, Anthony met Tab Benoit and the two immediately made a connection. Tab invited Anthony to be the opening act for his tour and eventually produced the Conqueroos debut album. And now years later, Tab produced, engineered, and mastered their second album. The original Conqueroos was a five-piece band. But for this second album Anthony, following a suggestion from Tab, reduced the band to a trio. Anthony leads on vocals and guitar with Kyle McCormick on drums, and Jake Fultz on drums. The album liner notes that the recording was made live at Tab’s Whiskey Bayou Studios in New Orleans with “no overdubs, computer trickery, or digital manipulation. Mixed to Analog Tape the way records are supposed to be.”

The album opens with a blues-rocker featuring Anthony’s slide guitar and appealing vocals. He notes that the “Sweet Little Devil” … is so tempting and so kind”. “You promise me the world, but you take my soul”. “My Baby Gets Around”, is an all-out rocker lamenting the familiar love gone wrong theme. Fuzzed-up guitar work blasts out as Anthony moves into a smooth vocal and asks, “What Kind of Fool” “would hold on to love that is not true…could hold onto a broken girl like you”.

On “Keeps Adding Up” Anthony’s slide guitar again gets a workout as he identifies the problems he is having with her. “Sin City” continues to rock out as Anthony states ” I think I might be losing my mind, look in the mirror all covered in lies.” “Sell my soul just to set it free.” He then offers good advice to never go down to “Jonesboro Road” where “they will stab you for a nickel, kill you for a dime”. “I have been down there one time, barely made it out alive.”

“Rosalita” slows things down as he recalls a woman with “beauty like a summer rain”. He left her and worries “that his memory might fade away” but wonders “If I return, will you take my name”.  “Shook” gets things rocking again as he says, “you got me shook straight to my soul…cannot even breathe”. “In my heart, you tear it apart.”

“Scattered Bones” deals with the horrors of war. A somber slide guitar opens the song. “You took me to the river, dragged me in the mud, quenched my love for poison, but gave me thirst for blood.” “Scattered bones is all I will ever be.” The title song opens with an a Cappella declaration that “You can’t cheat the devil, he will always win” with handclaps driving the rhythm. The guitar then kicks in as “he says that he will tempt you with silver, tempt you with wine”. “He will make you pay with your soul, pay for every sin.” The album concludes with a rocking version of Slim Harpo’s “King Bee”.

Blistering guitar, strong vocals and interesting lyrics that catch your attention are the strengths of the album. This is powerful blues rock that sometimes borders on hard rock. Anthony cited in an interview that he was attempting to approach traditional blues with a modernized sound. Certainly, his music is in the realm of those early British adapters of blues like Rory Gallagher or Humble Pie. Anthony has said that his audience extends from blues aficionados to fans of Metallica.

Writer John Sacksteder is a retired civil engineer in Louisville, Kentucky who has a lifelong love of music, particularly the blues. He is currently the Editor of the Kentuckiana Blues Society’s monthly newsletter.

John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – Live in 1967 Volume 3

Forty Below Records

www.johnmayall.com

8 songs – 41 minutes

Live in 1967 Volume 3 is the third and final release by John Mayall of various recordings made in 1967 and featuring a Bluesbreakers line-up of Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, just before they left to form Fleetwood Mac.

The recordings were originally made by dedicated fan, Tom Huissen, who took his one-channel reel-to-reel tape recorder to various clubs in and around London in 1967 (the eight songs on the album come from four different gigs). Mayall obtained the recordings nearly 50 years later and, together with Eric Corne of Forty Below Records, began the difficult process of restoring them. And what a magnificent job they have done, giving us a priceless glimpse into a period of rare musical history.

In 1967, London was the epicentre of popular music and indeed popular culture in the world. England had won the soccer World Cup there in 1966, just as Carnaby Street was dictating global fashion trends and Michael Caine’s  Alfie was seducing the world. London encapsulated the young, the new and the modern. And with bands such as the Yardbirds, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks and the Who and guitarists such as Clapton, Beck, Page and Green (and US-transplant Hendrix), blues and rock were dominating the radio waves.  It was a period of experimentation, questing and huge productivity.

John Mayall somehow managed to release three studio albums in 1967, an almost unprecedented 12 months of creativity. A Hard Road was the only Bluesbreakers album to feature Peter Green on lead guitar, and was swiftly followed by Crusade (with future Rolling Stone Mick Taylor on guitar) and The Blues Alone (on which Mayall played all the the instruments bar occasional percussion from Keef Hartley).

Live in 1967 Volume 3 features Mayall compositions such as “Tears In My Eyes” and “Brand New Start”, which were to appear on Crusade and The Blues Alone respectively. It also contains classic blues covers such as Otis Rush’s “Double Trouble”, J.B. Lenoir’s “Talk To Your Daughter” and Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Your Funeral And My Trial”.

Of course, some of the recordings are a little muddy and rough but they are vastly better quality that we have a right to expect. And while the recording of the upbeat shuffle “Stand Back Baby” is really quite low-fidelity, Peter Green’s joyously fluid guitar playing still leaps out of the speakers.

Mayall has always been a band leader keen to let his musicians shine and the gigs captured on this release are no exception. The 21 year old Green is permitted plenty of time and space to let rip. Interestingly, he had not by this point pared his style back to the minimalist style that was so effective in Fleetwood Mac. Instead, “The Stumble” clocks in at nearly five minutes of non-stop ear-melting guitar virtuosity. Indeed this track is worth the price of admission by itself.  But nearly every song contains some Green magic, from the aching slow blues of “Double Trouble” to the instrumental shuffle “Greeny” (which also contains some fine organ from Mayall).

Live in 1967 Volume 2 is the second album Mayall has released since he announced his retirement in late 2021, after the superb The Sun Is Shining Down, which was nominated for Best Traditional Blues Album for the 2022 Grammy Awards.  It’s a release to be savored, appreciated and enjoyed, much like John Mayall himself. Simply magical.

Reviewer Rhys “Lightnin'” Williams plays guitar in a blues band based in Cambridge, England. He also has a day gig as a lawyer.

Mizz Lowe – Classy Woman

Mizz Lowe Records – 2023

www.mizzlowe.com

10 tracks; 40 minutes

Mizz Lowe is one of the two dancers who perform on stage with Bobby Rush where she is dubbed “The Young Hen”. Here she steps out front for her debut album, albeit heavily supported by Bobby Rush who co-wrote all the songs with her, shares the vocals on six songs and adds B/V’s to four; CC White is also on B/V’s on all bar one cut. The other person heavily involved is Brother Paul Brown who plays most of the instruments, drums, bass, guitar, horns, strings and percussion. Mr Rush plays guitar and harp on six tracks, Paul Black adds slide to six and Dexter Allen plays bass and guitar on one.

Mizz Lowe’s seductive personality shows through on all these songs. She opens with “Honey Tree” which follows a Muddy-style rhythm as she suggests quite clearly that she has plenty of sweetness in her. In the title track she describes herself as needing money in order to maintain the lifestyle she wants and “Hip Shakin’ Mama” may just be the best self-description. Some of the songs may sound familiar: “Easy Baby”, for instance, is very close indeed to Magic Sam’s song of the same name. Bobby’s vocals are more up front as Mizz Lowe complains about him coming home drunk, so she has no intention of responding to his amorous advances: “I Ain’t Givin’ Up My Love”; “Drink Drink” is a more uptempo song on the same theme. Fortunately, all seems to be forgiven as Bobby’s harp opens “Take My Love” before he and Mizz Lowe joust vocally over whose love is the stronger in the relationship!

The last three tracks move the focus away from the funky side of things, possibly intending to place Mizz Lowe’s voice in the spotlight. The ballad “This Love” certainly does that! In “4 Leaf Clover” Bobby’s harp and a horn arrangement frame the vocals nicely. Although released in June, Mizz Lowe has hedged her bets by adding a holiday song in “Christmas Tears”, complete with chiming bells and more of Bobby’s expressive harp, including a snatch of “Jingle Bells” to close.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK who enjoys a wide variety of blues and roots music, especially anything in the ‘soul/blues’ category. Favorites include contemporary artists such as Curtis Salgado, Tad Robinson, Albert Castiglia and Doug Deming and classic artists including Bobby Bland, Howling Wolf and the three ‘Kings’. He gets over to the States as often as he can to see live blues.

The Dig 3 – Damn The Rent

Self Released

www.thedig3band.com

12 tracks/40 minutes

The Dig 3 offer up their second album of all original music. With Damn The Rent, Andrew Duncanson’s liner notes tell us the knocked out all ten songs in one day with no overdubs or edits and they did a fantastic job with those tracks.

Recorded at Earth Analog in Tolano, IL, the songs epitomize the sound anf feel of this great band. Andrew Duncanson sings and plays guitar. Gerry Hundt plays his foot brum kit, bass, guitar, harmonica, mandolin and organ and Ronnie Shellist plays harp.

They took up to Reliable Recorders in Chicago and laid out tow more cuts with Lauren Dukes on backing vocals, Aaron Whittier on bass, and Rick King on drums. Hundt handles guitar and organ here while Duncanson sings lead and plays guitar.  1970’s funk extraordinaire!

“Take A Ride” opens the album and sports a Bo Diddley beat, gritty vocals, and delightful harp, driven by a slick. classic groove.  Things them shift to a cool shuffle with Andrew howling out the lead, a fun and bouncing beat, and more great harmonica.

Next is “Big Water,” another cut with a sweet groove and greasy sound. Shellist plays some excellent harp, Hunt gives the cut a great backdrop that moves the song along and Andrew sings with conviction. As if big water isn’t enough, Duncanson next sings “Dip My Toe” in gasoline. After a life of hell raising and having fun he asks to have his grave kepty clean and to dip his toe as stated. Andrew sings with deep emotion, the harp is again spectacular and the song is a winner.

“Chuck & Willie” is next, with some cool organ, harp and  guitar. It’s an instrumental shuffle and it is a lot of fun. “Coconut Curry Dance” has a bit of a Latin  lilt to it as Duncanson delights the listener with his vocals. The harp is again well represented as the boys have a good time on this one.

Hundt pulls out his mandolin for “Gold Tooth” as Duncanson tells the story of his Dad sending him a gold tooth in the mail from jail. Andy sings that he turned the tooth into $40 folding money and another 30 cents, just enough to pay his rent which he repeatedly sings disgustedly, “Damn the rent,” hearkening to the album title. Hundt shines on the mandolin here and Shellist blows some distorted harp. “Blanco Boogaloo”  follows, a funky boogie with a great groove and more dynamite harp. Another fine instrumental that showcases Shellist’s skills.

“Red-Tailed Hawk” jumps as Duncanson howls and the boys lay out another slick groove. More excellent harmonica is featured as Andy sings about leaving town. “Old Dog” completes the cuts the trio recorded in Tolono. Gerry opens with kazoo and Ronnie joins in on harp in this down home acoustic cut. Andy sings as acoustic guitar backs him. Hundt and Shellist trade solos on this song with a great front porch feel to it.

The final two cuts are the dig 3 BIG Version. The funky “Southern Fantasy” has a great vibe going as Andy sings with Lauren right there with him on the choruses; very cool stuff! The album concludes with “All The Love I Got,” the second of the songs recorded in Chicago. Duncanson sings with soulful exuberance. A tasty guitar solo is offered up on this one and Hundt plays some nice organ for us.

Raw, traditional blues and fantastic musicianship and singing are the hallmarks of this CD. I truly loved the album; every cut is a standout and each deliver the good. I commend Andy, Gerry and Ronnie for their outstanding effort and another great recording. This one will garner notice in next year’s awards season. Go get the album now!

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer Steve Jones is president of the Crossroads Blues Society and is a long standing blues lover. He is a retired Navy commander who served his entire career in nuclear submarines. In addition to working in his civilian career since 1996, he writes for and publishes the bi-monthly newsletter for Crossroads, chairs their music festival and works with their Blues In The Schools program. He resides in Byron, IL.

Layla Zoe – Back to the Spirit of 66

Layla Zoe Music

www.layla.ca

2 discs, 8 and 5 tracks respectively

Canadian born Layla Zoe has released her 17^th album with this double CD set. Residing in the Netherlands, Zoe packs venues and festivals with fans of her whiskey soaked vocals and high energy rocking music. This set is recorded live at the Spirit of 66 in Belgium during her “The World Changes Tour.”

Zoe handles the lead vocals. Krissy Matthews plays a stratospheric lead guitar and backs on vocals. Paul Jobson plays bass, keys and also adds vocals. On drums is Felix Dehmel. The band plays cuts from their recent releases to a very enthusiastic crowd.

The Beatles’ “Golden Slumbers” opens the first disc. It’s acapella and powerfully done. The rocking “Dark Heart” follows, a driving number with intense guitar licks and a fierce beat. “The World Could Change,” a slow, heavy rocking number. A husky voiced delivery and more stinging guitar make this cool. Organ accompaniment and some ringing guitar work take “Praying Kind” in a different direction as Zoe and the band take us to church. A long, cool instrumental intro and passionate vocals are featured on this cut, which builds to a nice conclusion.

“Leave You For Good” amps up in performance and sound. The guitar rings loudly and the beat is hot and heavy. Zoe sings with in controlled chaotic manner as she blasts her way through this bluesy song. Two big guitar solos precede the ending where Zoe slows things down and growls out the finale. Next is “Susan” where the piano is featured for the first time; this cut hearkens to the days of small, dark lounges. Zoe sings with angry passion with the piano and drums as accompaniment. It’s a cool cut that leads us into the rocking “Weakness.” This one is a hard rocking song with a heavy metal feel to it. “Ghost Train” finishes up the first disc, a driving and heavy rocking cut with blistering guitar and a heady feeling. Zoe again sings with her signature passion.

The second CD opens with “Roses and Lavender,” a ten-minute rock opus with extended, massive guitar soloing and an otherwise slow and somber feel to it. Gritty and grimy and hard-core stuff. “Watch What You’re Doing” follows, a strident and in your face cut with Zoe grinding out the lead vocals and more in-your-face guitar to match the mood. Things take a 180 as Zoe and company go acoustic to start with and give the listener a pretty ballad with “Brother.” The song switches to electric guitar and there is some restrained soloing. The organ is also well done and adds to the mood. Zoe sings with passion and emotion as the song goes on for over 13 minutes. The show continues with a mid-tempo cut entitled “We’re All The Same,” a grimy and dirty sounding cut proclaiming equality. More of the ringing, cool guitar licks abound as the band rocks out. The album concludes with “He Loves Me,” another ballad. This opens with Zoe and only piano accompaniment, a stark and emotion laden sound. I awaited a big onslaught but the cut remained true to the opening, a pretty and pensive piece that creates a cool contrast to the rest of the album.

With vocals sounding like they have been forged in smoke-filled clubs and in a world of grime and grit; the resultant sound is like the torturing of Layla’s soul which gives her this emotive singing style. Massive, rocking guitar, impressive back-line support and some tasty keyboards will make rock and blues rock fans day. It’s a fiery live show and I am sure her fans old and new will be delighted with this baker’s dozen cuts, twelve new along with the opening cover. Another set of tune delivered in an in-your-face manner with a rocking band and vocalist.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer Steve Jones is president of the Crossroads Blues Society and is a long standing blues lover. He is a retired Navy commander who served his entire career in nuclear submarines. In addition to working in his civilian career since 1996, he writes for and publishes the bi-monthly newsletter for Crossroads, chairs their music festival and works with their Blues In The Schools program. He resides in Byron, IL.

Gary Moore – The Sanctuary Years 1999-2004

BMG Records BMGCAT39BOX

www.bmg.com

44 songs – 204 minutes on 4 CDs plus Blu-Ray

Born the same neighborhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland, as Van Morrison, Gary Moore (1952-2011) was one of the most influential guitarists of his generation, bridging blues, blues-rock, heavy metal and jazz fusion. And all of those talents are on display in this collection, which should thrill fans as it gives a rear-mirror glance at the six years he spent at Sanctuary Records, which – prior to its acquisition by BMG – was the largest independent label in the United Kingdom and the largest music management firm in the world.

Packaged together for the first time are four of his seminal recordings – A Different Beat, Back to the Blues, Scars – which teamed him with Cass Lewis and Darrin Mooney, and Power of the Blues, all of which include extensive new essays from Canadian musician/journalist Dave Everley along with their original liner notes. Two of the discs feature bonus recordings, and a fifth Blu-Ray disc serves up a surround-sound version of Back to the Blues along with two interviews with the fret burner.

Moore drew early inspiration from Peter Green and Eric Clapton and rose to fame in the late ‘60s as a member of the rock groups Skid Row and Thin Lizzy, but had an enduring love for the blues, which surfaced regularly in everything he did until his passing of a heart attack at age 58 while on vacation. After about 20 successful years as a soloist on Virgin Records, he joined the Sanctuary fold in 1999 through its acquisition of Castle Records, his new label.

Electronic music had taken the world by storm. And always an innovator Gary was experimenting with the new artform when he recorded the aptly named A Different Beat with a stripped-down lineup that included keyboard player/programmer Roger King of the Steve Hackett band and brief appearances from drummer Gary Husband and programmer Phil Nicholls.

As the roster suggests, this work basically features interplay between Gary’s guitar and shifting, persistent rhythms. The blistering “Go On Home” sets the tone with Moore laying down wah-wah pedal-infused runs atop a dance beat common to the discos of the era. It gives way to “Lost in Your Love,” which adds a soulful feel to the mix and keeps the album moving forward before “Worry No More” plays off a heavy rock chorus with optimistic lyrics. A blazing version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire” follows before a dramatic sonic shift through the ballad, “Surrender,” which slowly picks up intensity throughout.

Where’s the blues, you ask? Up next. Funky triplets on drums open “House Full of Blues” before it erupts into a blues-rocker and the acoustic “Bring My Baby Back,” which has a country-blues feel before it takes on 21st century, electric appeal, which dominates “Can’t Help Myself” and “Fatboy,” an extended number built on one repetitive hook. “We Want Love” concludes the original album before an extended remix of “Can’t Help Myself” brings the new version to a close.

The disc that follows, Back to the Blues, serves up a heavy dose of the blues-rock that you’re looking for. It’s something that he’s been looking for, he admits in the opener, “Enough of the Blues.” And you know he’s telling the truth when he launches into “You Upset Me,” “Cold Black Night,” “Stormy Monday” and “Ain’t Got You” to follow. The original, “Picture of the Moon,” precedes Johnny Guitar Watson’s “Looking Back” before three more fresh numbers – “The Prophet,” “How Many Lies” and “Drowning in Tears” – bonus cuts of three of the tracks all combine to put a smile on your face.

Scars, meanwhile, finds Moore reverting to his beloved power-trio format for hard-edged blues-rock with a strong emphasis on the latter. Hendrix casts a large shadow over the opener, “When the Sun Goes Down,” before an all-original set that includes “Rectify,” “Wasn’t Born in Chicago,” “Stand Up,” “Just Can’t Let You Go,” “My Baby (She’s So Good to Me,” “World of Confusion,” “Ball and Chain,” “World Keep Turnin’” and “Who Knows (What Tomorrow May Bring?).”

But then its back to the basics with keys in tow for Power of the Blues, the fourth – and best – album in the set. A mix of seven originals and three covers, Gary holds nothing back from the opening riffs of the title cut before launching into “There’s a Hole,” “Tell Me Woman,” Willie Dixon’s “I Can’t Quit You Baby,” “That’s Why I Play the Blues,” “Dixon’s “Evil,” “Getaway Blues,” Curtis Mayfield’s “Memory Pain,” “Can’t Find My Baby” and “Torn Inside.”

Gary Moore was a genius at his art, and there’s a lot to like here. And if you’re into surround sound, you’ll find the bonus disc interesting, too.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer Marty Gunther has lived a blessed life. Now based out of Mason, Ohio, his first experience with live music came at the feet of the first generation of blues legends at the Newport Folk Festivals in the 1960s. A former member of the Chicago blues community, he’s a professional journalist and blues harmonica player who co-founded the Nucklebusters, one of the hardest working bands in South Florida.

Popa Chubby and The Beast Band – Live at G. Bluey’s Juke Joint NYC

Gulf Coast Records

http://www.popachubby.com

19 tracks – 135 minutes

Ted “Popa Chubby” Horowitz (aka: Don Chubblione, The Capo of Love per his liner notes) has been in the New York forefront for over 35 years. He got his start in the 90’s as the house band for the New York City club Manny’s Car Wash and served as the host for their jam sessions. He released his first album, Gas Money, in 1994 and now with this release has well over two dozen albums to his credit. His music style is hard hitting blues rock. His release notes describe his music as “The Stooges meets Buddy Guy, Motorhead meets Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix meets Robert Johnson.”

In his early days watching bands in New York, he saw the theatrical antics of The Ramones, The Cramps, and The Sex Pistols and saw their popularity rise with the sense of danger they represented. However, his musical foundation was the blues, and his connections were Hendrix, Cream, and Led Zeppelin. He recognized that blues could be dangerous also citing that “Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters were dangerous men. They’d cut you or shoot you if they thought it was necessary, and Little Walter packed a gun and wouldn’t hesitate to use it. That danger is part of the blues and I keep it alive in my music.”

This album was recorded totally live on October 24 and 25, 2022 with no edits or re-takes. However, the site G. Bluey’s, is not a real club, but rather is part of a vast three floor sound studio where he records all of his albums with soundman Glen Forrest. It was recorded in front of 25 invited guests for each night.  Popa, of course, provides all guitar and lead vocals, backing vocals are performed by all of The Beast Band members – Michael Merrit, who played in Billy Gibbons solo band, on bass; Mike Dimeo, formerly with Johnny Winters, on keyboards; and Stefano Giudici on drums.

The album is a sort of greatest hits, but in expanded versions in many cases, with a mixture of his originals, a few covers that have previously occurred on other albums from Popa, and a few new covers. The album opens with an almost seven-minute version of Neil Young’s “Motorcycle Mama”, which is the first single from the album. His guitar blasts out with the first note and his powerful voice drives the song along. His popular song “Another Ten Years Gone” looks back to his early life and experiencing the deaths of Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Willie Dixon. He reassures that “the blues keeps moving on”. Popa’s version of “Hey Joe” has long been a feature of his performances and has been on his earlier albums.

“Dirty Lie” first appeared on his 2002 album The Good, The Bad and The Chubby and is followed by “69 Dollars” from 2013’s Universal Breakdown Blues, which kicks in a little jazz. The instrumental “Godfather Theme” starts with the announcement that Luca Brazzi sleeps with the fishes. “Dirty Diesel” from 2016’s The Catfish feature’s Mike’s B3. “Grown Man Crying Blues” from 2007’s Deliveries after Dark is stretched out to an almost 14- minute song, which gives time for some fiery guitar solos intermixed with some excellent organ solo work from Mike. He closes out the first disk with his version of “Over the Rainbow”, an instrumental cover that has become a staple of his live performances and certainly a showstopper in the vein of Hendrix playing the “Star-Spangled Banner”.

Disk two opens with “It’s A Mighty Hard Road”, the title track of his 2022 album. “I Don’t Want Nobody”, another song from his 2013 album comes out rocking and never lets up. “I Can’t See the Light of Day” also from his 2002 album slows things down and allows Michael’s bass to get an opportunity to shine.  He explains at the start of the song that is one of the songs that gets little recognition on the radio that he thinks should get play. “Embee’s Song” from 2021’s Tinfoil Hat” is a soft ballad dedicated to his life partner, Mary Beth Stolz.

“Steel Horse Serenade” from 2010’s The Fight Is On is a mid-tempo song that starts to build up steam again. This leads into a ten- and half-minute version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”.  Tom Wait’s “Heart Attack and Vine” is given more power than Wait’s own performance of the song. “Sweat” is a Popa original relating a tale of sex and murder, a sort of rap with a jazzy bass and keys run.  “Nobody Wants You When You’re Down and Out” was written by Jimmy Cox and originally performed by Bobby Womack. The album finishes with “Sympathy for the Devil/ Chubby’s Story”, a combination of a cover of the Rolling Stone’s song that folds into Chubby’s own story given as a spoken rap interlude with a tip of the hat to The Velvet Underground and Lou Reed.

Popa Chubby is certainly one of the top performers in the blues rock arena and deserves a higher recognition than he receives. His songs are always well written both from an instrumental and lyrical perspective and his vocals are powerful and appealing. He tours heavily in Europe where he says there is still a greater appreciation for his style of music than currently exists in the US. I can readily encourage you to give the album a listen if you like the blues rock idiom.

Writer John Sacksteder is a retired civil engineer in Louisville, Kentucky who has a lifelong love of music, particularly the blues. He is currently the Editor of the Kentuckiana Blues Society’s monthly newsletter.

Jörg Danielsen – Foolin’ Around 

Wolf Records International

http://www.bluesassociation.com

17 Tracks – 76 minutes

At age 16, Australian born Jörg Danielsen became intrigued with the Chicago style electric blues when he attended a blues concert with his father. He immediately decided to become a musician and studied blues and three years later in 2008 formed his first band that he called the Vienna Blues Association. Their debut album was released in 2016 with three more to follow leading to their fifth album Foolin’ Around. The band is still going strong although the lineup has changed. The band consists of Danielsen on guitar and vocals, Christoph Karas on drums, and a new bass player, Martin Melzer. His focus remains on the style of electric blues from the 1960’s and 70’s.

In 2023, Danielsen was selected by the Austrian Blues Society to represent Austria in the 13th Annual European Blues Challenge held this year in Poland. Twenty-two countries were represented in the competition with the Spanish group, Noa and The Hell Drinkers, surfacing as this year’s winners. In addition to the competition and his band’s concerts, Danielsen is the host for frequent blues jams.

The new album features ten original songs and seven covers kicking off with “She Wants to Dance” as she cannot “hold back when the shuffle starts”.  Jörg has a smooth vocal style and guitar on a song that sounds like it could have been a song from The Fabulous Thunderbirds. The instrumental “JD Boogie” gets the joint jumping. “I’ll Be Your Doctor” features Argentina’s Jorge Costales on harmonica as Danielsen sings “I can chase your blues away.” “What A Time” moves into a slow blues with Anita Fabiani on organ and Danielsen’s impressive guitar sliding along. He cheerfully says he is “singing in the blues, it’s a brand-new day / I’m feeling good in every single way / No troubles on my mind with you by my side”.

Fabiani provides a juke joint styled piano on the album’s first cover, Willie Dixon’s “29 Ways”, a rocking jump blues. “Foolin’ Around” is a driving instrumental boogie. Jorge Costales provides the harp again on “Devil on My Shoulder”, a shuffle where Jörg says he is “dating a married woman, her husband is not around, how evil can it be.”  The next cover is from Hudson “Tampa Red” Whitaker, “It Hurts Me Too”, which is followed by “Cold Women with Warm Hearts” originally written and performed by Mack Rice, whose most famous song is “Mustang Sally”.

Federico joins as guest guitarist on “True Love”, who I have to assume plays the slide guitar for the song as Jörg begs her to “stay with me”.  “Watchin’ The Sun Rise’ has a bit of a country twang amid an old-time feel with Barcelona’s Chino Swingslide joining on guitar. Jimmy Liggins’ “I Ain’t Drunk” first released in 1954 follows and immediately rocks out. It is subsequently paired with Shifty Henry’s “Let Me Go Home Whiskey” which was originally a hit for Amos Hubbard in the early 1950’s and was later revived as a hit for Asleep at the Wheel”.

Buster Brown’s “Fannie Mae” from 1959 gets things jumping again. Tota Blues, a harp player from Barcelona joins Jörg on “Gonna Stop Thinking”, a bouncy blues that finds him “just staring at the walls”. He then taps Slovak harp player Juraj Schweigert to join him on “Booze Drinking Women” as he compares women who drink whiskey, gin, wine and beer and decides that each drink could “make me happy too”. and proceeds to bring the drink of their choice to the ladies’ homes only to find himself kicked out of each house except for the whiskey drinking woman who loved them all.  Jörg concludes the album with ZZ Top’s “Mexican Blackbird” as he plays an acoustic slide guitar.

This is the first album I have heard from Danielsen. I therefore did some research about his past music and found several comments that noted his capable vocals, but with the advice that while he sings in English, his diction is sometimes clouded in his Austrian accent. If that was true, he certainly has improved on this album. I never picked up any trace of the accent on this album. His diction now matches that of any of his American counterparts. Overall, it is certainly easy to see why Europe has accepted him as one their top blues acts and also deserving of respect in America.

Writer John Sacksteder is a retired civil engineer in Louisville, Kentucky who has a lifelong love of music, particularly the blues. He is currently the Editor of the Kentuckiana Blues Society’s monthly newsletter.

The Rick Ray Band – The Gremlins Are Listening

Neurosis Records

http://www.rickray.net

12 Tracks – 79 minutes

Before you read down further, let’s immediately establish that in accordance with the band’s website, The Rick Ray band is “a four-piece psychedelic progressive hard rock fusion band”. Note that nowhere in the band description does the word “blues” appear. However, with some mild consideration, some tinge of blues can be found among their rock songs not unlike many of the hard rock bands such as Aerosmith or many of the British bands that play that style of music. But the reality is that the band has a unique sound that can sometimes remind of early Pink Floyd or shades of Frank Zappa or if you consider Schultz’s instrumentals in place of Ian Anderson’s flute, Jethro Tull might even come to mind.

The Ohio-based band consists of Rick Ray on guitar and vocals, Dave “Shaggy” Snodgrass on bass and vocals, Kip Volans – on drums, and Rick “Sarge” Schultz on reeds and uniquely on wind synthesizer. Rick started playing in 1973 in the band Neurotic which lasted until 1985. In 1990 he joined Riot Act which he left it in 2000. However, in 1999 he started recording under his own name then converted to the current name of The Rick Ray Band in 2003. According to a release list of albums, The Gremlins Are Listening is his 37th album release since his first in 1999. He notes that most are still available online from Bandcamp or the major streaming services or from a direct order to Neurosis Records, his apparent independent label. All twelve songs on the album are originals.

The album opens with “Escape Route”, a hard charging all out rocker with Rick’s vocals reminding of Alice Cooper with maybe an instrumental touch of Led Zeppelin with Zappa thrown in towards the end. The nine-minute title song starts with the sounds of gremlins and moves across a Pink Floyd styled landscape with some terrific guitar solos. The tone shifts from power chords to a laid- back story that establishes that gremlins are causing turmoil in our society. “Use Your Pinky Frank” rocks out again in a four- minute instrumental excursion into Zappa territory.

On another hard rocker, “You Can Take It”, Rick says to “look on the bright side, things could be worse, it’s not a curse”. “Wine and Clover” is a smooth croon that has a feel of some of the British folk groups like Fairport Convention, but like the other songs takes a deep right into a harder rock guitar melody towards the end. “Carole King’s Elbow” certainly has an unconventional title.  It starts with a jazzy wah-wah guitar and a balanced bass run following with Schultz’s reed work formulizing into an overall band collaboration for a unique eight-minute collaboration.

“Life Goes Bye” gets things rocking again and moves into a free-form jazz inflected guitar and reed battle.  This moves into the instrumental, “Guitargoyles”, another jazzy obviously oriented guitar track. The album closes with the seven-minute “Ladder Level”, a final instrumental deluge.

As stated up front, if you are a devout blues lover seeking the next big blues album, look away. But if you are feeling adventurous, this album with its unique sound, complex rhythms and complicated lyrics might be of interest. While I could not resist trying to find comparisons to other artists as I listened to the album, that does not take away from the album’s appeal and the fact that the band members have built a sound that ultimately is their own.

Writer John Sacksteder is a retired civil engineer in Louisville, Kentucky who has a lifelong love of music, particularly the blues. He is currently the Editor of the Kentuckiana Blues Society’s monthly newsletter.