Rusty Ends and Hillbilly Hoodoo – Roadhouses, Juke Joints and Honky Tonks

Earwig Music

www.rustyends.com

15 Tracks – 50 minutes

Louisville, Kentucky’s Rusty Ends is a long-time member of the Kentuckiana Blues Society and a regular columnist the Society’s monthly newsletter. While he writes many columns about performers who influenced him or performances by artists he saw over the years that were impressive, he also frequently regales the readers with his exploits and adventures in the venues he cites in the title of this album. The liner notes call Rusty’s Hillbilly Blues “a beguiling blend of the contrasting idioms that the guitarists soaked up like a sponge during a well-spent Kentucky youth. It’s a combination of our Kentucky roots and the hoodoo beat of New Orleans and the greasy kind of swamp stuff.” Rusty further notes “To this day, I get uncomfortable when people don’t dance. I just feel that I am doing something wrong if I can’t get them up on the dance floor.”

The band featuring Rusty on guitar and vocals, Dave Zirnheld on bass, and Gene Wickliffe on drums came together for a 1996 release then titled “Rusty Ends Blues Band”. That story continued to 2020 when Rusty consulted with Michael Frank, the Earwig Records CEO. After talking with Rusty and listening to that older recording, Michael agreed to re-release that album on Earwig. That also led to a new recording, now noting the band as the Hillbilly Hoodoo, called “The Last of The Boogiemen” released in 2022. The 2020 re-release and the trifold cd release of the new album both feature Bill Dahl’s detailed historic information about Rusty and the band. I will not re-hash or plagiarize Bill’s fine work. Buy the cd’s to gain that background. You will not get that if you stream the album.

The album consists of fifteen songs including three covers. Guests for the album include Chicago keyboard great Roosevelt Purefoy playing piano and organ on nine tracks and Louisville’s Wayne Young co-writing tracks 1,4,6, and 13, and playing 2nd guitar on tracks 1,2,3, and 9.

The album opens with “Bad Like Billy the Kid” as Rusty cites “I may be old, but I’m never going to stop”. “But when I strap on my guitar…when I turn it up…I’m bad like Billy the Kid”. “The Same Thing” kicks up the energy as he states “Roadhouse, juke joint, honky tonk, what’s in a name”. Country, blues, even rock & roll, western swing, zydeco, old school soul. Choose your poison, they’ll all make you move, ’cause each one’s got its own low down greasy groove.” A cover of Lonnie Mack’s 1988 “Honky Tonk Man” noting “I have my fun” is next with Roosevelt’s piano getting things jumping. Rusty declares he is “Lost in the Blues” as “Once I was on the road to money and success, that ain’t the way to happiness. Now I’m searching for love and affection, I must have gone in the wrong direction.” Roosevelt plays organ as Rusty builds the song as an old-time soul song.

“Rockabilly Train” gets the music rolling with the “Guitar man at the throttle, bass man shoveling coal, drummer pounding the backbeat makes the train go.” Rusty kicks back to an old school stroll as he lists a long list of things from lost loves to those lost in drugs, prophets preaching hate, and lying politicians all which cause “Angels Sing the Blues”. Dave steps forward for vocals on a cover of Koko Taylor’s 1969 “(I’m) A Little Mixed Up” written by Willie Dixon citing “what I know is I’m still alive”. Next Rusty declares “You told me I was nothing without you. I used to believe that was true” but now “The Worm’s Turned”. Rusty’s guitar cries as he laments “I wake up after midnight, tears falling down in streams. I call out for help, but there is no one to hear my “Midnight Screams”.

Ray Sharpe’s 1959 Texas country blues “Linda Lu” gets a honky-tonk feel with Roosevelt’s piano and Rusty’s stinging guitar. “Lie To Me” is an emotional appeal to his woman as he tells her “Tell me a lie, you know how. You never told the truth before, why start now?” “Tell me you love me.” Dave steps back up to the mike on “Thing Called Love” as he declares “You thought it’d last forever, but nothing lasts that long. It will drive you to drink because it hurts to be sober. You were glad when it started, but relieved when it’s over.” Rusty identifies that “When A Geezer Plays the Blues” people say “look at that old man, what’s he doing up there. He hears them joking, laughing at the bar. But he just grins and straps on the his guitar”. “it’s his love. It’s his truth…As the music drags them to the floor”. “Bourbon Moon” is an instrumental tribute to Santo and Johnny’s 1959 hit “Sleepwalk”. The album closes with a cover of Willie Nelson’s “Night Life”, originally recorded by Ray Charles in 1966.

Rusty loves to challenge listeners with his crossover of genres, stating the blues “Comes from someplace really deep. I think it’s an African American art form, it comes from maybe deep inside the earth or something. Maybe something really primal. To me, blues is what makes you feel inside”. Rusty mixes deep emotions and a musical history through soul, blues, rock, and a touch of country creating his own pure sound and bringing his sincere love of the music to the listener.

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.

Doug MacLeod – Between Somewhere and Goodbye

Reference Recordings – 2025

https://doug-macleod.com

11 tracks: 47 minutes

Between Somewhere and Goodbye is the latest musical exploration from internationally renowned bluesman Doug MacLeod. This is MacLeod’s sixth album with Reference Recordings. With nearly thirty albums in his career, MacLeod has won numerous Blues Music Awards (BMAs), including the 2024 BMA for Acoustic Album of the Year (Raw Blues 1). In 2025, MacLeod was nominated for Acoustic Artist of the Year and Acoustic Album of the Year.

According to his website, MacLeod is known for his superb songwriting, guitar wizardry, warm soulful vocals, wit, and unforgettable live performances. At the heart of (those) performances is (MacLeod’s) knack for storytelling, bringing characters from the faceless to the legendary to strikingly real life.

MacLeod brings that storytelling prowess, his guitar wizardry, and those warm soulful vocals to every song on Between Somewhere and Goodbye. As MacLeod explains in the liner notes, “this album is a little different from my other albums…oh, there’s blues here, humor here, and even a touch of soul here…(plus) there’s a theme running through many of the songs here.” He goes on to explain that he not only learned about music from mentors such as Ernest Banks and George “Harmonica” Smith but also about “this thing we call life.”

MacLeod has been based in Memphis, Tennessee since 2019 and the Bluff City along with the Mighty Mississippi have greatly influenced his songwriting. You will note the painting on the album’s cover of the Hernando de Soto Bridge, aka the “M” Bridge, which spans the Mississippi at the north end of downtown Memphis.

Another Tennessee city known for its music is prominently featured on Between Somewhere and Goodbye. The album was recorded at Nashville’s Creative Workshop studio—produced by Andreas Werner and engineered by Joe Funderburk. MacLeod was joined by a set of Nashville musicians, including Paul Ossola on bass, Mark T. Jordan on keys, Lynn Williams (drums and percussion), and Werner on acoustic guitar (on tracks 1 and 4). Collectively known as the “Funky Chester Rhythm Section,” they have worked with Bonnie Raitt, Delbert McClinton, Van Morrison, Buddy Guy, and Lyle Lovett.

Harmony vocals were provided by “The Shoals Sisters,” Cindy Walker, Marie Lewey, and Carla Russell. The trio, based in the Muscle Shoals, Alabama area (another Southern locale famous for music), have provided backing vocals for Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Demi Lovato, Gregg Allman, and many others.

Between Somewhere and Goodbye kicks off with an undeniable Memphis groove on “Memphis in Your Soul,” featuring The Shoals Sisters understated—but silky sweet—harmonies. The title track, “Between Somewhere and Goodbye,” is classic MacLeod with intricate guitar play, toe-tapping backbeat, and intimate storytelling. “I Don’t Like Your Chances” is another toe-tapper with that old school blues piano from Jordan. “One Rib Short” is another classic MacLeod storytelling number with a traditional blues rhythm and his witty lyrics.

Other notable tracks include the soulful downhome “Hard Times,” a little more contemporary number in “Even Angels Get Too Sad to Fly,” which has a Nashville feel to it, and “Roll Like a River 2025” with more backing harmonies from The Shoals Sisters. According to the liner notes, this is third recorded version of the song.

The album winds down with “Watching The Sun Go Down,” a slow reflective song with neat tone and an emotional message and, according to MacLeod, also influenced by “walking along the Mississippi.”

Between Somewhere and Goodbye is yet another terrific journey from Doug MacLeod, who, in the best of blues’ traditions, brings his heart and soul to every song.

Writer Ken Billett is a freelance writer based in Memphis. He is a Blues Foundation member and former docent/tour guide at the Blues Hall of Fame. Originally from Tampa, Florida, Ken writes about travel, music, and the Mississippi Delta.

Reverend Freakchild – A Bluesman Of Sorts

Treated And Released Records

Disc One – 10 songs Disc Two – 9 songs

Disc One – 40:22 Disc Two – 41:01

Yes, The Reverend is a bluesman of sorts, among many other things in his curious life. He grew up in Hawaii, holds a degree in Philosophy and religion from Northeastern University in Boston. He resides in Colorado as an ordained Dharmacharya with a Master of Divinity Degree from Naropa University. He has been a member of the Metro Mass Gospel Choir, but I digress. This is his latest collection of blues covers and originals done up in his often rag-tag style, but with feeling and reverence to the blues masters. He sings in a blues voice and plays acoustic guitar and harmonica. He occasionally employs unnamed backing musicians, except in one case. This collection is a bit of a retrospective that includes some previously unreleased material, favorites and some remixes.

The opening song, the original “Green and Brown Blues” is the only song that lists his backing players; John Robinson on bass and Patrick Carmichael on drums. I can’t really figure what it is about, but it’s delivery is upbeat and his vocal energetic, positive and mellow. It features acoustic and electric guitars as well as the Reverend’s harmonica. His take on “Chevrolet”, a song that was adapted from Memphis Minnie’s “Can I Do It For You” includes some first-rate organ soloing. I am more familiar with it from The Animals version.

Muddy Water’s “I Can’t Be Satisfied” gets a kicked-up treatment with boisterous vocalizing, sprightly harmonica and slide guitar. “Roll and Tumble Blues” is just him on National Steel slide, harmonica and foot stomping. He gets a real down-home vibe with his affected vocal, harmonica and electric slide guitar. He gives a good reading of the familiar “Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven”. A cover of Chris Whitley’s “Dust Radio” is spacey and atmospheric.

Disc two consists of all cover songs. Jimmy Reed’s “Big Boss Man” is a revved-up rendering, with cool electric guitar, bongos and Hugh Pool on harmonica. “Ode To Billie Joe” is jived up with country-ish guitar and invigorated organ. The haunting echoed vocal suits “Hellhound On My Trail” just fine. Although a traditional song, “I Know You Rider” is widely known from The Grateful Dead’s rendition. It receives a similar treatment here, abetted by rambunctious electric slide guitar. Noisy is the word for the version of The Beatles’ already gruff “Yer Blues”. His National Steel guitar slithers and slides, battling the drums on “Wish I was In Heaven”.

“Death Bells” is given a crude reading, similar to what its’ writer Lightnin’ Hopkins would have given it. The a cappella “Grinnin’ In Your Face” was recorded live with clapping and yelling from the audience. The other live one is Peppermint Harris’s “As The Years Go Passing By”. The solemn delivery is enhanced by a nicely toned electric guitar.

A bluesman of sorts?…More so than not. He achieves something close to the sound of the authentic early bluesmen. He at times drifts into singer-songwriter territory, but always keeps the listener’s ears glued to absorb his quirkiness. Whether accompanied by only guitar and harmonica or others, the music is heartfelt and draws from the deep blues well.

Reviewer Greg “Bluesdog” Szalony hails from the New Jersey Delta.

Sunnyland Slim – Rockin’ The House

Wolf Records

www.wolfrec.com

19 songs – 61 minutes

Albert Luandrew was born in Vance, Mississippi, in 1906. By the the time he died in 1995, he had had a prolific recording career spanning some five decades, in addition to being a key figure in the development of Chicago blues, both through his piano playing and his singing (playing with the likes of Big Bill Broonzy, Little Walter and Muddy Waters) but also through his constant support and encouragement to up and coming artists, including the aforementioned Muddy Waters, whom he introduced to Chess (then Aristocrat) records in 1946. Luandrew’s stage name of Sunnyland Slim came the song “Sunnyland Train”, about a railroad line between Memphis and St. Louis, Missouri.

Unlike some of his piano-playing contemporaries such as Memphis Slim or Eddie Boyd, who found success and acceptance in moving to Europe, Slim remained firmly based in Chicago, playing small, local blues clubs deep into his 80s. In 1975, however, he did undertake a solo tour of Europe at the tender age of 69 and by good fortune, some performances on that tour were recorded by members of Vienna Blues Fan Club. By even greater good fortune, 19 of those recordings have now been released as Rockin’ The House, on Wolf Records.

The quality of the recordings is absolutely first rate, as are Slim’s performances. Like Nina Simone, Slim’s piano playing always has a sense of mischief to it, so that even the saddest songs sound like there is light at the end of tunnel and hope for the future. And his solo on his own “I Done You Wrong” is a hilarious exercise in mock-sadness as he bids adieu to an old flame. His voice is also in fine fettle, his Mississippi background evident in the way the notes linger and dip at the end of a line.

Perhaps the songs on Rockin’ The House were the songs he played every night in Chicago, or perhaps he deliberately added in some classics because that’s what his European audience wanted to hear. Either way, we have a fine mixture of Slim originals, such as “Got To Get To My Baby”, “The Devil Is A Busy Man” and “It’s You, Baby”, which sit comfortably with stone cold classics like Robert Johnson’s “Dust My Broom”, Jimmy Oden’s “Goin’ Down Slow”, Memphis Slim’s “Rockin’ The House” and T-Bone Walker’s “They Call It Stormy Monday”. He drolly impersonates Howlin’ Wolf on a medley of Wolf songs, while Curtis Jones’ “Tin Pan Alley” is played in a manner quite unrecognisable from Johnny Winter’s cover.  One of many highlights is the rollicking instrumental, “Sunnyland’s Boogie” in which the audience try to clap on the 1, the 2, the 3 and the 4. Thankfully, they soon settle down so we can enjoy some genuinely raucous barrelhouse piano.

Sunnyland Slim recorded prolifically over the years, often for labels he helped to establish. But, like other much-recorded geniuses like Lightnin’ Hopkins and John Lee Hooker, the world will always benefit from hearing more Sunnyland Slim. Rockin’ The House is both a throwback but also a breath of fresh air. It sounds as vital today as the night it was recorded 50 years ago. Highly recommended.

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

Chicago has always been known as perhaps the premiere city for blues music in the country. Legends like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Otis Spann, Sunnyland Slim, Big Walter Horton, Magic Sam, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and many others honed their skills while building their careers in the numerous blues clubs throughout the city. To this day, you can hear world-class blues any night of the week.

We all remember the stars, the legends who brought lasting international acclaim. Often overlooked are the musicians who play in the bands backing the artists in the spotlight. For every Hubert Sumlin, there have been thousands of players who made meaningful contributions without receiving much more than an occasional round of applause at a live show.

Guitarist Carlos Showers is one of those musicians. By his own admission, over the course of his career spanning decades, he has played with just about every blues artist in Chicago. A favorite of the female blues singers, Showers has managed to stay busy without attracting much attention to himself.

Born in 1956 and raised in Chicago, his first musical instrument was the cornet, which he started playing in fifth grade.

“I started playing guitar when I was 12 years. It only took me about about a year before I kind of knew what I was doing on the guitar, and I was playing in a band when I was 14 years old. I made the switch to guitar because of this guy on my block that played professionally with somebody like Otis Clay or Little Milton. It was somebody like that. I can’t remember exactly who it was. But anyway, I was fascinated by this guy, and immediately wanted to grab the guitar. So I went out and got one, because I had to learn how to play it.

“I didn’t know what I was doing, but I got up every morning and played the guitar. I mean, my family is in the kitchen eating breakfast. I got straight out bed of and played that guitar. The guy lived on my block, but he was always on the road. I didn’t really get a chance to see him play with the bands. But I knew he played and was influenced by that. It wasn’t about girls or anything, I just wanted to try the guitar.”

Showers was still playing a horn in high school, having moved to the baritone horn, a smaller version of the tuba.

“Yeah. I played that all through high school. It was fun, man. But I didn’t want to do that. Once I started playing that guitar,  when I came home, I played the guitar, I didn’t want to think about that horn.”

While he was listening to a wide range of music during his teenage years, there were three guitar players that created the biggest impressions on him as he developed his own style of playing.

“I tell you, it was a little bit of everything, but it was mostly Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, and B.B. King. So it was a combination of them. When I heard just about anybody that played guitar, I was like, wow! I was influenced. But those were the main three for me.

“With Hendrix, it was the power of what he was doing, and, and it was so original, so aggressive. That’s what drew me in. I mean, it was the power in the songs, just him playing guitar, period. He was so fascinating to me. For Santana, it was the Woodstock thing. I was like, that was it. That was it. Then B.B. King, my mother used to listen to him. She had a lot of blues records,  had music just going all through the house. That’s what drew me in, him playing guitar.”

When he was about 17 years old, a friend told Showers he should check out a local blues guitar player. When he did, it was one of those special moments that life sometimes serves up when we least expect it.

“I met this guy named Smilin’ Bobby Smith. He played guitar and sang. My friend, Kenny Pryor, told me about Bobby. He said, man, you ought to come see this guy play. I said, I’m playing R&B right now. I don’t want to play no blues. But when I seen this guy, it blew me away. The power that the man had! He was my first blues influence.

“And ever since then, I wanted to play blues. I had to do it. I used to go to Bobby’s shows. Then I started sitting in on his shows. A couple years later when I was about 18 years old, I ended up joining his band. I played with him maybe about four or five years. We played a lot of the small spots on the south side in Chicago

“Then in 1988, this guy named Buster Benton and Bobby did a European tour, my first one, which lasted a month. Man, them people would love the blues over in Europe. I could not believe it. I mean from playing here in Chicago to playing in Europe, they loved the blues more than the people here. It was fantastic. The only thing that was crazy to me in 1988 was the food. You had to get used to the food over there. But other than that, they treated us good. It was a great experience.”

“At one point we also hooked up with this comedian named Emmanuel Arrington. Buster and Bobby were playing, doing shows with him in a lot of clubs on the south side. We were one of the hottest bands out there. And like I said, we didn’t make a lot of money, but we was working, and what we made seemed like a lot of money, but it wasn’t really. It was a lot of fun though!

When his tenure with Smilin’ Bobby ended, Showers quickly found work backing one of the baddest bass players in Chicago at that time.

“Willie Kent hired me for his band. I played with him about two, two and a half years. I had the time of my life. We went to Europe twice in 1995 and in 1996, for a month at a time. Oh man, they treated Willie Kent like a king. I felt almost the same, like Michael Jackson. I didn’t have to carry nothing. Soon as we get off the plane, they were right there helping us. We didn’t have to do nothing. Yeah, it was fun. I recorded a CD with him too, done in France, called Blues And Trouble, released in 1995 on the Isabel Records label. Willie was great. I learned a lot about the traveling and all the stuff like that. He was a really fun guy to play with.”

“After that I went with Big Time Sarah (Streeter). I played with her the longest, maybe 25, 27 years, something like that. I went all the over the world with her. She was great too. It was crazy, man. We worked a lot, maybe three to four days a week, and then sometimes five days a week. She was a powerful singer.”

It should already be obvious that Showers’ talents as a guitar picker did not go unnoticed in Chicago. And there is still more to consider in his impressive career.

“Trust me, I done played with so many people. I played with Big Time Sarah, singer Nellie Tiger Travis, and I also played with guitarist Linsey Alexander. Matter of fact, I was playing with all three of them at the same time. That went on for maybe about 20 something years. It was whoever called me first for a particular date. But at the time when I was playing with Big Time Sarah, she was my main priority. So it wasn’t too much.

“Sometime it was whoever called me first, but if Sarah came up with a gig and it kind of paid decent, I would’ve had to cancel on another person. I would rarely do it to Nellie or Linsey or somebody like that. If Sarah came up with something late, then I wouldn’t do it. She would have to get somebody else take my place. But a lot of the musicians that are in Chicago are able to fill in because we don’t all play the same, but we basically know the same music. So it wasn’t that hard to replace somebody.

“The main secret to staying employed is learning everybody’s music and following the singer. See, a lot of musicians kind of ego trip. They don’t make the singer comfortable. I don’t overplay, I don’t underplay. I play to make the singer comfortable. I think it’s my attitude too. I get along with everybody. You know, I’m not just bragging on myself, but I think I’m a nice person. I have played with all the female singers in Chicago, and ain’t none of ’em can say anything bad about me.”

Showers also did a lengthy stint of more than a decade in the band backing vocalist Grana Louise, appearing on five tracks on Gettin’ Kinda Rough, her album from 2011 album on Delmark Records.

“She has a lot of energy, man. It was fun playing with her, learned a lot. All the musicians that were with her at the time was friends of mine, so it was a great time.. We did a lot of traveling with her, so I got to see a lot of things with her.”

Currently, his talents are put to good use backing another dynamic singer, Demetria Taylor. Showers was part of the band that recorded Taylor’s critically acclaimed 2023 album, Doin’ What I’m Supposed To Do, again on the legendary Delmark label.

Asked if he had a favorite among the multitude of female blues singers, Showers took a moment before sharing his thoughts.

“Each one of them is different. They all had great music. The only difference was their attitudes. Now, you know, women be having different attitudes. I have fun playing with all of them. But when it comes down to them attitudes, sometimes I ignore it, but sometimes, you know, it kind of drives you crazy for a little bit. But yeah, Big Time Sarah had her thing, Grana had her thing, and Nellie had her thing. Demetria’s got her thing. And also I played with Peaches Staten, too. They all had their own thing, it’s just the attitudes that they can have sometimes. But other than that, I enjoyed playing with all of them. I think Big Time Sarah was my favorite, though.”

Showers appears on a number of cuts on a more recent Delmark recording, Soul In Blue, by the outstanding soulful vocalist Tad Robinson.

“Julia Miller, the head of Delmark, she called me and wanted me to do it because I had been recording for them for quite a while. They just wanted something different on Tad’s album and asked me to record with him. It was part of what they called the Delmark All-Stars, with Mike Wheeler also on guitar, Pooky Styx on drums, Larry Williams on bass, and Roosevelt Purifoy Jr. on organ. We recorded three tracks. Mike and I have known each other 35 – 40 years. We kind of grew up together. He’s one of my best friends.”

Having been a part of the Chicago blues community for most of his adult life, Showers has experienced some changes, especially in the last few years.

“The music has been great. When that pandemic hit, man, that changed everything. Now we are kind of getting back to normal, but it still ain’t quite normal yet. The clubs are not open as much as they were before the pandemic. That cuts down the amount of gig that you can get because a lot of the clubs were open seven days a week, but now, some of them open four days a week, and some open just five days a week. And then some of them closed completely. So that’s basically the change in music scene now as far as Chicago goes. At least the money seems to be a little bit better.”

Supported by Big Time Sarah’s band, the BTS Express, Showers has done some live shows under his own name. The decision was to keep the band going after the singer passed away in 2015.

“I play at Legends, Buddy Guy’s club, a lot. I also play at Blue Chicago quite a bit with the BTS Express. We played together so long, it’s a tribute to Big Time Sarah. It’s basically my band. The bass player, Bill Hargrave, he’s the leader of the band. But when I get my show, then I use the same band. When Bill gets a a gig, we use the same band. Bill played with Sarah, and as a matter of fact, he played with Albert King for about three or four years.”

Looking to the future, the guitarist has reached the point in his career where he realizes it is time for him to step into the spotlight, to show the world the scope of his talents.

“Everybody has been getting on me to record my own CD. I’ve got my own songs, and when I do my own show, usually 90% of the songs I do are ones I wrote. So the only thing now is for me to record my own album. A lot of people been pushing me to do it. So I really want do it for them.

“I done played with so many people. The only thing left is to put my own music out there because people been waiting on it. I was just talking to this guy yesterday, guitarist Nate Manos. He said, “We got to get you in the studio.” I think it’s time for me to do it. I’ve been recording other people’s stuff. It’s time for me now. That’s what I think!”

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!

An Díaz and the Yokatta Brothers – Komorebi In New Orleans

Self-release

www.yokattabrothers.com

7 songs – 24 minutes

An Díaz is an Argentinian singer-songwriter, now relocated to Paris, France, where she joined forces with the Yokatta Brothers, three blues musicians from Northern France. Manu Slide provides guitars, harp and backing vocals, Stéphane Bhan contributes electric bass and backing vocals and Julien Mahiuex underpins everything with drums and backing vocals.  Díaz is a powerhouse singer who throws herself into each song, with splendid support from the Brothers.

Komorebi is a Japanese word for “light shining through trees’ leaves” – an expression of joy or relief, which to Díaz represents the uplifting essence of blues music. Komorebi In New Orleans was recorded in New Orleans and is essentially a love letter to the music of the deep South but particularly the Big Easy. It is also an impressive follow-up to Alana, the band’s 2023 release that was favorably reviewed in Blues Blast! in January 2024.

Komorebi In New Orleans is closer to an EP than a full album, with the seven tracks clocking in at just 24 minutes, but the band covers a lot of ground in that time. We kick off with “Must Be Doin’ Fine”, a cleverly constructed track that begins with a swampy, acoustic Howlin’ Wolf feel (Díaz even emulates his “Smokestake Lightnin'” howl) before ending each verse with a harmony-laden declaration that “we must be doin’ fine”. “Alone Around You” nods towards The Meters and Andy Bey with its repetitive single note riffing, while the bizarrely named “Sandwich Bored Man” is based around a hard-driving John Lee Hooker-esque boogie groove. The old-timey “Child Free Blues” starts off as if it is going to be a traditionally light-hearted yet salacious ode to the joys of sexual congress. Instead, Díaz cleverly subverts expectations by celebrating the benefits of a life sans offspring. She even adds in a gloriously off-the-wall kazoo solo for good measure.

One of the album highlights is “Who Knows”, which has a bridge that recalls some chord progressions by The Doors, before a prison-gang style a capella breakdown before the band piles back in. The bleaker “Hidin’ In Plain Sight” addresses the issue of mental health against a backdrop of some lovely steel guitar by the aptly named Monsieur Slide and superb gospel-style backing vocals. The closing number, “KillJoy” is a neat gospel-soul number.

Komorebi In New Orleans is a very enjoyable and impressive release and well worth investigating, particularly if your tastes lean towards modern, acoustic-driven blues/roots music.

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

ZZ Ward – Liberation

Sun Records

www.zzward.com

14 Tracks – 42 minutes

Zsuzsanna Eva Ward was born in Abington Pennsylvania in 1986, but grew up in Roseburg, Oregon. She was named after her maternal grandmother, Zsuzsanna Friedman, A Jewish Hungarian who converted to Catholicism to avoid persecution during the holocaust.  By age 12, she was singing in her father’s blues band and has stated the first song she sang was Albert King’s “As The Years Go Passing By”. Growing up in a small town, she spent her spare time listening to her father’s blues collection and her brother’s hip-hop records, both ultimately influencing her own musical pursuits. By age 16, she was performing in Eugene with R&B and hip-hop acts. The talented vocalist is also a proficient multi-instrumentalist playing guitar, piano, and harmonica.

In 2011, she moved to Los Angeles and immediately signed with Boardwalk Records. In 2012, the label released her first EP, Criminal”, and immediately followed that with her debut album, Til the Casket Drops. Her albums have tended to mix her interest with the blues and hip -hop into her own unique sound. That has led her to collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Fantastic Negrito, Aloe Blacc and Gary Clark, Jr. as well as a tour with Eric Clapton.

Liberation is her fourth studio release and has a mixture of her own original songs and covers of songs that she holds some importance for her. This album moves more directly into the blues and R&B with a theme of her current status of parenthood.

She immediately explains her life in raising two kids while maintaining her career in the opening track “Mother” establishing ” Come do 24 hours in my shoes. Say goodbye to your moments to breathe”.  A cover of Arthur Crudup’s 1950’s song “My Baby Left Me” was a recorded as tribute to her new label, the historic Sun Records, and to Elvis Presley who recorded the song in 1956 as a flip side on a Sun singles release. The song notes “he left me, never said a word” in a romping rock & roll number. “I Have No One” was recorded by Big John Hamilton in 1956 and she continues the era’s R&B sound with her declaration “I need somebody to love me, somebody to hold me”.

“Cadillac Man” was recorded by The Jesters in 1966 and keeps the rock ‘n’ roll going with a feel of something Chuck Berry might have recorded. A humorous tale of a run of a big Cadillac and her pursuit by the police, perhaps a dream of her own freedom. She offers a soulful hope that she and her partner can keep their “Love Alive” as maternity and life itself causes changes. “Never thought we would drift so far in the mist”.  “Naked in the Jungle” is an expression of how she feels as she adjusts to motherhood. “Caught up in these hectic days. Don’t ask me how I feel.”

The title song is a multi-layered tune in keeping with a Phil Spector sound and brings to mind Lesley Gore from back in the 60’s. It is her explanation of coming to terms of making the music she wants to do citing “There is always a man to hide behind and now I see I’ve done it all my life. So, baby don’t take this the wrong way. Help me help myself”. On “Lioness”, she declares “Sometimes I feel like the world is against me cause I’m a female and man it’s a shame. The moment I told you I was expecting, if I go out you don’t see me the same”. ” She then growls “lioness.” and proclaims “I’m not ashamed of who I have become. I am stronger than ever before”.  Son House’s 1965 “Grinnin’ in Your Face” fits her theme as she expounds that they “don’t care how you’re trying to live. They’ll talk about you still”. The song is given a deep gritty blues touch with only a stark slide guitar and harmonica powering her vocals.

Robert Johnson’s classic 1937 “Dust My Broom” lets her rock out again and further demonstrate her skills on the harmonica. She then shifts to a cover of Lowell Fulson’s 1951 “Sinner’s Prayer” keeping the deep blues going as she begs “Lord have mercy on me. I used to have plenty of money. The finest clothes in town. But bad luck and trouble overtaken me. Bound to get me down.” She closes her covers with Chris Kenner’s 1961 song declaring “Something You Got” “makes me work all day…makes me bring home my pay…makes the world go…I love you so” all in an easy swing. (The earlier covers are certainly from well-known artists, but Kenner drew my desire to re-discover who he was and for those for us from back in the day, Kenner’s big hits were “Land of 1000 Dances” and “I Like It Like That”.)

She closes with two final originals. On “Clairvoyant” she says he brought “something supernatural in my bones like we have already been. I get visions when I look at you like a dream I have already been in”. She closes with “Next to You” in a modern sounding rocker noting he “is the real thing.” and again letting her harmonica jump into the sound.

ZZ has said that this is the album she always wanted to do with a return to her true blues roots. Sun Records gave her that opportunity outside of the influence of others, therefore her “liberation”. Many references to songs and the sounds of the past should not indicate that this a throwback album. While looking into the past, she generated fresh songs alongside of revitalized songs that fit her vision of what she wanted to accomplish with the album. Her strong vocals and well-played instruments deliver a modern sound that feels newer than the many auto-tuned and synthesized pop tunes on the market today. ZZ has delivered on her intent of a complete return to the blues. Well done!

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.

Geoff Arsenault – Hired Hand

Self-release

www.geoffarsenault.ca

12 songs – 47 minutes

Just occasionally, out of nowhere, an album will hit you unexpectedly, taking you places you either haven’t been before or which are half-forgotten from a lifetime ago, lifting your spirits and touching your soul. Geoff Arsenault’s Hired Hand is one such release. Hired Hand is Arsenault’s third solo album, following 2006’s This Ain’t No Fiction and 2011’s Voodoo Baby Rattle, but this reviewer for one hopes that we don’t have to wait 14 years for his next effort.

Arsenault is a drummer, percussionist and singer/songwriter based in the East of Canada, but after listening to Hired Hand, one might quite reasonably suspect he’s actually from Louisiana. The album reeks of a dark, dank swamp where you can cut the humidity with a knife whilst being eaten alive by mosquitoes. There are echoes of the likes of JJ Cale and Tony Joe White and maybe even a nod towards Tom Waits in the nonchalantly relaxed-yet-irresistible grooves that permeate the album like wood smoke.

All 12 songs were written by Arsenault, who also provides drums, percussion, vocals and acoustic guitars. A number of superb musicians provide support on Hired Hand, including Joey Landreth on slide guitar, Kevin Breit and Colin Linden on electric guitar, Zev Katz, Tom Easley and Mike Farrington on bass, Glenn Patscha on B3 organ and Wurlitzer piano, Ray Bonneville on harmonica, David Mansfield and George Sluppick on tambourines. Matt Anderson, Chris Kirby and Amy Helm provide backing vocals.

The songs themselves are beautifully structured exercises in minimalism and restraint. There are no overblown or overlong solos on display, no complex chordal structures or intricate chord structures. It’s all about the groove and the feeling.  And, as the legendary Albert Collins once sagely advised: “Simple music is the hardest music to play and blues is simple music”. The music on Hired Hand is probably more accurately described as swampy, roots music, but the blues permeates every note on the album.  And, whilst the song structures may be relatively straightforward, it takes serious talent and hard work to master the nuances and emotional depth of this music. In places, it is striking how minimal instrumentation can make the use of space a material contributing factor. On the title track, for example, acoustic guitar, acoustic bass, percussion and a weeping electric slide guitar combine to create a vast musical vista.

The album was produced by Patscha and engineered by John D.S. Adams at Stonehouse Sound, Mahone Bay, NS, with mastering by John McLaggan at Parachute Mastering, all of whom deserve credit for capturing such compelling performances.

Hired Hand is not pure blues, but blues is everywhere on the album. It is also a sublime release.

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