Cleveland Tyson – God’s Juke Joint

Independently Published

ISBN-13 :  979-8242070264

Available on Amazon

87 pages

Cleveland A. Tyson Sr. is a retired attorney who was raised on the West Side of Chicago. A former Marine combat veteran and Chicago police officer, he was born into and lived the blues in his both his life and livelihood. He offers a spiritualistic take on the blues and the afterlife.

The recent film Sinners has moved the Juke Joint back into the awareness of the American public. While the film turns out to be a gory, vampire flick, this new book by Cleveland Tyson explores the idea that heaven can be, at least for some and certainly for those under the tutelage of the Angel Jali, a juke joint.

Tyson’s novella is a sort of travelogue of the blues, discussing their inception in the Mississippi Delta and Hill Country, East Texas and the Piedmont.  Tyson takes us from these locales to the other crossroads the blues travelled through over time. Memphis, St. Louis and ultimately Chicago became stopping points for the transformations the blues underwent. He ventures into the influence of women on the blues and cultural appropriation, as the angel Jali undergoes his own struggles throughout the book.

Time in God’s Juke Joint is not what we sense. A week could be years and an eon could be just an overnight. Time fades to irrelevancy in God’s “Jook.” The joint is hopping each night, with the long evenings of music portrayed as the means to traverse eternity. The legends of the blues perform in God’s Juke Joint, but many are in attendance. The Devil is also a regular “customer,” stirring up trouble and always getting put back into his place as Jali and the legends of the blues  never take his bait and make him back off.

One ongoing theme is that Satan wants Jali to come work for him and make his juke joint the best there is to usurp God. Jali’s struggles with being the juke joint bartender and shepherd for new souls is compounded by the offers from Satan for a better eternal life. But Jali and all the patrons know the Devil never shows all his cards and can’t be trusted and goodness wins out, although the struggle between good and evil goes on eternally.

The author eludes to the complexity of this heavenly existence with a higher Council that is arbitrator between Satan and Jali for the entry of new souls. As I read this I wondered how many different establishments there are in heaven to encompass all of the vastness of existence, or is God’s Juke Joint alone heaven itself? After all, the blues represent life and heaven is then the means to make sense with what we lived through during our lives on Earth. That is Tyson’s point.

As things progress, Jali resists the final offer of Satan and then we spend Sunday at the Gospel Brunch and Tent Revival, a short reflection on the Blues and Gospel. Tyson looks at the argument of which was first, are they the same or different, and notes that they can be both the same and different and that’s ok. Tyson concludes that God’s Juke Joint has a seat for everyone if you want to sit in it.

The novella is a quick read and a sweet voyage through the blues. The author expresses that the blues are a representation of life and no matter what our failings were in life, our eternal soul can overcome our failings and we can enjoy the music together forever.

The book is a great read and gives us a reflection on spirituality and the blues. Available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions, Click Here

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.

Sugar Ray & The Bluetones – Blues From Sibculo

Natural Records – 2025

www.sugarrayandthebluetones.com

10 tracks; 41 minutes

It has been a long gap since 2020’s Too Far From The Bar so it is wonderful to have a new album from one of the great blues combos. Sugar Ray Norcia and drummer Neil Gouvin have been playing together since school days and bassist Michael ‘Mudcat’ Ward has been in the band for many years but this is the first Bluetones album for experienced guitarist Rusty Zinn. Recorded over three relaxed days at a small studio in Sibculo, Netherlands, the album demonstrates the sheer ease with which these guys play together. The material is half originals and half covers, blending the band’s signature sound of Chicago blues with elements of cajun, rockabilly and even cowboy music!

Ray’s harp leads the way on his ‘No More Chances’, the whole band in perfect sync as Rusty adds a stinging solo. The loping style of Jimmy Reed can be heard on ‘High And Lonesome’ (though Ray’s harp is far more muscular than Reed’s) before Rusty demonstrates his mastery of T-Bone Walker’s style on ‘Mean Old World’, the longest cut on the album and one of the best. ‘Blind Date’ is a song that the band has recorded before (on 2016’s Seeing Is Believing); the version here is longer and really rattles along with lots of harp from the start, the rhythm section underpinning everything, Rusty adding nice arpeggios behind Ray’s vocal: “I never forget a face, but with you I’ll make an exception”! “Bloodstains On The Wall’”is a 1953 obscurity originally recorded by Frank ‘Honeyboy’ Patt, describing a murder scene, given a suitably menacing tone by the Bluetones.

Rusty provides two numbers: “Dream Girl” is a little different to the rest of the album, rockabilly with cajun accents and sung by Rusty in a lighter vocal style, Ray’s harp sounding almost like an accordion to match the song; in contrast “Rusty Nail” is a powerful, chugging instrumental credited to Rusty and Neil whose drumming propels the tune. Little Junior Parker released “I’m Holding On” in 1959 and it suits the Bluetones well, with Ray’s commanding vocal and Rusty’s fluid solo; “You Got Me Wrong” is an obscure Billy Boy Arnold ‘B’-side, classic Chicago blues. The album closes with a second instrumental, “Wait And Watch”, this time written by Ray and Mudcat, a wistful tune which will recall those scenes in Westerns when the cowboy takes out his harmonica at the night time fireside.

Like every album they make, this one delivers great blues with no filler, making it one to find and treasure.

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’.

Ben Rice & The PDX Hustle – Fallen Angel

Self-release

https://benricehustle.com/

10 songs – 48 minutes

Three-time Blues Music Award nominee, Ben Rice, impressively maintains the energetic enthusiasm of a child about to start his summer vacation on his latest release, Fallen Angel. While he began in traditional blues, over the years Rich has expanded his sound to incorporate soul, R&B, folk, and country, creating a glorious smorgasbord of American music, all underpinned and fueled by the blues.

Fallen Angel features 10 new songs, all written or co-written by Rice that range from the piano-powered ballad, “Even On A Good Day” which has a superb slide guitar solo, to the grinding soul-rock of “Good Lord Bad Lord”, the raucous rock of “Get Down” and the hard-to-define “Trust,” which builds beautifully, whilst managing to successfully combine high dynamics, a catchy chorus, a spoken word bridge, stabbing horns and a wild guitar solo.

Rice composes very clever songs. On a track like “Storm”, the simple rhythm guitar beautifully counterpoints the wash of McDougall’s organ, with the horns harmonizing the single note guitar lines.  On “Good Lord Bad Lord”, the chorus chord progression creates an ear worm of a song, as well as the nagging conviction that surely somebody must have written something so catchy already? One of many highlights on Fallen Angel is “Crushing On The Bartender”, an entertaining roadhouse blues that could easily have been written by the great Delbert McClinton.

While Rice is obviously the star of the show, providing vocals, playing lead guitar and writing the songs, he is more than ably supported by the PDX Hustle, featuring Pat McDougall on piano, organ and vocals, Pete Petersen on saxophones, John Dover on trumpet and flugelhorn, Chandler Bowerman and Adam Carlson on drums, John Wolcott on bass and vocals (Jeff Lanston plays bass on “Retreat”), Lindsey Reynolds on backing vocals, Chuk Barber on percussion, Sara Barbee on cello and string bass, and Ryan Downs on violin.

The sound quality is top notch, with seven tracks recorded at The Jazz Dungeon in Portland, OR (engineered by Petersen) and three recorded at Falcon Studios in Portland OR (engineered by Dennis Carter, who also mixed all the songs, with mastering by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege).

It’s probably fair to say that there is more soul and rock on Fallen Angel than traditional blues, but Rice’s guitar playing is imbued with a true understanding of blues throughout. And a track like the closing “Lonesome” is as close as one could come to defining 21st century blues (with great piano from McDougall and resonator slide guitar solo from Rice).

If your musical tastes extend beyond the traditional boundaries of what a blues song is meant to sound like, you will find a huge amount to enjoy on Fallen Angel. 

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

Pat Pepin – What More Can I Do

Self-produced CD

www.patpepin.com

14 songs – 51 minutes

A veteran singer, songwriter and saxophone player who’s made three trips – including this year – to Memphis as Maine’s representative in the International Blues Challenge, Pat Pepin delivers a sound that puts a New England spin on the storytelling tradition of mainstream blues. And like the mighty Mississippi, it flows through every aspect of this down-to-earth, almost all-original set.

Pat’s an energetic entertainer whose brief, powerfully melodic runs on the reeds serve more as brief interludes to accent the songs she delivers with her equally powerful alto. A mix of soulful ballads and uptempo pleasers that celebrate the ups and downs of life, you’ll crack a smile occasionally because of the wry anecdotes and Down East humor infused in her lyrics.

This disc, like Pepin’s 2010 offering, In It for the Long Haul, were contenders for best self-produced album in the IBCs. A lady who’s toured Australia and been featured at major festivals across the U.S., she’s been serving as volunteer for events sponsored by the Blues Foundation for 20 years, too.

She’s aided here by her regular touring band, The Boneheads: guitarist Steve Jones, keyboard player Bob Colwell, bassist Scott Elliot and drummer Richard Hollis, all of whom provide backing vocals. The set was recorded by Colwell at The Root Cellar in Hallowell, Me.

A brief, fluid horn intro kicks off the medium-paced shuffle, “Mother Nature Blues,” which urges man to change his ways before the “madness” of drilling, blasting, poisoning water and more ruins all we’ve got. Elliot and Hollis provide the heartbeat throughout, and Pepin and Colwell take brief mid-tune solos. The ballad “What More Can I Do” opens quietly before Pat wonders why the man she loves has told her to find another man.

The theme brightens and the pace quickens slightly as Pepin bounces back from the heartache with “Don’t Tie Me Down,” which suggests plenty of activities but stresses she’s not looking for an “ever-more.” The action heats up even more for the the rocker “Mean Woman,” which describes another lady – undeservedly – walking around like a queen. The Boneheads then adopt a syncopated beat for “I Don’t Want to Go Home” as Pat announces to a gent that she really DOES want to settle down. Her solo celebrates her joy.

“Drifting” — penned by Glen Torrico – is a quiet ballad that bemoans the loss of closeness in a relationship before the sprightly “Little Things” finds Pepin falling in and out of love because the yo-yoing messaging emanating from her boyfriend’s mouth. The pleasant shuffle, “Call Me Up,” has bittersweet message: The man wants carries a torch on the phone, but wastes the singer’s time because he doesn’t carry the feelings through in real life.  Once he shows up, however, Pat insists that he “Slow Down” because it seems that his only goal is to “get me on my back.”

A cover of “Damn Your Eyes” — written by Steve Bogard and Barbara Wyrick and first released by Etta James in the 1980s – follows. Then Pepin pays tribute to one of her favorite movie stars as she pays tribute to “Mae West.” Folks old enough to remember will identify some of the lyrics — “When I’m good, I’m good…but when I’m bad, I’m better” and – “Come up and see me some time” – as a couple of the actress’ trademarked sayings.

Pat doesn’t care what type of vehicle’s involved because she’s backed and ready to go in “Ride with You” before the original “Sugar Mama” adapts a ’40s feel as she announces she’s looking to replace the guy because she’s not going to be the title figure any more. The message continues in the closer, “Try Me,” which finds Pepin longing for the love of an old friend whose own relationship is coming to an end.

Try Pat, too. She delivers a pleasant, unexpected treat.

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.

Kenny Brown learned Hill Country blues by growing up inside it. As a child in rural Mississippi, he was drawn to the sound of fife-and-drum bands riding through his community, announcing weekend picnics that lasted from Friday to Sunday.

“I was out playing in the yard one day, and I heard music coming… there was this truck coming up the road, and there was a Fife and Drum Band in the back of the truck. That was the way they advertised having a picnic,” Brown recalled. The music drifted into his bedroom at night, becoming part of the landscape before he ever picked up a guitar.

“A lot of it came out of the Fife and Drum bands… it’s more rhythm, right? Then chord changes and stuff… A lot of us [use] one chord,” he explained. His first guitar, a “little plastic guitar, but it would tune up,” came through a childhood blend of ingenuity and stubbornness: “I started, rode my bike around, sold seeds that I ordered off the back of a comic book to get my first guitar.”

Everything changed when blues musician Joe Callicott moved in next door, about 50 yards from Brown’s house. Brown introduced himself and began visiting every day.

“He wasn’t trying to teach me reading music,” Brown said. “He [was] just, like, hit it like this, boy.” Callicott became his best friend, the place Brown went whenever his parents couldn’t find him. By the time Callicott died when Brown was 15, the music—and the way it was passed down—was already ingrained.

Brown became a central torchbearer of North Mississippi Hill Country blues. Mentored by Callicott and steeped in the tradition from childhood, he formed a decades-long partnership with R.L. Burnside that helped define the sound for a new generation.

“He played kind of hard to describe, just a lot of one chord stuff… the rhythmic stuff, kind of hard to explain,” Brown said of Burnside. By the early 1990s, Brown and Burnside were a formidable force, carrying Hill Country blues from juke joints to national stages. He also worked with George “Mojo” Buford, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Johnny Woods, and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.

For 20 years, Brown and his wife Sara have organized the Hill Country Picnic, a multi-day festival featuring the region’s top talent. “I just invited a bunch of my friends from the area to come play,” Brown said. “The first year… we had like 1,000 people show up. And now, we might have 3,000 people, and we’ll have 25 bands, all Hill Country stuff.” Brown calls it a “family reunion” for Hill Country musicians.

A master slide guitarist with a deep traditional repertoire, Brown blends songs passed down over generations with Burnside compositions and his own originals, keeping the music rooted while evolving.

“Man, I just play with feeling,” Brown said. “I’m not the most technical player at all, but I put everything I can into it. It’s good music, feels good, and so much stuff came from the blues, like Elvis Presley—you can hear it, rock and roll is just blues too…it’s the root of all American music,” he said.

Brown notes that the term “North Mississippi Hill Country Blues” is a modern convention, reflecting the geography between the flat Delta and the hills to the north. “Back years ago, everybody was calling it Delta blues,” he said. The area and style have since inspired bands like The White Stripes and The Black Keys.

Brown worked for years balancing construction work with weekend and nighttime gigs before Fat Possum Records helped him transition to full-time music.

“I’d been out on the road with Mojo Buford… we ended a tour in Clarksdale, just happened to be on Muddy Waters’ birthday. Me and him played together, and a little while later, Fat Possum called me and said they were doing a record with R.L. and wanted me to play on it,” he said.

That album, Too Bad Jim (1994), launched Brown into steady touring and recording.

Brown also played with Junior Kimbrough, whose distinctive, deeply funky style often involved tuning his guitar down to match his voice—a sound Brown says is similar to the lower pitch associated with classical composers like Mozart and Beethoven.

“Junior was great, man. Funky. Women loved him. He was fun to be around,” Brown said.

Among Brown’s notable recordings are his solo debut Goin’ Back to Mississippi (1996), the Black Keys collaboration Delta Kream (2021), and his guitar work on Robert Finley’s Black Bayou (2023).

“It’d be nice to write a song that sold 10 million copies, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen,” Brown said. “I just want to make some good music, get some of it recorded… something good to leave behind.”

Hill Country blues, he says, is hard to describe in words: “It’s just droning. I’ve seen people say they don’t like that kind of music—but when you play a Junior Kimbrough song for 10–12 minutes, by the second or third minute, their foot starts moving. Words just don’t capture it.”

The community shares a large repertoire of songs, each artist adding their own spin. Brown’s life and music are grounded in a straightforward philosophy.

“I might not get paid much, but if I’m gonna go broke, I’m gonna do it sitting on my porch,” he said.

He reflects on the racial dynamics of his upbringing with a sense of openness and simplicity: “There’s, I guess you’d call it a racism…maybe reverse racism to some extent…my family, you know, never did that. We all lived right there together, blacks, whites. So, we’re just people…I’m not a racist. I don’t think I am. Today…people concentrate on it too much now, when they should just let go and be people.”

Despite an aging audience and a changing music landscape, Brown is optimistic about the future. Young musicians like Sharde Thomas, Othar Turner’s granddaughter, and the grandchildren of Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside are carrying the music forward. Cedric Burnside won a Grammy in 2022 for Best Traditional Blues Album, and Brown, along with Eric Deaton, earned a Grammy nomination in 2021 for their work on Delta Kream.

At 72, Brown continues to tour, acknowledging the challenges of travel, lower pay, and fewer club gigs.

“You get a lot of adrenaline, you get a lot of energy from playing gigs for people. When you’re doing a gig, you’re putting out energy, and the people are putting it back to you,” he said.

Brown remains confident in the next generation: “The Hill Country blues…will be here…Alvin Youngblood Hart, Cedric Burnside, Dwayne Burnside, the young cats…they’re carrying it on.”

Writer Jack Austin, also known by his radio DJ name, Electric Chicken (y Pollo Electrico en Espanol), is a vinyl collector, music journalist, and musician originally from Pittsburgh.

The Hokum Syndicate – Keep On Walking

Natural Records – 2025

www.thehokumsyndicate.com

14 tracks; 48 minutes

The Hokum Syndicate is a four man band from The Netherlands whose music harks back to earlier times but uses lyrics that relate to the world today, all making for an entertaining listen. The band is Rob Geboers on piano and accordion, Marco Oonincx on double bass, Fokke de Jong on drums and percussion and Bo Brocken on vocals, guitar, tenor banjo, harmonica, kazoo and jug; Ad van Erp adds clarinet to four cuts, William Kroot trumpet to three. Bo wrote all the material apart from one traditional tune and is also the head honcho at Natural Records who released the recent Sugar Ray & The Bluetones set Blues From Sibculo.

The music is very varied, as demonstrated by the opening trio of songs: “DIY” is a neat summary of the band’s style with a tune that is straight from the 1920s era with jazzy piano and even some scat singing, the lyrics about the pleasures of home improvement; “Leaving New Orleans” adds trumpet and clarinet to give a lazy NO feel while the trumpet stays on board to add a border feel to the jagged rhythms of “I Live In A Ghost Town”. The clarinet returns on “Don’t Spill It On The Floor”, a frenetic hokum tune that again reminds us of 1920’s, pianist Rob stepping out for a sprightly solo and Bo adding kazoo.

The strange title “Carrots And Sprouts” celebrates ‘growing your own’ in the back yard while “A Suitcase And A Kiss Goodbye” includes a walking bass feature. The entry of the clarinet on ‘My Sweet Jelly Roll” again transports us back in time before we get two familiar titles though both are Bo originals: “Taxman Blues” finds Bo in despair over the latest demand from the IRS on a toe-tapper with harp, piano and brushed drums whilst “The Wanderer” features Bo’s banjo. Ad’s clarinet makes its final appearance on “The Scoopin’ Spoon Jig”, a pure 1920’s rag, introduced by Bo as a novelty dance and great fun. “Going Back To The Country” drops the pace for a gentle ballad, Bo needing to get back to the land: “I’ve seen too much of bricks and stone, I’m tired and all alone”; you can hear the jug in the background and the piano is again excellent, though the modelling may not be to everyone’s taste! The title track is another jaunty number with Bo’s banjo and lyrics about keeping going as “there’s brand new roads to find”. The album closes with two contrasting numbers: the traditional “The Longest Train I Ever Saw” is a very fast-paced number, followed by “Closed Front Door”, a quiet, introspective tune with just Bo’s guitar and muted trumpet.

If you enjoy the music of the 20’s/30’s with something of a modern twist this album is right up your street.

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’.

Grant Lyle – And Now

Seismic Blues Music

www.grantlyle.com

9 Tracks – 35 minutes

The Canadian born, Toronto-based guitar player is releasing his eighth solo album. He started playing and writing songs as a teenager, His first album, Brotherhood, was released in 1998. That title carries over as the name of his backing group. In 2002, he teamed with fellow Canadian guitarist and music venue owner, Jeff Healey, for a six song EP, Live at Healy’s. His influences come from classic rock, soul and blues. He is well-recognized in Canada for his expressive guitar work. He stated in an interview with the Music Network blog, “If I can’t put the blues into what I’m playing then I feel like I am not properly contributing to the music. The sound and feel of the great blues musicians are what I aspire to. The other stuff just seeped in as a result of being exposed to it.”

In addition to Grant on guitar and all lead vocals, he is backed by bassist Scott Brammer, drummer Michael Sloski , percussionists Al Cross and Owen Tennyson, keyboard player Rob Gusevs, Roly Platt on harmonica and backing vocalists Jenna Harding and Pat Dickinson.

The album consists of eight originals and one cover and kicks off with “Won’t Let You Go”, a slow, soulful start with Grant saying, “all I want from you is to believe, I never want to let you go”.  He tells her “Thank You” and says “your love is the light that’s in the sky”. On “Lose It” he continues his love story and tells her “I don’t want to lose you, baby”. “Holdin’ you should have been easy, but lovin’ you sure defeats me”.

“We’ll Carry On” continues the romance with a statement of his perseverance, and optimism for the future. The song is another slow, romantic blues with that proclaims “there is a light around you when no one is around. He next declares “We may fall, but we’ll carry on”. He then advises “Flying way too high and fail to touch the sky …but with “Asylum” in your arms I can weather any storm.” Roly’s harmonica helps to drive this sentimental song.  He picks up speed on “One Desire” as he determines “I believe I am on top of the world, I can see that I gotta get back to you.” His one desire is for her “to take me higher, set me on fire”.

The title song “And Now” certainly anchors his emotional approach to the album as he expresses that the “light is all around you, right here and now you shine”. “Over the horizon I can still hear you callin’ deep inside me.” On “Givin’ Away”, Grant asks “Who will call your name louder every day and wait for your reply? Who will stand aside, go in your pride, and love you more each day? I’ve been searching so long for someone who won’t lead me on.” He maintains a strong, emotional touch to every original song and carries that on into the sole cover on the album, an energetic cover of The Spencer Davis Group’s 1966 song “Gimme Some Lovin'”. You get the feel of the original song which seems to also have a touch of The Steve Miller Band thrown into the mix. Grant concludes the album with some fine guitar mixed with Rob’s organ.

Rob and his band deliver smooth, soulful blues throughout the album perhaps with some throwback to 1970’s blues albums. His guitar carries the same emotional pull as generated by his voice. His sound may be from the past, but it is something not commonly heard on many of today’s recordings and is certainly a welcome, enjoyable listen.

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.

Reckless and Blue – Seven Deadly Gins

Self-produced CD

www.recklessandblue.net

10 songs – 43 minutes

Based out of Denver, Colo., Reckless and Blue are five-piece ensemble who exploded onto the music scene in 2017. But they’re a veteran organization with a background that exceeds 100 years on stage. An interesting group who represented the Colorado Blues Society in the recent International Blues Challenge, their merged talents intersect to produce a hard-to-define, but pleasantly riveting album.

The band’s led by Denver native George Williams, who handles guitar and vocals. A musical nomad, he’s been performing since the ’70s and returned home after years on the road in California, Arizona and Florida. He’s joined on the mic – occasionally trading leads in the same song — by Shaunda Fry, a professional entertainer in other fields who didn’t start singing until she turned 50. A classically-trained pianist, Allen Anderson spent his youth in a Chicano show band before appearing at CBGB in New York in a couple of punk groups, settling in New Jersey and playing with the Lena Luck Blues Band.

Drummer Steve Gaskin has been keeping the beat across multiple genres in the Mile High City since 1973. And blues aficionado bassist Tom Dillard, the youngster in the group, has been holding down the bottom professionally since 2020. Adding to the mix are horns from Jeff Miguel and Derek Banach and backing vocals from Annie Phillips and Ernie Martinez. Dutch Smith sits in on bass for one cut.

This all-original set was co-produced by Williams and Brian Hunter, who mixed and mastered the project at his Mousetrap Studios in Denver. And George and Shaunda share writing credits throughout.

A rollicking Delta-style cigar-box guitar run and percussive beat open “Come Back” as Fry bemoans the loss of a lover and urges him to return home. Her agony is palpable, and George’s slide drives home the message even more. The theme continues but the music lightens in the uptempo title track that follows. The only objects the man left behind are “Seven Deadly Gins,” and the singer confesses that she’s never before swigs as much as she is now. Anderson’s organ fills amplify her frustration.

The pace slows to a crawl and the vocalists team for “Trifflin’ Blues,” a torch song in which the man is the one who’s suffering as the woman heads for the door. Williams’ single-note runs mid-tune heighten his agony before Shaunda rebuts him for “messin’ around again.” The theme continues atop a honky-tonk rhythm “Don’t Expect Me,” and this time it’s George who threatens that he’s through.

The war seems to resolve itself in the gentle rocker, “Burnin’ Daylight,” but the feeling’s only temporary because the lovebirds are at each other’s throats in the slow burner “Can’t Give Me the Blues” that they’ve both had them for “a long, long time.” Peace breaks out from the downbeat of “Shimmy Shakin’ Blues,” which gives Anderson space to show off his boogie-woogie chops.

“If the Blues Was Whiskey” – not the Bumble Bee Slim classic – is up next. Percussive and unhurried, it’s an admission from Shaunda that if the title were true, she’d “stay drunk all the time.” Williams is on the hunt for a new lady in “Hey Pretty Baby” and Fry remains heartbroken as she brings the disc to a close with “Stormy Night in Denver.”

Sure, you’ll be reaching for “Seven Deadly Gins” listening to this one, but they’ll go down smooth. Strongly recommended.

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.

Darren Watson – Sings John Hiatt

Lamington Records – 2025

www.darrenwatson.com

9 tracks; 38 minutes

New Zealander Darren Watson first encountered John Hiatt when a member of his band played a cassette of the Bring The Family album on the tour bus back in 1988. A fan ever since, this is his tribute to the great singer-songwriter. Of course, there are lots of covers of Hiatt songs, so it was wise of Darren to avoid some of the more obvious choices, just “Thing Called Love” being what one might call a big Hiatt ‘hit’ when it was covered by Bonnie Raitt. The album was recorded in Darren’s home studio and is mainly acoustic: Darren sings and plays acoustic, resonator, bass, pump organ, melodica and Hammond, joined on some tunes by Matt Hay on harmonica, Steve Moodie on double bass, Chris Armour on electric guitar and Delia Shanly on drums.

As Darren states in the sleeve notes “I’m bound to fall short of his greatness. I have tried to do my own thing with these songs as I don’t see any point in just doing ‘em the same way as John did.” Darren has certainly succeeded, choosing some of the less covered Hiatt material, singing them in his clear voice and delivering a solid tribute set. Two songs from 2011’s Dirty Jeans And Mudslide Hymns open the album: “All The Way Under” is lively with Darren’s resonator and the rhythm section whilst “Damn This Town” is stripped right back in a quiet solo resonator version. The cynical “Like A Freight Train” comes from 2010’s The Open Road and is played on acoustic with the double bass in support. Next up Darren offers two songs from 2000’s Crossing Muddy Waters. “Lincoln Town” is usually covered in an uptempo, rocking version whereas Darren takes it down a little, giving us the chance to appreciate another fine set of Hiatt lyrics “I love that diesel, burning up the atmosphere, When you hear me blow, well honey baby, know I’m here”, warning his girl that he is arriving, hitching a ride on a train carrying new cars! The tale of a funeral “Mr Stanley” has appropriately haunting harmonica over acoustic guitar and bass but Darren then takes the pace up a notch with “Nothin’ I Love”, a jaunty song from 2014’s Terms Of My Surrender, gentle drums joining in as the guitar pickers have some fun.

For the final three songs Darren returns to an earlier period of Hiatt tunes, the ones that first captured his attention. From 1988’s Slow Turning comes “Ride Along”, electric guitar shimmering in the background before the uptempo tune gets going, a full band performance with guitars, bass and drums. We then pick up “Thing Called Love”, from the album that first brought Hiatt to Darren’s attention, Bring The Family (1987), here played in quieter style, very different to both Hiatt’s original or Raitt’s cover, there even being some choral vocals that add a hint of doo-wop! “Thirty Years Of Tears” is from 1990’s Stolen Moments in a solo acoustic performance that really brings out the heartfelt emotions of the lyrics.

Darren has paid full tribute to the music of John Hiatt and, as always, the highest accolade that one can make is that the album sends you back to the originals. Well played and recorded, this is one that any fan of John Hiatt will appreciate.

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’.