Peter Storm & The Blues Society – Second
Naked – 2023
https://www.facebook.com/peterstormtbs/
10 tracks; 46 minutes
As the title suggests, this is the second album release from Portugal’s leading blues band who have represented their country in the European Blues Challenge. Despite the name, there is no Peter Storm here, the members of the band being Bino Ribeiro (guitar, harp, vocals), João Belchior (vocals, guitar), José Reis (bass) and Jorge ‘Mr Shuffle’ Oliveira (drums, percussion); all four provide backing vocals and Sam Silva guests on sax on one track. There are eight originals here, writing credits shared between Jorge, João and Bino, plus two covers.
First and foremost one should note that the vocals are good, little or no trace of accent, so even on quieter tunes like “Meditation Blues” the listener is not struggling to understand the lyrics. Another slow blues, “I Told You (Not To Treat Me Wrong)” is one of the best tracks here, very reminiscent of early Fleetwood Mac, the lyrics conjuring up the heartache of a relationship going wrong, the guitar work delicately matching the angst of the lyrics and the harp sitting the tune out. “Blame” has a snaky rhythm with lots of percussion, over which another moody break-up lyric emerges, Bino plays effective unamplified harp and João plays some nicely poised guitar, another strong track. “52nd Avenue” has a spoken vocal over a rocking beat and some high register harp but “Go Down And Play” and “Write Down The Blues” are marred, for this reviewer, by discordant harp and guitar. “Black Hole” is more of a Rock tune with aggressive wah-wah and album closer “Show Me Your Love” is a full-blooded rocker that undoubtedly works well live with its pounding beat and singalong chorus.
“Breaking Up Somebody’s Home” is often covered, including a very good version on The Ozdemirs’ recent debut album (reviewed in these pages), so perhaps the Europeans are particularly fond of the song! This version is OK, apart from a very weird guitar solo that sounds like the voice box trick so beloved of 70’s acts. Sax is added to “Beatrice”, a song by Phillip Walker and Larry Garner, helping the tune to rock along well, as well as providing a soulful solo.
Peter Storm & The Blues Society’s second release demonstrates that the blues (and blues-rock) are alive and well in Portugal.