Robbert Duijf – Silver Spoon
Donor Productions / Naked Records
12 Tracks – 40 minutes
Netherland’s Robbert Duijf won the Dutch Blues Challenge – Solo/duo in 2019 which permitted him to compete in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in the solo/duo competition where he became a semi-finalist. In 2023, his band won the Dutch Blues Challenge and his album, Change Myself, won the award for best Dutch Blues Album. The band then competed and won the 2024 European Blues Challenge in Braga, Portugal.
His web site describes his music as “a mix of Gospel and Delta Blues with a pinch of British American folk inspired by Charley Patton, Skip James, Willie Dixon, Blind Willie Johnson, Dave Van Ronk, John lee Hooker and Michael de Jong”. “The term gospel music probably originated in the 1920s. In the cotton fields, slaves were not allowed to talk to each other, but they were allowed to sing. This is how songs of hope and encouragement were created; they were enriched with rhythmic influences from the blues. Gospel music is characterized by improvised, narrative passages and extravagant expressiveness. The transfer of feelings, the singer’s individuality, his courage to expose himself thanks to the recognition and support of the audience, that is what gospel blues entails in its purest form. That is also what distinguishes gospel blues from other music genres, it evokes a sense of community and provides connection.”
Robbert’s intent is to embody those feelings into the twelve original songs on this album. His oldest son, Rubin Duijf, plays double bass with Robin Zalm on drums. Guests include Thimo Gijezen on piano, Sjaak Korsten on backing vocals, Massimo Bombrini on percussion and Angelo Bombrini on banjo and also the producer for the album.
“Ticket for the Love Train” gets the album rolling down the tracks as she said, “Marry Me and I’ll open up the Pearly Gates”. He notes she “was born with a “Silver Spoon” and says “I never fought a real war, but loving you came close”. He then warns he is “Tired of Being Good” and tosses in some slide guitar along the way.
“All Night Long” includes some harmonica, which I presume is played by Robbert, as it is not otherwise credited, and he sings “Papa told Mama don’t let your little girl go out, all she wants is to shake that tree and makes her scream and shout. Mama told Papa don’t let my boy go out, all he wants to do is boogie and makes him scream and shout”. “Angel” is a quiet interlude as he indicates that “Tomorrow I will be by your side”. “She Don’t Know” gets things jumping with some honky-tonk piano as he says, “she don’t know how I feel about her…and makes me drink alone.”
“First Train Out” offers a story about a failing town after the mines closed in 1974 and everybody had to leave as there was no future there. On “Losers”, he said he was playing seven card stud, “I was playing for money, and they were playing for blood. And on the way home, the big winner got mugged and he is just a loser like me”. He tells her you have been “Talking in Your Sleep” “Calling every man’s name but me…sometimes talking dirty”.
“The General ” offers a glimpse of a war as they are instructed “to take no prisoners” and says “he don’t need no boys, just send them out to war”. “There is an old man standing on the middle of the road and he shouts my name out loud, he says the end of the world is dead and it’s my fault”. “Those Days” won’t come back no more”. The album ends with him telling her “Hear me howling “Nothing But Crying” “since you’ve been gone”
Robbert has a nice touch on the acoustic guitar and a pleasant, slightly gravelly voice. His approach to the songs definitely moves to an old style of blues from the 1920’s and 1930’s, perhaps with a touch of folk music also that was prevalent in that era.
