Tiny Legs Tim – Call Us When It’s Over
Sing My Title
CD: 6 Songs, 30 Minutes
Styles: Traditional Electric Blues
Call Us When It’s Over, by Belgian bluesman “Tiny Legs” Tim De Graeve, is a blurb of an album. Six songs and thirty minutes long, it’s a collection of traditional-sounding blues in the COVID era. It happens to be the sixth studio release by this artist, which is rather a surprise to yours truly. It’s debut-length and debut-quality; make of that what you will.
Five of the numbers are originals, and “Going Down South” by R.L. Burnside rounds it out. The good news is that Tim’s guitar is crystal clear, as are the second guitar of Toon Vlerick, Mattias Geernaert’s bass, and Bernd Coene’s drums. The bad news is that Tim’s mellow vocals sound like they’ve been filtered through a curtain. You’ll have to turn your stereo or headphones all the way up to hear a proper balance between singing and instrumentation. That said, it’s real-deal blues.
It’s one that we’re lucky to have. You may still come across Tiny Legs Tim as the one-man band that took the scene by surprise in 2008. Back then, the thirty-year old debutante had been in and out of the hospital for six years, fighting for his life. The first original material based on this most personal experience came shortly afterwards. It was profoundly inspired by black acoustic players from the ‘20s till the ‘50s, such as Son House.
Ever since, his fan base has grown and seasoned peers have paid their respects. Not one to repeat success for the sake of it, TLT moved on artistically. Having written his own material from the onset, he is profiling himself as a singer-songwriter who is familiar with all the genres that blues/roots music has to offer.
“Love Come Knocking,” the opener, is arguably the best song on this recording. TLT’s riffs are cool and classic, his vocals smooth and understated. It reminds me of a scene from a movie set in the Big Easy, NOLA, with its mention of the “boogie doctor” and a “brand new mojo hand.” Nevertheless, our narrator finds hard luck, “out in the street again.” The rip-roaring guitar solo and rat-a-tat drumsticks in the middle add some heft.
Call Us When It’s Over is a tasty hors d’oeuvre, but it could use a little more meat to sustain you!
