Being a train-engineer by profession and having a weak spot for the blues led to the fact that a good friend of mine (Hi Rune!) started to call me Mr. BluesTrain. That happened many years ago, and I’ve been stuck with that nickname ever since. So when the time was ready to start up a home site about music, the nickname was bound to get along for the ride.
So, one day when I did some surfing on the net, stumbled over a band who called themselves Bluestrain, I got bloody curious! On their home site they got some mp3’s for downloading and I really did like what I heard! Next step was to obtain a copy of the cd, and I finally got my hands on it via Amazon.com. Wow, this one was a goodie!
The core of the band is guitarist John Rack, his wife Jocelyn Michelle on Hammond organ and vocalist Chris Johnson. And for their backbone they’ve hired the more than solid brothers Gregg and Matt Bissonette, on drums and bass respectively. Both have played with loads of famous rock and jazz musicians, like David Lee Roth and Joe Satriani to name but a few.
“Whiskey Girl” is a tough, mighty, steady opener where the first thing you hear is a harmonica-riff played by Pat O’Brien, but soon the whole bands steps in. Chris Johnson’s voice is rough and raw, but with the strength and elasticity that makes his voice very suitable for singing the blues. John Rack’s guitar got the power and nerve to push the song forward with Jocelyn Michelle’s Hammond giving it some real depth and groove. Great track! Another great one follows in “Young Man With A Hat”, with a steady, cool riff from John and with Chris showing that he’s no stranger to soul either. Classy singing on this one! And with Jocelyn’s swirling Hammond licks and some gospel-infected backing vocals from Pamela and Paula Mattioli, this one just can’t go wrong. As the title indicates, “Swingtime” is just that. A groovy danceable tune with horns and wonderful Hammond playing. Hard to sit still here. Matt Bissonette’s bass is pretty heavy on “Blue Collar”, one of the few tracks not written by the band, and where Jocelyn plays a stunning jazzy solo on the bridge and John’s guitar is both stinging and smooth at the same time. “Steppin’ Out” brings us out in jump’n’jive territory, swinging like hell before John’s guitars and Pat’s harmonica starts up the a wonderful blues called “Thinking Man’s Blues”. Chris sings good all the way on this record, but he shows that his voice is more at home on tracks like these instead of the more swing oriented material. Nice biting solo from John on this one, and one of the best tracks on the album!
“Colt 45” is also one the heights on the album. A mid-tempo tune full of power and with a hook that sticks to your brain like glue. “Rock The Blues” is quite funky and they’ve included a few bars from rock-classics like “Mississippi Queen”(Mountain), “Woman From Tokyo” (Deep Purple) and “Sunshine Of Your Love” (Cream) and more, into it. Nice harmonica solo from Pat! “Beach City Bluesin’” is written by Jocelyn Michelle and shows her love for jazz with lots of splendid Hammond playing and tempo changes. She’s also responsible for the distant rhythm guitar on this one. A really cool instrumental with Phil Krawzak delivering a lovely saxophone solo! A powerful rocker follows with “I Had No Idea (She Was So Talented)” with stunning guitar from John and more good backing vocals from the Mattioli girls. More biting rocking guitar hits you when B.B.King’s “Eyesight To The Blind” comes next, and where John plays a short slide solo as well! Tough horns riffing too, together with Jocelyn’s pumping Hammond. “In Passing” got this subdued feeling to it, a slow instrumental with soulful guitar, saxophone and Hammond and is a worthy ending to a great album from a great band!!
So all you blues lovers out there, do yourself a favour and get this one! It’s a varied and bloody good album in many shades of the blues. So let’s hope that the band gets the finger out and brings us another album of this calibre soon!!

I’ve been living with this release for a while now, and this one is absolutely up to the standards of their phenomenal debut!
The core of the band is still guitarist John Rack, Hammond B-3 player Jocelyn Michelle and vocalist Chris Johnson. And as they did for their previous effort, they’ve hired the Bissonette brothers, Gregg and Matt, on drums and bass respectively.
It’s the title-track “Dancing With My Baby”, which starts the ball on the cd. It shuffles away in a mid tempo is very powerful indeed. John has a fat tone on the guitar here and has found a tough riff which is beefed up with horns on the top. More horns we get on the follower “Bad Luck On 8 Mile Road”, a slower track with a leaning towards soul. Good backing vocals from Helema and Selema Smith, but for my taste they could’ve been a bit more upfront. The horns is fabulous, led and arranged by trombonist Karrie Harris, and she’s followed by Nancy Neuman on baritone sax, Tom Evans on tenor sax and Bill Lamb on trumpet. A wonderful guitar-solo from John and Jocelyn’s Hammond is just great through the whole song. “Storm Is Rainin’ Down” rocks well with another of John’s good solos. That man really amazes me with his ability to vary his tone and playing from song to song and make it fit like a glove! “Texas Tea” rolls along with heavy walking bass from Matt Bissonette and where Chris more talks than sings, and is one of this album’s killer tracks! A slow blues comes creeping in with “Tough Life” and where Matt’s bass is deep and groovy on top of brother Gregg’s excellent drumming. Chris belts his heart on this one and where Jocelyn delivers the goods as well. Goodie! Another goodie comes next, “Muddy Water”, where Pat O’Brien plays some delicious harmonica over Chris’ voice and Gregg’s sparse drumming. Soon the whole band comes in and beefs this slow blues up. “Going Downtown” rocks like hell and is impossible to sit still to!! It’s Denny Freeman guesting on slide guitar, and Pat O’Brien who opens “Little Blue Pill”. Matt’s bass is jumping and reminds me of the playing of Rollo Radford from Siegel-Schwall band. Great solo by Denny Freeman by the way.
“ Blues Into Gold” rocks solid and is a great sing-along track with a fat sax solo. Friend of the band and once a member of Dixie Dregs, T. Lavitz, play piano on “Come On Baby” and where Allison, Lauren and Ashley Lowry sing backing vocals. “Dirty Thang” is an instrumental showcase for Jocelyn, where she also handles the bass pedals and she shows us her love for jazz organ. It reminds me of Big John Patton when he was in top form! Nice work from both Denny Freeman and Tom Evans on this one, but Jocelyn’s the boss. Album-closer “Eight Counts For Jimmy”, is another jazz infected instrumental with Waldo Reyes guesting on percussion, and where Jocelyn is leading the way with her magnificent Hammond and bass pedals.
To sum it all up, it’s one hell of an album, but be patient, this one may take a few more spins in you cd-player before it takes off like their debut. Well, it was like that for me anyway. How to obtain a copy, look at the info above on the previous release.

CHAINSAW SPROCKET KNUCKLEHEAD TANK - "Black Denim Trousers And Motorcycle Boots And A Black Leather Jacket With An Eagle On The Back" Dragon Rider Records 0001 (1988)
(Not released on cd)

If there ever was, is or gonna be a genre labelled biker-blues, it would be the perfect place to put this Australian band Chainsaw Sprocket Knucklehead Tank in. Phew! What a name. But the record title is even worse! Or what do you say about "Black Denim Trousers And Motorcycle Boots And A Black Leather Jacket With An Eagle On The Back"! This must be the longest title on any album in the world, if not, a very serious contender for that doubtful position. And I must admit that I was surprise when I discovered that the song was written by the famous songwriter duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It's hard to imagine Elvis doing a song like this, but they did of course write songs to a whole lot of artists, not only him. The good thing here is that only three of the albums ten tracks are written by other than members of the band. And when it comes to the lyrics of their own songs, I guess I won't surprise you when I tell you it's for the most part about bikes and its surroundings. Of course the first thing you hear on the album is a Harley Davidson taking off before the title-track (no, I'm not gonna repeat it!) starts up. So now you may think that this album is full of bloody heavy screamin' bluesy guitars, but the fact is that its overall feeling is mainly acoustic. Guitarist Johnny Gray got a good grip on the bottleneck and slide-technique here and taking care of the harmonica playing as well. Not in a very complicated way though, just simple but effective riffing. Vocalist Pete Tindal got this raw expression in his voice, not that well schooled but very charming. "The Saga Of H.D.Pete" is one of the outstanding tracks here and one of the most electrified. A fast rockin' tune with lots of slide. The slow, but still heavy "Ol' Uncle Jim And Me" is a kind of talkin' blues also with lots of slide and is another outstanding track. They do a version here of Robert Johnson's "Hellhound On My Trail", done with just an acoustic guitar and vocal, which is surprisingly good! "Viper Madness" starts up with only acoustic guitar and vocal at first but get full band treatment in the middle of the song before it finishes of in an acoustic mood. One of the best tracks here. "No Alcohol Allowed" is very electrified and closes the album. One of the weakest tracks without being bad. This is a very pleasant album, though it got its flaws. But it has been played a lot in the past and it will sure be played a lot in the future.

Dockery Dawgs is an acoustic blues duo from Norway. And there’s not many of those, at least in this country. The duo consists of Geir Engen Hansen who sings and plays some kazoo sometimes. John Ivar Reitan plays the guitars, stomps with his feet and also plays a strange stringed instrument called diddly-bow. To get a richer sound sometimes, they have invited some friends who contributes with some percussion, harmonica and piano, but more about that later.
“Moan” is their debut cd, but these guys have been played together for a long time now. They were earlier the core of a band called Blues Medicine and I know for sure that Geir Engen Hansen was involved in a project called The Barrelhouse Ramblers after Blues Medicine called it a day. I’m not sure whether John Ivar Reitan was a part of that project or not.
The album opens with a short tune called “Dockery Moan” where Geir just hums deeply on top of John Ivar’s use of the diddly-bow, which gives a low, deep echoing slide-sound. And Geir’s humming here makes my thoughts go to Blind Willie Johnson. Bukka White’s classic “Fixin’ To Die” is next one out, and they sure lands this one great. And already on this one Geir’s undisputable vocal talent comes to the fore. John Ivar strums this one fast and uses the bottleneck with great power. An absolutely good version of this classic ! “Crow Stomp Blues” is self-written by the boys, a mid-tempo tune with nice guitar picking, marked foot stomping and some good relaxed vocals. Tommy McClennan is responsible for “I Love My Baby”, here done with help from Frank Scott on the piano which rolls along fine. It’s Geir’s rough vocal together with Håvard Sterten on percussion which starts up another classic, Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean”. John Ivar comes in with some powerful slide after awhile and makes this version a killer ! Another classic that sure holds water is the version of Tommy Johnson’s “Big Road Blues”. Nice and powerful picking on this one. A more soft expression comes up in Robert Wilkins’ “Alabama Blues” which rolls along fine. A slow blues shows up in their self-written “Retribution Blues” where Geir uses a vocal expression not that far from Howlin’ Wolf ! Yes, he has the ability and the width to bend his vocal chords in many ways, and it’s done with great ease. And the guitar playing is very dynamic here and makes this track one of the best cuts on this very good album! Another self-written goodie is the fast “Long Black Train” with Geir “Nofish” Bertheussen guesting on harmonica together with percussion from Håvard again. Fred McDowell’s “You Gotta Move” is so good it hurts ! Just brilliant vocals and guitar-work on this one, relaxed yet powerful. The same is to be said about “Decay In Me”, another self-written goodie, powerful with both percussion and harmonica. Another killer !! Closing the album does “John The Revelator”, a classic which is given a special arrangement here, who owes more to Son House than Blind Willie Johnson’s version.
John Ivar Reitan is an accomplished guitarist and together with Geir Engen Hansen’s great vocal talent, this is a duo I reckon we will hear a lot from in the future. They got what it takes in the bottom, and I guess and hope that they will continue to write more songs by themselves. Because those few songs here that’s their own, shows a good song writing talent.
So if you’re in for a goodie in acoustic blues, do yourself a favour and get this one!
Having trouble to get a copy, try this address here.

BUGS HENDERSON GROUP - "Still Flyin' " Flying High Records FH 6505 (1981)
(Not released on cd)

As far as I know, this release with Bugs Henderson Group is not out on cd yet. And that's a shame, because it's one of his best albums, and it's really hard to find any copies of it at all these days. Released in 1981 and not ever re-released since then. I'm not sure how long the label was active, but I think they released a few lp's in the early eighties and then disappeared. Along with him Bugs Henderson got Bobby Chitwood on bass and Ron Thompson on drums. The albums contains nine originals of Bugs himself and a cover of Freddie King's "Hideaway". "Baby Ruth" opens the album and is an excellent rather heavy rockin' blues with tempo-changes and loads of guitars. Guest appearance on "Judi Likes The Blues" is Tom Morrell on steel-guitar. Generally I'm no fan of steel-guitar (that's pedal-steel, lap-steel is a whole different matter), but it fits in well here. Things turns out a little funky on the title-track "Still Flyin'" with a great guitar solo, before he fires up on the old Freddie King classic "Hideaway". It's done properly but it's almost worn out these days and there's not much new to it here either. He should have used one of his own tunes instead. A little funky ballad named "Please Have Mercy" is just beautiful with Ron Mason on organ. The B- side of the album starts up with the hard-rockin' "Heart Attack", a true party classic! Impossible not to pick up the air-guitar here and ramble and sweat along with Bugs here. One of my all-time favourite rockin' bluesy tracks!! Things slow down a lot in the wonderful ballad called "Thirteen ways" with Ron's organ lying nicely in the background. Great bass-playing on it too. In "Drug Store Blues" Bugs rocks away with tempo-changes and great power again. And the albums second instrumental "Little Brother" are a slow burner with intense guitar and organ. Ending this great album is "Not Guilty" which rocks away with heavy guitars and wah-wah effect and slightly distorted sound. Well, this album is one of my all-time favourite blues albums with a real rocking attitude, a true classic! So now it's the time for you all to start hunting it down........Good Luck !

It’s always a pleasure when Steve James releases a new record. And it’s with even greater pleasure that I can ascertain that this one seems to be his best release so far. Well, I must admit that I haven’t heard his previous release “Boom Chang” yet. But his first three releases “Two Track Mind”, “American Primitive” and “Art And Grit”, I’ve played a lot.
I’ve also had the pleasure of seeing him live in Trondheim, Norway some years ago. And he’s good! A master guitarist and vocalist, a splendid storyteller and a great interpreter of old acoustic blues. He plays both classics and more unknown material with ease, and last but not least, he’s become a great songwriter himself as the years has rolled by.
It’s the title-track, “Fast Texas”, which opens the cd. Self-written and a homage to both Texas and Leadbelly it seems to be. Wonderfully played and sung. Yank Rachell’s “Texas Tommy” comes next where Steve plays mandolin and sings, and where Del Rey plays guitar. Steve has only women to help him out on this record, what a clever (and lucky) guy! Del Rey has a career on her own playing blues and related music, and she seems to know a thing or two about guitar playing. I’m not sure but I think she’s been on the road sometimes as Del Rey & The Gators.
“Sukey” is an instrumental where Steve plays 12 string slide and is a snappy tune with great hooks and a fat ringing tone. More slide comes up in Mance Lipscomb’s “Jack O’ Diamonds (Is A Hard Card To Play)”, and is one of the best versions I’ve heard. Steve’s own “Freestone County Blues” is a bit anonymous, but far from bad. Texas Alexander’s “Day’s Lonesome” comes out great with Steve picking banjo and Del Rey on the guitar. Excellent vocals from Steve here, and one of the killer tracks on the album! On “Cocaine Blues” Steve’s helped out with National steel guitar played by Cindy Cashdollar and him playing a regular acoustic. Absolutely a goodie! Cindy Cashdollar is a great player and I’ve records with her playing, with as diverse artists as Graham Parker and Leon Redbone.
Steve plays slide alone on Hop Wilson’s instrumental “Chicken Stuff”, great tune, excellent played. On “Blues Come To Stay” Steve get some vocal help of Ruthie Foster and where he plays 12 string slide and sings really good. My thoughts went to Fred and Annie McDowell and their recordings for Testament Records when I heard this one the first time. A kind of gospel feel to it and bloody good! Steve’s own “Fisherman’s Reel” has a kind of ragtime flavour and is fast and short and maybe a dream of what Steve will be doing when he quits the road for good. I hope that won’t happen for along time.
More ragtime feel is at present in “4 Or 5 Times”, where Cindy backs him up again with some great Dobro-playing. Goodie! There’s gospel feeling over Blind Willie Johnson’s “Rain Done Fell On Me”, much due to the vocal help of both Ruthie Foster and Cyd Cassone. Great track! Just wonderful is also Jimmie Rogers’ “Waiting For A Train” where Steve and Cindy just plays, a great instrumental. Unknown to me is Little Hat Jones’ “Bye Bye Baby Blues”, but a great song it is, played by Steve alone. Steve has chosen a reprise of “Rain Done Fell On Me” to close this great album, but done a bit more up-tempo this time.
Steve James has produced and arranged this album himself and a good job he has done too! Lots of dynamics, plenty of space between the instruments and it’s a delight to the ears. Steve gets better for every time I hear him, and his singing is better than ever. His voice has grown and matured, and his got more and more nimble fingers.
So what are you waiting for ?? Go buy !!!

I must admit that I’ve lived with this cd for some months now, so it’s about time to get a review done. The band have already received rave reviews by renowned magazines like Blues revue and Blues In Britain, to name but a few. And just to have it mentioned, they deserve it !
Jumpin’ Jerry & The Blue Healers are young band deeply rooted musically in old-time rhythm & blues, jump’n’jive, blues and a touch of rockabilly. The quartet consists of a guitarist who takes care of the vocals as well, for the most part, a saxophonist, a double bass player and a drummer. George Thorogood & The Destroyers and Tommy Castro Band comes close to that line-up, but they use electric bass instead of the double bass. And they have a different musically direction as well.
The album kicks off with the title-track “9 Hours Till Midnight”, a fast party tune that gives you a clue what these guys stands for. Excellent drumming by Kenneth Kapstad, tough sax from Arnstein “Bighorn” Solem and a fresh guitar-solo by Hans “Jumpin’ Jerry” Bollandsås. But I wish that Morten Eggen’s solid double-bass playing had been more upfront in the mix. He’s more visible on the follower “I May Be Strange”, a slow blues with a honkin’ baritone sax from hired hand Rolf Martin Snustad together with Arstein’s tenor. One of the albums really outstanding tracks is “Everyday”. It starts up a capella with fingerpoppin’ ! A good gospel-feeling with a call & response vocal arrangement coupled up with some nice tender guitar and sax solo. And this is one of the few covers that the band do, otherwise it’s Jumpin’ Jerry himself that’s responsible for the songwriting. Another cover follows with “T-Bone Boogie”, of course written by T-Bone Walker himself. Without being familiar with the original, it’s hard to compare but this one here cooks like hell with T-Bone’s spirit clearly at present!! An intense slow blues is what “Weapin’ Soul” is with a touch of Ronnie Earl.
Good backing vocals on “Hey Sweet Baby” lifts the track up together with it’s solid rhythm and dirty guitar. More solid backing vocals we get on the beautiful “Feelin’ Sick” with relaxed lead vocals and a moaning sax before a rhythm break spices it up towards the end. “I Was Wrong” is a dirty rocker with juicy harmonica, delivered by Geir “Nofish” Bertheussen, and a very powerful guitar by Jumpin’ Jerry. On the heavily rockabilly influenced “Gonna Tell Your Mama”, written by Jimmy Mc Cracklin, it’s double-bass player Morten Eggen who takes the lead-vocals, and being quite a shouter in the tradition of Big Joe Turner, it makes this one a killer. More powerful rockin’ rounds off this excellent debut album with “Baby What Can I Do “, a party tune of dimensions !! And just when you thought it would be safe to turn off the cd-player, or restart the cd from the beginning, a hidden track fires off. A dirty instrumental which kicks like hell closes the album …finally.
If there’s anything negative to be said about this album, it’s that it may be a little rough around the edges for some listeners, but far from sounding totally garage. Otherwise it’s an album the band should really be proud of !!
I know for sure that since this release hit the streets last year, their excellent drummer has quit the band to focus more on his love for jazz music. But the rumour has it that the replacement is every bit as good.
So what are you sittin’ there waitin’ for ?? Get the album now !! Having trouble getting a copy, try this address.

EDDIE KING - "Another Cow's Dead" Roesch Records RR0035 (1997)

If there where to be a right moment to review this record here, that time must be now! Just taste the title of the album..."Another Cow's Dead". Here in Norway (and Europe for that matter) the debate about Mad Cow Disease are in full expose in media nowadays. Scientists have found out that infected meat from cows with the disease develops Creutzfeldt-Jakobs syndrome when people eat it. Well, before I get too far out here now, I know for sure that's not what Eddie King (real name Milton) had in mind when he wrote the title which lead to the albums name. "Kitty Kat" kick-starts the album with a bang! A rolling boogie with tough rocking guitar played by Eddie, fat organ, pounding bass and drums underlined by horny horns. Yess!! What an outstanding way to open an album!! And just a few words about the horns....Eddie's hired the bloody good horn section of the Blues Brothers. We are speaking of sax-man "Blue" Lou Marini (who also arranged the horns), trumpet-player Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin and trombone-player Birch "Slide" Johnson. And if that wasn't enough they throw in Ronnie Cuber on baritone-sax as well. The album is full of their contributions on every track making this album tough and powerful. Eddie King sings and plays the guitar with great authority. His tone is short, precise and is not easy to compare with others. But if you can imagine Robert Cray with a more full-bodied rawer tone, you might get the idea. His voice is strong and has a touch of raw soul in it. Sounding a bit like a slightly desperate Lowell Fulson maybe. On Elmore James' "Yonder's Wall" Roger Young plays great piano and organ and bassist Scott Spray even does a bass-solo. Not that usual in blues. Tim DeHuff plays guitar too here with Joe Roesch tying it all together on the drums. Those mentioned here plays throughout the album. Joe Roesch also produced the album together with Sable Roesch (brother ?). This is a very good album of horn-driven fresh and tough and varied blues. So if this is your bag, don't hesitate, buy it at once. Do you like Albert Collins, Freddie King, Little Milton and Lowell Fulson and stuff like that you can't afford to miss this one.

BIG DADDY KINSEY & Sons - "Can't Let Go" Blind Pig Records BP 73489 (19??)

Straight Chicago-blues never goes out of fashion. Period. And here we got a little gem just in that vein. Lester "Big Daddy" Kinsey got that dark , deep moving voice which makes the ladies wet in their pants and the gents green of envy. A male statement that is undisputed. Besides taking care of all the lead-vocals he also plays slide guitar on two tracks, "Howlin' Wolf" and the instrumental "Kinsey's Mood Too". To back him up, Big Daddy got his three sons. Donald on lead and slide-guitar, Kenneth on bass and Ralph on drums. Ron Prince takes care of the rhythm-guitar and taking the lead on two tracks. Those four guys also records and tours on their own under the name Kinsey Report. On piano and organ they've hired the great Lucky Peterson and on harmonica Matthew Scholler. Six of the tracks here are credited the whole Kinsey family, two by Muddy Waters, one by Ron Prince and finally "Going To New York" by Matthias James Reed. "Going To New York" shuffles along steady as a freight-train here with a tough harmonica-solo by Matthew and a nearly metallic solo by Donald. Powerful! On "Kinsey's Mood Too" Big Daddy shows us that he handles the slide well but has a more bluesy tone compared to Donald's. Wonderful bluesy organ as usual from Lucky Peterson on "It's Over", a mid-tempo track slightly funky. More funky it gets in "Dancin' Shoes" where Kenneth's bass really jumps and pushes the song forward. Muddy Waters' "Howlin' Wolf" ends the album. a slow heavy blues where Big Daddy plays the slide himself and where his singing is close to Muddy's.This albums winner for sure. Big Daddy Kinsey was sixty-two years old when this album was recorded, but his ain't no tired and boring artist we're offered. It's potent, powerful and a damned fine Chicago-blues manifest.

PAPA GEORGE LIGHTFOOT - "Going Back To The Natchez Trace" Ace Records CDCHD 548 (1994) Originally released: Vault records 1969

Nowadays the record-label Fat Possum Records have great success with their raw dirty down-home blues-releases with artists like R.L.Burnside, T-Model Ford and Junior Kimbrough. And the record-buyers and critics love it. Maybe this was the right thing to do in times where modern blues sounds a bit slick and clean. But it's really nothing new, as we know, musical popularity rolls in circles. In 1969 (maybe we should call it at a start of a circle) a classic album in the earlier mentioned style was recorded. This album. Alexander Lightfoot was his real name but used the artist name Papa George Lightfoot. His instrument was the harmonica and he preferred it really heavy amplified. A tough raw sound, gutsy and powerful. His voice was raw and tough as well and it sounded rawer than it actually was because he also sang through the harmonica-microphone. To choose the right opening track on a cd or lp, I've always considered as an important matter. This should give the listener an idea of which direction the music takes. So here they've picked "My Woman Is Tired Of Me Lyin' ", an easy rollin' groovy track which sets the standard here. To back him up Papa George got piano, guitar, bass and drums. And pianist Carson Whitsett does a good job her, rolling along and underlines Papa George's rough harmonica. I guess every harmonica-player on earth have tried to make an impersonation of a steam-locomotive once or twice in their career. And Papa George is no exception. He's blowing hard and heavy on "New Mean Old Train" making the harmonica sound like a heavy breathing locomotive. Tough! Guitarist Jerry Puckett plays a more distant role on this record but he's good and often follows Papa George's harmonica and vice versa. Steady as a mountain are Ron Johnson on bass and Tommy Tate on drums grooving as a well-oiled machine. Papa George has written all tunes here by himself except Big Joe Williams' "Baby Please Don't Go". Added to the eight tracks of the original lp "Natchez Trace" are six tracks making the cd clocking in for a good hour. So if raw gutsy grooving harmonica-blues is what you're looking after, here's one to grab before it's too late. This is no less than a minor classic in my opinion.

If we are gonna define the term blues-rock, so is this a good place to start. Livin' Blues came form Holland and was one of the leading blues-bands there along with Cuby & The Blizzards, Flavium, Rob Hoeke and Bintangs. They started out as a genuine blues-band and through the years they developed a more rock orientated direction without losing their roots in blues. "Blue breeze" was their latest release with the classic line-up. And two strong focus points here were the wonderful vocals of John Fredriksz and the great guitars of Ted Oberg ! "Shylina" opens the album, a classy ballad with great powerful interlude. A touch of progressive in fact. And when we first mention that subject, there's more progressive parts on the album, specially in the long title-track. And the presence of the acoustic guitars are very pleasant. It spices up almost every track. Ted Oberg also plays electric sitar on "Shylina" and "Pisces". When it comes to Ted's style of guitar playing it's easy to draw comparisons to the eminent but sadly missing Paul Kossoff (Black Cat Bones, Free, Back Street Crawler). But he's no copycat, but both guys have a fat tone, intense and soulful. "Midnight Blues" are driven forward by dobro and banjo before some hillbilly -picking on electric guitar comes in. If you've heard J.J. Cale's "After Midnight" ( a hit for with Eric Clapton) it gives you an idea of how the track sounds like , only scarier! Some hard-hittin' boogie we get in "Bus 29" with a couple of soulful ladies on backing vocals. All tracks are written by Ted Oberg and John Fredriksz with a few exceptions. They do a cover of Johnny Winter's "Pick Up On My Mojo". The album contains also 5 extra tracks, which are demos, originally was to be used for their next album. But that album was never to be released. Very sad indeed !! That leaves "Blue Breeze" Livin' Blues' testament. A milestone in blues-rock ! No more, no less !!

TRUDY LYNN - "Come To Mama" Ichiban ICH 1064 (1990)

The trouble with Ichiban releases are that are very variable in quality. They tend to do some productions fast and cheap sometimes. By that I mean they uses drum programming and synthesizer-horns instead of the real thing. And that is an ugly thing when it comes to blues and soul-music! So when I bought this album it was a gamble because the cover leaves no info about who's playing here and what instruments are used. But I was lucky this time. None of the above mentioned sounds are at present here. On this cd with Trudy Lynn they have done it right with real drums and horns. Thanx to that. She really deserves it. She's got a handful of releases out by now and this one are one of the better ones. But as earlier mentioned no musicians are being credited here on the cover. Shame on you Ichiban! Any way there's a big chance that Gary B.B. Coleman plays guitar here, he's a sort of house-guitarist with Ichiban and he's mentioned on the thanx-list here. For those who are not familiar with Trudy Lynn, I can tell that she's a soul-vocalist of the old school. Often labeled as deep down-home soul. She's got a dark, powerful, gritty gospel-trained voice easy recognizable.. The classic Isaac Hayes/David Porter "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby" is the best version of the song I've ever heard. Here it's in a medley with Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long". The title-track "Come To Mama" is a killer, a tough, funky stomping song that really kicks ass with juicy harmonica on top of it. Good horns underlines "When You Took Your Love From Me", a mid-tempo tune written by the great Deadric Malone. The most bluesy tune here is "One Woman Man" with beautiful guitar and with some distant electric piano and organ creating a wonderful atmosphere. Trudy has not written any of the here by herself, but she knows how to pick good tunes that fits her voice like a glove. And boy, she knows how to sing them! So if you are on the lookout for some powerful soul, modern but deep down-home style, look no further!

Rory Gallagher is long gone (R.I.P.), Johnny Winter is battling with health problems, George Thorogood has not released anything for awhile but Eric Sardinas is here, alive and kicking! And believe me, if you're looking for kick-ass, hard hitting blues with a rocking attitude, he's your man!
Eric Sardinas is an excellent slide guitar player, raw and heavy in his expression, but handles the acoustic side of slide guitar playing easily as well. As a singer he got his limitations, but his raw croaky yet strong voice suits the music just fine.
50 % of the material here on his debut is self written and the other half is cover material from great blues masters. But just relax, Eric Sardinas knows his blues better than the usual "wannabe" blues guitar hero and is smart enough to steer clear of the most worn out tunes.
The self written title track "Treat Me Right" fires up this platter in a convincing way. A raw slide, heavily electrified, hits the speakers and you just know instantly that this is gonna be good. Paul Loranger's bass rocks steady and the groovy drumming of Scott Palacios makes this one push forward as hell. The classic Fred McDowell tune "Write Me A Few Lines", gets a powerful treatment and is maybe the best of the cover tunes here. "Cherry Bomb" is played acoustic where Eric starts up with just guitar and voice before Scott Palacios marks the rhythm in a fragile way. After awhile both drums and bass comes in with full heaviness. Tough! A real tough arrangement is also what John Lee Hooker's "My Baby Got Something" gets. It's fast, heavy with a burning slide solo and I'm sure that John Lee loved this version. A steady riff runs through "Give Me Love" with Eric putting more guitars on top of it. Both electric and acoustic guitars which increases the pressure as the tune rolls by. By adding handclaps towards the end of the track, it gets even more beefy in it's power and is a winner for sure! A long slow blues follows in "Low Down Love" where Paul Loranger's bass is deep and vibrant behind Eric's intense slide playing. "Get Along Rider" is a fast heavy boogie and must be a winner at any party! Outstanding track with a killer solo! After a blow-out like that things slows down a bit with " Goin' To The River", which starts up an acoustic mood but gets amplified after awhile. But it keeps the wonderful country-blues feel all the way. The way he hits the strings on his resonator guitar in "Sweetwater Blues" reminds me of Son House, famous for his percussive style of playing. A pure acoustic tune and a great one too! On Willie Dixon's "Down In The Bottom" he has invited Hubert Sumlin, Howlin' Wolf's guitarist for years, to play with him and there's no way you're gonna miss Johnny Winter's unmistakable voice on the album closer "Tired Of Tryin'", where he both plays and sings. A really worthy way to end an album of this calibre.
I know it's a strong statement, but this is one of the best rockin' blues releases of the last century ......period!

I’ve liked the blues for as long as I can remember, but it wasn’t until I reached my early twenties that I started to explore the genre seriously. Much of the honour for that to happen was a man that I knew had a lot of knowledge about the blues and I got my act together and paid him a visit. We became friends (Hi Odd !) and thanks to him I discovered Savoy Brown. He lent me his copy of “Blue Matter”……and that was it! I was hooked for the rest of my life!
It’s one of the best tracks that Savoy Brown ever recorded (Savoy Brown still records with Kim Simmonds in the front seat) that opens “Blue Matter”. It deserves the status as a classic blues tune for sure. Called “Train To Nowhere”, and the first thing that strikes you is the voice of Chris Youlden. Just incredible! Full of soul, wonderful phrasing and to put it simple, one of the best voices to emerge from England no matter style or genre if you ask me.
Lonesome Dave Peverett and Kim Simmonds plays a simple riff over Rivers Jobe’s bass line before Chris Youlden’s intimate, vibrating vocals comes in. Followed by Roger Earl behind the drums, producer Mike Vernon on some percussion and five guys playing riffing, tough and soulful trombones (!). Kim delivers a beautiful guitar solo after a while and Bob Hall contributes with piano, but he’s buried pretty deep in the mix. One hell of a track! So good it hurts!
Nearly up to that standard is also “Tolling Bells”, a long slow blues with Kim playing the piano himself instead of Bob Hall. This one too is written by Youlden and Simmonds, showing that they were quite a songwriter team. Kim plays another soulful guitar solo, while Lonesome Dave repeating a nice theme behind him. This was also the last track bass player Rivers Jobe recorded with Savoy Brown. He was in the band for this session and on the band’s predecessor, “ Getting To The Point”. New boy, Tone Stevens shows up on the next track on the album, a swing tune called “She’s Got A Ring In His Nose And A Ring On Her Hand”, written by Chris and showing his fascination for jazz as well as blues. A direction he was to develop when he went solo after another recording with Savoy Brown. Chris also wrote the next tune “Vicksburg Blues” together with Bob Hall, and it’s just those two guys who’s at present on the track as well. Bob plays a beautiful piano and the vocals of Chris is just incredibly good! What phrasing! John Lee Hooker’s “Don’t Turn Me From Your Door” is far more heavy and shuffles along in the best Hooker tradition, good track but maybe the weakest on the album. On the cd version of the album, which I’ve based my review on, there’s a bonus track Titus Turner’s “Grits Ain’t Groceries (All Around The World)” which turns up next, and it rocks with some fat horns to beef it all up. It’s a shame that it was not included when the vinyl version of the album hit the streets in ’69. It’s a goodie!
The remaining three tracks of the album were recorded at a concert in Leicester in December ’68, and it’s unfortunately without Chris Youlden. He got a serious case of the flu that night, so it was Lonesome Dave Peverett who had to handle the vocals. But he did it more than well. He’s got a different style than Chris, but his vocal chords really does the job beautifully. Leaning more towards the shouter tradition, than Chris, with his powerful performance. He’s also written “May Be Wrong”, another slow blues with Kim’s guitar up front, stretching out, intense and demanding. Muddy Waters’ classic “Louisiana Blues” is next, very powerful and nearly heavy, especially Tone Stevens bass at times. Loads of excellent guitar as well! The album closes with “It Hurts Me Too”, another classic, by Elmore James with it’s heavy, steady as a mountain rhythm and burning guitar work! Wow !!
I’ve lived with this album for at least 25 years now and I never get tired of it! And if not that’s a stamp of approval, I don’t know what is. Savoy Brown is still touring and does records from time to time, but now there’s only Kim Simmonds left of the original line-up. He’s also done a couple of albums under his own name. Mainly acoustic, but good! Lonesome Dave Peverett, Roger Earl and Tone Stevens left after awhile to start Foghat, a gutsy blues tinged rock band who gained a lot of success in the States and they remained active until Dave Peverett died last year. Bob Hall is still playing blues piano and is much used as a session musician, one of the truly great blues pianists on this planet if you ask me.
Chris Youlden is also active, now last seen with his old-time partner Shakey Vick who he recorded an EP with last year. Some solo records also exits of various quality. His voice still does the trick, but he have had some lousy musicians with him from time to time, which has not gained his career. But if you’re a fan like me, you just got to have them, right ??!! :-))

LITTLE MACK SIMMONS - "Little Mack Is Back" Electro-Fi 3355 (1997)

To me Little Mack Simmons is a new discovery in temporary Chicago-blues. But as so many others who makes a comeback, he's no young bull. Born in '33 and being a friend of James Cotton in his childhood years. And later he discovers that his wife's first cousin in no other than Little Walter Jacobs! So when I now tell you that Little Mac's instrument is the harmonica, you don't get that shocked did you ?! And he plays it good. No ultra fast playing here but solid, simple and bluesy. Straight with no tricks and lots of feeling, but that's what counts in the blues if you ask me. Besides his harmonica-playing he also sings of course. His voice are good but not exceptional, but he uses it in a pleasant way. Well, everybody can't be singing like B.B. King either. In fact he reminds me a bit of Robert Bradley, a little nasal phrasing and sounding relaxed and nearly lazy. Of the cd's eighteen tracks , he's written only six by himself. And I guess it won't surprise you that he does two of Little Walter's songs here, "Leaving In The Morning", which opens the album and a good rolling version it is ! The same goes for the other Little Walter song "You're So Fine". More outstanding tracks here are his own "You Mistreated Me" with funky organ-riffs and fat slide-guitar played by guest Morgan Davis. Also his own are the beautiful slow-blues "Let Me Explain My Love" with soulful guitar from Teddy Leonard. The quartet who plays with him on this album are from Canada and are really good! Don't know much about them at all other than that they sure understand and play the blues. This is a discovery in contemporary blues and those guys recorded this little gem in just three days autumn '96. I do hope we get more blues soon from Little Mac Simmons !

Sad news just hit me when I was about to launch this site, Little Mac Simmons has just passed away. More info when obtained.

JIMMY SMITH - "dot com blues" Blue Thumb Records 543 978-2 (2000)

I guess it's been about four or five years now since the last effort of Jimmy Smith, the master of the Hammond B3. And he has manifested his position once again with "dot com blues". It's his most bluesy release so far. Jimmy Smith has never been any stranger to the blues, but he's more well-known in the jazz-circuit than the blues-circuit. On this record he's invited a lot of blues-artists to help him making this album as bluesy as it could possibly get. But the core of his band here are Russell Malone on guitar, Reggie McBride and Harvey Mason on drums. They appear on almost every track. Dr. John appears with piano and his unmistakeable hoarse croaky voice on "Only In It For The Money", his own song. A mid-tempo slightly funky track and one of those four (of totally eleven) powered with horns. "8 Counts For Rita" follows, written by Jimmy himself and is a wonderful instrumental where Jimmy and guitarist Russell really have a good time. Great catchy tune. Taj Mahal shows up with his voice and guitar on his own funky "Strut", with good solos from both Jimmy and Taj. The old traditional "CC Rider" get a treatment from only Jimmy and his regular guys here, a lengthy version for over seven minutes where Jimmy once more shows us what an eminent virtuoso player he is. But without overshadowing the great guitar of Russell here. Etta James takes care of the vocals on the classic Willie Dixon's "I just wanna make love to you" and does an ok job, but nothing more. Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo" is just beautiful with John Clayton on acoustic bass to get a warmer sound. And Jimmy plays with a lot of contrasts here, from slow distant simple chords to the super-fast runs he's capable of. Nearly nine minutes of Hammond heaven and the most jazzy track on this release. Bluesy hot-shot Keb' Mo' sings and plays guitar on his own "Over & Over", powered with horns and backing vocals. Slightly jazzy feel here too. The real King Of The Blues, B.B.King does of course a very splendid job on his own "Three O'clock Blues" with his excellent guitar and vocal. No sign of stagnation there yet! The remaining three tracks are all instrumentals written or co-written by Jimmy and are damn fine, believe me. To sum it up, I would say that if you're a blues-lover and a Hammond-freak, you just got to get yourself a copy of this one.

This is Karen Tyler's debut-cd, but the last one I got my hands on. And there's a reason for that. According to Karen herself, this cd is released in only 1000 copies! So it's already a collector's item. But for those of you out there who's bitten by the collector bacillus, there's hope, try to write a nice letter to Karen Tyler via her homesite and ask her gently if you may buy a copy. She still have some of those copies left.
I discovered this outstanding artist via her second release "Lovin' The Blues Too Long", but that's another story, see next review below.
To place "Streets & Serenades" in the blues bag is not correct because this is far from being a straight blues album. But there's soul and blues in the bottom and because her later releases, which are reviewed below, and are far more bluesy, I've chosen to put them all in the category of blues.
Album opener "Wine Stains & Tears" is rather funky, much due to Fred Murray's (her husband...sorry guys!) deep vibrating bass lines together with Ken Ray Wileman's congas. The programmed drums are well done but I still prefer real ones. I guess that most artists feel the same, but it's often a question of budget. Slightly funky is also "Up To Speed", where Fred Murray plays electric guitar with wah-wah effect and Karen strums along on an easy riff. A great soul-filled ballad follows in "Better Dreams" with Wrell Iam plays a lonesome violin behind Karen outstanding vocals and nice fingerpicking guitar. Her voice sometimes reminds me of the great Jo Ann Kelly (R.I.P.), yes she's in that league! She got the same soulful expression and her power and phrasing is really up to her level! She goes more utempo in "I ain't lyin' ", a great refrain which really sticks to your brain, with some slide-guitar played by Mark Viator to spice it up. "Wishing For Roses" is another soul-filled ballad and maybe the best track on this album. Karen also sings backing vocals with good effect on this track. The wonderful mood is created with good fingerpicking guitars together with some distant keyboard of Fred Murray. "Before I Learned To Cry" got this country flavor to it much due to the violin of Wrell Iam, and rolls away fine. "Same Sky" is colored by the violin as well, but is a song leaning more into the soul direction. "Hell & High Water" rocks away fine before she slows down again on "Walk With The Gods". The album closes with "That's Life" where Karen plays banjo together with the guitar. An OK track, but not much more........
Karen Tyler got a great voice filled with soul and blues and knows how to write great songs. Together with good guitar work this album turns out fine. "Streets & Serenades" is a good album, a little anonymous towards the end maybe, but absolutely worth tracking down. But greater releases were ahead.......!

This was the album I discovered Karen Tyler with, and that credit goes to my good friend Frode Bye. He showed me a review of this album, a good one, which was found in one of the biggest nationwide newspapers here in Norway. I think, if my memory serves me right, that she got five out of six points for "Lovin' The Blues Too Long". Shortly after this, my friend Frode managed to find me a copy.....and since that day I've been a great admirer of Karen Tyler!
The difference between her debut album "Streets & Serenades" and this one , is that Karen is far more focused towards the blues in her songwriting and expression. And that becomes her well! The sound and production, like last time, done by Karen and her husband Fred Murray, but is definitively better this time. Besides playing the bass throughout the album, Fred Murray plays drums on a couple of tracks.
It's obvious that a few years on the road has matured Karen's voice. It was good on the debut, but now it's stronger, more secure and powerful. Let me put it this way, she's got a hell of a voice!! And her skills on the guitar has increased as well, no doubt about that.
You believe her when she expresses anger towards her loved one in "Don't "Sugar" Me" and she sounds really abandoned in the title track "Lovin' The Blues Too Long". One of this albums killer tracks. A slow bluesy soul-filled song with crisp piano and soft organ, played by Jamie Hilboldt, making it a perfect setting for Karen's colossal vocal range. This is truly chicken skin music, believe me! Karen stands alone with only her voice and acoustic finger picking guitar on "Rich In Love", a format she feels comfortably enough with to make her next album that way. She seeks comfort in the blues in "Comfort Me On", a fast rolling tune, with Karen on 6-string banjo and Joe Ely's sideman Ponty Bone on zydeco inspired accordion to spice it all up. Excellent! "Two Hearts" is steady, yet slightly jazzy because of the lazy piano and saxophone added to Karen's phrasing. More of that zydeco feeling is at present in "I Got A Man" where Ponty Bone squeezes the accordion again and Fred Murray's drumming makes it roll easily. Good one! "House Of Cards" is a naked blues with just Karen's voice and guitar, just wonderful. In "Too Much Love" there's fast strumming banjo and a rolling piano, making it snappy and rocking. Rocking away fine is also "Ain't No Thing" before rounds off this very good album with "Stand Up Sister" with just her guitar and voice.
14 very good songs in the bluesy vein, an outstanding voice and a well-skilled guitar player is what you get here. Take a good dose of the voices of Jo Ann Kelly and B.J. Sharp , the guitar playing of Rory Block and shake it well, and then you might get the idea of how great Karen Tyler is!

With her last album "Lovin' The Blues Too Long" (see review above), Karen Tyler did well both artistically and commercially. She got good reviews from several places on this planet, Norway included. In 1998, in the prestigious Delta Snake Blues News, she scored 4th position in Best Female Acoustic Blues Artist, 6th position in Best Acoustic Blues CD and 5th position in Best Acoustic Blues Guitar player. And that's really good when you have to battle against well-known stars like John Hammond, Rory Block and Alvin Youngblood Hart!
I don't know if this in any way, affected her decision to do her next album completely solo, but it might as well be. On this album "Alone And Blue", the title says it all. She has done it all by herself in the studio, just her guitars and her magnificent voice, blue as ever. And it's all done live in the studio with no overdubs. As usual she has done the production together with Fred Murray.
A mid-tempo finger picking guitar, which reminds me of Mississippi John Hurt, lays steady behind Karen's very convincing singing on the title-track "Alone And Blue", exactly how she feels. "You Shone The Light" could easily fitted Sister Rosetta Tharpe with it's tight rhythm and gospel-drenched lyrics. Arrange this one with a big choir and we're talking a future gospel classic! Slower, but just as tight is "Hand It Over", a steady rolling ballad with wonderful phrasing! Killer track! Karen's guitar skills comes to the fore in "Love Letters", both in melody and rhythm, showing us why she scored as she did in the polls earlier mentioned. Fine picking again on a resonator guitar on "Nobody's Mama", telling how she wants her life to be. More delightful resonator guitar in "Florence & Delilah", a story of two girls which lives turn out to be everything but simple. To play blues on a six string banjo is not an easy task, the banjo got this short tone which is impossible to bend into the blue area, but Karen makes it very expressive in its own way in "Set Me Up". "Tangled Roots" is another goodie here with its wonderful melody and strong lyrics. Karen wants to turn the roles in "Big Bright Life", she wants to be the one being out having a great time, while the man sits home waiting ... Good lyrics wrapped up in a wonderful melody here as well. Karen Tyler is rounding off this excellent album with a slow blues, "My Time To Cry", sad but beautiful, and one of the best songs on this album full of strong material.
So do yourself a favor, buy Karen Tyler's two latest albums, and if you are lucky to get hold of a copy of her first album as well, consider yourself being lucky! Because this lady is something of the best there is in the world of blues. She got this incredible strong, intense and even sexy voice, coupled up with excellent songwriter capabilities and guitar skills......what more do you need ??!! Go buy!!