The Blues Blog (13) A bumper round-up of recent releases Being less concerned of late with Lord Mandelson’s intentions towards his pension pot, the Postman has revived his sanctimonious commentary on my own humble labours. This morning he has concerns that I appear to write somewhat fewer reviews than he delivers parcels, a shortfall he subscribes to both my own slothfulness and the unsuitability of incoming product. As usual he’s wrong on both counts. In these credit crunch days the Blog is sadly reduced to just one set of eyes ears and hands, and a one-touch Petit typewriter (circa 1967) with a fading ribbon. This in small part explains but in no way excuses the lack of attention paid to some very worthy items offered up for comment which haven’t yet appeared in these pages. In an effort to make good therefore this month’s column becomes a Mega Blog in which we play catch-up with an intriguing selection of blues-ish discs that have inadvertently fallen off the end of our editorial shortlist during the last half year. “Fetch It”, by performer-author Steve Cheseborough and subtitled “Old Style Blues”, is exactly what it says on the tin. Cheseborough handles singing, guitars, harmonica and washboard and stomps his Stacey Adams shoes on a wooden box lid as he gingerly picks his way through a set of 20’s/30’s style numbers by Ma Rainey, Tampa Red, Blind Lemon Jefferson and others. His take on “Little Ole Wine Drinker Me” is especially well worth hearing. The strength in depth of the current Blues scene is in large part a function of the rich experience of its countless skilled and dedicated practitioners. After 11 albums, Chicago axe-man Studebaker John is probably entitled to count himself part of that pedigree, and new release “Waiting on the Sun” calls on forty years of application, here supplementing his grinding rock grooves with Latin rhythms and a sprinkling of jazz. The twelve self-penned numbers cover a fair old range delivered in a tight but accessible style without any discernible let-up in quality. Decent voice the man has too, which helps. Bruce Barthol takes on the ambitious task of chronicling modern life’s most pronounced shortcomings on the aptly named “The Decline and Fall of Everything”. From “Steeltown Blues” through “Nothing to Lose” to “Cakewalk to Baghdad” he stresses over economic decline, social decay, war and other preoccupations. Musically closer to FM rock there’s an unfortunate academic worthiness about it all that for me doesn’t stand up to the crushing heartbreak, chilling alienation and anguished soul-wringing of blues men at their peak, and whose troubles were way closer to home. From the eight minute title track that opens “Low Down Where the Snake’s Crawl” (FWG) onwards there’s no denying the self-conscious Janis Joplin stylings in Cee Cee James’ singing. Where Janis was a rock ‘n’ soul tour-de-force however, James plays to a swampier backbeat well suited to her themes of loneliness and rejection and which heighten the overt sensuality of her performance. This second album of original material, mostly co-written with distinctive guitarist Rob Andrews, shows genuine indications of originality in songs such as “Desert Blues”, and marks her out as someone to watch out for. The Robin Hoare Band’s “A Time and Place” was recorded with the assistance of the New Deal for Communities Small Grant Fund, and is that rare example of public cash being spent on the arts without being obscured by some upfront political agenda. They’ve used their resources to pleasing effect, assembling a large cast of Sheffield’s blues community behind an album which raises itself above the regular standard, thanks largely to energetic playing, imaginative use of brass and backing singers, and Hoare’s own uncommonly husky voice. With its six-panel digipak, die-cut sleeve and full-colour booklet The Paul Garner Band’s “What Colour Will You See?” comes dressed in a sleeve to see off “Tales from the Topographic Oceans”. Fortunately the enthusiasm extends to the music inside as well where a jaunty rhythm section serves to launch some funky guitar licks and cool washes of Hammond organ. Defiantly unorthodox it’s a commendable effort in everything bar its carbon footprint. At a mere 19 years old Luke Mulholland already sounds like a seasoned pro with his deep growl and guitar dexterity that would be the envy of many of his seniors. He and his band have already opened for Bon Jovi and Jeff Healey in the states, and their autumn tour included two nights headlining the House of Blues in Chicago. While new release “Further” ploughs a well-worn blues-rock furrow it does so with aplomb and can only enhance his growing reputation. The six piece Fabulous Horndogs bill themselves as “Michigan’s premier dance and party band”, and on the strength of “Dog Tracks” (World Records) it’s easy to see why. This relaxed collection of songs by Professor Longhair, Delbert McClinton, Otis Spann, Junior Wells and others is immaculately performed against gorgeous harmonies, with interventions by piano, saxophone and trombone helping to cook up a genuine party atmosphere. The overwhelming sense of enjoyment that underwrites it gives a valuable clue as to why this music confounds the cynics and keeps going strong year on end DeWolff may be comprised of three young Netherlanders barely into their teens, but their eponymous debut EP on REMusic Records could give a lot of celebrated sixties garage bands a run for their money. Led by howling guitars and a screaming Hammond these four slabs of raunchy psychedelia could easily lend themselves to being stretched out over an hour long live set without too much trouble or loss of impact, and bode well for the prospect of a full length album in due course. Jersey City’s Ever Reviled Records are proud to cater for the darker underbelly of the blues, describing Nathan Carpenter’s “No Friend, Sin, The Ground” as being “as if he buried blues in a shallow grave and dug up its decayed remains.” In truth its not nearly as horrible as this, even if its trancey acoustic explorations are a bit of a dirge in places. Stable mate (and label founder) Darren Deicide is another exponent of the self-styled Gothic Blues. “The Jersey Devil is Here” is livelier and more imaginative, punked up in a defiantly untutored way but with intuitive echoes of John Lee Hooker in its sparse and jagged guitar accompaniment. Neither of these collections will appeal greatly to the mainstream listener but they’re not without merit either and offer an interesting left-field perspective worth a second glance on highlights such as Deicide’s “Napalm, Death and Fire”. Norwegian Death Metallers of the standard of Mayhem and Burzum could teach them a thing or two about being scary though. Finally, pick of the pack this month has to be the excellent new release from Minneapolis’s Chooglin’. Released by Big Legal Mess with distribution by Fat Possum, and recorded at the legendary Creation Studios from whence emerged timeless classics by Husker Du and The Replacements, as well as The Trashmen’s “Surfer Bird”, “Sweet Time” is a glorious R&B flavoured racket that carries much the same spirit. The original four piece led by guitarists/singers Brian Vanderwerf and Jesse Tomlinson (formerly of the Midnight Evils) is extended to include keyboards and no fewer than four horn players, giving their riotous and irreverent sound new depth and breadth and a scale of references from the MC5 to James Brown. It’s a massive beast of a record that stomps, whimpers and roars, that in other hands might degenerate into white noise but which here works against the odds to produce an enduring classic. Neil B. www.stevecheseborough.com www.studebakerjohn.com www.ceeceejames.com www.robinhoare.com www.paul-garner.com www.lukemulholland.com www.fabuloushorndogs.com www.dewolff.nu www.nathancarpenter.com www.darrendeicide.com www.chooglin.net Next