January 2016

Mud Pie Records [usr 4] From East Anglia to the world In the fens and along the coasts of East Anglia, the blues burn with a fervour that the devoted each bring to their own individual pilgrimages and pleas to the unconverted to join this happy band. In the vanguard come The Dove and Boweevil Band with their stonking great second album THIS LIFE, an album born out of personal adversity, trauma and, ultimately, triumph, for this album very nearly didn’t happen as guitarist Mark ‘Boweevil’ Howes’ routine throat operation really didn’t go as planned. But not to dwell on such things, as Mr Howes and Lauren Dove have conjured up an album as good as anything that British blues has had to offer this year, 12 self-written tracks of blues inspired variety from the rocking opener Food For Love to the much more vulnerable closer Maple Leaf. Along the way we have the shuffle of Need A Little Love, Fireworks, but probably not of the sort with which we remember the failure of Mr Fawkes, and the wonderful East Coast Blues with its New Orleans feel. With a full band behind them and a deft horn section, this could be lift-off for Dove and Boweevil, with a full diary for 2016 and the wind in the right direction there will be no stopping them and I, for one, will be happy to watch them strut their stuff. Ian Ambrose www.doveandboweevil.co.uk

   New Mountain Music [usr 2] Terrific pickin’ and cool blues from a new young pretender.  It’s always difficult to review an album of covers because there’s always an almost unavoidable tendency to compare what you hear to the originals and it doesn’t always end well. I’ve always believed that if an artist is going to cover anything that’s well known they should bring something new to it. Think about what Hendrix and Joe Cocker brought to their sensational performances of their famous covers of songs by Dylan and The Beatles, they’re so great that I don’t even need to name them (do l?). So, what we have here is ten songs from the bottomless well of the blues delivered by a young gunslinger who clearly has the requisite enthusiasm even if he doesn’t (yet) quite have the grit in his otherwise excellent voice. Sunjay is a fine player and a pleasant enough vocalist but I’m not convinced that he has the maturity to inject these songs about death, gambling, drinking and hard times with enough darkness to convince me. The songs themselves are undoubted classics and he certainly has an eye for a classy blues tune so we get the likes of Delia, St James’ Infirmary, Nobody Wants to Know You When Your Down and Out and One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer alongside less well known but equally fine tunes such as Duncan & Brady (covered with style by Bob Dylan sometime ago), Drop Down Mama and Pallet On the Floor.   One thing that’s perfectly clear though is that Sunjay is an excellent musician and his tremendous playing is perhaps the best part of this album. Check out the chopping chords in the opening track alongside his take on John Lee Hooker’s One Bourbon. Given enough time, some more original songs and, perhaps, a band Sunjay might give us a more dynamic and interesting take on the wonder of the blues. www.sunjay.tv Greg Johnson  

  [usr 3] Irish musician delivers mysterious dreamy folk-inspired album Strawboy’s debut album, Tidal Islands was fittingly recorded in an old cinema projection room in Amsterdam, which adds to its quirkiness and experimental quality. The Irish musician, Ciarán O’Rourke (also known as The Trickster), was formerly a London-based session musician, yet in recent years he felt he needed to step away from city life and focus on his own music. He returned home to Ireland and over the space of two years, secluded himself away to craft the basis of his debut release, that he wrote, produced (with Maarten de Boer) and arranged. His breathy spoken folk sound has an oddly hypnotic feel to it, which he has combined with an overarching techno influence and mysterious mood. He’s joined on the recording by a wide range of musicians, playing everything from the 8-string tenor ukulele and drums, to tenor and baritone saxophones, trumpet and harp, which all add to an intriguing sound. Iona is a strangely captivating and fascinating track, which was inspired by reading a book by Iona Opie, the anthropologist who, in the 1950s, documented the rhyming slang in playgrounds that has existed for hundreds of years. Therefore, the song is a plethora of folklore and superstition, featuring a group of children chanting an ambiguous re-recorded pidgin English rhyme from Puerto Rico, and includes a stunning harp performance. It’s these little touches and turns of inspiration that add to an overall quirky and interesting eight-track album. Revellers/Revolutionaries is dominated by sounds of the trumpet and jazzy drum beats, whereas Live & Breathe is piano-driven and haunting in its dreamy delivery. Inspired by his upbringing in the far west of Ireland, and his new home base of Amsterdam – with added folklore, symbols and superstitions – Tidal Islands is an authentic debut release. www.strawboymusic.com

  Demon Music Group ***** A musical tribute to one of Daniel’s heroes This is Daniel O’Donnell new release. During his amazing 30 years career in show business, life and music has taken the popular Irish singer down many roads, including a recent and very well-received appearance on one of Britain’s most popular television shows, ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. Mainly thought of as a middleof the road easy-listening artist, many will not be aware that country music was as much a passion for Daniel as traditional Irish music. For his most recent and successful album, Daniel pays tribute to one of his real musical influences, the legendary American country singer Hank Williams, who in the early 1950s wrote some classic country tunes which had a major influence on the popular era of the time, with many of his songs appearing as big hits in the pop charts around the world. Of the 16 tracks on this value for money CD, I think you would have to have been living in a monastery for many years not to have come across many of these great and dare I say timeless classics such as Jambalaya (On The Bayou), Half As Much, Hey Good Lookin’, Your Cheatin’ Heart, Kaw-Liga, Take These Chains From My Heart, Wedding Bells, Cold Cold Heart and the country gospel anthem, I Saw The Light. What immediately impresses on listening to this excellent CD is that Daniel really gives you the impression that he is on home ground on this album. Perhaps, it is only when you have had the pleasure of listening to him live onstage that you can really get to hear what an impassioned singer he actually is, as that’s where he is the most emotional. Full marks to the excellent selection of material, including some of Hank’s lesser-known songs such as the humorous I Won’t Be Home No More. Full marks to the excellent backing as, apart from the orchestration on Take These Chains From My Heart, it contains mainly guitar, steel guitar and plenty of country fiddle, and some tasteful choral support. I really think this fine album has been a labour of love for this Irish singer and is, in my opinion, a great tribute to arguably the greatest country artist ever! Dave Brassington   www.danielodonnell.org

  [usr 5] Utterly authentic and classic country-roots album   “You live the life I’ve lived/you’d know the way country sounds.” As he details excerpts from his life, there’s no denying the raw honesty of Jeremy Pinnell’s pure and deep vocals on his opening track, The Way Country Sounds. With dark lyrics and real-life storytelling, this is only the beginning of the emotional depths he reaches on his debut release, Oh/KY. The Northern Kentucky native grew up singing in church and was taught to play the guitar by his father, leaving home at 18 to pursue a career as a country singer. But life got in the way and while he did become a hometown hero, for various reasons the world is only now discovering the musician’s talents, 18 years later. Backed by the extraordinary honkey tonk band, The 55s, he is returning with an album full of Kentucky pride, life’s struggles, pain and real stories set to strike a nerve with listeners. Recorded over three days at Iron Wing Studios, located in the small river town of Covington, KY, Pinnell also plays acoustic guitar on the 10-track album. Highlight songs include, the bold and sad, Loose Women, the stunning, Outlaw Life, and a powerful moment in Cold Cold Wind, when he allows his voice to soar alongside the pedal steel. There’s something magical about the way Pinnell’s voice can effortlessly evoke visions of his past, his pain, history and what really matters in life. This is a must-have album for authentic country fans. It’s not over-produced and doesn’t feature any unnecessary bells and whistles, yet it has everything you could possibly want in Pinnell’s classic big voice and supporting country band. He has proven himself to be a master in storytelling and is bringing the pioneering country sound to a new generation – in his own unique way. www.jeremypinnell.com Megan Gnad

  At The Helm Records (in association with Last Chance Records) [usr 4] A talented writer and musician, listening to Best is like reading a book cover to cover.   YOUR DOG, CHAMP is the solo debut of Brent Best; a talented singer-songwriter from Texas whose penchant for literature influences his intelligent lyrics and informs his distinctly Southern Gothic style. Deep throaty vocals and smooth storytelling make for a treat of an album, and with an entire record full of well-crafted songs, each individual in their own right, Best can’t go too far wrong. The kick-off song is somewhat of a dichotomy, upbeat and cheery with mid-tempo strumming, but lyrics that lean towards the dark side. Track 2, Good Man Now, is an open and honest confession letter from a son to his mother, but its clever lyrics make listeners think a little before letting them in on the secret. This results in a real story, complete with a beginning, middle and end; starting with “Mama you always told me that the only good man was a dead man”, the narrator ends full circle with “So Mama please don’t cry, he’s a good man now”. You Shouldn’t Worry has more traditional country flavours than some of the other tracks, and it sounds good for it, being a simple story of life at home and out on the road. Aunt Ramona is another notable anecdote, presented beautifully to music. Meanwhile, Travel Again is a stunning instrumental number that speaks directly to your inner nomad. The final track, It’s You, can be summed up in one word: hope. It’s a look back at the heartache and hard times referred to throughout the album, where Best wonders if there’s anything out there worth the trouble, before deciding it’s you – whoever You may be. Full of introspections, reflections and anecdotes, all set to pretty southern music, this is the soundtrack of the every man. Amy Jones www.brentbest.com

  Self-released [usr 3.5] Irish Gaelic roots singer-songwriter expands her horizons A native of Tipperary, Paula Ryan has drawn on her Irish Gaelic roots whilst exploring the influences and unusual instruments of other cultures. She has come up with an album that is ‘solo’ in the true sense of the word. As well as writing all but one of the songs, Paula has single-handedly crafted the arrangements whilst playing an amazing variety of instruments: Marimba, bouzouki, guitar, bodhrán , saxophone, tin whistle, djembe, and darbuka. The result is an eclectic mix of finely constructed numbers drawn from a wide variety of sources. Lion In A Cage celebrates the release of Nelson Mandela whilst the title track, Let Me Fly, is a catchy tribute to aviator Amy Johnson. Suantrai Donnacha, a beautiful melodic ballad, emphasises the artist’s roots but for me the highlights were Black Swan and Castaway; not a tale of a desert island but rather how to ‘cast away your worries’. The final two songs are listed as ‘bonus tracks’; not sure why but both are among the most listenable on the album. Song For Conor clearly has a family connection whilst Donnacha’s Lullaby will send the most ardent of listeners into the land of nod. I really enjoyed the album and Paula is undoubtedly an extremely talented musician, although at times I felt her vocals were just a fraction off key. One for the discerning folkie! John Roffey www.paularyan.co