Nine Below Zero

Completely timeless.
Rooted in the Pop & R&B of the sixties and with a lot of the seventies sensibilities that they developed during stints with guys like Rory Gallagher and The Truth (Dennis Greaves original band) and all original songs rather than the R&B classics the band usually plays live.

What Nine Below Zero are about is honest and rootsy R&B and from the kick off all of their trademarks are there.
Mark Feltham’s harmonica is howling like a banshee and Dennis Greaves vocals are classic London Blues and well matched to his guitar style. Gerry McEvoy’s bass is fluid and powerful and Brendan O’Neill does just what is needed on drums and no more – a classic Blues drummer in the Charlie Watts mould.

The songs are terrific – all of them have resonances of classic Blues and R&B tunes and I don’t think that there is a single one that wouldn’t be a winner played live – ‘Mechanic Man’ has a great hook and ‘Hit The Spot’ sounds like a real stomping sort of rocker while ‘Hit The Ground Running’ is a belting piece of r&b.

There aren’t too many bands with the pedigree of Nine Below Zero and precious few still doing any more than just retreading past glories – it’s good to hear them still creating new music and sounding as though they still enjoy it all.