This is not an easy album to find but if you manage it, it rewards you with some excellent Blues, country and folk. The band supported The Mavericks on their recent tour of Scotland and reports suggest that the support act blew their highly rated headliners off stage and made a lot of friends in the process.
Listening to the album, I’m not surprised. What comes shooting out of the speakers is swaggering confidence, back up by playing of the first water. The swagger is fair because they can cut the mustard but also because they are in total control and playing the music is well within their capabilities – the only downside of this album is that there is never that edge that suggests it could all go tits-up any moment but the quality is good enough – I can live with that.
‘The Dyin’ Crapshooters Blues’ is a great, rollicking Blues with some terrific harp playing while ‘Exhibit B’ could be an Americana classic with harmonica and fiddle vying for attention in the break. ‘Never Was A Lass So Fair’ was featured in a recent compilation of Scotland’s best and it is a delightful bit of Celtic Folk. I love the rolling country/Blues of ‘Preachin’ Blues’ with the band blasting between verses and they do a stunning version of RL Burnsides ‘Goin’ Down South’ that really captures the North Mississippi sound – all the rawness and edge you could wish for.
The band seem not to have an identity that you could pin your hat on but for all that they have made an album that is very listenable to and well worth tracking down.
