Category: Album Reviews

ALBUM REVIEW: KIRK FLETCHER – KEEP ON PUSHING

Vizztone Alongside a career as a top sideman to the likes of Joe Bonamassa and Charlie Musselwhite, as well as stints with The Mannish Boys and The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Kirk Fletcher has been steadily releasing solo albums since 1999. Keep On Pushing is his eighth solo album and his most accomplished yet. He began recording it in […]

ALBUM REVIEW: THE ZAC SHULZE GANG – STRAIGHT TO IT

Ruf Records It’s hard to believe that The Zac Shulze Gang only came together five years ago in Gillingham, England. In that short space of time, the trio have stormed stages across the UK, Europe, and even America – a feat many bands never achieve in a lifetime. Now, with their debut album Straight To […]

V&BT Album Review

Scandinavia is a noted European blues-music hotspot; Sweden and Norway are particularly known for their love of the music and both have a thriving, enquiring and impressive blues pedigree. Here we have one of those unexpected and pleasant surprises with a Norwegian outfit that clearly knows and understands the tradition and the genre all too […]

CITIZEN JONES – DOWNTOWN WAYS (album review)

Bringing a not entirely new meaning to the term ‘stripped back, Citizen Jones is just two musicians – Daniel Jones on guitar, and Tim Douthit on harmonica. The band claim to bring, quote, ‘fresh power to the old-school front porch country blues’. Singing mostly original songs, with occasional classics in their live set so the […]

ALLY VENABLE – Money & Power album review

Ruf Records Ally Venable roars back onto the scene with her sixth studio release. A bold, electrifying statement, this cements her status as a blues-rock powerhouse, blending fierce guitar work with messages of strength and resilience, especially for women in a historically male-dominated genre. The album explodes to life with Brown Liquor, a swaggering opener […]

THE TOO BAD JIMS – OVER THE HILL

The Too Bad Jims are a three-piece band, Little Victor (Guitar and Vocals, Son Jack Jr (Guitar and Vocals, and Nick Simonen (Drums ). They have all played with many other musicians such as Hubert Sumlin, Charlie Musselwhite, and Chuck Berry. Getting together for the first time on this album was because of their shared […]

TOMMY CASTRO AND THE PAINKILLERS – CLOSER TO THE BONE

Closer To The Bone is the 8th album that Tommy Castro has recorded on the Alligator label. Reading the liner notes that accompanied the album, Castro says he wanted to make a 1005 Blues album. Well, I’m here to tell you, that he has done exactly that. Surrounding himself with a hoard of top-class musicians, […]

INNES SIBUN – THE PREACHER

As soon as I received a copy of this album, I knew that I would be in for a treat. I’ve been lucky enough to have seen Innes Siburn playing live a few times over the years. On top of that, Innes has played with some of the biggest names in Blues, Johnny Winter, Walter […]

Read our album review for Red Moon Rising – new album from Robert Jon & The Wreck

(Journeyman Records) The very definition of prolific, blink an eye and another album pops out of Robert Jon & The Wreck’s creative production line. Or so it seems. Furthermore, they maintain their high bar of producing albums that grab a growing following’s attention with their hooks, lyrical lines and riffs that sink into the sublime. […]