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‘Overdue’ is another slow ballad whilst ‘Why, Why’ is more a rock based tale of issues within
the wider society. There is a bluesy edge to ‘Little Queenie’ followed by ‘I’m A Write That
Down’ which has a British blues vibe to it before the album closes with some homeland
references in ‘Bayou Man’.
Tab Benoit co-writes the songs with Anders Osborne who also plays guitar on the album.
Corey Duplechin on bass and Terence Higgins on drums hold down a tight rhythm section and
make the band tick.
There is nothing new or groundbreaking here and as such this guitar based band format can
start to sound a bit samey with just guitar solos punctuating the songs. I think the album could
have been lifted by adding a mix of instrumentation such as Hammond, Harmonica or Saxo-
phone for example.
However, that said the guitar work here is fine and Tab’s effortless rich voice really adds
something special to this rock based blues album, so go give it a spin.
Ged Wilson
Bill Filipiak—Less Is More—Self Release
I must confess that I have never heard of Bill Filipiak until
now. Perhaps better known for his work as a writer, direc-
tor, producer and creator working with music, film, televi-
sion and social media.
Originally from Buffalo New York and now living in Manhat-
tan Beach California USA, Bill’s latest album “Less Is More”,
as the name suggests is more stripped back than his previ-
ous releases.
The album opens with a bluesy acoustic guitar riff on ‘Road To Nowhere’ which has a great
stripped back feel enhanced with some handclaps and shaker for percussion. ‘Soak It All In’ is
a nice reflective tale, really liked this one. ‘Sand In My Hair’ has a nice bluesy jazzy vibe going
on whilst ‘No Need To Worry About Me’ has some great slide guitar wrapped around some
tongue in cheek lyrics.
‘Right Wave LT’ has a reggae vibe and a feel of Jack Johnson about it. ‘We Always Do’ is a gentle
tale of love. I really loved the foot tapping blues, ‘Johnny Bourbon Blues’ before the album
closes with a slow true blues, ‘Dreamt The Blues’.
Overall this album has a great vibe going on. This stripped back style really suits Bill’s voice
and apart from the odd light touches of bass and percussion here and there this is essentially
just Bill and his guitar.
There is a nice and cosy intimate feel with this album too, almost conversational, as if Bill was
playing just for you in your living room. The songs are well constructed and the flow of the
album works well mixing Blues, Jazz and Americana. I really enjoyed this album and would