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recording began just before the pandemic struck and put everything on hold. It is good to have it
now though, with the dobro, regular guitars, harp, harmonies and drums create a sweet, blues
sound.

The songs themselves are mostly originals – the opening ‘You Just Don’t Get It’, co-written with
Johnny Neel, about a hard-headed man, rides a strong Bo Diddley beat. ‘Burned’ is a fine, moody,
slow-ish blues composition for which it is easy to imagine a full big band arrangement. ‘Feelin’ A
Healin’’ has something of a southern rock sound with a gospel tinge – it morphs briefly, seamlessly,
appropriately and joyously, into ‘Oh Happy Day’. I’ll just mention too that there is some excellent
guitar work throughout the album.

‘Falling’ is a powerful, funky contemporary blues, and ‘Alone Too Long’ is a rather more old-
fashioned blues – but still very effective!

EG also pays attention to the songs her fans request and she always endeavours to include one or
two on her albums. So here we get ‘Evil’, best-known from Howling Wolf though EG got it from
Koko – whatever, this is impressive. and Robert Johnson’s ‘Come On in My Kitchen’ has a fine
treatment with just the slightest tinge of country, and the album closes with a beautiful cover of
Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, very well suited to EG’s style and approach.

All in all, this comes rather highly recommended.

Norman Darwen

Donna Herula—Bang At The Door—Independent DH003

Chicago born guitarist and singer songwriter Donna Herula with
her husband Tony Nardiello, who also plays guitar, journeyed to
the Good Luck Studios in Chapel Hill in North Carolina, to seek

further inspiration and to absorb the regional influences therein
to record this, her third album. When not touring or recording,
Donna’s day job is as a guitar teacher at the Old Town School of
Folk Music in Chicago, where she teaches finger style and slide
guitar. She has also taught at ‘Blues & Swing Week’ at the

Augusta Heritage Centre of Davis & Elkins College (WV) and the
Great Guitar Camp (NC). Joining her in the studio are FJ Ventre;
upright bass, Doug Hammer and Daryl Davis; piano, Dana Thalheimer; drums, Tony Pons; trumpet
with Bill Newton on harmonica and on violin, Anne Harris. The 14 numbers here are a mixture of
originals and covers. The album opens with ‘Bang At The Door’, a jolly, slide guitar driven rolling
rumba recalling the events of an unwelcome late night visit from a drunken ex-lover, the grooving
bass and percussion certainly swings the hips. Whereas, ‘Black Ice’, is quite simply a stunning, dark

instrumental, displaying Donna’s tight, crisp and emotive slide guitar and nimble picking. Lucinda
William’s ‘Jackson’ is a splendid mellow, harmony driven duet with Tony Nardiello, which is
underpinned by some poignantly emotive acoustic guitar and slide. On a lighter note we have the
very amusing ragtime call and response ‘Moving Back Home’, a jolly warning of the possible perils
of moving back in with your mum and dad. ‘Not Looking Back’, possesses an evocative atmosphere

of a smoke filled, late night jazz dive, the lonesome piano and upright bass complimenting Donna’s
refusal to pander to a drug fuelled ex-boyfriend. The foot tapping, loose, warm grooving New
Orleans second-line strut of ‘Pass The Biscuits’, is Donna’s heartfelt tribute to her great friend and