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Kelly’s Lot —Where And When—Independent KL0621

Kelly’s Lot have been together for 27 years now and started out
primarily as a folk influenced band but, over the years they have
delved their musical toes into many other genres. Here, they are
in their comfort zone of acoustic Blues. The line-up includes
Kelly Zirbes on lead vocals with Doug Pettibone; lead guitar,
Perry Robertson; rhythm guitar and David Grover; upright bass.
Perry Robertson and Doug Pettibone share production duties.
The 11 numbers are a collection of originals and covers that
were recorded live to microphone in Oxnard, California. The
intimacy of the numbers here is evident from the emotional
resonator strikes, to the gentleness of the stroking bass line, the
vocals range from impassioned desperation to delicate strands of hope and joy. The opener
‘Stronger’ has a low walking bass and gently strummed guitar, underpinning Kelly’s gentle vocal
expressions of depression and anxiety, regarding the current pandemic. Through it all she sees a
glimmer of hope that makes us all stronger.

Howlin’ Wolf’s slow and gently reflective ‘Somebody In My Home’, effectively illustrates how a lack

of visible and tactile show of love allows unfaithfulness to easily destroy a relationship. The
rendition of Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey’s ‘Jealous Hearted Love’, starkly displays how the green eyed
monster can strike anyone, while the slow and gently resonating slide cuts to the bone. The
pleasingly intimate but, slightly ambiguous version of ‘Stones In My Passway’, from Robert Johnson
allows Kelly to splendidly accentuate the doubts of honesty in others that we all experience in life.
The jaunty, rolling and timely version of Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey’s ‘Black Eye Blues’, belies the cold
vicious hatred found in the results of domestic violence. Another inviting steady rolling blues from
the pen of Howlin’ Wolf is ‘Nature’, a tale of how it seems to be perfectly natural for a man to
pursue unfaithfulness but not a woman, well the twist here is that Kelly suggests the idea may well
be equally fine for women to do the same.

Greatly endorsed!

Brian Harman

Various Artists—Alligator Records - 50 Years Of Genuine
Houserockin’ Music—Alligator ASIN : B091NWQ5X4

This 3-CD set celebrates 50 years of Bruce Iglauer's Chicago-
based Alligator Records - started to record and promote Hound
Dog Taylor and the House Rockers and it's Hound Dog who gets
us off to a great raw and rocking start with his 'Give Me Back
My Wig' from that first album.

The set features tracks from blues greats like Big Walter Horton,
Koko Taylor, Albert Collins, James Cotton, Johnny Winter and
Luther Allison but also includes material by related artists such
as Professor Longhair, C. J. Chenier, Saffire – The Uppity Blues
Women and the Holmes Brothers. Also from early on the company also featured white acts,
examples included here are by Roy Buchanan, William Clarke, Curtis Salgado and Tinsley Ellis. As
well as older established acts the label has also supported newer acts including Shemekia Copeland,
Michael Hill's Blues Mob, Janiva Magness and Christone "Kingfish" Ingram and has not limited
itself to 'Chicago blues' but has also included country blues artists like Cephas & Wiggins and Corey