Page 51 - BiTS_10_OCTOBER_2023

This album of original songs has good instrumentation throughout. Will has certainly sur-
rounded himself with some fine musicians. Will has a good strong voice with clear diction but
his strength lies in his first class guitar playing both in terms of intricate playing and variation
of tone and soundscapes.

Whilst overall the album is well produced I personally found at times that it was over pro-
duced and too over processed for my ears. As a result I found that the songs didn’t quite

connect with me in the way that say the songs of King King would. That said if you are a rock
guitar enthusiast then you should definitely check this album out.

Ged Wilson
The Bluesland Horn Band—Six—Independent
www.bluesland.ca

This Canadian band aims for a sound that represents where
Bourbon Street meets Beale Street. Try the opener where the
big horn section (five horn players!) backs dobro guitar,
mandolin - shades of Memphis’ jug band tradition - and some
laconic blues vocals by Marty Cochrane. ‘Creole Queen’ follows
(it’s a club, by the way, as the lyrics and the cover indicate), more
in tune with the sound of the Big Easy as the title implies.

…But it becomes a little unnecessary to analyse the music and
allocate separate components. ‘Shuffle In The Attic’ is an excellent blues guitar instrumental
showcase, with Terry Medd showing off his not inconsiderable licks and a Freddy King influence
- incidentally he also wrote all ten songs on the album. ’Alley Shuffle’ is another fine
instrumental in a similar vein, and that’s certainly not a complaint. ‘Rock My Roll’ is a swampy

southern rocker (nice cow-bell by drummer Ross Hall in classic fashion!). Canadian blues
veteran and legend Big Hank Lionhart supplies a fine vocal to the wise advice of ‘Keep The
Devil Behind’ (Hank also did the album’s graphics).

The reflective ‘Holy Water’ is a change of pace and style, neither quite blues or jazz, but drawing
liberally from both, giving Marty the opportunity to show another side to his vocal talents,
before ‘Not Ready’ changes tack again, a big, bold, brassy, swinging blues. Edmonton’s Rita
McDade duets with Marty on the nicely sophisticated ‘Solitaire’ and another veteran, US born
Jack Lavin handles the deep vocal and wailing harp on the excellent blues of ‘So Long, Goodbye’,
appropriately enough bringing this very listenable and enjoyable album to a close.

Norman Darwen

Wily Bo Walker—Who Do You Love (Doncha Love Me Baby)
—Mescal Canyon MCREX109
(www.wilybo.com)

Wily Bo Walker is one of the true mavericks of the UK blues
scene, as he reveals once again on this digital single, a taster for
his album due later in the year. His vocal makes Doctor John
sound like an alto on this rather drastic, wild, and ultimately
wonderfully successful re-working of the Bo Diddley classic.
Imagine Bo jamming on the James Bond theme, after a vintage
jazz intro and throwing in a bit of funk and some to- and fro-ing