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several of his numbers concern incarceration, and there is a song called ‘Fox Chase’ – do

note it is an original. Occasionally, as on ‘Don’t Let The Crazy Out The Bag (Too Soon)’, or
‘Restless Mind’, there is a slightly harder edge to the music.

‘Toolmaker’s Blues’, a song of unemployment, has been released as a digital single from the
album, and gives a good idea of the kind of approach these guys have. If you enjoy that,

you’ll certainly go for this nicely individual but strongly blues-rooted release.

Norman Darwen

(www.markharrisonband.com)

Dust Radio—Shotgun Shack—Lunaria LR-0005

This is a five-track CD EP from this guitar (Tom Jackson)

and harmonica (Paddy Wells) duo, with the latter taking the
bulk of the vocals. They have a fine gritty sound—“raw &
rootsy blues” as the front sleeve puts it. Listen to the nicely
grooving ‘Backslider’, with its lovely slide guitar work, for a
good example, or maybe the confident strut of the closing

track, with a very classy vocal, though all five have
something that stands out. ‘Fault Line’ is the set’s odd one
out, not just because it has a drummer, Stevie Oakes, but
mainly because it is actually a non-blues that is nonetheless

very bluesy and more than a little reminiscent of The Rolling Stones on mellower,
Americana styled numbers in the late 60s and early 70s.

This is the debut release from these guys who only came together in lockdown and who
work up here in the north across the Red Rose / White Rose divide. Available in a digital
format on the band’s Bandcamp page or on a physical CD from the label’s web page, do try

to check it out if you appreciate tough, rootsy blues-based sounds.

Norman Darwen

(www.lunariarecords.com)

Reverend Shawn Amos—The Cause of It All—Continental
Record Services ASIN: B093CDRWCH

This is yet another lockdown album and in this case we have the
Reverend Shawn Amos dropping his backing group the

Brotherhood and doing a record of stripped back classic blues
with just his guitarist Chris “Doctor” Roberts. We start with the
Howlin’ Wolf track ‘Spoonful’ - which just highlights the problem
of doing a whole album of oft-recorded songs, not only is your
version up for comparison with the original but also every other
cover of the song and in my opinion they didn’t really bring
anything new to this old chestnut. Also, although Roberts is a
good guitarist, I found the Reverend’s harmonica playing hard to
listen to, so while songs like the Red Devils’ ‘Goin’ To The Church’, Muddy’s ‘Still a Fool’ and John
Lee Hooker’s ‘Serve Me Right to Suffer’ with mainly Shawn’s gritty voice and Robert’s muscular
guitar were OK, I had to switch off during the harp solo in ‘Colour and Kind’.