Page 56 - BiTS_04_APRIL_2024_Neat

The Doug Dillard Expedition—Live at the Fremont Hotel,
Las Vegas 1970— Floating World Floatm6446

Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks—Live in LA 1973 —Floating
World Floatm6444

Neither of these sets is a blues release, but stay with me. Both

certainly fall into the cracks between folk, Americana and
roots-rock.

The Dillards was a family bluegrass band appearing regularly
on 60s U.S. television. Doug himself was a banjo player/
singer with a very strong traditional influence (though
he’d recently been pioneering country-rock when t h i s
was recorded) and there are numerous bluegrass staples
present, mixing tradition, innovation and huge musical skill.
There are also bluesy items like ‘Take A Whiff On Me’, a
rural rag (‘Bugle Call Rag’), and a very enjoyable cover of
‘Cumberland Gap’. Doug is backed very impressively by
fiddler Byron Berline, (who also worked with bluegrass
king Bill Monroe), Roger Bush on bass and vocals, and
Arkansas-born Billy Ray Latham on guitar and vocals, and
the music is rootsy, energetic and very listenable throughout.

Dan Hicks and his band take a slightly different approach, specialising in a wide variety of styles
including blues, western swing, country-jazz and vintage pop, all gathered under the umbrella
title of “hot rhythm” as the notes call it, or “folk swing” as Dan himself defined it. With violin
and female singers besides Dan’s own vocals and guitar, another guitarist, and bass player
Jaime Leopold, this is a very individual sound, from around the time Glam-rock was emerging
– but you’d never know that. The second half of the CD contains material from 2009, but the
sound is remarkably consistent.

Do investigate both if you’re interested. Rootsy and great listening!

Norman Darwen

Cole & Ward—Blues and Other Truths—Rawtone/ Green

Bullet RTRGBR2401
(www.markcolemusic) (www.liamwardmusic.com)

Cole & Ward brings together Mark Cole, known to some from
Sons Of The Delta, on guitars and other things with strings,
Cajun accordion and various other instruments whilst Liam
Ward is best known as a harmonica player, band leader and
multi-instrumentalist with The Jake Leg Jug Band. Both men
sing.
The CD title is accurate: as I type this, ‘Ma Jolie Fille’ is playing –
this piece of attractive zydeco sounds like it should be credited as “traditional” but in fact, like
every other track here, it’s an original. The set opens with a slightly spooky ‘Deep Blood Moon’,
whilst ‘Midnight Motorway Blues’ is a tough band blues about life on the road and ‘Food Off
My Table’ is a strong political blues riding a strong arrangement.