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The Katie Webster tune ‘Whoo Whee Sweet Daddy’ swings nicely and clearly Katie is an influence.

‘Ode to Jerry Lee’ is an instrumental that does what it says on the tin. The album closes with ‘The
Memphis Train’ where Lewis excels with some lovely boogie-woogie piano and sees us out with a
train whistle.

Veronica Lewis is a very talented young artist. She is outstanding on the piano and has a wonderful
voice. I think she would really benefit from teaming up with a good producer to help nurture and

develop her to find her true voice and fulfil her potential.

Ged Wilson

The 251’s—Staying Home—Canvey Audio

‘Staying Home’ is the debut album from The 251’s a four piece
Blues, Jazz & Swing outfit from Essex. This album consists of
fourteen well chosen classic covers.

‘Get On The Right Track’ kicks off the album and swings into
action literally with some fine swing blues, I really liked this
one. There is some nice harmonica work as you might expect on
the Walter Horton number ‘I Need My Baby’. The classic jazz
blues standard ‘Comin’ Home Baby’ is quite reminiscent of the

style of Georgie Fame.

The band consist of Russ Cotten guitar & vocals, Roy Webber drums & vocals, Cliff Macdonald bass
and vocals and Steve Tolton harmonica and vocals. I also noticed other sounds in there too such as
piano and brass.

‘She Walks Right in’ swings nicely and gets your foot tapping with some nice harp with shades of
Rick Estrin in there. The phone rings to open ‘Talk To Your Daughter’ a real blues stomper for this
J.B. Lenoir tune. They slow things down a little with Jimmy Rogers ‘That’s All Right’. The album
closes with the classic ‘Work Song’ which always brings to mind the Paul Jones solo version and
not to disappoint Steve Tolton throws some harp in there too.

The 251’s are a solid four piece band that have obviously honed their craft over the years. The bass
and drums lock in well together to provide a great platform for some really tasteful guitar and
harmonica. On occasion the vocals come across a little weak and dry but overall a great debut
album. The album artwork by the way harks back to the old Blue Note record label era which is a

nice touch. I can see these guys going down a storm live so I would recommend getting to their
gigs post lockdown.

Ged Wilson