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Pontchartrain Shakers—Pontchartrain Shakers —Southl-
and SCD-46

Nice to see the venerable Southland label is still releasing new
music from its New Orleans base, and of course, given the
name, this is a local act. Ponchartrain Shakers is a blues duo
formed in 2018 and comprising vocal, guitar and bass player
Amedee “A5” Frederick and vocalist/ guitarist and producer
Jojo Wright. They have a keyboards player and a rhythm
section helping out here.

The album is bookended by a mix of wistful soul and mellow
southern rock on opener ‘Time To Make A Change’ and a

laid-back, slightly gospel-ish ‘We Need Love’. In between, it is almost exclusively the blues. Just
listen to the romping Jimmy Reed styled ‘Going Fishing’, an excellent slow blues with ‘I Need A
Creole Woman’, swamp-blues fashion for the lovely ‘Miss You Baby’ - the first vocal of the album
for Jojo - and a Hookerish, self-descriptively titled ‘A5 Boogie’.

The second half of this release - another five tracks - keeps the blues groove going with a tough,
insistent ‘You Don’t Know’, another fine vocal by Jojo on a nicely grooving, swamp-inflected
‘Dead Snake Blues’, and a low-down ‘Cain Snake’. Randy Newman’s ‘Louisiana 1927’ - not a blues
-has become something of a standard for musicians from the Pelican State, and Amedee, Jojo
and co. handle it very well.

Well worth tracking down!

Norman Darwen

(www.pontchartrainshakers.com)

Levee Town—Stories—Hudtime

Levee Town, under the leadership of the acclaimed Kansas
City, Missouri based guitarist and singer Brandon Hudspeth,
lay down some fine straight blues and blues-rock here -and
this is blues-rock firmly in the blues tradition for the most part.
Listen to a track like the insistent ‘Where I Lay My Head’ or
the pop-tinged blues of ‘Worn Soul’.

It is a nicely diverse set too.. Try the Chuck Berry flavoured
rocker, ‘I Got A Hole In My Pocket’ or the fine guitar showcase

instrumental ‘Shuffling Sea’. The opening track, ‘The Healthy
Woman’, has a tough, slightly Hendrix- and vintage Cream-
flavoured guitar riff, ‘Harley Lou’ is kind of California meets the bayou meets blues-rock, and
the closing ‘Back Then’ is a fine shuffle with echoes of southern rock in the guitar work. ‘My
Daughter's Eyes’ is a fine number that avoids being mawkish or overly sentimental, whilst
‘Dumb Old Smart Phone’ is a fine old-time blues ballad about a rather modern problem.

Bass player Jacques Garoutte and drummer Adam Hagerman have been with Brandon for a good
few years now and they know just what the music needs and provide it perfectly. My only
criticism of the set is the short playing time - 30 minutes. I’ll happily listen to a lot more, guys!

Norman Darwen

(www.leveetown.com)