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Stratcat Willie & the Strays—On A Hot Tin Roof —
Independent

(www.stratcatwillie.com)

StratCat Willie (Hayes) is based in southern New York and has
been singing and playing the blues for over fifty years. He has
a rather cool singing voice, and leads a big band with horns,
backing vocalists, keyboards and big production. His music
sticks fairly close throughout to the blues per se, and it is very
accessible and enjoyable.

‘Havin’ A Blues Party’ has a strong early 60s sound, with
straight-forward lyrics and a delivery a little akin to Sam Cooke – nice horns too, and of course,
a signature guitar solo. The title track is a fine rocking two and a half minutes – in fact, all the
tracks are concise and to the point. ‘Let’s Dance’ is a big-sounding number, leading in to the
jump-blues of ‘Way Too Fast’; the same style is recalled on the humorous ‘My One True Love’
(in fact, Willie shows a good sense of humour on several other songs too). ‘In The End‘ is a
strong guitar blues with a late 60s feel, ‘Guilty’ has a moody, reflective style, ‘Red Neck
Woman’ has a swampy blues feel, a tiny bit akin to Dale Hawkins’ ‘Suzie-Q’, and Cryin’’ is a
very fine slow blues. There’s an instrumental in ‘Mezcal’ and a Chuck Berry styled ‘Runnin’
With The Strays’, closing out what is a tasty album all round.
Norman Darwen

Rory Block—Ain’t Nobody Worried: Celebrating Great
Women Of Song—Stony Plain

Aurora Block was born in Princeton and grew up in
Manhattan. Her father, Allan Block, ran a sandal shop in
Greenwich Village in the 1960s. Rory was influenced to study
classical guitar. She met guitarist Stefan Grossman, a
revivalist and recorder of many great bluesmen. Grossman
introduced her to the music of Mississippi Delta blues
guitarists.

Rory began listening to old albums, transcribing them, and age
15, she left home to seek out the remaining blues giants. The
likes of Mississippi John Hurt, Reverend Gary Davis, and Son House, became her mentors.
Later as a solo artist, in Berkeley, California, she played in clubs and coffeehouses.

Rory Block's “Ain’t Nobody Worried: Celebrating Great Women Of Song” is a tribute to some of
the most iconic female soul, blues, and R&B artists who have ruled the radio waves over the
past five decades.

Rory Block is a seven-time Blues Music Award winning artist, widely regarded as the top
female performer of traditional country-blues worldwide. Rory’s commitment as a blues
preservationist with an ear for finding the soul of every song she performs, has rewarded her
with accolades from the blues and roots music community.

Here we have a bunch of new arrangements of chart topping hits originally performed by such
icons as Gladys Knight, Mavis Staples, and Koko Taylor, as well as contemporary artists as
Tracy Chapman and Bonnie Raitt. The music brings new life to the songs and is a tribute to the