Page 39 - BiTS_02_FEBRUARY_2021

Sunday Wilde—Storm Is Raging—Independent

This is a rather fine download single, available on bandcamp.
Sunday is a Canadian singer and pianist with eight albums to
her credit (her ninth is due soon), and on this track - very

appropriately accompanied by Ari Lahdekorpi on guitar and
the bass player Mike Carson - she sounds more than a little
like Bessie Smith with this kind of accompaniment. The lyrics
deal with homelessness and addiction, and the vocal has that
slow and deliberate approach, so that the track itself is pure

blues all the way. Not exactly what you might consider
material for a “single” release these days, but this is certainly an impressive performance.

Norman Darwen

(www.sundaywilde.com)

Randy Casey—Record Time—Independent

Just when I had this release pegged as an Americana set – albeit a
good Americana set with a folky tendency - along comes track
four, and out comes Minneapolis-based singer/ guitarist Randy
with the bluesy rocker ‘I Don’t Like You Anymore’, which changed
my opinion a little. Then there is the jazzy item, ‘Lucky’, whilst
‘Dead Wrong’ is a nicely upbeat blues, a little like Arthur “Big
Boy” Crudup or his disciple Mr Elvis Presley in his early days. ‘I

Got Lucky’ is boogie-based, ‘This Train’ is a fine fingerpicking
song with just a little hint of Mississippi John Hurt, and
‘Graceland Kiss’ a nice guitar instrumental. ‘It’s About Love’ keeps to the roots side of things, an
old-fashioned country number played and sung straight. OK, so maybe this isn’t a blues set, but
readers with a taste for Americana and roots music should try to give it a listen. And some of the

money from this set goes to the Equal Justice Initiative which is a nice and socially conscious
gesture.

Norman Darwen
(www.randycasey.com)

John Fusco and the X-road Riders—John the Revelator—

Checkerboard Lounge Recordings Jfxrr-001

Singer, keyboards player and acoustic guitarist John Fusco
was a new name to me - at least until I found out he was

responsible for the music in the blues-themed movie
“Crossroads” back in 1986, which I used to have on video.
This set is a double CD release, with the first ranging across
more or less straight blues styles, from the imaginative
sound-scape reworking of the Son House’s title track (Fusco