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even a spaghetti western styled instrumental with ‘Call Of Cornholio’. As I said, not a typical
blues album.

However, having written that, I’ll point you to tracks like the opening ‘Bad Times’, a rollicking
blues, the laconic ‘Ghetto Gap’, or the kind of straight-ahead blues shuffle of ‘So Much To Do’
with the most traditional, Chicago-flavoured wailing blues harp of the album. Steven and his
band do know what they’re doing, and do it well. If your tastes go further than the blues per se,

and you like – or are intrigued by – what you’ve read here, do check this album out.

Norman Darwen

(www.steventrochband.com)

David Lumsden—Rooted In The Blues—Independent

This is David’s second album. Previously, he was the lead
guitarist for the splendid blues woman Hurricane Ruth for 6
years (2011-17). He released his debut album in 2018
(entitled ‘Hues Of Blues’) and has, since then fronted his own
band. David takes lead guitar and vocals, with Tim Bahn on
keyboards, Gary Davis on bass and Jim Engel drums. The 10
numbers on the album were recorded at the FreQuincy
Studios, with David in the producers’ chair. He received his
first guitar at the age of 10 in 1965 and was mainly influenced
by the English blues musicians of the time, until in 1971 he

became aware of Freddie King.

Here he focuses upon a mixture of covers and originals. The opener is Eddy Clearwater’s
‘Wouldn’t Lay My Guitar Down’, a fast moving, Chuck Berry influenced rocker that possesses
some very fine tenor and baritone saxophone work from Ian Buschman. ‘Ruthless Boogie’, is
quite simply, a footloose, no-nonsense blues-rocker. Lieber and Stoller’s ‘Hound Dawg’, slows
the pace down, with a lazy electric piano and burbling saxophone, backing richly picked
guitar-work, closer to the spirit of Big Mama Thornton than Elvis.

The enjoyably raw, blues guitar on the rock leaning slow burner ‘Hooked On Something’,
alludes to the perils of addiction, chemical and physical. There is an engagingly cool seventies
keyboard jazz funk, feel to Steely Dan’s ‘Josie’, first recorded by Larry Carlton. B.B. Kings’
‘Everyday, I Have The Blues’, possesses a wonderful tramping, downtrodden feel with crisp,
ringing guitar threading its way throughout. ‘Ode To Jimi AKA Slow Burn’, is an underplayed,
mammoth tribute to Jimi Hendrix. A splendid live version of Bob Dylan’s ‘Everything Is
Broken’, has Kylan Davis, son of bass player Gary Davis, delivering fiery lead vocals. A welcome
surprise is the reflective, mellifluous, calm inducing acoustic ‘Your Memory’.

Most refreshing!

Brian Harman.