Page 49 - BiTS_06_JUNE_2023

Craig Erickson—Modern Blues—Fervor

Craig is a blues and rock singer and guitarist, with influences
including ZZ Top, Jimi Hendrix, and The Allman Brothers, among
others. He began writing the songs for this album in early 2020,

just before COVID struck , and we all know what happened then.
As a result, Craig played most of the instruments here himself,
though he did call in Jeff Sipe for the drummer’s stool.

As those names mentioned do tend to indicate, Craig tends
towards the rockier end of the blues-rock spectrum. A few
examples might help: there’s a driving number like ‘Stormchasin’
- plenty of slide playing, with strong echoes of The Allman Brothers, some funky riffing, and
extended soloing. The title track has a slippery sound that works well and fits the title – there’s
a nice, relaxed vocal too – whilst ‘Last Train’ is slower-paced southern rock, with the slide guitar
adding a very bluesy feel. There is some Hendrix-styled playing on ‘Brokedown World’ and an
unexpected, fusion-inflected blues-rock piece with ‘Wildfire’. But all tracks are genuinely worth
a listen…

The set’s producer is Mike Varney, who has worked in this role with many metal bands and plenty
of blues-rockers too – he has worked previously with Craig too. It shows: the blurb accompanying
this release states “this is a must hear for all guitar enthusiasts”, and yes, it does indeed live up
to that hype.

Norman Darwen

John Primer—Teardrops For Magic Slim—Blues House Pro-
ductions

John Primer is a well established guitarist and singer on the
Chicago blues scene having worked with many of the greats over
the years including Muddy Waters, Junior Wells and Willie Dixon.
His latest album pays tribute to the late great Magic Slim with
whom he worked for many years.

The album opens with the J.B. Lenoir number ‘’Mama Talk To
Your Daughter’ a great foot tapper with strong vocals and guitar
work from Primer. ‘Luv Sumbody’ gets the band working a great
guitar groove whilst ‘Every Night, Every Day’ is a slow blues that carries so well. ‘Buddy Buddy
Friend’ is a heartfelt song that really captures a Magic Slim vibe.

Magic Slim’s son Shawn Holt guests on ‘Let Me Love You Baby’ a rocking blues that reminded me
a little of Johnny Winter and then the Elmore James classic ‘It Hurts Me Too’ where you can feel
the emotional ties from Shawn.

There is a great bounce to the Bo Diddley classic ‘Before You Accuse Me’ before the album closes
with another classic, Little Milton’s ‘The Blues Is Alright’, I found myself singing along to this one!

This album was recorded live at Rosa’s Lounge in Chicago in November 2022 and really cap-
tures that Magic Slim aura. Being a live album you can hear the crowd noise and appreciation
and you can feel the ambience and energy almost like you are there in the room. John Primer is