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“Big Fat Mary”, and “Sunny Day Rag” in the style of Blind Blake. Highly recommended to lovers of
pre-war Blues and Ragtime.

Pete Harris
Bob Corritore and Tail Dragger—Longtime Friends in the

Blues—Delta Groove Productions
Chicago-born and Phoenix-based harp player Bob Corritore has
been active on the American Blues scene for over 40 years,
appearing on countless albums either as frontman or as guest on
other artists' recordings. He has also featured as producer of
albums for artists including R L Burnside, Robert Junior

Lockwood, Louisiana Red and Kim Wilson. He is joined on this
2012 recording by Chicago veteran Tail Dragger (real name
James Yancey Jones) for an album of no-nonsense, 50s-style
Chicago Blues. Jones, a Howling Wolf disciple, apparently
acquired his stage name from his habit of arriving late to Wolf's

gigs, and the Howling Wolf influence is evident in his raw, guttural vocal style. Though not as
powerful a singer as Wolf (who is?) he nevertheless does a fine job fronting a top-notch band,
featuring guitarists Kirk Fletcher and Chris James, veteran pianist Henry Gray, and the rock-solid
rhythm section of Patrick Rynn on bass and Brian Fahey on drums. Throughout proceedings Bob
Corritore blows the back off his harp, James Cotton-style. With the exception of John Lee “Sonny
Boy” Williamson's ‘Sugar Mama’ and Henry Gray's instrumental “Boogie Woogie Ball” the ten tracks
are Tail Dragger originals, mainly shuffles and slow Blues in classic Chicago style. The production

is up-front and punchy, lending the music an intensity reminiscent of Muddy Waters' late-career
recordings on Blue Sky produced by Johnny Winter. That Jones and his band had a ball making this
album shines through on every track. In conclusion, an album of classic lowdown Chicago Blues
unreservedly recommended to all lovers of the genre.

Pete Harris

Chris Cain—Raisin' Cain—Alligator Records

Despite his relative lack of recognition in the UK, California native Chris Cain is simply one of the
world's top Blues guitarists. Don't just take my word for it, Joe Bonamassa, no less, calls him,
“Hands down my favorite Blues guitarist on the scene today”, and in the words of the great BB King,
"Chris Cain? Now that boy can PLAY the guitar!"
Active on the US and international Blues scene since the 80s,
Cain released his debut album “Late Night City Blues” in '87.
This, his 15th, is the first on Bruce Iglauer's prestigious Alligator

Records label, and it's a masterwork of uptown contemporary
Blues and Soul. As a guitarist I am in awe of the the fluidity,
inventiveness and sheer feel of his playing - jazzy, funky or
down-home in turn. Allied to his prodigious fretboard skills is a
powerful and soulful vocal style reminiscent of BB King and

Bobby Bland. What's more, as these twelve original tracks ably
demonstrate, he is also a talented songwriter.

Difficult as it is to pick out favourite tracks from an album of