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To You’, a tale of a woman who cannot seem to leave her lover; the gentle interplay

of the three guitars is extremely satisfying.

‘Dirt Woman Blues’, is a moody, slowburn treading blues, underpinned by gently
rising and wailing guitars that shine under Grainne’s subtly distorted sombre

vocals. The slow Southern lullaby guitar lilt of ‘Sweet Liberation’, gives way to
something more forceful, morphing into a ringing and rolling Southern rocker.

The Southern sway of the slowburning ballad ‘Hold On To You’, amply displays not

only Grainne’s ability to show vulnerability but, also the richness of the guitar
work of the band. ‘Rise Above’, is dominated by the rhythmically enticing Celtic
percussive pounding and subtly inviting and haunting invasive guitar and moog

work.

The out and out guitar driven rocker ‘Yes I Am’, is a declaration of defiance and
self-will, in the splendid style of the late, great Rory Gallagher. ‘Killycrum’, is quite

simply, an enjoyably acoustic guitar driven and lyrical musical tribute to her home
town of Castleblayney, County Monaghan.

Impressive!

Brian Harman.

Lil’ Jimmy Reed with Ben Levin—Back To Baton

Rouge—Nola Blue Records NBR 023

A young Leon Atkins acquired his stage name “Lil’ Jim-
my Reed” in 1958 when he was invited to stand-in for

the inebriated Chicago blues legend Jimmy Reed, who
was supposed to have been performing at the auditori-

um of a local Catholic Church in his adopted home town
of Baton Rouge.

Leon was actually born in 1938 in Hardwood, Louisi-

ana, which is thirty miles north of Baton Rouge. Combining his day job as a barber
with his music performances in the evenings he became part of the lively music
scene there becoming part of the classic local blues scene that included Slim
Harpo, Raful Neal, Tabby Thomas, Henry Gray and Whisperin’ Smith.

At the age of 34 Leon wanted a more secure future so; he joined the army and spent
the next 20 years in that profession. At the end of his service in the army he went
back into the world of music settling in Enterprise, Alabama. He recorded his

debut album “School’s Out’” in 1996, he followed it up in 2015 with “Blues in
Paradise”, and “Live!” in 2019.

On this album he has teamed up with the young blues pianist Ben Levin, who also
produced the album, which was recorded at The WVXU Studios in Cincinnati, Ohio.