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The Nighthawks—Slant Six—VizzTone Records

Now in their 51st. year the band from Washington DC have
released this 6-track EP as a prelude to their forthcoming 11 state
tour, it contains six new versions of old blues tracks. We start with

Johnny Guitar Watson’s ‘Motor Head Baby’ with guitarist Dan
Hovey taking the vocals as well as a guitar solo and leader Mark
Wenner also having a harp solo. We get two Muddy Waters’ songs
‘Forty Days and Forty Nights’ and a particularly fine ‘Standing
Around Crying’ - with Wenner killing it on vocals and harp. Little
Milton’s ‘You’re Welcome to the Club’ has drummer Stutso on
heartfelt, soulful vocals and Al Anderson’s ‘Poor Me’ (pour me?)
has a nice jazzy guitar solo from Hovey, with bassist Paul Pisciotta and Stutso holding down the
beat. We finish with Willie Egan’s 50s-style rocker ‘Don’t Know Where She Went’ with Wenner
and Hovey doubling up on the vocals and also both taking solos. With the band in this kind of
form it augers well for the tour where they will no doubt turn out classic dirty blues with just a
hint of jazz and rock and roll.

Graham Harrison

Paul Cowley—Stroll Out West—Lou B Music LBM007

What a delight this one is. Paul is an outstanding guitar player.
Controlled, swinging and precise, a master of a number to styles
including a fabulous ‘walking bass’ delivery of the opener ‘My
Kinda Girl’.

Recording with a bass player and percussion (both by Pascal
Ferrari) in the granite barn studio at his home in Britany, France,
Paul manages of seduce you with his gentle vocals, and inventive
jazzy guitar work and his clear commitment to the music. De-
lightful.

The second track, ‘On My Way’ also one of Paul’s composition is outstanding. It builds from a
quiet start to an almost hypnotic anthem. Outstanding

Seven of the twelve tracks are Paul’s own composition but there are some fine covers too.

‘Special Rider Blues’ is the Skip James classic but somehow Paul manages to convey the original
without sticking religiously to the James arrangement. It’s a master class in interpretation. The
same is true of ‘Staggerlee’ taking Mississippi John Hurt’s arrangement and slowing it and
re-interpreting this classic ‘murder ballad’. This one of my favourite songs and I know there are
hundreds of versions of it. This is one of the best.

The closer ‘Preaching Blues ‘is the Son House, Robert Johnson song and it rounds off an exem-
plary set by an outstanding contemporary musician. Paul is on tour in the UK very soon. Seek
him out. You will not regret it!

Ian K McKenzie