Page 43 - BiTS_01_JANUARY_2023

On Muddy Waters ‘I Love the Life I Live’ Kaz Kazanoff adds harmonica and Allair is back on the
88s for Chuck Berry’s rocking ‘You Never Can Tell’. Mike Schermer plays excellent lead guitar
on B.B. King’s ‘Gambler’s Blues’ and Howlin’ Wolf’s ‘Howlin’ For My Darling’ has been a staple of
Angela’s live shows for years. We also get great versions of Otis Clay’s ‘Trying to Live My Life
Without You’ with its riffing horns, Jimmy Reed’s ‘Take Out Some Insurance‘ and Dorothy Coates’
gospel song ‘I Wouldn’t Mind Dying’ with the Sons of the Soul Revivers back again. The final
track is an original – Angela’s personal tribute to her late friend Stevie Ray Vaughan in the form
of the heartfelt ballad ‘SRV’ with more tasteful lead guitar from Schermer. Angela’s voice may
not be as strong as it once was but like her 70-odd year-old contemporaries Bonnie Raitt and
Maria Muldaur this just adds extra character and authenticity to this fine album of blues classics.

Graham Harrison

Frabizio Poggi—Basement Blues—Appaloosa ASIN :
B086YG7WWK

Frabizio Poggi is the Italian blues singer and harmonica player
who over the years has worked with many American artists

including The Blind Boys of Alabama, Eric Bibb, Ronnie Earl and
Guy Davis and indeed Earl, Davis and Garth Hudson (The Band)
join him on this record. We open with a pretty gospel instrumental
‘Precious Lord’ then Guy Davis joins him on guitar and vocals for
a live take on ‘Little Red Rooster’ with the audience amusingly
supplying the animal sound effects! Davis also adds his guitar and
vocals to ‘Black Coffee’ and on Blind Lemon Jefferson’s ‘Please See
that My Grave is Kept Clean’ he plays banjo. (Davis and Poggi did the Sonny Terry and Brownie
McGhee tribute album ‘Last Train’ together in 2017.) Guitarist Ronnie Earl is also in semi acoustic
mode on his two tracks ‘Your Light’ and Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s ‘Up Above My Head’ which has
Fabrizio on vocals and harp and ‘John the Revelator’ features Garth Hudson playing his
atmospheric organ.

It's not all about the guests though, Poggi’s harp playing is very good throughout although I’m
not as convinced by his singing. ‘Midnight Train’ is a driving band song with electric guitar, while
‘The Soul of a Man’ is an atmospheric reading of the old gospel song, ‘Blues for Charlie’ is a
poignant instrumental (presumably for Charlie Musselwhite – who Fabrizio has also worked

with), ‘I’m on the Road Again’ is a melodic original ballad and we finish with another original
song ‘Hole in Your Soul’ where Fabrizio does shout-outs for his blues heroes.

Graham Harrison

Layla Zoe—The World Could Change—Cable Car ASIN :
‎B0BCNRBX71

Canadian singer Layla Zoe and German guitarist Henrik
Freischlader have reunited to record this album on which Layla
supplies the vocals and song lyrics and Henrik gives us not only
the guitars but also the bass and drums, with keyboards from
Moritz Fuhrhop. ‘Dark Heart’ and ‘Honey Pie’ are atmospheric
rock blues with Layla’s expressive voice over very accomplished
backing but I much preferred the restrained ‘Praying Kind’ a
poignant slow blues with wonderful vocals, guitar and organ. ‘The
World Could Change’ and ‘The Man Behind the Curtain’ are very