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broom-dusting slide guitar licks from the original (and he sings pretty well too). Big Joe also

supplied ‘Honey Hush’, here given a rock and roll treatment worthy of Johnny Kidd’s Pirates.

The original ‘She Was The One’ is more akin to the Canvey Island sound of Dr. Feelgood in
approach and sound, whilst the opening ‘American Cars’ is Chuck Berry (and others) re-

imagined singing about the motors found around James’ native South Wales - nice lyrics! ‘Stay
Out Of Trouble’ has a rocking Cajun flavour thanks to the accordion work of otherwise

keyboards and harmonica man Billy Lee Williams, whilst ‘Outside Help’ is the longest track on
the album, pandering to the blues guitar audience with the lengthiest solo of the set – it
actually runs to more than four minutes (that’s the track length, not the solo)! And there’s

‘Mean Little Mama’, which is a big, big sounding rocker…
Overall then, a good-natured and good-timing release. Check it out if you are partial to vintage

sounds.

Norman Darwen

Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar - the Reckless One - Gypsy

Soul Gsr013
(www.samanthamartinmusic.com)

Out of Toronto, Canada, Samantha Martin easily won me over

with this set’s predecessor, ‘Run To Me’ in 2018. It may sound
like damning with faint praise if I write “here’s more of the
same”, but it certainly is not meant like that. The earlier set

impressed with its excellent soul-based approach and stylings.
Here Samantha works from a similar base - soul, blues, R ‘n’ B,

funk but there’s even a Bob Dylan cover here, with his bluesy original ‘Meet Me In The Morning’
transformed with a Meters-ish arrangement. The remaining eleven tracks are all originals.

Musically, Delta Sugar are right on the button, whether conjuring up a wall of sound, Phil Spector
style, on ‘Sacrifice’, coming over all funky on the opening ‘Love Is All Around’ or aiming for and

getting an Otis Redding type sound on ‘Don’t Have To Be’. Vocally, you can pick more or less any
track at random, and you’ll be as impressed as I was. If pushed, though, I’d say that I must mention

‘I’ve Got A Feeling’, with its classic southern soul sound.

Do check this out if you appreciate the likes of Sharon Jones, Teresa James, Janis Joplin or Beth Hart
- or just good soul and roots-rock sounds. It’s worth it!

Norman Darwen