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All of which makes for a fine and enjoyable release. This might not be about to set the blues world

on fire, but it is indeed an excellent example of the blue collar blues.

Norman Darwen

Head Honchos—Blues Alliance—Grooveyard

(www.theheadhonchosband.com)
This outfit is led by Detroit’s Rocco Calipari Senior, who will be
known to some as the lead guitarist of Howard & The White Boys
who recorded with Buddy Guy; he has also worked with Bo
Diddley, Chuck Berry and Carl Weathersby, among others. In this
outfit he trades fiery licks with his blues guitarist son, Rocco
Calipari Junior, with the line-up completed by the experienced

Mike Boyle on bass and Will Wyatt drums.

‘Stuck Between The Middle’ makes for a loud, blues-rocking
opener with plenty of screaming guitar work - ditto track two, ‘Mr. Bad’. ‘Number One’ has
something of a classic rock sound, albeit driven along by a memorable slide guitar riff, and the just

over six minutes long, celebratory ‘She Got That Thang’ adds a fine funky approach to the mix,
whilst the pulsating ‘Find Me A Woman’ and ‘Can’t Be Satisfied’ (an original, by the way) are
perhaps more in a “traditional” blues-rock bag.

‘Evil’ is indeed the Howling Wolf song, though this version owes more to Wolf’s psychedelic cover
than to the original. ‘We Will Win’ leans more than a little to southern rock, and “stay close to the
rock ‘n’ roll” is the advice of the track ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ which does just that, before the blues takes

over. The volume does go down for the acoustic based blues closer, ‘I’m A Ram’.

As some old vinyl albums used to say: “Play Loud”. The Head Honchos have certainly taken that to
heart! But then, they don’t take any prisoners here...

Norman Darwen

Nikki O’Neill—World Is Waiting—Blackbird
(www.nikkioneill.com)

All these tracks were recorded in Los Angeles, with the exception
of ‘Take Back What I Said’, which was laid down at Royal Studios
in Memphis. Singer/ songwriter Nikki opens strongly with ‘That’s
How You Lose Her’, an excellent slab of mid-60s styled R ‘n’ B
before moving onto ‘A Man For All Seasons’, part country, part
soul, and even a little reggae-tinged, and then the contemporary

gospel ballad of ‘A Place At The Table’.

The inspirational title track has a fine bluesy groove and guitar work, and ‘All I Wanna Be Is Yours’
has a nicely retro pop feel, with a slight hint of country in the delivery, whilst ‘You’re The Only One