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respectively, and ‘Tinderman’ is a fine blues with Saskia rather suspicious about her man. This rather

nice release closes out with the muscular mid-tempo blues of ‘The Blues Ain’t Here To Stay’, showing
that this is indeed a band worth listening to.
Norman Darwen
(www.wildmenbluesband.nl)

John Blues Boyd – “What My Eyes Have Seen…” (Gulf Coast, no
issue number)

In some ways this is rather an ordinary release – a straight blues
set by a Mississippi-born singer with plenty of autobiographical
songs. In other ways though, it is extraordinary – John Blues Boyd

picked cotton, marched with Martin Luther King and was run out
of town for supporting him, later marrying and settling in Califor-
nia – Civil Rights history, modern history.

From a musical point of view, John is the real deal then, a true,
big-voiced, stand-up blues singer from a traditional background,
backed by guitarist/ organist/ producer Kid Andersen and an illustrious group of West Coast blues
sessioneers, with the resulting product something of a blues masterpiece. The songs themselves are
linked by short interludes entitled “My Memory Takes Me There”, with John intoning the title backed

by guitar and/ or organ, as in a Church service before the song resolves its form. They are effective,
forming a continuous programme as John himself sings of meeting the blues on ‘In My Blood’ and
the Muddy Waters-ish ‘I Heard The Blues Somewhere’, meeting his wife and losing his wife (‘A
Beautiful Woman’, and ‘Forty Nine Years’), the assassination of Dr. King on ‘Why Did You Take That
Shot?’, settling down, and being known as ‘The Singing Roofer’ – “snapshots from a life camera” as
the notes put it. The songs are in a BB King, Albert King or classic Chicago blues style, with

exemplary guitar fills and breaks by Kid Andersen complementing the oh-so soulful vocals and the
backings are spot-on. This certainly sets a high bar for 2020’s blues releases to strive to match.

Norman Darwen
Debra Power – “That’s How I Roll” (Independent)

Debra is a powerhouse vocalist and energetic piano player out of

Calgary in Alberta, Canada, who released her debut album “Even

Redheads Get The Blues” in 2016. She has been much feted since
then and this is her follow-up album. The opening track, ‘All Night

Playing The Blues’ is a fine rocker, with slight New Orleans

touches, that shows her considerable capabilities, and also reveals
that her backing band know just exactly what to do – to perfection!

The Crescent City touches are even stronger on ‘Takin’ The High Road’, with some particularly nice
sax work, then the pace slows and the mood changes with a quieter, jazz-inflected piano, drums and

trumpet blues-ballad of ‘Blue Tears’. The title track picks the mood up again, with prominent slide
guitar work over a pounding piano rhythm and cracking bass and drums as Debra shows what a nice