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Stumble’. Fellow New York guitarist Arthur Neilson also helps Popa out with
authentic-sounding versions of three more iconic instrumentals ‘Hideaway’, ‘San
Ho Zay’ and ‘Heads Up’.

‘My Credit Didn’t Go Through’ is given a funky makeover with brass and Hammond
organ as well as Eric Gales on guitar and Popa’s soulful vocals and ‘Big Legged
Woman’ “I want a big legged woman, with a short mini skirt…” has Christone
‘Kingfish’ Ingram sitting in on guitar. Mike Zito joins Popa on the moody slow blues
‘She’s a Burglar’ and the funky ‘Pack It Up’ is the only track here where Popa isn’t
joined by another guitarist. Popa returns to his “Booty and the Beast” album for
another crack at Freddie’s ‘Same Old Blues’ this time aided by multi-instrumentalist
V.D. King and as on the old album it’s a scorching take with screaming lead guitar.
Popa is backed by a core band of Mike DiMeo (keyboards), Mike Merritt (bass) and
Andrei Koribanics (drums) who are all excellent throughout. I’ve always thought
that Freddie King wasn’t just a great guitarist but also (like both Albert and B.B.) a
great singer and Popa’s vocals are also on a par with his guitar playing here – and
in truth he didn’t really need the other guitarists featured here but I’m sure they
were only too keen to pay tribute to a real blues guitar legend in Freddie King (the
Texas Cannonball).

Graham Harrison

Janiva Magness—Back for Me—Blue Elan
Records ASIN: B0DSLLDMKX

This is Janiva’s 17th album and like her other
recent releases it was produced by her and her
guitarist Dave Darling and it’s his blues shuffle
‘Masterpiece’ that gets us underway with Joe
Bonamassa on guitar (he seems to be on every
blues record recently!), although Nick Maybury’s
guitar is equally as good on Eric Schultz’s title track
- a slow blues with heartfelt vocals from Janiva.
Bill Withers’ ‘The Same Love that Made Me Laugh’
is a mid-tempo soul stomper with prominent
drums and nice organ and ‘Holes’ is an unusual
song by Canadian Julianne Marie Guidi with guitar from fellow Canadian Sue Foley.
The core band here is Darling and John Schroeder (guitars), Sasha Smith, Phil
Parlapiano (keyboards), Ian Walker (bass) and W.F. Quinn (drums).

‘I Was Good to You Baby’ and Ray LaMontagne’s ‘You Can Bring Me Flowers’ are
both soulful, tasteful mid-tempo songs, then Anne Peebles’ ‘Down So Low’ is a loping,
restrained gospel-infused song. ‘Do I Need You’ is a soulful song by the great Tracy
Nelson (which quotes Anne Peebles’ ‘I Can’t Stand the Rain!’) with Robert “Chalo”
Ortiz (guitar) and the album closes with a version of Allen Toussaint’s ‘Hittin’ On
Nothin’ with guitarist Jesse Dayton really going for it. Everything here is well-played
and produced but unlike Janiva’s previous albums I’m afraid that nothing here really
grabbed me, I thought that there was a ‘samey-ness’ to both the sounds and the
songs and I would have liked a bit more variety, which even the guest musicians
didn’t really bring.

Graham Harrison