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approach of ‘Four Or Five Times’ to the old-timey mash up of ‘Casey ‘N’ Bill’.
Well-known numbers like ‘When I Grow Too Old To Dream’, ‘Show Me The Way To

Go Home’ and ‘We’ll Meet Again’ (!) are certainly revived and reinvigorated, though
keeping their vintage sensibilities.

Then again, there are fine versions of The Hawketts ‘Mardi Gras Mambo’ (with its

lovely Tex-Mex flavoured accordion), James “Stump” Johnson’s salacious ‘The Ducks
Yas Yas Yas’, and Ma Rainey’s ‘Farewell Daddy Blues’, wonderfully sung by Samoa
Wilson. The latter also tackles, among others, the weed song ‘Viper Mad’ and ‘I Get

The Blues When It Rains’ rather nicely. The Western swing of ‘Right Or Wrong’
provides a fine finale.

Not a straight blues set then, but one that certainly references the roots of the

folk-blues revival, and is well worth a listen. I enjoyed it a lot.

Norman Darwen

Various Artists—Jus’ Blues 25th Anniversary

Legends Collection—Jus’ Blues Music
Foundation

It’s a bit difficult not to say, “Go get it!” and leave it

at that. Jus’ Blues has been “Nurturing The Soul Of
The Blues”, as this album’s subtitle says, for a

quarter of a century, based down in Mississippi. The
mission statement adds “while preserving the
legacy of the originators of traditional blues music”.

So what we have here, released digitally is a
ten-track release, with four previously unreleased
performances – by Texas legend Trudy Lynn, Lucky Peterson, the great Bobby Rush
(a solo vocal and harmonica performance), and Florida soul-blues veteran Latimore.

The remaining offerings are newly remastered songs by big-voiced Diunna Greenleaf,
Theodis Ealey, Delmark’s Jimmy Burns and Benny Turner (both younger brothers of

famed blues singers), and offspring of blues legends Zakiya Hooker and Teeny Tucker.
If you opt for the LP version, you also get a bonus track by Mr. Sipp, “The Mississippi
Blues Child”.

I think it was Muddy Waters who said “If you don’t like the blues, you must have a
hole in your soul!” (Feel free to correct me). To which I would add, “if you don’t like
this wonderful set of contemporary African-American performers, you don’t like the
blues”. ‘Nuff said…

Norman Darwen

(www.indiegogo.com/projects/jus-blues-25th-anniversary-album#/)