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Misty Blues—I’ve Got Vices—Guitar One (Single)

Six-piece band Misty Blues have come a long way in

the last few years and they have a new album out
later this year, marking the band’s twenty-fifth
anniversary . This single is a taster, and on this

evidence, the new set will once again be well worth
a listen. ‘I’ve Got Vices’, sings front-woman Gina
Coleman, going on to list them over a powerful slow

blues backing, with a ferocious guitar break by Seth
Fleischmann, Gina’s vocal matching it in intensity. It
does make me definitely look forward to hearing

what else this band has in store for us…

Norman Darwen

(www.mistybluesband.com)

Muddy What?—Live at Victoria Teatern—
Howling Who, No Issue Number

Just over eighty minutes of blues and related stuff
from this German trio, recorded in Malmo, Sweden
in 2024 and now available on this double CD.
Although there are plenty of original songs too, the
cover versions among the dozen on offer here give a

good idea of what to expect. Traditional numbers
such as the venerable ‘Lonesome Road Blues’ and
‘Rolling And Tumbling’ and Fenton Robinson’s classic
‘Loan Me A Dime’ (as it is listed here) rub shoulders

with The Rolling Stones’ ‘Honky Tonk Women’ and
‘Shine A Light’, and Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Purple Haze’.

Mind you, the opening track takes time to resolve itself from sounding like aimless
noodling into a coherent, slow-paced slab of thoughtful blues-rock. It’s a different
opening than most live sets, and certainly attracts the listener’s attention – and Ina

Spang delivers a monster guitar solo to support her brother’s affecting lead vocal (the
trio is completed by Michi Lang on bass and drums). But then ‘Honky Tonk Women’ is
given a 1920s treatment, vocal, acoustic guitar and Ina on mandolin – which she then
plays on many other numbers.

The album continues to keep listeners on their toes throughout, with delicate

acoustic arrangements rubbing shoulders with tough electric treatments or funky
numbers, but overall the impression is of a thoughtful, considered, mainly blues set,
and that is something of a rarity these days. It is very welcome!

Norman Darwen