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grooving ‘What Fools Do’) or something more playful, as on the funky ‘Cool Trick’. Exceptions are
the reworking of Bobbie Gentry’s trademark hit, ‘Ode To Billie Joe’ (with legendary harmonica
maestro Howard Levy guesting), the smooth, almost Sade-like ‘Protecting My Heart’, and the solo,
cigar-box guitar accompanied closer, ‘Cathy’s Bike Song’.

Throughout this set the band is tight, and guest Troublemakers include guitarists Greg Koch and
Billy Flynn, and harmonica player Steve Cohen. The album is extremely accomplished, thought-
provoking in places and always very listenable.

Norman Darwen
(www.cathygrier.com)

JD3 & the Jondo Trio—Something Good—Independent

(www.jd3band.com)

Blues-rock can be difficult to identify these days as it sometimes
seems anyone who was in a band before 1977 can be a blues-
rocker. There is frequently an overlap between blues-rock and
what is styled classic rock, as audiences get older and more
nostalgic for the music of their youth.

No such worries here though. This is certainly rock-tinged, but
the blues element is very strong. The opening track is pretty
much a rock number, though with odd shades of Led Zeppelin
(and so is the closing ‘Whatchucan’), but many of the remaining tracks draw more obviously on the
blues. ‘No Fools’ is a heavy, boogying number with tinges of the Hill Country sound in its relentless
groove, ‘Big Daddy’ is a soul-tinged blues, whilst ‘Tangentially’ is a southern rock ‘n’ soul type of
number, which reminds me ever so slightly of The Isley Brothers’ ‘Summer Breeze’. ‘Holding On
Tight’ is a brassy 70s soul flavoured number.

‘By And By’ opens rather Rolling Stones-ishly, and ‘Texas’ betrays an influence from UK outfit Free.
Straight blues-rock occurs courtesy of the raw-ish ‘Have A Little Faith’, and ‘Try, Try, Try’ nods to
southern soul. Guitarist/ vocalist Nate Mosely, Stu Way on bass, and drummer Paul Osborn have
now augmented the band with keyboards player/ trumpeter Chris Dafforn, so that the name Jondo
Trio no longer fits; hence the “JD3” moniker and the album credit. Whatever you call them, they’re
pretty fine blues-rockers.

Norman Darwen

Mick Kolassa – If You Can’t Be Good, Be Good at It! – Endless
Blues Mmk 022020

Co-produced by Mick and guitarist Jeff Jensen in Memphis and
Moscow, Tennessee, with local musicians during lockdown (some
of whose names regular readers may recognise), this is a fine and

varied set. Some of Mick’s more up tempo blues material comes
across as a little whimsical at first hearing – tracks like the title
song or ‘Sweet Tea’, but they do work well and often the
“whimsy” is more likely just an acute observation or a sly sense