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REVIEWS

Samantha Fish — Faster — Rounder Records

Samantha Fish is from Kansas City USA and has won many blues

awards as a contemporary blues singer/guitarist/songwriter.
‘Faster’ is her seventh album release.

The album opens with the title track ‘Faster’ which is a ripper of
an opener with some fine rock blues and clever vocal processing.
‘All Ice No Whiskey’ has more of a pop vocal style that makes her
sound a bit different than the usual blues singers. ‘Hypnotic’ is

aptly titled as it has a hypnotic beat and feels very ‘pop’ in style
as does ‘Forever Together’.

‘Crowd Control’ is a little more gentle with synth sounds and keyboards whilst ‘Loud’ features a
rap break from rapper ‘Tech N9ne’. ‘So Called Lover’ brought to mind Blondie in style and feel and

the album closes with the dramatic ballad ‘All The Words’.

There is some fine musicianship throughout this album from the back line of Josh Freese on drums
and Diego Navaira on bass. The album is well produced by Martin Kierszenbaum and is indeed a
truly polished album. However it is not really blues.

Samantha’s sound has morphed into a mix of rock and electro pop and to my ears is now bordering

on manufactured which means it has lost some of its soul. This is far removed from the great in
your face slide guitar I’ve associated with Samantha in the past and is really not quite my cup of tea
but don’t let me put you off, give it a spin and judge for yourself.

Ged Wilson

Garrington T. Jones — The Odd Box — Self Release

”The Odd Box” is the latest album from Garrington T Jones and a
very fine album it is too. The opening track is ‘Hellbound Train’ a
great rocking number driven by some magnificent drums and

features rap from Norbs Blade. The slower paced ‘Claire’s
Lament’ is a sad, tragic tale tastefully delivered. There is some
lovely harp and piano to be had on the bluesy twelve bar, Procol

Harum cover, ‘Juicy John Pink’ taken from the ‘Salty Dog’ album,
now that takes me back!

‘Coincidentally Feminine’ is an amusing tale with some more nice harp work and great Bouzouki
sounds. ‘Fish Pie Blues’ has that nice lazy feel you get from the old country blues with the double
entendres adding a touch of authenticity! The album closes with ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’

which features some lovely vocals from Emily Ewing.