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Dave Arcari—Loch Lomond (Home)— Single— Buzz Records

Dave Arcari is well known on the British blues circuit and beyond
for his own distinctive style of Alt Blues. He is also a great
ambassador for roots music in Scotland so it’s no surprise to see
him take on a reworking of the traditional Scottish favourite,
‘Loch Lomond’.

There is that distinctive slide guitar sound of his together with his
gutsy voice that really drives this song forward. The song is both
bolstered and enhanced by local people (The Voices of the Loch,
Ed) joining in on the choruses, giving a sense of pride and emotion in the way that old traditional
songs do. As with the blues where artists pick up songs and pass them on down, Dave has done the
same here by taking an old song and reinterpreting it for the next generation. A poignant moment

marked in these unsettled times.

Ged Wilson

Joe Louis Walker—Eclectic Electric—Cleopatra Records ASIN :
B09FYBLYYW

This new release from Joe carries on from where his last one
'Blues Comin' On' left off, it's a similar mix of genres from blues

to soul, funk to rock with slightly less in the way of guest artists.
Joe's band is Phillip Young (keyboards), Lenny Bradford (bass),
Byron Cage (drums) and Juma Sultan (percussion) and he also
keeps guitarist Waddy Wachtel from the last record. We begin
with his own 'Uptown Girl Blues' with guest guitarist Jimmy

Vivino which is a fine rocking opener and Sonny West’s 'Wine' is
even better with its Cajun accordion and baritone sax from Los
Lobos' Steve Berlin but I wasn't so keen on the funk of 'Bad Betty'. And for me the rest of the album
was a similar mix of tracks that were OK and tracks that I didn't think quite worked — like the
reworkings of 'Hotel California' and 'Werewolves of London'. 'Regal Blues' is an uptempo blues
recorded with the BB King Blues Band and 'Two Trains Running' is an acoustic version of the Muddy
Waters' song.

Graham Harrison

Eric Clapton—The Lady In The Balcony: Lockdown Sessions—
Mercury Studio ASIN : B09DF4WGGX
This album is like a follow up to his 1992 ‘Unplugged’ album, it
resulted from Clapton still wanting to play after his May 2021

Royal Albert Hall concerts were cancelled due to Covid and
assembling a band at Cowdray House, West Sussex and recording
the sessions, with Russ Titelman in the producer’s chair. (The
“lady in the balcony” is his wife Melia — the only person to see
these sessions.) The band is Chris Stainton (keyboards), Nathan
East (bass and vocals) and Steve Gadd (drums). We start with a