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Hopefully, this will attract a wider audience to these classic blues numbers. However, if

you’re already au fait with this material, you might still find yourself hearing tracks from
this album on the radio, and wondering, in a very positive way, “Who was that?” And that
may well tempt you into checking this out anyway!

Norman Darwen

The Ragged Roses—Do Me Right—Rootz Rumble Rr89711

This is a new name to me, and apparently The Ragged Roses

have not been together that long but their sound certainly
isn’t new. This Belgian four-piece specialise in vintage rock
and roll, rockabilly, and bluesy sounds - guitar, upright bass
(or slap bass as the old rockabilly albums used to put it, and
that feels more appropriate here) and drums back up

vocalist Katrien Van Proeyen.

Some of the material is full-tilt—the opening three numbers
certainly take no prisoners, and ‘Right Track’ is just pure
rocking energy - and expect to hear hints of both Etta James
and Wanda Jackson. A few tracks are less frantic, and bluesier (lend an ear to the closing
blues-ballad ‘Way Back Home’, for example), though the entire album is certainly bluesy

enough! There is just the one borrowed composition on the set, a wonderfully–reworked
version, slightly slower than the original, of Del Shannon’s ‘Runaway’ with its almost
Spanish guitar licks (with added reverb) and Katrien’s sultry vocal creating quite an
impression.

Mind you, as you might have gathered for yourself, the whole album makes quite an
impression anyway… Check it out.

Norman Darwen

(www.donor.company/rootzrumble)

Joe Veloz Presents—Joseph and the Velozians—Big-o
Records

Based in Michigan, bass player and bandleader Joe Veloz has
here a varied eight track CD album. Although Joe combines
funk, soul and blues, fans of the latter will be pleased to

note that there are a couple of rather notable guests too.

‘Pretty Is As Pretty Does’ was written by Joe in collaboration
with Chicago blues drummer Andrew “Blaze” Thomas. It is a
fine funky blues, and Joe drafts in the excellent Larry
McCray on vocals and guitar for a notable performance. Joe
follows this up with ‘I Got My Mojo Working’. OK, not the most exciting choice maybe, but

he calls upon “Detroit’s Queen Of The Blues”, Thornetta Davis, for the vocals. It runs to
seven and a half minutes and in reality, we get two versions of the song—a funky, rock-
inflected version before Thornetta calls for “some Muddy time” and the last few minutes are
taken fairly straight. It works extremely well! Thornetta also handles ‘Crazy’, a more
modern sounding R’n’B number.