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The Weber Brothers — Wild as the Wild Dogs (the Water
Street Trilogy Part 1)—Independent

(www.weberbrothers.com)

File under “Rock ‘n’ Roll”! The Weber Brothers — Ryan and Sam
— were inspired by the film “The Last Waltz” to write off to rocker
Ronnie Hawkins, and eventually become members of his Hawks
— who later became The Band. They have gone on to record with
many, many acts, and make numerous recordings of their own,
but this one is pure rock and roll.

There is plenty of energy here, and a definite rock and roll
swagger. This is not dressed-up music. Thirty one songs were recorded live in the studio, ten of
them are on this set, with the remainder presumably to be released as Parts two and three. Take
a listen to ‘Blitzkrieg Baby’, supercharged rockabilly with a punky energy, or Johnny O’Keefe’s
‘Wild One (Real Wild Child)’, whilst ‘Think Again’ has a strong 60s feel, a kind of raw beat group
boogaloo.

Just bearing in mind this magazine’s title though, I will mention that ‘Orders From The Blues’ is
rockabilly with a prominent blues guitar providing appropriate fills, and ‘Right This Minute’ is
a powerful blues in the vein of Muddy Waters. It’s party season now and if you want to move
your feet, this album will certainly provide an excuse.

Norman Darwen

Michele D’Amour & the Love Dealers — Hot Mess — Blueskitty

(www.micheledamourandthelovedealers.com)

This is the seventh album from Michele and crew, a five piece outfit

from Seattle, and it is a fine collection of blues — raw, classy, a bit
spooky… The latter is courtesy of a superb cover of Dr John’s ‘Walk
On Gilded Splinters’, from his night-tripping days. It suits Michele’s
voice too.

Mind you, so do all the tracks here, from the blues-rock styled
opener, ‘Hot Mess’ (with its wah wah guitar riff) to the closing
double-entendre of ‘Your Dachshund Won’t Leave Me Alone’ — nice greasy sax on this too. In

between, ‘Devil In The Dark’ is a very funky number, ‘Muddling Through’ is a country-flavoured
number, and ‘Helping Hand’ is a rhythm and blues ballad.

‘It Won’t Break My Heart’ finds Michele looking to make a new start relationship-wise, and she
certainly doesn’t regret it on this evidence. ‘Cold Red Sun’ is an expansive, thoughtful number

about the recent wildfires on America’s west coast, but lightening the mood afterwards is ‘Nurse
With A Purse’, displaying a somewhat chastening attitude towards what some men are looking
for in a woman.

All in all, this is a fine and entertaining set. Check it out.

Norman Darwen