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Despite replacing the piano of Tom Waits with guitar, Bayley manages a good reworking of the
brief Waits tune ‘Johnsburg Illinois’ and he does a good bluesy rendition of Kelly Joe Phelps ‘The
Black Crow Keeps on Flying’ too.

There are more touching lyrics to be found in ‘World Without You’. I particularly liked the lines,
“keep my hands inside my pockets so no one sees them shake, keep my heart inside my coat so
no one hears it break”, oh bliss! The album closes with the Jason Isbell tune from the film “A Star

Is Born”, ‘Maybe It’s Time’ a nice country ballad.

This album is essentially Bayley on Weissenborn and vocals but the strength of the album lies
in the sum of its parts. The guitar work is first class and carries a depth and resonance. The lyrics
are tender and emotional and his vocal delivery is gentle and pitched just right. This combina-
tion gives KB Bayley his own unique flavour of Americana with just a hint of blues in there, great
album.

Ged Wilson

Grant Dermody— Behind The Sun—Self Release

Grant Dermody is one of America’s foremost blues harmonica
players and “Behind The Sun” is the latest release from this Seat-
tle based artist.

The album opens with the Muddy Waters tune ‘Trouble No More’

and straight away you can tell we are listening to a harmonica
player on top of his game. The Rick Estrin song ‘Don’t Boss Me’
rocks along nicely but lacks that great guitar tone Little Charlie
brings to the original. ‘Lost John’ is a short solo harmonica instru-
mental that has a true Sonny Terry feel about it. Things get a little funky with ‘Clotilda’s Got Soul’
whilst ‘Tell Me’ moves along quite nicely with some groovy accordion playing from Corey Ledet.

The band conjure up a nice laid back version of the Jimmy Reed tune ‘Honest I Do’. ‘Time Ain’t
Due’ brings something completely different in feel to the album with an acapella gospel sound
thanks to some great vocal harmonising from Teka Briscoe and Ahyris Navarre, really enjoyed
this one. The Kim Wilson song ‘Learn To Treat Me Right’ rocks along nicely before the album
closes with a cover of the Otis Rush classic ‘So Many Roads’.

Whilst the band themselves play quite well there does seem to be a lack of dynamism. Grant’s
vocals are not his strong point and they do lack conviction. However, where Grant’s strength
does lie is in his harmonica work. His harp playing is first class and you can tell he is a well
seasoned and consummate blues player. The album is produced by Grant Dermody himself and
I can’t help but wonder if the overall sound would have benefited from the fresh ears of an
outside producer, maybe a thought for next time. But, if you like blues harmonica you will
definitely enjoy this album.

Ged Wilson