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Blues Menu – “Credo” (Own label)

Now here is a Polish blues band singing all in Polish, so I really don’t
have a clue what the songs are about. What I do know though is that
they are all “of a certain age” and that they have a fine vocalist in Tadek
Bogucki, who also wrote or co-composed all eleven songs. The band’s
sound can be rather traditional, as for example on the Sonny Boy

Williamson II and Junior Wells-ish ‘Porosla Mi Rzeka Lodem’ – with
excellent work by the band’s harmonica player Jacek “Orzel” Lubinski
over a cracking rhythm set by guitarist Lukasz “Gustaw” Hęćka,
keyboards player Tomek “Spider” Pajak, bass player Bartek “Bogue”
Bogucki and drummer Jacek “Stone Face” Józefowiak. Then there is the slow, steady grind of ‘Wrózka Z
Ekranu’ with its faint echoes of ‘It Hurts Me Too’, the Jimmy Reed inflected ‘Za Sciana Rodzi Sie Blues’, and

the fine Freddy King flavoured licks of ‘Na Zakrecie’. Mind you, they are not averse to rocking out either,
and the opening ‘Credo’, ‘Gdzie Stio Mój Stary Dom’ and ‘Blues Hakera” (which translates as “Blues Hacker’,
proving that this band have modern ideas) all have strong echoes of The Rolling Stones – though with some
strong blues harp playing. This very enjoyable set closes out with the Hooker-ish boogie of ‘Nasz Biedny

Pies’.

Norman Darwen

Frank Bey – “All My Dues Are Paid” (Nola Blue NB|010)

There is a definite progression throughout this album, as veteran
soul-bluesman Frank Bey takes us through the many facets of his
considerable talent. He opens with the almost psychedelic soul of
‘Idle Hands’, moves into the more gentle soul of ‘One Of These Days’,

with its gospel touches, and then into the Rick Estrin penned blues of
‘Calling All Fools’, with Rick himself among the star-studded backing
musicians. ‘It’s A Pleasure’ is a late 70s styled soul ballad, the title track
details Frank’s life from being born in the Jim Crow south back in the
1940s, and ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’ is a country-flavoured piece,
complete with spoken interlude and strings. ‘I Bet I Never Cross Your
Mind’ is another Rick Estrin composition, a stripped-down, quite tough sounding blues, with fine guitar work
from Kid Andersen and dirty sax from Nancy Wright. Percy Mayfield also has two of his songs here: ‘Never No
More’ is a nicely up tempo no-nonsense shuffle with the kind of vocal not heard too often these days, and ‘Ha Ha
In The Daytime’ is a fine and rather typical Mayfield blues ballad, and Frank’s vocal is masterful. Arthur
Alexander’s ‘If It’s Really Gotta Be This Way’ is fine proto-soul, and Michael Schermer’s inspirational ‘One
Thing Every Day’ is another fine performance. More contentious for blues and soul lovers are the two tracks I’ve
not yet mentioned: Frank’s version of Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’ doesn’t really add anything to the original, and
the set closes with a soul-drenched reworking of John Lennon’s anthemic ‘Imagine’ – no problem there then.
Recommended? Of course!

Norman Darwen