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Rick Berthod—Peripheral Visions—RB Music

This is West Coast singer and guitarist Rick’s eighth album.
Ostensibly a blues-rocker, he also has something of a soul streak,

shown immediately on the instrumental opening track here,
‘Seeing Sideways’, a slab of clean but pounding 60s R’n’B. Mind
you, if it is out-and-out blues-rock you are looking for, try the
powerful ‘Treat Her Right’, or ‘High Dollar Girl’, though these are
more melodic than many songs put into that category, or check

out the slide playing on ‘Hard On My Heart’.

Most tracks tend more towards a straighter blues sound though - there are hints particularly of
Freddy King and his friend Albert Collins in Rick’s playing on several tracks, and his vocals are fine
throughout. The slow blues ‘Fly On’ is a seven minutes long slow-burner, starting more than a little
like BB King and ending more like Stevie Ray Vaughan, a good and very convincing example of
Rick’s capabilities. This tasty release ends with ‘Broken Middle Finger’, another big-sounding, very

fine 60s styled R’n’B guitar instrumental.

Throughout, Rick is backed by a trio of keyboards (Billy Truitt), bass (Smiley Lang) and drums
Justin Truitt), with a couple of guests on guitar and vocals. The result is a very listenable CD!

Norman Darwen
(www.rickberthod.com)

Savoy Brown—Ain’t Done Yet—Quarto Valley Records.

Back in the late sixties / early seventies I was fortunate enough to
see Savoy Brown play live on numerous occasions and I remember
being impressed not only by the band but the exceptional guitar
work of Kim Simmonds. Fast forward to 2020 and Savoy Brown’s
latest release, ‘Ain’t Done Yet.’

Kim Simmonds is still going strong, now aged 72 showing no
signs of losing his touch as he opens with ‘All Gone Wrong’, a
rocking blues showcasing some tasty licks on his Gibson Flying V.
Kim is supported by his trusted rhythm section of Pat DeSalvo on
bass and Garnet Grimm on drums. These two keep things tight and simple which allows Kim room
to build his guitar work.

With ‘River on the Rise’ we hear some slide on this acoustic based song that sounds somewhat
reminiscent of Bob Dylan. The title track ‘Ain’t Done Yet’ is a great foot tapper which has a bit more
swing about it. My favourite track on the album is ‘Feel like a Gypsy’ it has such an easy feel carried
along with congas, I could really chill out to this one.

We are all used to blues songs about Mustangs and Cadillacs but ‘Jaguar Car’ breaks new ground for
me. This John Lee Hooker type boogie has a real ZZ Top vibe about it and Kim gets to play some
harp on this one.