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Boo Boo Davis + Electro Blues Society—Transatlantic Quarantaine (sic)
Sessions—Black & Tan B&T 987

Regular BiTS readers might recognise some of the numbers on this set, as a
few have seen release as digital singles and have been reviewed as such. East
Saint Louis bluesman Boo Boo, a real old school blues singer, harpman and
drummer, has been working with Dutch label Black & Tan since 1998. They
weren’t going to let a little thing like a nearly global lockdown get in the way,
and these quarantine tracks are the result.

Boo Boo tends to just do his thing—tough, no-nonsense vocals and wailing
blues harp—whilst the ElectroBluesSociety (label boss Jan Mittendorp on
guitar and “buttons” and Jasper Mortier on drums and bass) complements him
with some raw electric guitar work, and often computer generated rhythms and effects. Having listened to and enjoyed
the singles, it was something of a surprise that the album itself comes across as a balance of blues and electronica. On
the individual releases, it often seemed as though Boo Boo was the main focus, but on this set, there is a definite, very
recognisable hybrid style.

Purists might quibble about it, but Boo Boo himself seems quite happy about it. See it as a salient reminder that the
blues isn’t just for old folks, you know.

Norman Darwen
(www.blackandtanrecords.nl)

Şenel Karatepe—Hard Times—Bone Union BUR1109

Dutch label Bone Union, a subsidiary of Black & Tan Records, continues the
intriguing, innovative and highly interesting documentation of the Turkish
blues scene that it began in 2020 with another highly entertaining release.
Şenel Karatepe is a singer and acoustic guitarist working in a solo setting on
a set of tracks recorded around 2005 and 2006 in Izmir.

The nine tracks are all accomplished performances and draw from a range of
influences. There are four Robert Johnson numbers—the opening ‘Stones In
My Passway’, which like all the performances here is not that different from
the original but has its own charm, ‘Travelin’ Riverside Blues’, ‘Walkin’
Blues’, and a laid-back ‘Rambling On My Mind’.

There there is a brooding cover of Muddy Waters’ ‘Louisiana Blues’, a fine
version of ‘Driftin’ Blues’, and rather unexpectedly (though the album title
might lead some to expect it), a reworking of Ray Charles’ ‘Hard Times’. A vibrant rendering of Big Bill Broonzy’s
‘Hey Hey’ is my favourite track of the set, and precedes the closer, Eric Clapton’s ‘Crying’, which fits in perfectly.

A very listenable and enjoyable release from a new and evolving blues location. It is worth checking out.

Norman Darwen
(www.blackandtanrecords.nl)

Harlem Lake—a Fool’s Paradise Vol. 1—Independent

Now this is rather different, but nicely so. This eight track set from a Dutch
band spans Americana to blues-rock, taking in rock and soul along the way,
and all convincing and exciting.

When they play live, the band frequently goes for the whole works as a 12
–piece, but the core of the band lies in female vocalist Janne Timmer,
guitarist Sonny Ray Van Den Berg, and youthful keyboards player Dave
Warmer, who first founded the band as The Dave Warmerdam Band some
years back. They have opened for Walter Trout and are winners of The
Dutch Blues Challenge.