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and then ending in a hip-hop climax courtesy of rapper Tech N9ne. The band features Diego
Navaira (bass) and Josh Freese (drums) with Kierszembaum on guitar and keyboards and while all
the tracks feature Samantha's guitar to some extent that is obviously not the focus here, with that
focus being her voice which to be fair does sound great, especially on the closing ballad 'All the

Words'. This may well earn Samantha some new fans in the wider world but I can't see her existing
fans being enamoured by this release which contains hardly any blues content whatsoever.

Graham Harrison

Colin Linden—bLOW—Highway 20 Records ASIN :
B096LS2R9G

Canadian guitarist/singer/producer Colin Linden is the first

signing for Lucinda Williams' new Highway 20 record label with
this being the first release and while Colin has released 13 solo
albums he is vastly more experienced as both a producer and a
session guitarist. The opening track '4Cars' sounds a bit like Bo
Diddley (and 'Right Shoe Wrong Foot' also does only even more

so) and 'Until the Heat Leaves Town' is a lazy shuffle with a
blistering slide guitar solo and some subtle harmonica. 'Angel
Next To Me' is pure Howlin' Wolf complete with wonderful
tinkling piano, while 'Boogie Let Me Be' is John Lee Hooker meets Junior Parker - with both
sounding completely authentic and 'When I Get to Galilee' is country blues crossed with gospel with
Colin's slide guitar and hill country drums.

The title track is a mid-tempo shuffle and 'Change Don’t Come Without Pain' is a seven minute slow
blues that reminded me of Hendrix's 'Red House', while 'Houston' is a roadhouse boogie
reminiscent of ZZ Top. The final track is 'Honey on My Tongue' a melodic song that references the
pandemic "Days of darkness world in trouble, everybody’s living in their own bubble" with nice
blues harp and slide guitar. Colin is backed by his long-time Toronto rhythm section of John
Dymond (bass) and Gary Craig (drums), as well as Nashville-based Dave Jaques (bass) and Paul
Griffiths (drums) and his wife Janice Powers plays organ. I enjoyed this album which has lots of

variety and some great guitar playing and while some may baulk at the copying of the sounds of
classic bluesmen I really liked their authentic recreations.

Graham Harrison

Tony Holiday—Porch Sessions Volume 2—Blue Heart ASIN :
B09B83NZXD

This is Volume two of Tony's 'Porch Sessions' here he records

various bluesman in informal sessions but this time at studios in
Memphis and Jackson TN, Bristol VA, Fort Collins CO, Clarksdale
MS, Anaheim and San Jose CA. When I reviewed Volume one I
said "there is nothing earth shattering here it’s just basic
downhome blues, loose and relaxed but with some lovely harp

and guitar playing" and that I liked it. Needless to say this
release carries on in a similar fashion, we start with piano
plonker Victor Wainwright playing Jerry McCain's 'She's Tough'
with Tony himself on harp, then its Muddy Waters' 'Honey Bee' with Willie Buck on authentic