Page 51 - BiTS_07_JULY_2023
P. 51
Jon Cleary—So Swell—Single Lock Records ASIN :
B0BYRNDWKR
Brit Jon Cleary actually moved from Kent to live in New Orleans
to better play the music that he loved and as he told the Guardian
"Music isn't a choice for me - It's a bodily function!" This new
album was recorded at New Orleans’ Esplanade Studios with
James Booker’s old rhythm section of James Singleton (double
bass) and Johnny Vidacovich (drums), plus Nola legend James
Rivers on sax on several tracks and with Jon himself on vocals,
piano, organ and percussion.
A swinging reboot of the old Stephen Foster classic ‘Swanee River Boogie’ gets us started, then
it’s Jon’s own jazzy ‘Two Wrongs’ with Mr. Rivers adding his booting sax and ‘I Call It Pretty
Music (But the Old Folks Call It the Blues)’ was originally recorded by Stevie Wonder. ‘Just
Because’ is a traditional Crescent City-style loping blues ballad, with the title track being an
old Fats Domino song and ‘Second Line on Monday’ by Chuck Carbo is another song that
celebrates New Orleans. Jon turns Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson’s song ‘We're No Exception’ into a
moody instrumental and the 1928 standard ‘I Get the Blues When it Rains’ is delicious in this
straight-forward delivery. ‘Tuberculucus and the Sinus Blues’ is another Nola classic by Huey
‘Piano’ Smith & The Clowns (a sister song to their ‘Rockin' Pneumonia & the Boogie Woogie
Flu’) but ‘Since I Don't Have You’ sees Jon taking a 1958 doo-wop song by The Skyliners and
turning it into a smoky late-night blues with breathy sax from Mr. Rivers. Jon once again
demonstrates his total mastery of the New Orleans piano tradition but while paying his dues
to that history he also incorporates new elements into the mix.
Graham Harrison
Ally Venable—Real Gone—Ruf Records ASIN : B0BS9VVWZ7
Looking at the cover Ally is a sweet-looking 23-year old but don’t
let that fool you. This is her fifth album and on the opening title
track she rocks out with mean vocals and biting wah-wah guitar,
while ‘Goin’ Home’ is a melodic ballad and ‘Justifyin’ is another
high-energy rocker. ‘Broken and Blue’ is a nice slow blues that
features Joe Bonamassa on guitar and ‘Texas Louisiana’ features
blues legend Buddy Guy sharing both vocals and guitar with Ally
on this blasting fun song about their home states.
Elsewhere it’s just Ally and her band of Tom Hambridge
(production, drums), Mike Rojas (keyboards), Kenny Greenberg
(guitars) and Tom MacDonald (bass), with the addition of Max Abrams and Steve Patrick on
brass. ‘Any Fool Should Know’ is a relaxed, melodic soul ballad with Hammond and brass and
Ally adding a tasteful guitar solo. ‘Kick Your Ass’ is a swampy rocker and ‘Blues is My Best
Friend’ is a semi-acoustic 12-bar that suddenly has a keening electric guitar solo in the middle
– “The Lord maybe my shepherd but the blues is my best friend”. ‘Gone So Long’ is another
restrained ballad with both Ally’s vocals and guitar being very sympathetic and atmospheric
and the closing ‘Two Wrongs’ is a down-home rocker with a real dirty guitar tone. This is
another very successful album from this young Texan, helped out by a very competent band
and by Mr. Hambridge in the producer’s chair.
Graham Harrison
