Thank you Nigel Foster (Blues in Britain) for this amazing review of our new album! Backwater Roll Blues Band – Live at the Platform The Backwater Roll Blues Band is a six piece unit hailing from Southampton and this excellent live album was recorded during a live performance at The Platform Pub. The album comprises 11 tracks that represent the band’s own personal take of some real Blues standards from luminaries that include Rufus Thomas, Elmore James, Little Jimmy Read, Muddy Waters and contemporary R&B Bluesers The Hoax. The album certainly has that live feel and captures an energetic band in full flow. Throughout the show the rhythm section of Reggie Winslade and Chris Pope keep the grooves nailed to the floor, Ray Drury provides a stream of honky tonk flavoured keys, the guitar pairing of Deano Matthias and Tim Payne trade licks and deliver some impressive solos and completing the line-up, Miff Smith lays down some deep toned vocals and serious Harmonica. The show starts in style with a rattling rendition of Elmore James’ So Mean to Me. The backline punching out the rhythms, Smith’s voice and Harmonica vie for top billing with the Matthias and Payne frenetic fret work. Walking the Dog maintains tempo getting a real going over. The show hits its straps on the giant slab of Blues power that is Hoochie Coochie Man. Easy to copy but the band certainly put their own stamp on it. The opening riff is humungous and is so down and dirty it immediately reminded me of Angus Young’s riff from The Jack, it is that powerful and dense. Said riff permeates the whole song while Smith stretches his voice to deliver the rasped deep vocal. Who Do You Love keeps the rocky tempo going before taking us in to a mighty rendition of the Ashford and Simpson cut I Don’t Need No Doctor. Smith is straight in on a sole of the boots vocal all echoes and punchy laid right over the crunching grooves from the rhythm section and a loping riff. This one really is Bar Room Blues. Drury pummels the keys and stretches the melody and as the tune builds Matthias steps in to carve a squally distorted solo that screams away. Little Jimmy Reed’s Big Boss Man bursts forth on Pope’s punchy drums and Winslade’s booming bass who pick up a mean pace that Smith matches with a pacey vocal delivery and all the while Drury’s keys and the guitars trade heavy blows. This one rattles along before it is sliced open with two piercing rapid fire solos, the first tight and razor sharp, the second full of reverb. Smith is not to be overshadowed as he pushes out his own cutting Harmonica solo. Fistful of Dirt is a great show closer as the band take The Hoax’s trademark Rhythm and Blues template and melds it in to a rousing finale to the show. Smith chimes in early with a pleading Harmonica break before the backline kicks in with a slab of a groove that invites Smith’s aggressive forcing vocal. Matthias delivers more scorching fret work via a spitting venomous solo that keeps the kicking vibe going through to the end. Eight minutes of dense dirty sounds that the band clearly loved chopping out. This album has a bombast and swagger about it that is evidence of a band that knows how to deliver a live show and please a crowd. Recorded in a pub it may have been but Backwater Roll Blues Band is no mere pub band. Check out the album and check out the band!
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 22:15:37 +0000
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