Blues Blast Magazine Album Review: Dr. Helander – Country Boy

Hello!

This CD review was originally published in the April 14, 2016 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at www.bluesblastmagazine.com

Dr. Helander – Country Boy

Bluelight Records

12 tracks / 45:59

When is the last time you heard a blues album from Finland? Well, Country Boy from “Dr.” Ilkka Helander is a rare set from the land of a thousand lakes, and it is a fine collection of hard-hitting classic acoustic blues. The Dr. has previously released three albums of mostly original electric blues, so this unplugged album is a big departure from his proven methods as it has ten covers and only two originals. But, apparently this man knows the blues in all of its forms, and this disc really clicks.

For this project, Helander sings and provides the most of the acoustic guitar parts, and Mika Railo joins him on double bass for many of the tracks with Topi Kurki behind the drum kit on four songs. There are also a few outstanding guest artists, as you will soon see.

The Muddy Waters-penned title track is up first, which features none other than Grammy winner Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, and Esa Kuloniemi on slide guitar. “Country Boy” is an awesome song to start with, and this crew does this slow blues jam justice with Muselwhite leading the way along with the doctor’s hearty vocals. In case you were wondering, the vocals are all in English, with appropriate inflections and a touch of gravelly Midwest twang.

If you like Muddy Waters, there is one other tune from his Folk Singer album on this disc, “My Home is in the Delta.” Like many of the other songs on this release the instrumentation is kept to the minimum, this time with just Helander’s acoustic guitar and Railo’s stand-up bass. He dials things back even further with Son House’s “Walking Blues,” with only his voice and dobro. Mr. Helander has a nice touch and feel on the six-string, and he does a pretty mean job with his slide on this one.

There is also a pair of neat Junior Wells tracks to be found on Country Boy: “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl” and “Hoodoo Man Blues,” both of which feature Little Willie Mehto on the harp. His style is a little more laid back than Musselwhite’s, which allows Helander’s voice to take the front of the stage and he does a marvelous job of howling out these tried-and-true lyrics.

A standout track on this disc is Charley Patton’s “Green River Blues” which has quite a bit going for it. Kurki lays down a slick up-tempo drum rhythm that meshes well with a walking bass line provided by Railo. Also, Kuloniemi’s mandolin is a cool counterpoint to Helander’s well-picked guitar. Of course, it also helps that this is just an incredible song that was written by a blues master.

There are plenty of other cool classic blues covers to be found here, including “Mean Old Frisco” by Big Boy Crudup, Lightnin’ Hopkins’ “Hello, Central, Give Me 209,” and Little Walter’s “Just a Feeling.” But as wonderful as these songs are, there is one song that is a little outside the box, and that would be Mike Bloomfield’s “Hey Foreman.” This is probably the newest of the covers (from the mid-1970s), and its original folk blues would have seemed a little out of place if Helander copied it exactly. But he re-worked it with slide guitar from Olli Haavisto, making it a little more Delta than Bloomfield’s version. It works, and it integrates seamlessly with the rest of the songs on the CD.

Helander and Kuloniemi wrote one of the two original tracks on the album, and “$100 Bills” fits right in with the rest of the set. This tune has a driving roadhouse beat with Musselwhite adding his harmonica and Kuloniemi picking his mandolin. This is a very well written track, and is the standout track on the album. The other original, “Big Cold Beer,” also cuts the mustard with its jaunty guitar leads and witty lyrics. Hopefully we can get a full album of original blues from Helander, as he certainly has the writing chops to pull it off.

Dr. Helander did an impressive job with his first acoustic blues album, and Country Boy is a winner. It is a cool history of the blues greats, played with respect and talent, and it is not a record you will listen to once and put away. Check it out for yourself, and also take a listen to his catalog of original electric blues if you get the chance. This fellow is the real deal!

Blues Blast Magazine Album Review: Jim Singleton – 8 O Clock in the Afternoon

Hello!

This CD review was originally published in the October 15, 2015 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at www.bluesblastmagazine.com

Jim Singleton – 8 O’ Clock in the Afternoon | Album Review

Self Release

www.jimsingletonband.com

10 tracks / 42:47

Jim Singleton grew up as an army brat, so he has lived all over the world and he ended up with a hankering for American blues from the epic festivals he attended abroad. He brought this hunger for music back to the states with him, as well an understanding of how badly European players needed to get quality guitars into their hands. An export business grew from this, and now he is a respectable vintage guitar dealer and an acknowledged expert that contributes regularly to industry publications. But he is also an accomplished guitarist and singer, and he is not afraid to head into the studio to lay down some ambitious tracks!

8 O'Clock in the Afternoon is a self-produced effort by Jim Singleton, and he provided guitars and vocals for the project. He called on some amazing talent to join him in the studio, including legendary bassist Joe Osborne, Grammy-winner Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, and guitar maven Bernie Marsden. It is a testament to his talent and extensive industry connections that he was able to make this happen. This disc has ten tracks, with three original and seven covers that include a few crazy surprises.

Jim starts the set with Fleetwood Mac's 1969 hit "Rattlesnake Shake" which is arguably one of the best songs that Peter Green ever wrote. It provides a good dose of gnarly blues-rock and Singleton plays a mean guitar and his hearty voice really shines through the mix. This is followed up by Jerry Lynn Williams' “Nothing to Do With Love," which was cut from the same cloth. This song, most famously recorded by Kenny Wayne Shepherd, is a hard rocker with killer organ from Michael "the Professor" Hensley and a driving drums from John Martin.

The work of Irish blues man Rory Gallagher is also represented on this CD and Singleton's crew captured the raw energy of this legendary performer. "What's Going On" is all raucous guitars and emotional vocals, and "A Million Miles Away" gives Jim the chance to show a little more versatility on the axe. The latter is a killer British blues jam with plenty of layered tracks that gives plenty of room for Jim to do his thing on the vocals. This song is one of the stronger ones in the set, and it was a wise choice to finish off the record.

A few of the covers really come out of left field. Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again" has been re-imagined into a slow paced country ballad with some beautiful lap steel work, and it turns out very well. Though it is also very well done, the same cannot be said for Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" which follows a bit too closely to the source material. With its fairly faithful arrangement it is just too hard to disconnect it from the original, and Singleton's voice is just too different from Isaak's to pull it off.

In the midst of all of these cool covers, there is a sprinkling of well-written originals, too. Bernie Marsden contributed "Place in My Heart," a slow and moody blues tune that includes some marvelous interplay between the guitars and Musselwhite's harp. And guitarist Gary Vincent contributes a touch of country with "Don't Take" (including some neat squeezebox from Mark Yacavone) and the blues-rock of "Place in My Heart." Vincent delivers the goods here with strong songs from two different genres, and it is fortunate that he was included on this project.

8 O'clock in the Afternoon is a solid effort from Jim Singleton, and it is a great album for fans of blues and British blues-rock. The songs are all very good, and they were completed with fine musicianship and good production values. Hopefully Jim and his friends will be heading back to the studio again soon, as they provide cool music that can be listened to more than once!

Mahalo!