Over the course of the last decade, there has been a massive upsurge of interest in the blues. Not that the blues ever went away, as such, but there currently seems to be more artists meeting with more success than there has been for some time. At the forefront of this is the Mascot Label group, who have an unerring eye for talent, both young and old. In celebration, 2018 will see the Rockin’ the blues tour roll across Europe and, to get you in the mood, we have this cracking compilation, which is not just a sampler, but also a celebration of the fantastic roster Mascot have put together.
If you’re gonna get a hard-rockin’ blues party started, then Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s superlative ‘diamonds & gold’ (from the excellent ‘lay it on down’), is the perfect choice. Funky, soulful and with some stinging leads, if it doesn’t make you want to go straight out and buy its parent album (one of SonicAbuse’s best of 2017), then you’re in the wrong place. Hotly-tipped youngster Quinn Sullivan (who comes recommended by Buddy Guy, no less), is up next with an uncharacteristically chilled number in the form of ‘Midnight highway’, before the indomitable Eric Gales sets the cat amongst the pigeons with the funky ‘been so long’. These two quieter numbers offer stunning musicianship, as you might expect, but they also serve as a moment of calm before Walter Trout appears, with the mighty Joe Bonamassa in two, to whip up a storm on ‘we’re all in this together’, the title track of his latest masterpiece. A relatively slow blues with smoking leads and a tough-as-nails vocal performance, it’s taken from another of SonicAbuse’s albums of the year, and it won’t take you long to see why. Sadly, very few female artists are represented on this compilation, but it’s always a joy to hear Beth Hart, and her ‘love is a lie’ (taken from ‘fire on the floor’) is a stinging reminder of her exceptional power. Gary Hoey, whose ‘dust and bones’ album so impressed in 2016, offers up the title track to that album, with its hard-driving rhythm and gloriously fluid lead work.
A little bonus for those buying the album, Lance Lopez (Supersonic Blues Machine) offers up a previously unreleased cover of John Lee Hooker’s ‘Mr Lucky’ which is pretty much worth the price of admission alone. Lance’s voice is a gritty marvel, his guitar playing second to none and the vibe of the song pitch-perfect. Yet another hghlight of 2017 is represented next in the form of Simo’s distortion-laden ‘People say’ (taken from ‘rise and shine’) before Thomas Wynn and the believers offer up ‘wade waist deep’, a slow, soulful piece of music that leads nicely to the fantastic ‘L.O.V.E.’ from Supersonic Blues Machine’s exquisite ‘Californisoul’ album. Jonny Lang continues to impress with ‘strong together’ from this year’s ‘signs’, but few can compare to the glorious guitar work of Sonny Landreth who appears here with a live cut, ‘blues attack’, recorded in Lafayette. Arguably the hardest rockers on the album, Black Stone Cherry turn in an exquisitely swampy cover of ‘Champagne and reefer’ fromtheir ‘black to blues’ EP, before Ronnie Baker brings things to a close with his hip-hop infused ‘times have changed’.
Listening to this album, it makes you realise just how many amazing blues records have appeared in the last two years, and just how close to the cutting edge the Mascot Label Group actually is. Running the gamut from slow, introspective blues (Eric Gales and Quinn Sullivan), to full-blooded guitar rawk (black stone cherry), this album just floors the listener time and again with killer cut after killer cut. Unless you own every record on the compilation (and even then), this low-priced compilation is the perfect entrée into the amazing world of blues Mascot are building for themselves and their artists. 10
European Shows ft. ERIC GALES, QUINN SULLIVAN, GARY HOEY + SPECIAL GUEST LANCE LOPEZ
Tickets available from www.rockintheblues.com
9 March – Fabrik, Hamburg, GERMANY
10 March – Columbia Theater, Berlin, GERMANY
11 March – FZW, Dortmund, GERMANY
13 March – Muffathalle, Munich, GERMANY
15 March – Batschkapp, Frankfurt, GERMANY
16 March – Boerderij, Zoetermeer, THE NETHERLANDS
17 March – The Garage, London, UK
