TOUCHDOWN U.D.O. (Atomic Fire Records) *** ¾
If I counted correctly on U.D.O.’S website, this is the band’s 27th album. Touchdown is more of what we like about these Teutonic metallers- tight riffing, a martial beat, and the unmistakable voice of Udo Dirkschneider. Yes he was the original voice of German superstars Accept, but that was eons ago. U.D.O. has built an impressive legacy since, and Touchdown shows more creative energy than Accept has since their 2010 comeback.
U.D.O. is an impressive band, and sweet Jesus they play hard. Udo has a unique voice, and either you like it or you don’t- and I do. Of course being surrounded by great musicians doesn’t hurt; his son Sven on drums, Andrey Smirnov and Fabian Dee Dammers on guitars, plus former Accept bassist Peter Baltes, the most recent addition to the lineup. With Touchdown they once again give the fans the kind of music we like to hear; classic metal with no frills, heavy and melodic, driving, relentless. Isolation Man, the leadoff track, flips the bird at the Corona virus, Fight For The Right addresses the war in Ukraine (where guitarist Smirnov is from), and The Flood tells the story of the flood that washed away the band’s own studio. There’s lots of fist pounding on the table here.
Of his last few years with Accept Peter Baltes has observed that band is simply using the same riff over and over, not really growing thanks to the megalomaniacal grip of guitarist Wolf Hoffmann, so he must be thoroughly enjoying the creative atmosphere in U.D.O. Touchdown hits fast and hard but each song stands alone, with guitarists Smirnov and Dammers providing plenty of controlled fireworks. Udo himself proves to be a more than capable lyricist here too, a great storyteller equipped with a naturally aggressive voice that has attitude to spare.
Balls To The Wall was my first exposure to Accept and I’ve been a fan off and on through the years, but it’s relatively recently that I’ve come around to U.D.O. and what they’ve been doing… better late than never. Touchdown is the 7th U.D.O. album to join my collection including last year’s best-of The Legacy, and it’s a steam hammer that reminds you what heavy metal is all about; play fast and hard, and make ‘em sweat. GREAT stuff.
HOT TRACKS: Isolation Man, Punchline, Heroes Of Freedom
BURIED IN THE HAIL Dom Martin (Forty Below Records) *****
I know the Irish get the blues, guys like Rory Gallagher and van Morrison proved that- but sweet Jebus Dom Martin takes it to a whole new level. His unschooled approach to the guitar (acoustic and electric) gives his 3rd album, Buried In The Hail an unvarnished beauty, as does that Belfast blues voice. The acoustic stuff is almost pretty, the electric real dirty… I like it a whole bunch.
Blues/rock, roots/rock, call it whatever you like, Buried In The Hail is an emotional and deeply moving record that drifts from acoustic melancholy to reckless squalls of electric distortion without losing the emotional thread. It’s quite a journey, with each element deftly spelling the other off in the most natural of ways. The album was co-produced by Grammy nominated producers Chris O’Brien and Graham Murphy, who clearly understand how to frame Martin’s sound in the best possible way. The electric numbers are real rough around the edges so when an acoustic number comes along it’s a relief.
Buried In The Hail pulls you right into its embrace pretty much immediately. As a guitarist Classic Rock labels Martin “a sprawling talent” and they have a point… whether he’s jamming on a slow blues like Lefty 2 Guns or cranking it up he makes you feel something with every note he plays, the mark of a great guitar player. You don’t hear theory or scales here; just raw, unvarnished emotion… no wonder he’s tearing up the UK blues scene.
Buried In The Hail is 10 original songs plus one cover. Willie Nelson may have written Crazy and Patsy Cline’s hit single may be definitive but Dom Martin’s take on this country classic has just become my favorite version- dark, foreboding, menacing. Dom takes it from your average heartbreaker and turns it into an epic lament… you might want to hide the sharp objects before you give this one a spin, it’s that wicked.
The blues can be upbeat and uplifting and that’s fine but it can be delectably gloomy too, and that’s the territory Buried In The Hail steers towards more often than not. Take a look at the cd cover art that accompanies this review cuz that’s how this album feels. Buried In The Hail speaks to me in ways that few other albums do.
HOT TRACKS: Crazy, Lefty 2 Guns, Daylight I Will Find
FIGHT AS ONE Freya (Upstate Records) *** ½
I suppose it’s a function of my age but the new Freya disc is right about at the edge of my capacity for maximum heaviosity. Fight As One is the latest offering from this Syracuse based hardcore outfit… it grinds, screams and pushes boundaries, a dense sludge-fest that demands you sit up and take notice.
The band is joined on Fight As One by three legendary hardcore front men; Freddie Cricien (Madball), Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed) and Scott Vogel (Terror). Their vocals as well as those of Freya’s Karl Buechner are powerful and intense, reminding me of Phil Anselmo when I first heard Pantera. Had they pushed any harder into that over the top Cookie Monster growl you wouldn’t be reading this review, and for something this heavy the songs have real groove- unlike the ridiculous ‘blast beat’ drumming that black and hardcore metal bands prefer. “Freya is the perfect vehicle for us to cross over into uncharted sonic territory” says guitarist Erik Edwards, “to combine styles and retell the timeless stories of the heroes and villains from both the history and folklore of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It’s an endless well to draw from.”
What initially attracted me to Fight As One is a combination of powerful drumming and the wall of sound riffs, not unlike early Metallica in some respects but without the need for speed… although there is some of that on numbers like 1000 Yard Stare (featuring Scott Vogel). The music is thick and punishing with a physical presence that can really be exhausting. Metal mags like Kerrang! and Metal Hammer have described their sound as “a well-crafted amalgamation of darkened New York style hardcore with a generous dose of thrash metal stirred into the mix”, and that’s about the guts of it.
I don’t usually have the stomach for something this heavy unless I’m in a particular mood, and today must be one of those days. Freya’s Fight As One is unforgettable, and I’m exhausted.
https://www.facebook.com/freyahardcore
HOT TRACKS: Beyond Despair, Sense Of Doom, Fight As One
BEHIND THE VEIL Jason Ricci & The Bad Kind (Gulf Coast Records) ****
Another beauty here from New Orleans-based harmonica maestro Jason Ricci. Behind The Veil is a deeply engaging blues gumbo, a raft of tempos and naughty vibes that could only come out of Nola. His troubles with drugs and alcohol in his past inform the emotional makeup of the disc but he’s paid his dues, and these songs come from someone that’s been there and made it back.
Behind The Veil, produced by Ricci and Tony Daigle, has a boisterous energy like a dog straining at the leash. They wisely concentrate on capturing the emotional content of the songs rather than pristine sonics. Jason says 5-10-15, the first single, is crucial to how the album turned out. “This was actually the song that made me want to record this CD” he says. “Singer Kaitlin Dibble has been singing this number for a few years and the wheels in my mind started turning on how to capture it. I love the New Orleans R&B feel and I think we captured it here… the whole reason we recorded this CD live in one room was centered around this number.”
The sound of the album is perfectly imperfect- sounding overdriven at times but you can really feel the energy of everyone playing in the room all at once. The band is Ricci on harmonica and backup vocals, his wife Kaitlin Dibble on vocals, Brent Johnson on guitar and backup vocals, Jack Joshua on basses and vocals, plus John Perkins on drums and backup vocals. Special guests include Joe Krown on piano and B3, Joanna Connor on guitar and Lauren Mitchell on backup vocals. The sound and feel is somewhere between down home blues and R&B plus a good ol’ New Orleans funeral music, particularly their take on the old standard St. James Infirmary; there’s a darkness to Veil that really tickles my sweet spot.
Why Don’t We Sleep On It is the latest single from Behind The Veil and I love the story behind it. “Kate and I were having a rare argument and the band was in need of some more music” Ricci says. “So I sat down to write a tune about how much better I would be doing without her and kept hearing her voice or my own telling me the truth or her side… so I wrote both our parts; she loved it; we made up and had this fun duet.” Take your time and explore the whole thing… Behind The Veil is worth the effort.
HOT TRACKS: Terrors Of Nightlife, Cirque du Soleil, St. James Infirmary
ALONE AT SEA Jeff Plankenhorn (Blue Corn Music) *****+
Some albums feel like good medicine, and Jeff Plankenhorn’s new album Alone At Sea is one of them. An expressive vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, whether he’s just telling a story or inspiring you to get up and dance, Jeff has just made a gem of a record.
Produced by Colin Linden (Bruce Cockburn, Keb’ Mo’, Blackie & the Rodeo Kings), Alone At Sea is organic and soulful. The title track, a ballad that poured out of Plankenhorn so fast he had to be convinced not to mess with it, sums up the character of the album at large. It’s about an adventurous soul who’s searching for self-awareness and learns to appreciate solitude, something I can relate to. No doubt the song had something to do with his move from Austin, Texas to Vancouver Island and even the time he spends on the road, something like 150 days a year. Alone At Sea is an uplifting listen, and I imagine his shows are too. “I like the idea that people get uplifted at my shows” he says. “I like the idea that everybody who walks in- I don’t care if you’re a biker or a drag queen- I want you there. Music is supposed to bring people together.”
If you’re familiar with artists like Bruce Cockburn or producer Colin Linden’s solo stuff, that gives you a pretty good idea of how this thing feels. As a singer he reminds me a bit of the blues albums Dion has been releasing in recent years, and as a storyteller with a guitar he captures your attention and holds it effortlessly. Alone At Sea, his 4th album, contains surprisingly little of his famous “plank”, a self-designed hybrid lap-steel guitar he plays standing up; it only appears on Maybe It’s Not Too Late. Jeff says that’s because when Linden heard the demos that he recorded with acoustic guitar and lap steel, Colin liked them so much he built his vision for the album around that sound.
Sometimes you need to listen to a new record and find your way in, but Alone At Sea feels like an intimate friend right away. Like I said at the top, this is good medicine- very good medicine.
HOT TRACKS: Alone At Sea, Juggling Sand, Do A Little Dancing
B’S TIME Al Basile (Sweetspot Records) *****
This is a career retrospective, featuring cuts from the ex-Roomful Of Blues cornetist’s solo career. B’s Time assembles remixed and remastered highlights from a 25 year span, with many coming from early in his career… and they’ve never sounded so good.
B’s Time features 17 songs from Al’s solo discs, using the most up-to-date technology to present his music in the best possible light. “I have well over 200 songs to choose from, and these are not only my favorites, but these are the ones I feel closest to for many different reasons” says Basile. “They show me working with my closest musical friends, like Duke Robillard and his band members over the years, and my favorite guests like Sista Monica Parker and The Blind Boys Of Alabama. They show my broad range as a songwriter and arranger, how many different styles I work in, from Swing to Gospel to R&B to soul to acoustic and electric blues, even psychedelic rock.” UK music journalist Colin Clarke is a fan, calling Al “one of the great musical storytellers. No two songs of Basile’s are alike, yet all contain the stamp of his endless invention. This retrospective is the perfect place to appreciate this unique diversity.” Having several of Al’s albums in my collection, I can verify what Clarke is saying.
The range of material on B’s Time can be startling, particularly when you compare a song like Lie Down In Darkness from 2010’s The Goods to a distorted rocker like Drive Me Darling off of Shaking The Soul Tree- released in 2001, the track feels like an early 70’s raver. This multiple Blues Award nominee also has more than the musical form in mind too, lending his songs an unexpected spiritual dimension, in a non-religious sense. “They show how the teacher in me is always concealing a lesson in my lyrics, for those who listen closely” he says. “You can study my songs, or just listen to them while you’re making dinner- there’s something for every level of listener here.”
B’s Time is the highlight reel of a creatively restless artist’s career to this point. It’s exciting to think he’s nowhere near done, and I can’t wait to see where this poet/ playwright/ singer/ songwriter. cornetist takes us next.
HOT TRACKS: Drive Me Darling, Lie Down In Darkness, B.D
BACK TO THE SPIRIT OF 66 Layla Zoe (Layla Zoe Music) ****+
One of the most powerful voices in blues/rock has just released a blistering live album. Back To The Spirit Of 66 gathers the pent up energy of ‘Canada’s Darling Of The Blues’ Layla Zoe and her band after 3 years away from the stage and unleashes it on a clearly appreciative Belgian club crowd. It’s a stunning set and a great reminder to all that she’s in it for the long haul.
On this particular tour Layla’s band includes Krissy Matthews on guitar, Felix Dehmel on drums and Paul Jobson on keys and bass. Back To The Spirit Of 66 is 2 discs, featuring songs from records like Gemini, Breaking Free and The World Could Change. After a European tour that covered 6 countries with 30 concerts, the tour ended at a club called Spirit Of 66 in Verviers, Belgium, where Layla had recorded Live At Spirit of 66 8 years ago. The band is incredible, particularly guitarist Matthews, who tears it up with as much skill and bravado as Zoe does at the mic while Dehmel and Jobson keep things steaming along. The band, along with Layla, is like a locomotive that cannot be stopped.
I have no production notes for Back To The Spirit Of 66 but the mix is terrific; exacting, full and in your face, even on my little book shelf speakers, as if you and I were on the dance floor in front of the stage, dripping with sweat just like the band. I’m enjoying the choice of songs for this performance, and of course playing them on stage give LZ and her bandmates ample opportunity to stretch out and wring every ounce of emotion out of the tunes, musically and lyrically, and each musician is given the chance to shine.
If you’re not familiar with Layla Zoe, I suggest starting with Back to The Spirit Of 66 and working your way back. Calling her the second coming of Janis Joplin seems trite but she certainly has that kind of brass. A powerful performance from a powerful singer backed by a powerful band… what’s not to love?
HOT TRACKS: Weakness, Dark Heart, Leave You For Good
LET IT SLIDE Angelina Hunter Trio (independent) *****
This is the sophomore effort for this Ottawa-based blues trio, led by singer/ guitarist Angelina Hunter. Let It Slide is powerful blues-based rock & roll, highlighted by Hunter’s passionate vocals and fierce guitar playing. This baby is definitely NOT for the faint-hearted.
The Angelina Hunter Trio is a blues band in the same way that Led Zeppelin was a blues band. They play hard and passionate as Ms. Hunter’s gigantic voice leads the charge. Bassist Adam Bell lays down a thick, irresistible bottom end while Sandy Hunter (relation to Angela? Dunno) drives everything nicely from behind the kit. Let It Slide rocks hard but it’s got boatloads of soul too. It’s Angelina’s voice that gets your attention for sure, but once that pulls you in you can’t help but notice what a great band they are and what a fine guitar player Hunter is too; expressive, powerful and yet knows when to pull it down for the quiet stuff. Her solos are full of fire and brimstone, and I can’t get enough of it.
The Angelina Hunter Trio represented Ottawa in the Memphis International Blues Challenge and has since performed at festivals in Kitchener, Orangeville, Kemptville and, of course, many appearances at the Ottawa Bluesfest. Listening to this disc tonight reminds me of the first time I heard Ally Venable, nearly knocked over by the power of her singing and playing. Saying Angelina (or Ally for that matter) is ‘pretty good on guitar for a chick’ is laughable and condescending. She’s a fine player period, and when she makes that Strat scream and cry the hair on the back of your neck stands up. Trust me- I’ve done the research.
Let It Slide is sort of the same blues/rock as we got from SRV, that same fire and passion and musicianship, an eclectic but powerful type of blues that can move mountains. As the bio I received with this says, their music has “something for everyone, but always from the heart” and you can feel that with every note they sing and play. Pretty friggin’ spectacular if you ask me.
HOT TRACKS: Let It Slide, Back In ’73, Show Me A Sign
HOME AGAIN Voodoo Ramble (independent) *****++
Prepare to be blown away. Home Again, the latest from Croatia’s Voodoo Ramble, is a blues/rock powered wrecking ball. Fantastic songs enforced by exciting musicianship and beefy production make this a contender for Album Of The Year in ANY genre. I should have known when I had a chance to preview the lead single Waterfall some months back… I dug it so much I played it on my blues and rock internet radio shows, more than once.
Voodoo Ramble was founded in 2010 by songwriter/ producer/ guitarist Boris Zamba. After years of playing covers the band now has plenty to say with a dozen new songs written by Zamba. The band is a power trio in the truest sense of the term with Nino on bass and Mario on drums. As a rhythm section they come on like rolling thunder (great snare drum sound, that’s a thing with me) while Zamba provides the lightning on guitar, and the playing is tight, tight, tight. I initially thought of these guys as a blues band, but after a fast trip through Home Again decided that they belong in the ‘rock’ section of my music library instead… hell, maybe both!
As a singer and guitar player Zamba reminds me more of Peter Green than anyone else I can think of. When he solos every note is ripe with feeling, something Stevie Ray Vaughan fans will catch right away, and as a singer he brings across the meaning of the lyrics with intensity while not giving in to unnecessary histrionics. Home Again reminds me of the albums I loved growing up in the 70’s, hard rock with a definite blues influence and attitude, driving and relentless… the kind of music you put on when you’ve got shit to do and you need to keep going. This disc is uplifting, motivating and inspiring in a way that few others are.
I’ve been writing reviews for over three decades and have thought about stopping many times to become ‘just another fan’… but the chance to discover great records like Voodoo Ramble’s Home Again and bring it to your attention makes all the late nights worthwhile. Now excuse while I pour myself a beer and give this another spin.
HOT TRACKS: Waterfall, Home, Love
SOMEBODY PUT BAD LUCK ON ME Bob Corritore & Friends (VizzTone/ SWAMF Records) *****
Another beauty here from harmonica maestro Bob Corritore. Unlike his From The Vault series of albums I’ve reviewed in this column, Somebody Put Bad Luck On Me is freshly recorded tracks with a ton of guest vocalists, this has the breadth and range of those Vault albums… it’s like going to an awesome blues festival filled with one heartfelt performance after another.
Bob’s harmonica playing is the glue that binds these numbers together, but it’s the unbelievable number of talented guests- singers and instrumentalists- that elevate Bad Luck to something more than ‘just another great blues record’. There are too many names to list here, but just some of the singers include Bobby Rush, Johnny Rawls, Thornetta Davis and Francine Reed. As for the musicians, how would you like to be able to say you got Bob Margolin, Anthony Geraci and Kid Ramos to play on your record? Corritore has that kind of pull.
As a producer Bob Corritore gives the record a clean yet vintage sound, bringing out different and extra cool aspects of each artist’s performance. This sounds like an undiscovered gem that’s been cleaned up and brought up to modern technical specs. Putting Bad Luck on the stereo is akin to walking into a roadside juke where’s a party smoldering and about ready to explode. 16 tracks in all on this bad boy with grooves a-plenty to address however you might be feeling; love found, love lost, love gone wrong. I mean hey, it’s the blues!
The first single is Good As Gone featuring the incredible Bobby Rush on vocals and when Corritore steps up for his harp solo it really RIPS, not unlike Robert Plant did for Nobody’s Fault But Mine on Led Zep’s Presence in ‘76– it has that kind of fire and passion that has you reaching for the repeat button as you mutter “I GOTTA hear that again!”
There’s a shit-ton of talented artists bringing Corritore’s vision together for Somebody Put Bad Luck On Me, and while it may be old-school blues, it’s damn good old school blues.
HOT TRACKS: I’m As Good As Gone (with Bobby Rush), Remember Me (with Thornetta Davis), I’m Goin’ Fishin’ (with Sugar Ray Rayford)
