There’s a sweet spot where blues, rock and soul intersect with big guitar riffs, keys and horns. Chicago found it in the seventies, Southside Johnny has made it his lifetime’s work and Springsteen hit it perfectly with his soul covers album ‘Only the Strong Survive’. ‘Time Bomb’ is right in the centre of that sweet spot. Jan James has, as they say, paid her dues on the local Chicago scene in clubs, festivals and theatres, picking up a lot of respect along the way.

The influences she’s been exposed to shine through on ‘Time Bomb’, from the opening jazzy lilt of ‘Swingin’ in the Sweet Sunshine’ to the pure blues of the appropriately-named closing song ‘Always the Blues’. There are songs in traditional blues stylings; ‘Too Late Now’ is a slow blues given a country tinge with the piano part ‘Let Love Surround You’ is a slow blues, opening with a clipped guitar part that gives way to an over-driven guitar in the chorus. What’s noticeable on the album is that although Jan James has a powerhouse voice, it’s kept under a tight rein most of the time and doesn’t very often get into Janis Joplin territory.

‘Don’t It Feel Good’ has a midtempo soul feel while the anti-materialistic ‘Diamonds and Gold’ and the femme fatale song ‘Time Bomb’ both hint at eighties productions. The songs that jump out as being a little different are the two that address social and political issues. In Jan’s words, “All of the songs from ‘Time Bomb’ are inspired by the times we are living in.” ‘Desperate Times’ is a slow piece with some subtle keys that laments the state of the world but acknowledges that we all still need to carry on. ‘Blood on Your Hands’ has a much more direct message; it’s squarely aimed at Donald Trump for his part in the January 6th insurrection and it’s angry, very angry.

If you’re expecting an album of standard 12-bar blues tunes, ‘Time Bomb’ should be a pleasant surprise. You’ll find classic blues but you’ll also find elements of soul, country, swing, eighties FM rock and more besides. The arrangements are all classy and Jan’s vocal, which can go all the way to eleven on the raucous scale, is generally controlled throughout the album; powerful but controlled, and it’s refreshing to hear a few elements of the protest song in the mix as well. ‘Time Bomb’ is a collection of songs that work on a musical and lyrical level with some powerful and restrained musical performances. What’s not to like?

‘Time Bomb’ is released in the UK on Friday July 27th on Blue Palace Records (BPR 33318).

Apologies on this one folks. This album has been out for a while and despite being delivered through the letterbox rather than into the inbox, it got shuffled to the bottom of the pile. Anyway, it’s so good that I had to tell you about it. Better late than never, and it’s now the first Music Riot review of 2023.

The Boneshakers, led by world-renowned former Was (Not Was) guitarist Randy Jacobs, and now fronted by singer Jenny Langer (channelling Janis Joplin and Tina Turner), are celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary in 2022, sixteen years since the release of their last album. The list of megastars that the band members have worked and played with, live and in the studio, is almost endless and covers a huge variety of musical styles. ‘One Foot in the Groove’ isn’t so much a new album as a celebration of the artists and styles that have influenced The Boneshakers sound over the years. They’ve also called in a few guest appearances to add a few more colours to the tonal palette. More about that later.

Of the ten tracks on ‘One Foot in the Groove’, only two are originals, Randy Jacobs’ ‘Powerful Notions’ which closes the album and the Jacobs/Jenny Langer co-write, ‘Big Legged Man’. The remainder are mainly lesser-known songs, with the exception of The Stones’ ‘Let’s Spend the Night Together’. They’re delivered in soul/blues/funk stylings that seem to be almost effortless because of the quality of the musicians involved. These guys can play.

‘Ain’t Got the Fever No More’ is a good example of the type of song covered on the album. The song was written by Steven Van Zandt for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes’ second album ‘This Time It’s for Real’. The Boneshakers stick to the mid-tempo shuffle of the original but take it in a more bluesy direction. This may be a coincidence, it may not, but former Juke and E Street Band trumpet player Mark Pender guests on this song along with Joe Sublett of the Texicali Horns. The other guest appearance is by Stones’ backing singer Bernard Fowler on ‘I Forgot to Be Your Lover’ and, of course, ‘Let’s Spend the Night Together’. Let’s not forget Was (Not Was) legend Sir Harry Bowens, who appears on half of the songs on the album.

The album’s opener sets the tone for what’s to come. ‘Mr Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore’ is built around a slow groove with funky guitar, horns and Hammond and Jenny Langer’s raw vocal. From here on in, the funk runs through the album whether it’s blues (‘Big Legged Man’), soul (‘I Forgot to be Your Lover’) or jazz-tinged (‘Powerful Notions’). The combination of smooth playing and powerful vocals makes this an album that’s impossible to ignore. Turn it up to eleven.

‘One Foot in the Groove’ is out now on Take it to The Bridge Records.

Here’s a quick snippet from the ‘Making of…’ video for the album:

Three decades in the business and fifteen albums is quite an impressive achievement. ‘Every Seed We Plant’ is the next step; album sixteen. The good news is that Alice’s creativity is undimmed after that time and her voice is still as powerful as ever over the whole of its wide range. The album displays a wide range of styles from the slow country waltz feel of ‘Sweet Elaine’ to the soulful rock of the album’s opener ‘For Granted’. The styles may vary but there are several themes related to the last two years running through the album that create a sense of unity across the piece. Apart from the obvious references to grief, there’s anger, redemption, joy and a sense of rebirth. The album’s opening and closing songs both have references to planting and nurturing.

The two songs that best demonstrate the emotional range of the album are ‘Dispatch’ and ‘Sweet Elaine’. ‘Dispatch’ is a very angry song about the real events that led to the killing of a black retired Marine, Kenneth Chamberlain, in his home in White Plains, New York. The story’s told from the point of view of the dispatcher responsible for sending the police to activations of LifeAid medical alarms, who was called by Chamberlain asking the police to withdraw. It’s a very angry song about something that’s still way too common in America today, told in a very compelling way. ‘Sweet Elaine’ is a slow country-rock waltz telling the beautiful story of a woman and a dog who profoundly change each other’s lives. The slight vibrato on the vocal and the Eagles-style vocal harmonies create a happy and relaxed feel that perfectly matches the positive narrative.

The album opens with ‘For Granted’, a soulful rock groove in a seventies style that evokes Maggie Bell or even an in-tune version of Janis Joplin. It nods in the direction of Etta James’s ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ (the unnecessary cover of choice for many a second-rate blues-rock band) with a rock band line-up including organ and piano (with the obligatory triplets of course). Alice’s voice is so versatile that there are comparisons to be made with Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones and many others. The band arrangements are equally diverse, with ‘Jersey’, not surprisingly, having a hint of the E Street Band as it takes a hammer to the New Jersey stereotypes that Alice has probably heard for most of her life.

As a whole, the album takes a journey through the various stages of recovery from the pandemic and its associated woes from grief to rebirth, with the final two songs, ‘Sweet Elaine’ and ‘’Every Seed’ looking forward to a more hopeful future. It’s a lovely example of creating beautiful art from unpromising raw materials.

‘Every Seed We Plant’ is out now in the UK on Alice Otter Music (AO116).

Here’s the video for the title song:

Layla ZoeLayla Zoe blurs the distinction between rock and blues; although this live workout has shades of quieter emotion too (“The Lily” for example, which brings out the sweetness in Zoe’s voice). The set relies heavily on her most recent work, 2014’s “The Lily” and unfortunately, the Belgian crowd seem unfamiliar with those tracks. However she kicks off with ‘”I’ve Been Down” where she sings ‘… gotta get my act together…’ in what could be a tribute to either Janis Joplin or The Doors (“Been Down So Long”), she then seamlessly slips into forward gear with a 180 degree turn to “Pull Yourself Together”, a vehement musical rant that shows Zoe’s voice to full effect. Another angry highlight is “They Lie”, ‘They’ being the political establishment; if not exactly nailing her colours to a particular mast, Layla and band remind us that there are plenty of reasons to wake up and protest and you can almost hear her long hair whipping the microphone.

The difference between this album and the last is not just its alive quality, but that “The Lily” co-writer and axeman extraordinaire, Henrik Freischlader is absent, instead replaced by Jan Laacks. It would have taken a skilful and confident guitarist to audition for such an intricate set of tunes, but I have to say, if I had doubts previously, Laacks more than manages lead guitar duties, even if he tends toward more straight-ahead rock sensibilities on the whole.

It’s a big listen, clocking in both discs at about the same length as a feature film, and maybe a brave release given its coverage of her most recent album, only a few of older tracks and ending with three covers (Lennon/McCartney’s “Let It Be”, “Yer Blues” and James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s World” with a more relaxed jazz vocal in places; it’s twenty minutes long). But thankfully it’s not a “Greatest Hits: Live” which can so often result in overworked arrangements to stop the band nodding off. “Live” is a great listen but you might want to take it in in halves. As often happens, with live sets, three of the tracks come in at over ten minutes, for which you maybe had to be there. However, this outing on disc certainly makes me hope that she does a dedicated UK tour sometime soon.

It feels like this release is more of a confirmed fan’s date; newcomers should certainly dip into this album, but I’d probably recommend an earlier studio session or to just buy a ticket and get lost in the bluesy world of Layla Zoe.

“Live at Spirit of 66” is out now on Cable Car Records (CCR 0311-46).

The LilyFor the uninitiated, Layla Zoe is an accomplished Canadian singer-songwriter who has conquered much of Europe with her unique take on the blues.  But there is none of the ‘poor me’ blues here, the writing is both spiritual and positive –even when dealing with ‘bad love’; “But I’ve learned all I could from the drugs and from the booze/ Now I’m learning to love myself with a new way to sing my blues” (“I Choose You”).  Zoe opens with an a cappella version of “Glory, Glory Hallelujah” and this sets the tone, if not the content, to “The Lily”.  She was raised on her father’s diverse record collection and first took to the stage at only fourteen.  Since then Layla has been widely praised for her emotional performances that have been likened to Janis Joplin, although her voice is not so raw.

She has even gained praise from Jeff Healey after working his club in Toronto: “All the compliments, comments and credos going around the city about her are not unfounded.  She is wonderful.”  Clearly though, she has become more than merely a local phenomenon.  This, her seventh album sees her team up very successfully with German guitar hero and multi-instrumentalist Henrik Freischlader, who also plays drums and bass and takes production credit.  The songs are co-written with Layla providing the lyrics and Freischlader, the music, with the exception of the traditional gospel of the opener and Neil Young’s ‘Hey, Hey, My, My’ –a song she fills with the rock ‘n’ roll verve it requires .

There is range and variety with this album; she can soar, she can swoop, essential qualities of a blues singer, but there is real soul here too whether she is chasing down the beautifully sculpted guitar or balladeering.   Every song here has something to offer whether it’s the writing, instrumental, vocal or delivery and more often than not all of these which amounts to quite a high hit rate.  My personal favourite, “Gemini Heart” is a slow burning blues about her own Gemini heart and that of a sometime lover; Layla is a strong believer in astrology and although the track is about a rather one-sided love she affirms “Cause I’m just a strong, sensitive, strong, kind of woman/ Just a Gemini heart.”  Another slower-tempo track, ‘Father’ gives free reign to Henrik’s lead guitar, mirroring the bitter-sweet pain of the love of her father.  Her writing is strong and she has even written a self-published book of poems “Diary of a Firegirl”, proof, were it needed, that her lyrics can also stand alone.  Most of the tracks weigh in at well over five minutes but that’s just how long the songs are, not because of ambling, self-indulgent production, and it helps you to feel that you are getting good value.  “The Lily” is certainly not an ear-busting listen.

Although she is yet to play live in the UK, Layla Zoe said she hopes to come next year as a guest of Freischlader, where I’m sure both will receive a warm welcome but you can catch her on tour in Europe throughout September and October this year at various venues and festivals.  Layla says this is the album she is the most proud of and I’m certain it will garner both critical and popular acclaim, it’s certainly on my list for album of the year.

Out August 30 on Cable Car Records.