Damn right I’ve got the blues – The Rides vs. Jonny Lang vs. Omar Dykes vs. The Doobie Brothers

Damn right I’ve got the blues – The Rides vs. Jonny Lang vs. Omar Dykes vs. The Doobie Brothers
THE RIDES
Can’t Get Enough
Provogue

I must admit the news surprised me. Stephen Stills + Barry Goldberg + Kenny Wayne Shepherd = The Rides. Shit name, mind, but when you’ve got the talented one out of CSN and CSNY, the Zelig like Goldberg (one of my favourite interviewees) and KWS in the same room, you’ve got to hope for some magic.

And it mostly is. Quite what the point is, short of them having fun in the studio, I’m not sure about, as there are only a handful of new songs here. They’re good ones as well, which makes you wish they were greater in number or, alternately, wish this was an EP. But that’s to take away from a largely enjoyable ride (aha!)

It’s the first time that Stills and Goldberg have played together, despite having appeared on the same record, back in the day. With Stills in good, if time worn, voice, some great blues runs from KWS and Goldberg taking on the role of lukewarm water, they sound like a proper band, and the opening ‘Mississippi Roadhouse’ is a right cracker. The other original songs are worth hearing, but when they amble into the likes of Muddy Water’s ‘Honey Bee’ and Elmore James’s ‘Talk To Me Baby’, it all turns a bit bar band.

The real shite is reserved for a couple of covers – Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’ and the Stooges ‘Search And Destroy’. Grim doesn’t begin to describe them, and I said a quick prayer of thanks to the God of Musicbee when ripping the CD to my MP3 player. No and thank you. The band is filled out by SRV & Double Trouble drummer Chris Layton and Stephen Stills’s regular bass player Kevin McCormick, so the music is performed immaculately.

Where they go from here, I don’t know, but cut down, it makes for an awesome EP.

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JONNY LANG
Fight For My Soul
Provogue

It’s been a long time since I bought a debut CD by schoolboy, Kid Jonny Lang & The Big Bang, and he’s Kid no more. In fact it’s been seven years since his last record, and now that he’s in his thirties, he’s decided that he wants to be a soul singer, rather than a blues man. There were hints of that on “Turn Around”, but it’s now a fully fledged move.

Which is a bit of a shame, because he had the chops to be a top notch blues guitarist, but if this smooth direction is where he gets his kicks, then good luck to him. Maybe after touring in his teens with the likes of the Rolling Stones and Aerosmith, he thought the only way was down.

He’s still a great singer, but the songs are just too middle of the road for me. It flatters to deceive as the opening track ‘Blew (The House)’ still has a touch of blues rock about it, but after that he gets his white suit on, finds some falseto and heads off into the Simply Red world of ‘Breakin’ In’. He’ll say it’s all Motown and Prince, but it sounds just too safe.

It’s not for me, but if you like your music safe and unthreatening, go for it.

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OMAR DYKES
Runnin’ With The Wolf
Provogue

Praise the Lord! After the Jonny Lang album, I really needed this. Omar (from the Howlers) already has a couple of solo Jimmy Reed tributes under his belt, and now here comes his take on Howlin’ Wolf. And it’s good. In no small measure due to the fact that Omar can howl like the wolf.

He kicks off with an original number (the title track) which namechecks a host of Wolf classics before heading off into songs you know like the back of your hand. I mean where would the blues be without songs like ‘Spoonful’, ‘Smokestack Lightning’ and ‘Little Red Rooster’? Actually, a lot of the songs here would serve as a Willie Dixon tribute album, but it’s the voice of the Wolf that took them to another level.

They’re not straight covers as the band – Derek O’Brien / Eve Monsees – guitar, Kaz Kazanoff – tenor sax, Ted Roddy – harp, Ronnie James – bass and drummers Mike Buck and Wes Starr – put their own groove on things. If you love Howlin’ Wolf, then you’ll like this, even if no-one will ever sound as evil or lascivious as Chester Burnett.

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THE DOOBIE BROTHERS
Live At Wolf Trap
Eagle Rock

Eh? Why? A reissue of a live album that came out 9 years back, albeit in a different cover. I mean are there are any latter day Doobie Brothers fans out there who won’t have bought it the first time out? I know I did, and loved it. Recorded at Virginia’s National Park for the Performing Arts in 2004, this was (and is) a cracking, brass enhanced romp through the Doobies’ best tunes.

And by best known, that means most of them predate the arrival of Michael McDonald, with 13 of the tracks originally recorded between 1972 and 1975. So it’s the boogie and country rock years, rather than the soft rock and white boy soul years. The reunion saw three of the core members involved, so you get guitarists / vocalists Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnston, and drummer Mike Hossack (who sadly passed away from cancer last year).

All my favourites are here, including ‘Rockin’ Down The Highway’, ‘Jesus Is Just Alright’, ‘Take Me In Your Arms’, as well as the hits such as ‘Long Train Runnin’, ‘China Grove’ and ‘Listen To The Music’.  There’s no room for ‘Nobody’, one of my favourites off their debut (although and that and some other tunes are on the DVD / Blu-Ray version), but for a good time, it doesn’t get much better than this.  Unless you buy the original version of the CD, which is still available, and 3 quid cheaper on Amazon.

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