Damn Right I’ve Got The Blues – Michael Packer vs. Dr Izzy vs. Krossborder Kompilation Vol. 1

Damn Right I’ve Got The Blues – Michael Packer vs. Dr Izzy vs. Krossborder Kompilation Vol. 1
MICHAEL PACKER
I Am The Blues
Iris

This is an interesting one. This hour long live show sees Mr Packer talking about his life, almost as much as he sings. Which would be boring, but he’s certainly lived a life. Not a nice one, mind you. Although he had more chances than most, but instead wound up a jakey, smackhead, homeless ex-con. And that’s without mentioning his Uncle Al. You know, the murdering cannibal.

Aside from that, he had a couple of shots at the big time, with Ahmet Ertegun signing him to Atlantic Records, then after hitting the bevvy, he got given another go with RCA. But it wasn’t to be, and Rikers Island beckoned. And there are songs about all these things, with ‘Uncle Al’ and ‘Doing Time At Rikers Island’, self explanatory.

If nothing else, he would get points from me for punching Bob Dylan, but regardless of that, this was an interesting hour. I’m not sure you would listen to it very often, but you should certainly hear it at least once.

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DR. IZZY
Blind & Blues Bound
Black Chow Records

This album ranges over genres rather willy nilly from blues rock to country to seventies hard rock, but it always has a blues root as befits a record that James Cotton and Otis Taylor pop up on.

I don’t know whether Dr Izzy is a real doctor, or whether she’s a doctor in the same way that Professor Longhair was a a professor, but I do know that she hails from Texas, went blind aged nine, but is one of those infuriating people who maintains a positive spin on things. Her main backing band here is guitarist Robert Morrison, Larry Thompson on drums, and Kenny Passarelli on bass, Hammond organ, and piano. And they put in a sterling shift.

The best songs pop up early on, with the opening ‘Matches Don’t Burn Memories’ a corker, pushed along by James Cotton and his ever splendid harmonica. With Otis Taylor on banjo, ‘Old Black Crow’ head off into roots rock territory, and then there is ‘One Last Walk’, which shines like an old soul tune.

Vocally, Dr Izzy has a unique style that some won’t take to, but it’s certainly worth taking a chance on.

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VARIOUS
Krossborder Kompilation Vol. 1
Krossborder

Finally, “Krossborder Kompilation Vol 1: The Best British Blues” sees the advent of a new record label, courtesy of the people who bring you Blues Matters! magazine, a 16 track, budget priced introduction to the world of new British blues, and the return of the letter K, from the eighties.

Now as such, there is always as much keech as there is class, but that’s the way of the compilation album, especially when up and coming artists are involved, but as you’re getting the whole thing for less than six quid, and as at least half the tunes are worth a return visit, then you should be buying it.

Again, the recording quality varies quite a lot, but when you have performers as good as the Little Devils, Jackson Sloan, Dave Thomas, Tom Gee, The Sharon Colgan Band and Dove & Boweevil doing their thing, it’s certainly worth buying. I’ll leave you to decide where the keech lies, and while “Krossborder Kompilation Volume 1: The Best British Blues” may be a slight misnomer, it’s not far of the mark.

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