WHICH WAY TO THE BLUES
Self-Release
Berkshire-based Backbone has probably played more in the US than at home, having toured the southern USA several times, including playing the King Biscuit festival and Ground Zero in Clarksdale. Those experiences are recounted in tracks like Beale To Bourbon and Juke Joints on their first full album release. The band is a five piece with guitarists Frank McConnell and Tony Seaman, well supported by keyboard player Steve Pearce and the rhythm section of Martin Jezzard on drums and Duncan Highet on bass. Duncan wrote most of the material with Tony offering two and the CD logs in at a generous 66 minutes. The overall style is rocking blues but without the histrionics that sometimes beset bands with that label; here the emphasis is on songs with a strong melodic and lyrical content. Try Loving Rings My Bell with its catchy chorus and fine Santana style guitar or the superb ballad Keeping The Peace in which Duncan offers advice on maintaining a strong relationship with more excellent work from both guitarists and a strong chorus. Duncan is a good vocalist and it is easy to catch the lyrics, even on first hearing, though Tony does handle the vocals on a couple of tracks, notably his own Ain’t No Use which is a jaunty shuffle with additional sax from Frank Abrams and some sparkling piano from Steve. Steve’s piano is also a feature of The Preacher which describes a character that is well known in the States, the man of God who also plays the Devil’s music at night. Other songs to mention are the title track which takes the ‘devil at the crossroads’ theme and gives it a modern twist or Am I Right? which closes the album with American harp player David Berntson guesting and Duncan venting his spleen about some of the things that bug him. This is a fine album with plenty of excellent songs – well worth checking out! The band is planning to play more in the UK so watch out for live dates too.
JOHN MITCHELL
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