Michael Jerome Browne- Gettin’ Together review

Michael Jerome Browne Getting’ Together Borealis/Stony Plain Records Michael Jerome Browne has been producing quality, Canadian blues longer than most of us have been listening. An undisputed master of the slide guitar, Browne’s albums usually feature a unifying theme, and Getting’ Together is no exception. Revisiting the songs that brought him to the blues when…

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Spencer Mackenzie- Preach to My Soul review

Spencer Mackenzie Preach to My Soul SpencerMackenzie.ca Go for what you know. For youthful blues-guitarist Spencer Mackenzie, that appears to be rockin’ blues. During my formative, high school musical years listening to mainstream rock FM stations, I could hear Powder Blues, Downchild, and David Wilcox alongside a Rumours track, the next chart-climber from Pat Benatar,…

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Suzie Vinnick- Fall Back Home review

Suzi Vinnick Fall Back Home SuzieVinnick.com Over the last decade, Suzie Vinnick has become one of Canada’s favourite blues artists. Albums including 2018’s Shake That Love Around and 2011’s Me ‘n’ Mabel placed her on my roots radar, and Fall Back Home continues this string of impressive development. Given pandemic time to reflect, Vinnick has…

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Crystal Shawanda- Midnight Blues review

Crystal Shawanda Midnight Blues True North Records Crystal Shawanda spent years developing her artistry within the confines of commercial country music, and was quite successful doing so. She hit the Billboard Country charts, was a mainstay on Canadian country radio playlists for a couple years in the late ‘aughts, and toured from a Nashville base.…

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Harrison Kennedy- Thanks for Tomorrow review

Harrison Kennedy Thanks for Tomorrow Electro-Fi Records I don’t receive as many high-quality blues albums for review as I perhaps once did, but often enough something sneaks through to impress. This week that album comes from Ontario and Juno Award winner Harrison Kennedy. Oowee! This is my kind of blues, a mix of soul and…

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The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer- Live at the King Eddy review

The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer Live at the King Eddy Tonic Records Truly, not my thing. I just haven’t enjoyed the music this outfit has released over the last decade-plus. The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer, Shawn Hall and Matthew Rogers, receive lots of non-mainstream airplay as well as festival slots, and appear to…

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Steve Dawson- Gone, Long Gone review

Steve Dawson Gone, Long Gone Black Hen Music We all know that guy. He is the coolest in the room. He knows everyone. He is good at everything he does. He looks fresh. Life just comes easy to him, he basks in it, and in the warmth of his admirers’ glow. We hate that guy,…

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Waterstreet Blues Band Talkin About review

Waterstreet Blues Band Talkin About WaterstreetBluesBand.com The blues is often about the groove, and one suggests that Ontario’s Waterstreet Blues Band took that as their treatise approaching their second album, Talkin About. The songs are largely original, but the instincts are naturally and fully immersed in roadhouse, dance-focused rockin’ blues. A few songs are heavier…

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Robert Billard & the Cold Calls- Stop review

Every year I find that I’ve missed a few very strong albums that were sent to me for review but for whatever reason (excuse) I didn’t get to write about. So I try to rectify the situation buy writing a few capsule reviews before the previous year is too far in the rear view. 2021…

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Broke Fuse- Rocket Ride review

Broke Fuse Rocket Ride BrokeFuse.com Through hardship to the stars… We’ve endured a global pandemic (not out of the woods quite yet, are we?) and political malfeasance (not near confident, there) over the past year-and-a-half. Broke Fuse—Jay Moonah—has kept himself going through the challenges of Covid-19, releasing his second recording within these times. What’s the…

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