Geoff Achison & The UK Souldiggers, and Redfish - Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, 21 September 2019

I’m late, I’m late, for a date with a more than interesting support act.

As it turns out though, Redfish are only a song and a half into their set when I arrive at the Voodoo Rooms, in time to hear Martin McDonald serving up a fiery guitar solo and Sandy Sweetman giving the drums a fair old skelping.  And the Carlisle/Dumfries combo maintain that momentum from there till they vacate the stage.

I’ve seen Redfish a couple of times before, and a singular ingredient of their live performances is the fidgety capering of beardy, bunneted keyboard player Fraser Clark, who often looks like he’s delivering tic-tac-toe signals for a racecourse bookie.  I’m bound to say

Redfish keys man Fraser Clark listens closely for the lost chord

Pic by Stuart Stott

that in the past I've found his antics distracting.  But now, well really it seems like an endearingly daft display of enthusiasm.  And more to the point, it doesn’t detract from some entertaining piano prestidigitation on his part, rocking away on ‘Rakehells’, for example, while McDonald contributes some mean slide guitar.

‘For The Love Of A Good Woman’ is a good example of the Sixties British blues angle to their sound, underlined by the John Mayall-like stylings of Brian Harris’s vocals, and with more good guitar/piano interplay into the bargain.

They close their set with Charlie Rich’s ‘Feel Like Going Home’, a pleasingly different and soulful choice of cover, with hints of ‘Whiter Shade Of Pale’ in Clark’s organ playing.  Awarded an encore, they get funky with ‘Phone Booth’, Sweetman and bassist Rod Mackay laying down a solid groove while Clark goes nuts to the point where his head ends up underneath his keyboard, and McDonald adds a ruff’n’tuff guitar solo to put the lid on proceedings.

Redfish have become an impressively robust outfit over time, showing energy, a real feel for what they’re doing, and some good taste in material.  Watch out for a forthcoming review of their album, Souls.

Geoff Achison finds fresh angles of funk on guitar

Pic by Stuart Stott

If Redfish are rooted in Sixties blues stylings, Geoff Achison pursues a rather more distinctive path.  As the Australian and his UK Souldiggers band kick off their set with ‘Working My Way Back Home’, the vibe is funky and free-flying, with Achison adding a husky vocal and unwrapping great tones on his pretty-as-you-please PRS guitar. They also work in some clever turnarounds, and keyboard player Paul Jobson announces his presence with some jazzy piano, adding up to a sophisticated funk-blues sound.  Their “theme tune” ‘Souldigger’ follows, with lots of witty asides from Achison on guitar, a flurry of bass from Andy Hodge, and a distinctively voiced organ solo from Jobson, en route to a characteristic Achison solo combining slide and wah-wah.

‘Walking Blues’ is a good example of what they do, with Hodge and drummer Sam Kelly laying down a swaggering groove with plenty of swing, a nimble fingered solo from Achison, and then some top notch guitar/organ interplay building up to a major funk workout.  It may be a Robert Johnson song, but as Achison observes with a grin, “We changed it a little!”  Instrumentally they’re a band who join the dots with consummate ease – upfront Achison and Jobson are each constantly alert to the other’s moves, while Hodge’s bass both counterpoints Achison’s guitar and ties it into Kelly’s rhythms.

But it’s far from being all serioso muso stuff – Jobson shakes everything but his tush as he underpins the rolling groove of the catchy ‘High Wire’, while Kelly is often to be seen and

Achison and co get down to some soul digging

Pic by Stuart Stott

heard hooting with pleasure at proceedings.  Meanwhile, with just a wah-wah pedal at his feet, Achison continues to combine it with slide playing, but on ‘Crazy Horse’ also gets into some cooler knob-twiddling and whammy bar flicking to conjure up different sounds.

A second set opens with Achison on acoustic guitar for the rootsy ‘Skeleton Kiss’, with its intriguing lyrics, and the more folkie, fingerpicking ‘Sovereign Town’.  Then with Achison back on his electric horse, ‘I’m Gonna Ride’ is a blues shuffle highlight, with a big open chorus adding a twist, and Jobson delivering a blisteringly good honky tonk piano solo, including some neat improvisations around the chorus melody.  In fact, if Fraser Clark’s keys playing demands acknowledgement, above and beyond his freaky shenanigans, I’d venture to say that Jobson is in another league, bearing in mind the jazzy, discordant and hugely impressive solo he contributes to the Average White Band-like ‘Voodoo’.

They close with a big fat groove on ‘Baby Come Back’, a fun song with a good hook and some tongue twisting vocals from Achison, who also adds some tips of the hat to ‘Alright Now’ and ‘Uptight’ on guitar.  There’s no time for an encore, but they’re coaxed back for one anyway, coming up with Muddy Waters’ ‘Sugar Sweet’ – but not, I’m sure, as Muddy would know it.  Nevertheless, with a brief guitar/bass face-off between Achison and Hodge, it’s a suitable dessert course to end an entertaining night.

Geoff Achison is touring Britain until Sunday 29 September - details available here.

Geoff Achison - Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, 18 March 2018

Australian guitarist and vocalist Geoff Achison brings some much needed warmth to a chilly Sunday night in Edinburgh, and it’s not just a transfusion of Aussie sunshine.

Achison and the UK version of his Souldiggers are purveyors of a singular brand of laid back, soulful funk.  Stylistically and vocally the richness of Chris Rea springs to mind, and Dire Straits on some levels, and – er, Steely Dan?  Okay, well, we’ll get to that.

Opening up with ‘Crazy Horse’, what’s immediately apparent is Achison’s inventiveness as

Geoff Achison - "Yay, tell it man!"

a guitarist.  Fresh and unusual tones are coaxed and teased from his six-string as a matter of course, with the strings picked from all angles to add different accents.  It’s a theme that continues throughout the evening.  He’s ably abetted by the Souldiggers too, with drummer Sam Kelly in particular bringing da swing to proceedings – along with vocal exhortations to his main man of “Yay, tell it man!”

Paul Jobson on keys is an effervescent presence too, but in a different vein offers some nicely liquid piano accompaniment to the mellow ‘My Work Is Done’ (I think), before Achison cranks it up, before adding some suitably wiry slide to the loose funk of ‘High Wire’ before his band take five as he straps on an acoustic.

On ‘Stoned Again’, by his Dutch-Australian mentor Dutch Tilders, Achison delivers a nifty bit of picking on his solo – and there’s another Knopfler echo.  ‘Delta Dave’ meanwhile, from his latest album Another Mile, Another Minute, ripples and weaves with ease as it pays a tasteful tribute to a famous Melbourne blues busker.

With the band back on stage they get into Muddy Waters’ ‘Sugar Sweet’, turning it into a funky jam.  It’s blues man, but not, I’ll warrant, as Muddy knew it.  And hey, Kelly, bass man Andy Hodges and Jobson on keys cook it up pretty damn good.

They close with ‘Working My Way Back Home’, also from the latest album, which exemplifies Achison’s classy songwriting – oh yeah, and his knack for some Steely Dan jazzy chordings.  Told you I'd get there.

The shuffling ‘Summer Time’ is a good time encore, and what better title to sum up the warm and mellow tones of Geoff Achison and the UK Souldiggers?  Get out and see them, and bask in the rays.

Look up details of Geoff Achison's UK tour dates till mid-April here.

Listened to lately . . .

Jane Lee Hooker – No B!

That's "No B" as in the line "No B-O-Y" from Muddy Waters' 'Mannish Boy', because Jane Lee Hooker are an all female group. Geddit? They might just as well have titled the album "No BS!" though, because this five-piece sure as hell don't mess about.  I copped hold of a download of this album last year, and wish I’d listened to it more often.  These New Yorkers have taken a collection of blues classics, and infused them with the punkish spirit of CBGBs. 

Jane Lee Hooker - bashful souls

But don’t go thinking that means they’re amateurish three-chord wonders.

Although there’s plenty of raw energy at play, they make good use of dynamics, and the twin guitars of Tracy Hightop and Tina ‘T-Bone’ Gorin are cleverly layered at times.  Meanwhile Dana ‘Danger’ Athens is a real blues rock bawler, but capable of clever phrasing that brings to mind the likes of Alex Harvey, especially on the Adam and Eve tale of ‘In The Valley’.  (And if you things those nicknames sound corny, the rhythm section is made up of Hail Mary Z on bass and Melissa ‘Cool Whip’ Houston on drums.  Er, okay.)

They set out their stall with a raucous rendition of ‘Wade In The Water’, before getting their teeth into Johnny Winters’ ‘Mean Town Blues’.  The likes of ‘Champagne And Reefer’ and ‘The Hunter’ also get a serious workout, and the closing ‘Shake With Me’ is a belter, with a delightfully wonky shuffling opening before the playful guitar interplay gives way to wild duelling.

As simple as the approach may be, No B! is a set crackling with energy and wit.  Want something bold and brash to clear the cobwebs?  This is it.

Jane Lee Hooker are touring France and Germany in October and November.

A new album, Spiritus, will be released on Ruf Records in November.

Geoff Achison – Another Mile, Another Minute

Australian Geoff Achison has evidently been knocking around for ages, but only came to my attention when I caught a snatch of him on the radio earlier this year.  His latest album Another Mile, Another Minute came out in August, and songs like ‘Working My Way Back Home’ recall the relaxed sophistication of Chris Rea, complete with a similar warm rasp of a voice, and in this case some Latin percussion.

That may be his default setting, but the acoustic-driven ‘Delta Dave’, a tribute to a famous Melbourne busker, demonstrates he can pursue other avenues too.  ‘Sum Peeples Got All The Fonk’ is a clever piece of downbeat funk lamenting the singer’s lack of grip on modern ways, and the downbeat ‘A New Bad Habit’, with its loping bass, ticking drums and smooth

Geoff Achison - groovy, baby

horns, is just one example of Achison’s way with a literate, original lyric.

Featuring 14 tracks and running to just over an hour, the album feels a tad overlong.  But there’s plenty to enjoy here from someone marching to the beat of a different drum, and producing imaginative, well-played material.

Another Mile, Another Minute is released by Jupiter 2 Records.

Jared James Nichols – Black Magic

Every time I see a photo of Jared James Nichols, his back is arched, his hair flailing, and what can be seen of his facial expression suggests agony/ecstasy.  It doesn’t bode well.  But actually Black Magic isn’t the one-dimensional display of shredding that I feared.

On this evidence Nichols believes that brevity is the soul of blues rock – 10 tracks, barely 30 minutes – and so has sidestepped over-indulgence.  On the other hand ‘Last Chance’ sets sail with a widdly guitar opening that gives way to a thunderous riff and pounding drums that, together with some banal lyrics (eg “Your mind is fuckin’ blown”), are less than inspiring.  There’s some light and shade and a convincing degree of force in ‘The Gun’ though, one of a few mid-paced stomps on display.

There is some variety too, in the funky strut of ‘Honey Forgive Me’ with its female backing vocals, and the shuffling rhythm of ‘Got To Have You’ with its good-time riffing around the chorus, even if it’s a bit slight in the end.

A real plus point though, is that Clark Singleton’s subterranean bass offers a useful counterpoint to Nichols’ squealing solos.  It growls away on ‘Don’t Be Scared’, underpinning a stuttering riff, rumbles around for fun on ‘What Love’, and complements Nichols’ chiming guitar work on closer ‘Home’.

All things considered, Black Magic has some good moments, but there’s plenty of room for development.

Black Magic is released by Listenable Records on 27 October.

The Bad Flowers – ‘Thunder Child’

The new single from Black Country heavy rockers The Bad Flowers, ‘Thunder Child’ blasts off with heavy riffage and lung-bursting vocals, clattering drums, lead-weighted bass – and some naff, back-of-the-fag-packet lyrics.  There’s a mildly interesting middle eight though and some signs of dynamics via a sort of quieter section.

Back-up track ‘Lions Blood’ is equally energetic if a bit soulless, with a dull chorus and more weak lyrics.  But at least the opening riff has a pleasingly tangled quality, like a distant echo of early Rush maybe.

It’s all pretty breathless stuff, but if nothing else the spirit of NWOBHM is still alive and kicking – and I’m old enough to remember what it was like.

‘Thunder Child’ is out now.