The Blues Enthused Christmas Stocking 2018 - Part 1

“When I was 56 . . . it was a very good year,” Frank Sinatra didn’t sing.  All the same,  I reckon 2018 has been a damn good year for music.  

Blues Enthused doesn’t really go in for baubles and charts, rankings and ratings.  Some albums will resonate with you forever, some gigs will blow your mind.  But other musical moments give you just the pleasure you’re looking for on a particular day, in a particular place.  Like a butterfly, they may not last, but they’re still the sound that captures your attention, right there and then. How do you put a number on that?

Still and all, it’s nice to reflect on a few things that stand out, as we approach the end of the

year. So here are a few highlights of mine – what were yours?

Ian Siegal in everyday lounge wear

The most singular blues roots album of the year, to my mind, came from that incorrigibly engaging curmudgeon Ian Siegal, with All The Rage.  As stiletto-sharp lyrically as ever, he skewered the Trumpian zeitgeist in a number of songs, including opening track ‘Eagle-Vulture’.  But the album also had songs of a warmer, less edgy nature, like the funky ‘Sailor Town’, with its curious yet uplifting refrain, “Everybody skate backwards”.   And if that wasn’t enough, on his Spring tour promoting the album I caught him delivering a barnstorming performance in Edinburgh.

All the same, that wasn’t the most soul-shaking live show of my year.  That honour goes to Little Steven and The Disciples Of Soul in Whitley Bay back in July.  You can see good gigs by bands you love, but now and then there are nights when they hit the ball out of the park, and this was one of them.  As I said at the time, if you didn’t come out of this gig punch drunk from smiling, what do you want from life?  Steve and the gang have Blue-Ray product from the Soulfire tour coming out in the New Year, but in the meantime here they are doing ‘Bitter Fruit’ in Liverpool.

An honourable mention in the live stakes goes to King King, also in Whitley Bay back in May.  But in all honesty Alan Nimmo’s crew were transcended this year by the unexpected autumn revival of the Nimmo Brothers with – well, with his brother Stevie.  On home turf in Glasgow, they could have played the Take That songbook and gone down a storm.  Well, maybe not, but in any event they didn’t take any chances and delivered a stonking set of twin guitar blues-rock.  Here they are showing their more sensitive side though, with 'Waiting For My Heart To Fall'.

The Nimmo Brothers - "Hey Stevie! Did we leave the oven on?"

Also on the podium in both the album and live show stakes are The Temperance Movement.  An idiosyncratic bunch, they can conjure up The Faces and The Black Crowes, but most of all they’re themselves.  And their uniqueness is captured most of all in the madcap form of front man Phil Campbell, a jumping jack of a live performer who combines the energy of Jagger with the rasping rock’n’soul vocal chords of Rod Stewart.  And that mixture of the original and the familiar extends to their 2018 album A Deeper Cut, which is right up there with the best of the year in my book.  They conquered the bizarre snowstorms of March as well, with a belter of a show at the Barrowlands in Glasgow.  I’ll be catching them again in February, supporting the mighty Blue Oyster Cult, who I haven’t seen since the Seventies.  Can’t wait!  Meantime, here they are doing 'Built-In Forgetter' in the relatively tame environment of a TV studio.

Now, Ian Siegal may be inclined to compliment his audience on having good taste rather than settling for “shoddy rock music”, as he did in Edinburgh.  But I grew up listening to straight up hard rock, and I’m still partial to someone who can rock a power chord.  Which brings me to Wayward Sons, who sure as hell rock, but aren’t at all shoddy.  Seeing the creation of one time Little Angels main man Toby Jepson, their show in a small but packed club in Edinburgh back in April was electrifying.  They could be the road not taken by Def Leppard after their second album High’n’Dry - an adventure in high voltage melodic rock with the feel of an uncut diamond.  Check out this wacky video of 'Until The End', and you'll see that they're also tremendous fun. More to come from them in 2019, I'm thinking.

So there’s a few things for you to chew on after your turkey.  Better than watching the Queen's Speech, I reckon.  There’ll be more from Blues Enthused before the New Year, but in the meantime, Merry Christmas one and all!

You can find Part 2 of the Blues Enthused Christmas Stocking here.

The Nimmo Brothers - Oran Mor, Glasgow, 2 November 2018

No prizes for guessing what music accompanies the Nimmo Brothers as they take the stage.   And they’re not just back in town, they’re in their hometown, in front of a packed sell-out crowd that is ready for a good time. Which the brothers duly supply.

They light the blue touch paper with hard-hitting twin-guitar riffing on ‘Bad Luck’, and follow it up with the ZZ Top-like boogie of ‘The Shape I’m In’, including the first singalong of the night, of which Alan Nimmo comments “That’s fucking garbage”, before demanding an improved effort.  It’s indicative of an atmosphere where there’s already smiles all round, and big fun going down onstage.

The Chuckle Brothers

But the Nimmo boys can deliver emotionally charged material as well as rockers, as with the ‘Long Way From Everything’, which starts off sensitively before Stevie delivers a searing solo - knackered arm and all - over the solid rhythm foundations provided by Craig Bacon’s drums and Mat Beable’s bass.  Alan then chips in with his trademark pin-drop solo to total hush, ahead of a howling conclusion.  Similarly 'If I Could See Through Your Eyes' is a lovely ballad that clearly comes from the heart, matched by Peter Green-like subtlety on his guitar solo.  ‘Waiting For My Heart To Fall’ meanwhile, is heralded by spangly guitar work, and peaks with four successive, impassioned solos, two from each brother.  It’s an epic, barnstorming affair, that suggests these guys were born to be here, doing this, right now.  And on material like this the fact that they are both excellent, soulful vocalists also shines through.

They can funk it up too of course, on the likes of the breezy ‘Gotta Slow Down’, with meaty chords in the middle eight, and a lengthy party time solo that makes laughter and dancing unavoidable, while ‘Still Here Strumming’ is a tougher brand of street funk.

They go all the way back to their Backwater Blues Band days for a song that’s new to me, featuring a sledgehammer riff and Stevie on slide, as well as a guitar face-off that displays well nigh telepathic understanding.

A funky bass intro from Mat Beable announces the arrival of set closer ‘Black Cat Bone’, a ten minute affair full of lick trading and of course their octopus-like “I’ll play your guitar, you play mine” signature moment, to top off an irresistible show.

Just how irresistible is demonstrated by the scorching encore of ‘Ain’t No Love (In The Heart Of The City)’, on which the crowd bawl out the singalong section in a manner that defies Alan Nimmo to repeat his earlier banter.  And as it ends Craig Bacon immediately cracks out a brisk tempo to ignite their spanking reading of the Allman Brothers’ ‘One Way Out’.

It’s not quite Guy Fawkes Night, but the Nimmo Brothers delivered bucket loads of fireworks with this performance.  It was a show brimming with simple enthusiasm, that gave the punters exactly the reunion celebration they wanted.  And it does make you sigh over the fact that they didn’t achieve more success back in the day, because in all seriousness they produce a twin guitar blues rock experience to rival just about anyone.  Both Stevie and Alan Nimmo have other fish to fry of course, but let’s hope the Nimmo Brothers project resurfaces again in due course.  Altogether now, we’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when . . . .

The Nimmo Brothers - Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, 1 October 2015

The Nimmo Brothers are big. Big guys. Big riffs. Big hooks. Big solos. Big stupid Cheshire cat grins.  Get the picture?  They don’t do things by halves, these boys. This is their twentieth anniversary tour, and before a note is played Alan Nimmo is shouting to the audience “Let’s have a ball!”  Which all and sundry duly do.

"Let's have a ball!"

‘Bad Luck’ is a big opener, only to be surpassed by ‘Shape I’m In’, which melds a Thunder-ish quality with some heads down, no nonsense boogie-ish riffing worthy of Parfitt andRossi. ‘Long Way From Everything’ down shifts to begin with, with a cool guitar intro and soulful vocals from Stevie Nimmo, before letting rip with a blistering solo from brother Alan that you can just lose yourself in, with Wayne Proctor’s drumming underpinning its intense trajectory.  They could have packed in and gone home then, three songs in, and the crowd would probably still have felt they got their money’s worth.

The Nimmos are masters of dynamics, as demonstrated on ‘All I Want’, which announces itself as a slow blues, with solos from both brothers that start off restrained before exploding, but are always expressive.  This is also a band that is not so much tight as synchro-meshed, as illustrated by the pounding ‘Nothing In Chicago For Free’, with its rock steady beat.  ‘Reason To Believe’, meanwhile, shows off Stevie Nimmo’s slide skills and their ability to punctuate a song with occasional twists in order to keep it interesting.

"Careful with that axe, bro!"

Both Alan and Stevie Nimmo are great singers, and each will have their champions.  Stevie has power and guts in spades, while Alan has more warmth and depth to his voice.  But in all honesty this is a no holds barred guitar extravaganza, with the brothers jamming to their hearts’ content on ‘Waiting For My Heart To Fall’, which also features a neat accelerating segment led by Alan.

Bassist Matt Beable steps out front to kick off the set-closing ‘Black Cat Bone’, a mighty slab of wailing funk-rock’n’blues featuring call and response guitar, some balls-out rocking, and even party tricks of a lead guitar meets Twister variety.  In this, as in everything else, the Nimmo Brothers attack everything they do – every damn thing – with more relish than you’d find in a Chicago dog.

They scarcely get off the stage before they’re back for an encore, resurrecting the Whitesnake take on ‘Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City’.  Inevitably it sparks a singalong from the sell-out crowd. Plenty of love in evidence for the Nimmo Brothers though, as they celebrate their twenty years prior to an extended sabbatical.

Warming up for headliners like that may seem daunting, but Hot Tin Roof make a decent fist of it with their line-up of electric guitar, acoustic guitar and box.  Their set of covers and originals doesn’t quite have the muscle to keep the audience’s attention throughout, but they have some good moments along the way. The staccato ‘Little Boy Soldier’ features a nice solo in a Peter Green vein from guitarist Gavin Jack. ‘Mr Businessman’ works its way interestingly around a guitar line resembling a slowed down, toned down take on the riff from ‘Whole Lotta Love’.  J.J. Cale’s ‘Magnolia’ features some subtle guitar, and an appealingly cracked vocal from Andy McKay-Challen.  But best of all is ‘Have You Ever’, with its pleasing guitar intro and offbeat chords, and a 60s West Coast vibe played out over a cantering rhythm from Kenny Miller on box.

But hey, are support bands all contractually obliged to play John Lee Hooker’s ‘Boom Boom’ these days?  This was the third rendition I’ve heard in the last month.  Never mind, I’ll forgive them since they closed with a decent reading of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s ‘Pride And Joy’.