‘On The Waggon’ is the latest release from the MATT WOOSEY BAND, a blues combo that has gigged on and off for the past five years and which now features Matt Woosey, singer/songwriter and guitarist, Jim ‘E’ Williams on drums and Adji Shuib on bass.
The album has twelve tracks, all falling firmly within the blues category. What makes this one interesting is that Matt uses an old Taylor guitar with a slap and pick technique which suits this trio perfectly.
First up is ‘Black Smoke Risin’’, a good rocking blues with some fine blues hollering from Matt. The lyrics did make me smile, as Matt uses virtually every blues cliché in the book on this one, and still manages to throw in a line from the Willie Dixon penned ‘Back Door Man’: -“Black smoke risin’ over the hill, yeah, black smoke risin’ over the hill/ And if my little girl won’t love me no more, then I know her sister will..Freight train, freight train comin’ on down the track/ Yeah I’m hopin’ and I’m prayin’ that it’s gonna bring my baby back.”
I can imagine this one being done with tongue firmly in cheek and a wry sense of humour. Matt’s vocal style reminded me at differing times of both Van Morrison whilst he was still in Them, and also Jeffrey Lee Pierce, towards the end of the Gun Club, which is certainly no bad thing.
Tracks like ‘Elsie May’ show a jaunty guitar style that suits the more romantic nature of this song, with its heartfelt longing: - “I have a gift for to give you my lover, my little Elsie May/
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You cannot buy it for silver or gold, you won’t find another, my little Elsie May/ You can take it any way you want it, I’ll give it to you just as best as I can/I’ll be home in 15 days, I’m your travelling man, your travelling man.”
It’s not all sweetness and light though, ‘Cruel Disposition’ is a brilliant slow brutal blues with some excellent guitar from Matt and a nice line in lyrics: - “Cruel disposition, mindless indecision. If mine was the choice, you’d be history/ Every night and every day, plaguing my soul, won’t you go away?/ Time will tell, just how strong I can be, I pray to the Lord, please, won’t you leave me be.”
Overall, this is an album with quite a few strengths, although it’s not perfect – ‘Dopey Mick’ is a track that outstays its welcome considerably, which is a shame as it’s the album closer. However, skip this and play tracks like ‘One Of The Three’ upon which Matt plays some excellent guitar with the full slap technique up front, and you certainly won’t go wrong. Hopefully Matt will be gigging again shortly, as from the evidence on this CD, he is well worth seeing.
Matt Woosey Band online
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