I hadn't heard of the Rich Evans Band until this dropped on the doormat, and I'm glad it did, because this is a really good Western-style blues album incorporating both electric and acoustic blues. Apparently, Rich Evans has been around on the London circuit for several years both as a solo artist and with bands. This album, his second, was recorded with a new band that was handpicked due to ability, and it shows!
The opener, 'Call me Lightning' starts as a classic acoustic blues track with Rich singing about a half empty cup of promises, is half full up with liesâ€Â, before metamorphosising into an electric blues number with all the classic blues hooks in it, "Went to the crossroads, I was gonna sell my soulÂ," however avoids parody by the sincerity of the vocal.
'Last night I Fell in Love with the RadiO' is a track all about wanting to leave a dead-end town, the sort of place that discourages any individuality to "never have hopes, never have dreams" and how the singer's escapism is via music on the radio which throws him a lifeline. This place is certainly nowhere I'd like to be: -
"You know that the town I was born in,
Never was nothing to write home about.
Lookin' at the faces on a Monday mornin',
Tryin' so damn hard to cover up their doubt."
The strong points of this song are the clear well-written lyrics, which evoke desperation and sadness.
'Slow Down Virginia' is a beautiful slow paced blues rocker dealing with the problems of living with an addict:
"Roll that banknote, fix that line, pass that codeine, slug that wine" and how the singer wants his girlfriend to slow down and clean up, as her lifestyle is killing her:
"Sunken cheekbones, junkies lies, big dark glasses, tombstone eyes"Â and how the lifestyle gradually wears her down, forcing her on to the streets:
"Turn a trick, then you're turnin' on a dime, runnin' outta control, runnin' outta time":
Yet the singer can't leave, because "You're so damn beautiful."
This is a hauntingly good song that stands up over several plays.
'ËœLast Thing on My Mind' is a song for when your woman's gone and you're playing the 'I don't care' game similar to the way the Statler Brothers did with 'Flowers on the Wall' and again boasts strong lyrics set against some pretty good music:
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"Sitting around, running up gamblin' debts, with old Jack Daniels, smoking cigarettes."
...and talks of getting dressed up to go out on town and have as much fun as he can:
"And the weariness of loneliness, is the last thing on my mind (I guess)."
'No-One Sleeps' is a quite frankly depressing electric blues where all hope for the singer has been lost and there is nothing to look forward to, no hope of salvation:
"the streets Ain't paved with gold, it's only concrete and it's centuries oldÂ." No wonder the singer cant sleep with dreams like these!
The pace slows down for 'Sweet Magnolia'Â, a soulful blues track with a piano riff that instantly brought 'Lawdy Miss Clawdy' to mind. This is a decent enough love song, which again gets its hooks into you so that you'll want to hear it again.
'Take me to the Witchdoctor' is another great track with keyboard riffs that suggested a Doors influence circa 'L.A. Woman', and is one of those "voodoo blues" tracks that always bring a smile to the face:
"Take me to the river, doctor me up, take me to the water, baptise my blood."
And finally, we come to Circus Blues (Parts I & II). Part I starts off with a guitar line that wasn't a million miles away from Love's 'ËœAlone again Or' and is a strong acoustic number that goes straight into Part II, the electric blue portion of this, with lyrics evoking the Circus life and Carny Town with lines like:
"Painted ladies and vaudeville, counting up counterfeit dollar bills."Â
All in all, I found this an enjoyable listen, but personally would have preferred a few more acoustic blues tracks, as Rich Evans' voice is ideally suited to these. Certainly this is an album worth recommending.
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