NICK MOSS BAND

GET YOUR BACK INTO IT!

(Alligator Records)

Headed up by guitarist-vocalist Nick Moss and harmonica-vocalist Dennis Gruenling, this celebrated Chicago band focuses on blues styles heard during the 40s through to the 60s with an authentic vintage sound and good-time feel. With 14 new songs, it’s a rich album with great interplay and rousing guitar playing that evokes T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters among other revered icons. Opener, Bait In The Snare is a killer uptempo jump blues with joyful harmonica and guitar solos, all geared up to get your feet tapping. Laid-back groover Aurelie is bluesy R&B, bubbling with a great riff soaked in spring reverb. The title track is pure swagger with exclamatory guitar work and strong vocal delivery. Another uptempo rouser is Man On The Move, just pure good-time vibes as the band motors with verve and swing. If you like a Muddy Waters-style blues tear-jerker, Living In Heartache is for you; it drips with feeling and authenticity. As for a dash of old-school jazz-blues, the instrumental Out Of The Woods is perfectly positioned with tasty brass and guitar lines and cool changes. With all songs between three and four minutes long, a vintage style production, fantastic arrangements and great songs it’s hard not to give the Nick Moss Band anything but full marks. Good-time old blues has never sounded fresher! (JS)

such is the power and range; he’s not treading water in any shape or form. Standouts include Twenty Four Hour Blues (stinging guitars with gorgeous string bending), Well, I Done Get Over It (band sounds huge with brass section and an emphatic guitar solo), I Want To Shout About It (swinging rhythm section, Joe’s vocals) and the Josh Smith penned closer, Is It Safe To Go Home (rich dynamics, great guitar solo). Yep, there’s a reason why JoBo is The Man! (JS) solo album adds fuel to the power trio fire. On Twice Removed From Yesterday, Robin’s signature guitar sound is there from track one. With a Strat, a Marshall and a Uni-Vibe washing the shores of his sound, I Can’t Wait Much Longer introduces the band in timehonoured fashion. Aided and abetted by drummer Reg Isidore and bassist/vocalist James Dewar, Robin’s guitar races into the limelight on classic tracks like Hannah, and the fragile ballad Ballerina. The album has certainly stood the test of time. (DM) with rich-toned bridge humbucker action and screaming solo. The uptempo riffing of Light It Up is an album highlight; huge rock guitars, pounding drums and a rousing vocal that will sound huge in stadiums. Even faster is the pulsing Hit The Ground Running which ticks all the hard-rock boxes - great solo too! Ballad, Baby You’ve Changed is a pleasing nod towards 80s Whitesnake from the gorgeous guitar arpeggiating through to the tortured vocal delivery. Another corker from Vandenberg! (JS)