​On 'Come On In' Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado take a slightly different path. Groove and feel are still plentiful with the blues coming more at the forefront. ‘A new Thorbjørn Risager has arrived and he sounds SUPER’. Highly recommended!

​Tami Neilson is an artist with real range, whose powerful voice can take on big ballads, golden-age country, heartfelt Gospel, soul-infused R&B, Western swing, even old-style rock ‘n’ roll. Tami encompasses them all and is a personality-powered cyclonic force of nature in stylishly retro attire, long lashes and a stacked-high beehive.

​Jim Zeller has produced a more than diverse album. Handsome blues, interspersed with swamp, country and even some Bossa Nova tunes. Beautiful and clever!

‘A Woman Knows’ just blow me away and after a few songs I fell in love, just like she did, with her music. Watch out for this Danish lady! She’s great!

​This collection gives a nice overview of the career of Smokey Hogg, who died too early, through various sessions for Modern, Specialty, Exclusive, Imperial and Federal. A must for lovers of country blues.

​Straight from the heart, more emotional and personal than ever.  Drive-By Truckers made the best southern rock album of the year.  Provocative yes, no fake in music!

​This band was unknown to me until now, but with this album they can already count me as their fan. High octane rockabilly, rock and roll, sporadically spiced with a little sixties garage sound. Star is without a doubt Amy Griffin with her formidable work on the six strings. A discovery!

​After more than fifty albums, Peter succeeds in composing some strong romantic and jazzy songs. Reach For It may not his best album but still worth listening to.

​This will be the album of 2020 ... and yes it is still a bit early to announce this ..!
The release ‘Still Cookin’ diverges like never before. Swinging blues songs, emotional ballads, some exciting reggae and rumba tunes and a lot of great Memphis soul tracks. Splendid! Brillant!
The Phantom Blues Band is comprised of Tony Braunagel (drums), Mike Finnigan (keyboards & vocals), Larry Fulcher (bass & vocals) Johnny Lee Schell (guitar & vocals), Joe Sublet (saxophones). Les Lovitt (trumpet) and many all-star guest musicians. 

Music supports social progress of women in Africa. It’s one reason to have respect for Les Amazones d’Afrique. The other reason is that they make overwhelming strong music in a mix of African and contemporary Western styles. Unique blend!

The name Bobby Charles may not immediately ring a bell and yet there is a good chance that there will be songs from him in your recordcase. Songs not sung by him, but by greats such as Fats Domino, Clarence "Frogman" Henry or Bill Haley & The Comets. But as this compilation shows, Bobby also had the talent to record beautiful rock 'n' roll and New Orleans inspired rhythm & blues under his own name.

Wonderful classic and sometimes even cabaret-like interpretation of old Jewish songs from all over Europe. Beautiful release on Swedish  Kakafon Records.

​I say no more than 'twistin' time is here'. Enjoy!

​Next month Sam Lewis searches the European spotlights with storytelling songs from his hometown, Nashville.  The European tour starts on Febr. 29 in the UK and ends March 19 in Madrid.  Expect a sizzling  intimacy

​An American singer / songwriter living in Belgium, surrounded by a corps of super talented musicians, pours his experiences around the Brussels club 'Queens' into stunning songs in the album named after the club. This is an album to listen to again, again and again. Without a doubt recommended!

​Cinematic music with origin s(=Origo) in  Klezmer and Balkan music.  The influence of pop, jazz and electronics makes the music of Kaja contemporary and very emotional. Nice, very nice!

28 authentic rock and roll songs, supplemented with 2 contemporary bands performing in the style of the heydays. Again a more than formidable album. Great job Mr. Armstrong! 

​Wonderful mystic songs that create a nostalgic feeling, poetic and melodic. It creeps into your soul, mind and toes.

​After more than 40 years the songs of Phil Ochs remain relevant. Thanks to Martyn Joseph they will certainly find a new audience. A timeless document!

​Elektra producer Paul Rotchild wanted a group that would add new ingredients to the rock idiom. Rather than looking for one, he held auditions and created a band: Ars Nova’, which is Latin for ‘new art’. Rotchild had the good sense of picking top musicians and composers, but at the same time his boat had too many egos aboard. The line-up had changed before the first album reached the shops and the second and last album was released with a year’s delay. Still, the several line-ups delivered a few dozen originals that did add something to the rock idiom, while operating within its boundaries. The new approach is not a matter of instruments or voices, but one of musical genres and arrangements. Ars Nova effortlessly integrated bossa nova, jazz, baroque, bop and Spanish guitar. It sounded weird at the time (less so today), but did not come across as experimental or impossibly eclectic. Rotchild did overlook one thing, though: he was among the first, but he was not alone. Ars Nova weren’t the first band to expand rock’s boundaries, think Frank Zappa or even Blood Sweat & Tears with their takes on Eric Satie. When their second LP appeared in 1969, the world of rock had absorbed a number of uncommon ingredients, especially jazz and avant-garde  (Soft Machine, King Crimson, Giles Giles & Fripp).
Still, they hadn’t and haven’t stolen their name. Highly commended.
Cherry Red bundled their only two albums and added a nicely illustrated and informative booklet. Great stuff.

Now he creates musical space for himself and this sweet project. The release appears on Karmanian Records. Thomas wrote a lot of acoustic songs. The acoustic guitar, piano and string arrangements and minimalist setting ensure an extremely pleasant timbre. The vocal harmonies run straight into the alternative guitar tunes. The songs are all quietly rippling roots and folk song. We don't find an outlier here, but there are no disappointments either. And that is already an art in itself. Hones tand delicious..!

​'Chief Whoopin' Koff ', the next volume in the Indian Bred serie, gives an insight into the identity and lifestyle of the Native-Americans through varied music genres. Recommended!

​A real treat for fans of Northern soul and Deep funk, this collection of rare soul from the vaults of the C.R.S. label in Philadelphia. 

​For his new project Mark Hummel has managed together another great cast. In addition to Hummel who blows great harp and is excellent at voice, we find Joe Beard (vocals, guitar), The Deep Basement Shakers with Aaron Hammerman (piano) and Dave Eagle on washboard, bassplayer R.W. Grigsby, Billy Flynn and Rusty Zinn on guitars and Ales Pettersen (drums) alternating in many songs. Hummel and his soul mates take us to the pre-war blues sound from the 30s-40s. The record "Wayback Machine" catapults us back to that great sound from the Bluebird Records label. Great stuff..!

​Once again Alain Verdier surprises with a few addictive songs.  And single ‘Femme Lady Dame’ is a real masterpiece.