Music reviews: Seasick Steve, The Go! Team, Lightning Bolt
Steve Wold first introduced his dirty blues licks to the world when he appeared on Jools Holland’s Hootenanny TV show in 2006.
Sonic Soul Surfer
There’s A Dead Skunk
Records
Steve Wold first introduced his dirty blues licks to the world when he appeared on Jools Holland’s Hootenanny TV show in 2006.
With a three-string guitar, a couple of chords and rudimentary percussion from his homemade Mississippi drum machine, Seasick Steve stole the show. Resplendent in dungarees and as intoxicating as moonshine, the hard-travellin’ hobo bled the Delta blues. Late to the party, he became an overnight sensation in his mid-60s.
Sonic Soul Surfer is the septuagenarian’s seventh studio album since his Dog House Music debut almost a decade ago, and it seems the charismatic songwriter still has a few yarns to tell. Recorded on his farm with longtime drummer Dan Magnusson, it’s very much business as usual as Steve treads familiar rough-and-ready ground.
Sonic Soul Surfer, capturing the raw energy of his live performances, is a winning mixture of stomping beats and driving blues rhythms, the hectic rock’n’roll boogie of opener Roy’s Gang and Barracuda ’68 sitting nicely next to the gritty drawl of Your Name and Swamp Dog. There’s plenty of life in the ol’ dog just yet.
The Scene Between
Memphis Industries