Bman's Blues Report

I just received the newest release, True & Blue , from Hans Theessink  & Terry Evans and it handles the roots of blues with modern sophistication. Opening with Demons , an easy paced country blues, Theessink leads the way on vocal with light harmonies by Evans. Traditional, Mother Earth , has a more soulful delta feel with excellent acoustic guitar work. Both Theessink and Evans work the lead vocals as well as harmonies. Very smooth guitar solos on this track make it one of my favorites. Fast paced Glory of Love is a great finger picked number with smoothly blended vocals. Gotta Keep Movin' features nice acoustic slide work and Evans on lead vocals. Very nice! Vicksburg Is My Home , a slow 12 bar number, again features Evans on lead vocals. This is a very traditional style track and very effective. Ledbelly's Bourgeois Blues , done a long time ago again by Ry Cooder is another of my favorites. A great strut feel and aggressive slide work coupled by Theessink on harp...

I have just received the newest release, Wishing Wel l, from Hans Theessink . A totally acoustic effort from Theessink, he performs originals as well as covering tracks by Townes van Zandt, Brownie McGhee and Bob Dylan. Theessink has a very warm voice and an clean picking style which is well demonstrated on Wishing Well which also includes complimentary slide work. A favorite of mine, Wayfaring Stranger is handled very nicely with a nice balance between guitar, vocals and backing steel. A Piedmont style track, Take Your Picture , has a bit of a quicker tempo sounding quite a bit like John Hartford. Make shift instrumentals are a nice addition to an authentic country blues track. Traditional track Make Me Down A Pallet On Your Floor , still highlighting Theessink vocals has very tight instrumental components such as acoustic, slide guitar and mandolin coming forward like jems. A particularly nice version of Alberta Let You Hair Hang Down , again with a country blues twist is nicely ba...