Backroom Blues, Volume 13 – Various Artists (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Like most genres, blues is a broad and often misunderstood region of the musical map. Some would argue that it is a state of mind, and others might point out its characteristic musical conventions. For many, it is a pure and understated form; for others, it is wild, electrically charged musical expression. There are those who see it as a nostalgic sound, but just as many are keen to see where it goes and what it does next. I would argues that it encompasses all of that and more; like all genres, sounds, and styles, it needs to evolve and move with the times.

And if all of those often contradictory and wonderfully creative aspects of the genre are highlighted best, it is in the Bongo Boy’s Backroom Blues album series, of which volume 13 is now out.

The album kicks off in fine style, with The NEW Bardots reminding us that not only were they “Born Ready” but that blues is one of the major components of rock and roll. Here, they give us a rolling, barrelhouse blues-rock hybrid, complete with energetic piano lines and fired-up guitars. And if that is a sonic bookend for the modern sound of the genre, “Homeward Bound” sees the aptly named Delta Hound Dawgs digging into its earliest forms, with raw guitars, a voice that echoes with the sonic history of the Mississippi, and angst and attitude emanating from every word, every note.

“Crocodile Sunset” sees the COVID Recovery Ministry take the form of a place that feels wonderfully progressive yet doesn’t stray too far from its core sonic ideals, almost becoming a musical production in its own right, having incorporated all manner of blues musical tropes and treatments.

And again, contrasting the contradictions and breadth of the genre, Ann M. Wolf’s delicate “Is The Any Room, Anymore for Love?” is one of those blues diva piano ballads that runs from the understated to the anthemic. Chicago-style electric blues come courtesy of Charles Brown Mystics and “Back Alley Blues,” a searing and scintillating showcase of the sound that turns the genre into an American sound into a global phenomenon.

“Give Me One More Reason” is low-slung and full of groove, a blend of early emotive minimalism and a bigger, electric sound, with Shar’s vocals dripping with honesty and heartache. Her other offering, “No Shenanigan,” also brilliantly straddles the line between authenticity and progressiveness. Blues is also a genre where the recording of standards is a familiar practice. So, while you might recognize Plainfield Slim’s contribution as a song that was made famous by The Rolling Stones, whose take on The Valentinos’ classic saw them rock it up, here it is taken to an even more wonderfully raucous sonic conclusion.

The Delta Hound Dawgs return with another slice of artful authenticity in “Chasing Bright Horizons,” a nostalgic and optimistic stomp through rural blues territory, which is the perfect buildup to Clark Ford and Underground Treehouse‘s groovesome “Baby on Board Blues.”

Tiki Cowboys put their usual island spin on the sound with “My Friends,” a punchy blend of steel drums and classical sweeps, and things round off with Boys ‘N’ Barry and a cool, modern blues ballad called “Couldn’t We,” the sort of thing that David Soul would have killed to record back in the day. And I mean that in the most positive of ways.

Yes, blues has been with us a long time, a hundred years or more, and in that time, it has both survived and evolved, taking on new forms with every decade to appeal to a fresh audience. But no matter what sonic form it takes, it has always been emotive and honest; it has always come from the heart, and it has always chronicled the life and plight of ordinary folk, their daily trials and challenges. And never was that more apparent than with this brilliant contemporary collection.