Trouble Ahead – The Delta Jacks (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

At the confluence of two great rivers, where The Mississippi flows into The Thames and those rich alluvial silts mix with the brackish South Essex marshes, there is a small bar catering to the needs of drivers of big 18 wheel rigs and white vans alike by serving a full English and Wild Turkey. If you head into the back room on the right night you may just find a bar band who have one foot in the deep South of one continent and another in the flat lands of the south east of another. That band is The Delta Jacks.

Okay, there isn’t such a place but if ever the mythology of the band were written that is exactly how poetic license will remember them. They may be following in the footsteps of such Estuary stalwarts as Dr Feelgood and The Kursaal Flyers but this is no pub rock revival, their musical references are worn openly on their sleeves and their hearts clearly lie in the blue, blue grass of a more distant, spiritual home. A dash of early rock ‘n’ roll, some country licks, rockabilly shuffles, upbeat blues grooves, southern spirituals and hillbilly highway vibes are all thrown into the mix and the result is an authentic and glorious hoe-down, way more Biloxi than Billericay.

A totally righteous clatter, a perfect country rock revival and packing more punch and attitude than a Basildon Wetherspoon’s just before they call last orders.