Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
It is hard to really knock The Blues, especially when you discover the lip smacking delights of Sons of the Delta and their latest album Tasty Nuggets.
Mark Cole, Rick Edwards, Martin Fitzgibbon and Lyndon Webb have tapped into something incredible, something in which should be nurtured. A sweeping sensitivity of great highs and joyous tantalising lows, the guitar not just an instrument in which to play with but alongside some rather terrific vocals and brilliantly placed lyrics, becomes as heavenly as an angel that has discovered the delights of a quality beer. The anguish of loving both the sun and the rain in equal measure and straining its ear against the headphones of the person its fallen head over heels in love with.
Tracks such as the superb Never Had Nothin’ When Times Were Good and its damning reflection on the way the poor in society are treated when a recession or depression hits, Scared of Love, the absorbing Thirtynineteen and the closer Out On A Saturday Night all bring The Blues home with great ceremony and a sense of freedom.
Perhaps arguably the finest track on the album is also a contender for Blues song of the year, a big claim with forthcoming albums still to ravage the months ahead, especially from two of the big guns of the genre Joanne Shaw Taylor and Joe Bonamassa, however Too Little Too Late is a giant of a song, it gets deep into the very fibre of the soul, the heart feels the elation of the track but also the true despondent underlying score that many of the greats just pant with seismic glee at the thought of producing. The utter pessimism that the various instruments exude, including a rather softly played but inspiring bit of piano playing by guest Jake Carpenter, comes together to give the type of emotion that would affect you in ways that are almost impossible to recreate unless you have ever truly been in love.
Tasty Nuggets is a piece of music that just gets under the skin, it is almost impossible to dislike unless of course your entire life has been in a self made cocoon and surrounded by unicorns breaking wind and producing shimmering rainbows and you have never once felt remorse, anger, sadness, joy, true human elation the considered opinion of your nearest loved one.
An utter thrill and amongst the best of British Blues you are likely to hear all year.
Ian D. Hall