Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

There are always contenders for the positions of Kings, Queens and Princess, there is no shortage of willing candidates and challengers in whom the public will doff their hats and open their hearts to, to defend their competitor and court favourite in their battle to be seen as the leader of the regal pack, the liege to whom the standard is raised.

It is though, to the quiet and seemingly unassuming in which we should pledge our allegiance, for their own loyalty to our wellbeing is perhaps to be held in higher regard than anything we can demand from the so-called elite and fashionable. It is to them we must bestow the idea of kinship with and for the King Of Latin Blues, Javier Vargas, that title is one fully deserved.

We often look in a particular direction when we proclaim and anoint our kings and queens, rarely do we find the space in our heart to think beyond of what we might understand and what is thrown at us commercially. Yet the thought of the performer never wavers, the commitment to winning our minds is ever-present and for the Vargas Blues Band, what comes across is a gorgeous sense of application, determined, but inobtrusive discretion, a style that really hits home just how respectable and musically courteous they are.

If you can earn the respect of Carlos Santana then surely a place at court is always within your grasp, the Vargas Blues Band don’t just perform for the seemingly high born though, they have that common touch which would see them entertain and woo the public in the piazza; it is a prize of humility and passion which combines with the desire to listen.

Across songs and stunning musical concoctions such as Coward’s Knife, Don’t Let The Children Cry, Back To The City, New York City Blues, Para Guaracher, Tierra del Vino and the magnificent album closer of Buenos Aires Blues, the Vargas Blues Band dominate the senses, but they do it with kindness, a performance of benevolence, of being the version of kingship in which the listener can relate, not one embroiled in the thought of arrogance, just simplicity, a musical truth held out as a crown.

A delightfully considerate and beautiful album, King Of Latin Blues delivers exactly what he promised.

Ian D. Hall