Music label Bongo Boy Records continues championing independent artists with yet another robust music collection. And this time, it’s all about the Blues. Featuring ten tracks from talented Blues artists, Backroom Blues Vol. 12, a compilation spun by multiple Blues DJs throughout the world, might be the strongest multi-artist offering yet. Let’s break it down.
The NEW Bardots, featured on previous Bongo Boy Records compilations, bring their usual down and dirty electric sound with “On Your Own.” Starting with a strong and steady riff, perfectly mixed drums, light backing organ, and raw, definitely-made-for-the-Blues vocals, “On Your Own” is a powerful, no-nonsense kickoff.
Track #2 by the Gypsy Carns, “Now I’m Alive,” immediately reminds me of George Thorogood’s “Bad to the Bone,” but the chorus, thankfully, diverges. With ample harmonica and a voice worn from life, singing, and perhaps copious liquor, “Now I’m Alive” is a tried and true Blues testimonial.
“Busted” by E.G. Homes (and featuring David Vanden Enden) is a softer offering kicking off with twinkling piano and clean Blues soloing. There are some surprising chord changes that aren’t regularly associated with Blues, so this track, with especially powerful male vocals, makes a more unique and powerful statement.
Did I hear you say, “We want more from The NEW Bardots”? We have you covered with track #4, “Corporation Businessman.” And, made quite obvious by the lyrics, The NEW Bardots don’t think highly of corporation businessmen. With scratchy guitars and some accompanying harmonica, this mid-tempo track sows a little well-earned distrust for those benefiting from perhaps unfair corporate structure.
Track #5, “The House of the Rising Sun,” gets the acoustic treatment courtesy of Bible Belt Blues. Although missing the powerful vocals of The Animals’ Eric Burdon, this more solemn interpretation truly sits with the song’s glaring anguish.
E.G. Homes (and featuring Karl Knutson) returns with another more unique Blues entry, “Mysterious.” This time with horns, “Mysterious,” based again on piano, is another strong release with those expressive male vocals. I hate to play favorites – as taste is purely subjective – but E.G. Homes (and whomever guests) seems to have an edge over other Blues artists with a refreshing divergence from expected Blues passages.
Track #7 features another veteran of Bongo Boy Records compilations, Boys’N’Barry, with “Think What Might Have Been.” This time with a female singer – and a VERY different offering from Bongo Boy Records’ Kryp II Knight Vol. IV – “Think What Might Have Been” features slinking horns, brushed drums, and jazzy piano. This is akin to a 1940’s nightclub performance, and I can almost envision the performers through a chorus of clinking glasses and an obtrusive veil of cigarette smoke.
Bible Belt Blues returns with “If Only You Knew.” The song starts with surprisingly electronic percussion underneath a sliding acoustic guitar. This is another scaled down, personal performance that only relies on truth to properly express a heartfelt message.
“Crickets” from the Tiki Cowboys starts with….well, crickets. And then mandolin-like strumming accompanies drums when the verse kicks in. Although the narrator/singer is obviously pained while waiting for a response (probably from a potential romantic partner), the song is surprisingly upbeat and melodically…hopeful? Aware this perspective is a bit…silly? The chorus opens up with delayed slide guitar and space-filling organ; a nice and airy uptick from the narrator’s narrow mental focus. “Crickets” is another nice divergence, very self-aware, and immediately appreciated.
The final track, “Missing You” from Grit’s Guitar, starts with a big (but clean) guitar chord and an easy, laid-back drum beat. This is an instrumental featuring melodic leads gaining incremental aggression as the song persists. This is a pared down closer that truly tells a tragic tale in every laboriously bent note.
If you like the Blues, and you want to hear the latest contributors to this musical American legacy, we HIGHLY recommend Bongo Boy Records’ Backroom Blues Vol. 12.
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BELOW: Listen to Bongo Boy Records’ Backroom Blues Vol. 12 and connect with their website and social media platforms. Please support Bongo Boy Records by visiting them online, and playing, downloading, and/or purchasing their music! And, as always, thank you for supporting real music!
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