A well-dressed turnout from the latest CD in the blues, and rhythm and blues series from Koko Mojo with ‘Dapper Dan’. A mouth-watering twenty-eight tracks present themselves from a longline of artists who get one shot at this, and one shot only to present their best sides. And succeed they most certainly do! From the charismatic double coupling of vocals from Eddie Johnson & Edna Mc Raney with ‘Back Up’, to follow-on ‘No Deposit, No Return’ presenting its message clearly via Martha Davis’ strong vocals that are tied to a tidy, finger-clicking rhythm that hints at jazz influences. There’s similar power in abundance when it comes to Little Miss Jessie & Benny Sharp Orchestra, only the volume ratchets skywards with vocals raw and rattling and set to a shifting tempo of rhythm and blues. As with other volumes, ‘Dapper Dan’ shines brightly due its variety of performances, but also for reviving a sense of history where you can visualise the dusty, smoke-filled environments of bars, dance clubs  and recording studios long since departed, yet brought to life here via tracks such as ‘Poppa Stoppa’ from Thelma Baxter and ‘Get With It’ by Pearl Galloway. With all that said, the most pleasing aspect of ‘Dapper Dan’ is its decision to focus predominantly on female artists, which is a definite positive and makes for interesting listening once the occasional male vocalists are introduced, especially during ‘Brand New Man’ that will raise much debate if you’re paying close attention. ‘Dapper Dan’ is an intelligent and sophisticated compilation where the female vocalists of a bygone era truly showed their worth that still resonates strongly today.

Defined as a troubadour, screenwriter, film director and, in this instance, singer-songwriter, Rafa Russo marks a return to the music scene with his latest album ‘This Strange Place’. With a lengthy history behind him, Rafa Russo has seen a career take him from his home of Madrid to New York and London and, along this journey, receive rave reviews from the likes of NME, airplay on BBC Radio One and tours supporting Tori Amos, John Martyn, Melissa Etheridge and Zucchero. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that latest album ‘This Strange Place’ is packed full of intricate details both musically and lyrically that will require patience because, as the well-worn phrase goes, this long player is a grower. With each listen there are new details and delights creeping to the surface (clearly expressed by album closer ‘Where Do You Go’), often undersold due to the subtle manner of Rafa Russo’s vocals and delicate instrumentation. It will draw you in and retain your attention without any hesitation as songs ache with sadness and tug at the heartstrings (‘On The Side’). The album appears to be something of a crossroads for Rafa Russo where the title of this record (interestingly and refreshingly no track of the same name) suggests unfamiliarity where optimism can be found in the likes of ‘Beautiful Stranger’, ‘Summertime’ and ‘Something Like Home’, but also emptiness (‘The Beginning Of The End’, ‘Grey’ and ‘Empty Chair’). ‘This Strange Place’ finds Rafa Russo without a definite answer to the problems encased here, but it also suggests that soon there will be a parting of the ways that will lead to more familiar territory that will soon begin to feel like home. It’s a thoroughly compelling listen and deserved of very high praise and likely to still be talked about come the end of year album polls. ‘This Strange Place’ is its name, and one that you will not forget.

Nature plays a big part when structuring the ambient soundscapes during latest album by Japanese artist Kenji Kihara. Residing in a part of Japan known as Hayama, which is surrounded by nature consisting of much costal beauty in addition to mountainous ranges, the music conjured here is often warm and filled with much light as expressed by ‘Nostalgic Wind’ that provides a feeling of much optimism for the past as well as leading into the future. Such ideas and feelings expressed continue, and pause for a moment, once ‘Light In The Sea’ comes in to view, yet its ambient sounds remain subtle and continue to filter and shine during the following ‘Warm Haze’. The sense of optimism almost reaches for the stars once ‘Cosmos’ begins and rolls out an electronic carpet of beats and pulses that almost steps out from the boundaries of ambient as one can imagine vocals being applied here, such is the tighter, fuller construction of the composition. Clearly, Kenji Kihara is a musician inspired by his homestead as his musical compositions are filled with much beauty and wonder as the album ‘Dawn’ clearly demonstrates and will have no difficulties communicating to the rest of the world.

Nigel Stonier possess a work ethic that is to be admired when considering his background of producer, multi-instrumentalist, co-writer and singer-songwriter. It would seem, therefore, that a moment of rest is simply a function that never applies to Nigel Stonier having built up a considerable CV working with the likes of Thea Gilmore, The Waterboys, Joan Baez, Martha Wainwright, Fairport Convention to name a few whether serving as producer, collaborator or lending a hand when a certain musical instrument was required to help fill in the missing pieces of an album in progress. The hard work continues apace in 2019 with the release of ‘Navigate’; a self-penned album made up of ten tracks and co-produced with Seadna McPhail at Airtight Studios, Manchester. With ‘Navigate’ pitched as a solo record, additional help arrives from the side-lines with a variety of musicians including the previously mentioned Thea Gilmore assisting on vocals. The song titles of Nigel Stonier’s latest album drops hints to current political and social unrest, not to mention apathy from some corners, with the opening duo of ‘Bad Dancers of A Certain Age’ and title-track ’Navigate’ picking at the seams of recent history and associating this with various ills occurring today. The opening bow of songs leans towards indie with the nagging yet welcome reference of Ian Broudie’s The Lightning Seeds constantly springing to mind, and largely due to both parties possessing a clever knack of crafting songs that sound upbeat yet further investigation reveals lyrics of a darker nature, but not forgetting the dry humour as well, with the catchy ‘What Could Possibly Go Wrong’ one such example. That is precisely where Nigel Stonier finds himself during ‘Navigate’ because despite wrestling with numerous problems, there is hope of a positive outcome, it’s just a matter of trying to find a way of sailing though the troubles in order to reach the other side. Such relief can be found via ‘When It Gets Cold’, ‘The Strange Untried’ and ‘Me With You’ mainly due to the tender sides of these folk compositions offering any sense of comfort. Seemingly never one in need of motivation, Nigel Stonier’s persistence and hard work looks to be paying off as ‘Navigate’ is a clever record that chews over current events as well as looking inwards to personal experiences, in an attempt to make sense of the sea of confusion many of us find ourselves in.

“The Rhythm, The Blues, The Hot Guitar” this album most certainly is. Another long player packed with 28 tracks with, in this instance, the guitar taking centre stage. Once more this series of blues, rhythm and blues and rock ‘n’ roll throws off the shackles to show a broad range of lesser known artists to provide something different, but also to plug in pieces of history by discovering artists that were either ignored or simply forgotten about during their (brief) time attempting this thing known as rock ‘n’ roll. It is that very genre that this latest addition of this compilation series largely features, with guitars reigning supreme throughout as mentioned earlier. It must be said there is a little more familiarity with this volume with tracks such ‘Crawdad Hole’ supplied by Chuck Harrod & The Anteaters, and the rowdy ‘Justine’ from The Citations being two such examples. However, as with other volumes of this excellent series, there’s variety in the pack as both TV Slim (‘I Can’t Be Satisfied’) and Blue Charlie’s compelling take on ‘I’m Going To Kill That Hen’ offers a bout of the blues from two different levels. Elsewhere, Little Luther shines with only his guitar for company during ‘Automatic Baby’, whereas Guitar Shorty provides a fuller yet looser blend of blues and rock ‘n’ roll that tightens up immensely once ‘Quick Draw’ by Leo Price and Band arrive soon after. Great songs, full of varying tempos and supplied by some of the most fascinating names set to musical history (Boliver Shagnasty anyone?!), ‘Burning Frets’ certainly leaves a lasting impression that will have you coming back for more.

Flying out of the barn at some tempo begins ‘Chicken Little’ by Rayvon Darnell, and so begins the compilation album of various artists ‘Voo Doo Lou’ on Koko Mojo. The idea(s) behind the title given to this long player appears to refer to the variation of moods and rhythms of the tracks supplied as it flies high on numerous occasions as well as taking leftfield turns as depicted by The Emersons and their compelling rendition of ‘Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde’ for example. Such humour and brilliance extend to the likes of Jimmy Butler’s persuasive, ‘Trim Your Tree’ complete with jaunty rhythm, and later (take your pick from) Big Moose (‘Puppy House Blues’), Ben Hughes (‘Sack’) and Jimmy Shaw (‘Big Chief Hug-Um An’ Kiss Um’) to experience some genuine eccentricities. You see it’s all about the delivery of the songs when it comes to ‘Voo Doo Lou’ as this compilation provides a masterclass in how to engage the listener by providing genuine emotions with tales of the everyday, not to mention catchy rhythms. Look no further than Gene and Billy and the heat sapping ‘It’s Hot’ giving the impression of the sun’s heat blaring down on you, to the curious question at the centre of ‘Who’s That Under My Bed’ from Rich McQueen to realise that we’re in rhythm and blues very good hands.