Recensie: Debbie Bond – Blues Without Borders
Debbie Bond – Blues Without Borders
Format: CD / Label: Blues Root Production
Release: 2021
Text: Iain Patience
Alabama blueslady Debbie Bond returns with a new album, recorded – like many these days – during the pandemic by whatever means possible and very much against the odds. Bond managed to beat the odds to some extent by having UK sax-player, Ray Carless luckily visit her at home in Tuscaloosa before lockdowns became the new norm.
So, Carless – a regular band member when Bond tours the UK – was able to add his considerable talent and weight to the project alongside her usual blues partner, ‘Radiator Rick’ Asherson on keys, harp and supporting vocals.
Bond is one of those blues musicians who, mysteriously and incomprehensibly, moves below the modern blues radar at times, despite her lifelong immersion in the music and having played with so many old-time greats from Johnny Shines to Eddie Kirkland and Willie King.
With this new release, she delivers an exceptional album, easily her finest offering to date, that features her vocals, grainy, moody and muscular to great effect; while her fretwork-picking also reliably drives the whole thing along with ease and a sophisticated ripple throughout. Bond is never a slouch when it comes to singing and playing; and her writing skills also shine brightly here with a clear grasp of the music and the recording game.
Don’t expect guitar pyrotechnics here, Bond is too self-assured and experienced to fall into that kind of musical trap. Instead, what you have is a genuinely gripping blues offering that slips along purposefully and strongly from start to finish, covering all those essential blues bases with a confidence and command that make this an essential release for blues lovers everywhere.
Tracks:
01. High Rider Blues
02. Blues Without Borders
03. Let Me Be
04. Blue Rain
05. Radiator
06. Heart Of The Matter
07. Winds Of Change
08. Let Freedom Ring
09. Shades Of Blue
10. Road Song
Website: Debbie Bond