Review: Jimmy Regal And The Royals – Snap Back
Jimmy Regal & The Royals may well be considered leaders of this pack
Artist: Jimmy Regal And The Royals
Title: Snap Back
Format: Digital
Label: Lunaria Records
Physical date: September 25, 2026
Digital release date: October 2, 2026
Text: Bert van Kessel
With new blues clubs mushrooming and numerous new blues bands playing the circuit London has again become the hub of a new British blues movement. Jimmy Regal & The Royals may well be considered leaders of this pack.
They are a tough and howlin’ harmonica-led three piece from South London. The band is made up of Joff Watkins on vocals, harmonica and guitar, CJ Williams (guitars and bass) and Sammy Samuels on drums and percussion, among which the West-African conga, the djembe.
They say they are a Blues Band; but they are much more than that as they fluidly incorporate rhythms from Mississippi and West Africa into their dynamic sound, which is also firmly rooted in the British R&B of the seventies with Dr. Feelgood and Nine Below Zero.
Opening track and first single (If You Don’t Know Bo, You ) Don’t Know Diddley is a fine example of how they combine a driving, basic blues riff with global influences. It’s impossible not to move when listening tot his one! The title track is an uptempo driving song about resilience. CJ Williams again lays down an enthusiastic basic riff. to which Joff Watkins contributes inspired vocals and some catchy harmonica.
The second single Flat Battery Blues, a humorous track about problems with a cheap car features a dominant funky electric guitar frolicking in merriment. Then there is a series of very danceable uptempo songs among which Disconnect really stands out because of the stunning interaction between a fiddle and the harmonica.
Also, Sammy Samuels shines here with some great percussion. These tracks are followed by the slow and immersive Don’t Try with an excelling Joff Watkins on harmonica. Then it is off to West Africa with the Fela Kuti-inspired Hold On Tight, but fortunately the spirit of Bo Diddley is never far away.
Then they celebrate Pub Rock in two fine tracks before ending this joyous collection with the enthusiastic instrumental Well Boss, the title track of their delicious live album.
Tracks:
01. Don’t Know Diddly
02. Shining Through On The 122
03. Snap Back
04. Disconnect
05. I Wanna Be On Your Radio Show
06. Don’t Try
07. Hold On Tight
08. Until I Die
09. Flat Battery Blues
10. What Mickey Did Next
11. Well Boss
Website: https://www.jimmyregalandtheroyals.com/
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Want to discover more from Jimmy Regal And The Royals and related artists? Click on the titles below to read earlier articles on Bluestown Music.
Jimmy Regal And The Royals – First And Last Stop
An earlier album combining blues with the trio’s broad range of rhythmic influences.
Nine Below Zero – DenMark
British rhythm and blues with prominent harmonica and clear links to the energetic pub-rock tradition.
GA-20 With Charlie Musselwhite – Blues Now
Raw contemporary blues driven by harmonica, guitar and powerful band interplay.