Review: Robbert Duijf – Silver Spoon
Robbert Duijf – Silver Spoon
Format: CD – Digital / Label: Naked
Release: 2025
Text: Pascal Wilhelm
Dutchman Robbert Duijf has an impressive track record. He won the European Blues Challenge 2024 for bands, won an award for the Best Dutch Blues Album of 2023 (‘Change Myself’) and won the Dutch Blues Challenge 2019 (category solo/duo).
He refers to his work as Music from the heart to heal and connect. His main asset: his sweet, deep and soulful voice. The twelve songs (mostly originals) on this album are well produced and lyrically touch on several serious issues: suspected adultery (Talking In Your Sleep), war (The General) and friendship (Those Days) to name but a few.
The recording sounds very natural. Few overdubs, so it seems. Robbert Duijf (guitar, harmonica and vocals) is accompanied by his son Rubin Duijf (double bass), Robin Zalm (drums), Sjaak Korsten (backing vocal), Thimo Gijezen (keys), Massimo Bombrini (percussion), and Angelo Bombrini (banjo) who also produced the album.
In this style, Robbert is standard-bearer in the Netherlands. Period. He has the voice, the songs and the performance. But there are more artists like Robbert in the world. So, what makes him special apart from him being a Dutchman?
Personally, I see him as an artisan, he is very well able to emulate a certain style. But does he add to it? Some will agree, some will disagree, but fact is that what sounds familiar is often appreciated more by the average Dutch blues fan.
Recently, I reviewed the new acoustic album by Guy Verlinde and Tom Eylenbosch (Promised Land Blues), also an acoustic album. What I appreciate about that album is its originality; Guy and Tom have similar roots as Robbert, but they dare to go beyond that and thereby created something that sounds new while still clearly rooted in the blues. There is no accounting for taste, of course, but that is what I miss on ‘Silver Spoon’.
However, it is evident Robbert is sincere in his musical endeavour, you can feel it, and this album is more than worth listening to.
Four-and-a-half-stars for Robbert!
Tracks:
01.Ticket For The Love Train
02. Silver Spoon
03. Tired Of Being Good
04. All Night Long
05. Angel
06. She Don’t Know
07. First Train Out
08. Losers
09. Talking In Your Sleep
10. The General
11. Those Days
12. Nothing But Crying
Website: https://www.robbertduijf.com/