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Bad
Town Blues - CD
Reviews
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BAD
TOWN BLUES - "Buffet Flats" - Bad Moon Records
At last, a new CD
from the excellent Bad Town Blues and well worth the wait. With Giles
King now on harmonica, the band have third songwriter upon whom to
call and this collection sees seven Clive Mulcahy compositions, three
from Ray Bartrip and one from Giles, all of which contributes to a
wonderful variety of material. This CD sees the band venturing into
rather darker territory, typified by Clive's moody and magnificent
title track, an insistent and driving riff with shimmering and dirty
harmonica and almost whispered vocals. Whether it be the rockier
edged songs of Clive such as the driving opener 'Blues in Paradise'
the Bo Diddley style up tempo 'Sinner Man' or the excellent '2612
Main Street' or Ray's songs which have often had a more barrelhouse
feel to them but on this CD see him in a more reflective mood. His
first track on the CD, 'Maybe' has a great traditional twelve bar
Hammond riff driving through it whilst 'Touch Her Soul' is a song
that you just know is going to be a live favourite featuring as it
does great solos from Giles and Clive underpinned by a rock solid
piano riff from Ray. Giles' 'Loaded Gun' is a cracker too with a
Howlin' Wolf feel to it.
This is another fine collection from Bad Town Blues which sees them
having moved on considerably from their first CD to great effect.
Highly recommended, as is catching the band live. Persuade your local
venue to book them, you will not be disappointed!
Ashwyn Smyth -
30th December 2007
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CD
Launch
at the New Crawdaddy Blues Club, Billericay, Essex – 23rd
February 2006 |
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Gig Review: |
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Essex based Bad Town Blues’ new CD, “Oblivion Road”
was launched at the Crawdaddy which the readers and listeners of
Digital Blues on PhoenixFM, the area’s local radio station,
recently voted their favourite venue.
The band comprises five experienced and talented musicians, three of
whom supply the CD’s original material. Guitarist/ singer Clive
Mulcahy, keyboard/Hammond player/singer Ray Bartrip (another Digital
Blues Award winner) and Adam Norton, harp player. With the superbly
tight and understated rhythm section of Jamie Lawrence on bass (he
also created the CD sleeve’s great front cover image) and Reg
Patton on drums.
Kicking off with “Rock Solid”, the CD’s opening track,
a fine up tempo rocking number featuring composer Clive’s
excellent guitar, some great dirty harp from Adam and quivering
Hammond from Ray, it was quickly clear how far the band has come
since their first CD “Down in the Alley” and signalled we
were in for an evening of something different.
“Quit Jivin’ Me”, a fine funky number took us to brace
of Ray’s songs, the lovely “Your Cheatin’ Ways”
which has a wonderful jazzy swing to it with a great bass line and
the crowd pleasing “Butcher’s Daughter”, a real piano
driven treat. Next, a surprise as the band broke into Clive’s
laid back Caribbean flavoured number, “Skinny Brown
Girl”, followed by the first of several excellent instrumentals,
Adam’s wonderfully evocative and sometimes psychedelic
“Supernatural Ball” featuring some lovely harp, more fine
guitar and some real 60s style Hammond.
Next up was “Something’s Wrong”, a delicious slow
Blues introduced by Clive with the words “We were a Blues band
once weren’t we?” On the basis of this number, they still
are, great guitar, lovely harp, raspy and dirty chromatic harp and
gravely vocals, what more could you ask?
It was back on the loud pedal with Ray’s rollicking boogie
woogie a la Chas & Dave (meant nicely!) “All Dressed Up”
followed by the insanely catchy gospel flavoured instrumental
“Sue’s Blues”.
The CD’s title track saw more lovely blistering guitar from
Clive whilst “Next Thing You Know” had Ray playing both
keyboards & Hammond at the same time to great effect and lead
straight into “It Ain’t Easy to Please Me”, an Adam
composition which opens with a glorious driving harp riff and has a
great shuffling beat.
The eponymous “Bad Town Blues “described by Clive as having
a “Speedy Gonzalez intro”, another great instrumental,
“The Code” building from a real moody opening saw the band
introduced one by one and playing solos and then it was “Ramona
Had A Baby” and they had done it, 15 tracks and over 75 minutes
of music!. A quick encore, “Highway 61 Revisited” and it
was all over.
Conclusion: Get the CD, its great & see the band live - such
variety, such skill and such fun. Nothing bad about these Blues.
Ashwyn Smyth, 5th March 2006
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"Oblivion Road" |
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Review by Ashwyn Smyth for "PhoenixFM.com" |
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Oblivion Road – Bad Town Blues – Bad Moon Records
Things have been a bit quiet recently on the bad Town Blues front and
now we know why! They have been working hard on this their second CD,
and boy was it worth the wait! 15 all original tracks totalling in
excess of 75 minutes music and such a variety of material including
some surprises about which more later.
The CD opens with a very funky Clive Mulcahy composition “Rock
Solid” which does what it says on the tin and is an ideal
opener. This is followed by the title track, another of Clive’s
compositions, a lovely mid-paced track which sees him in a pensive
mood reflecting upon life and the universe generally. Instrumentally,
Ray Bartrip on keyboards, Adam Norton on harp and Clive Mulcahy on
guitar each have a chance to let themselves go to superb effect
underpinned by a lovely flowing bass line from Jamie Lawrence and
interesting drum work from Reg Patten, a pattern (no pun intended)
which is retained in track 3, a really very catchy instrumental
called “Sue’s Blues” composed by Ray and dedicated to
his lovely lady. With a lovely gospel feeling to the keyboard riff,
this track is one of a number that features Ray on his beloved
Hammond, a really nice feature.
A complete change of style next with Clive’s composition
“Ramona Had A Baby” which features some lovely swampy slide
guitar and bar-room piano and which leads on to a classic pair of
Bartrip compositions, “Your Cheatin’ Ways” which
features some of Adam’s lovely overblown harp and, for me, a
tiniest hint of “Stray Cat Strut” with Reg using brushes
and Ray on his Hammond again to lovely effect.
“The Butcher’s Daughter” appeared first on the
“Essex Delta Blues&ldots;..A Sampler” CD released last year
and has proved a very popular number live but for the CD the band
have reworked it slightly with Clive playing acoustic slide guitar
and Adam playing a wonderful “rasping” harp. Not even half
way through, track 7 “Bad Town Blues” opens slowly and
dramatically before breaking into an excellent mid-tempo number
featuring some great guitar from Clive, some positively psychedelic
Hammond (listen closely on headphones to the break at around three
minutes in and take a trip!) and more smashing harp from Adam.
Track 8 is typical Bartrip boogie which should be covered by Chas
& Dave although they would not make as good job of it as do Bad
Town Blues. “All Dressed Up” sees Chigwell Fats pounding
the ivories fit to bust and the rest of the band doing their bit to
drive this great number along.
A complete change of tempo and style for the Clive composed “Quit
Jivin’ Me”, a considerably slower tempo and very funky
with a very slightly ‘Smokestack Lightning’ feel to the
guitar and harp riff. Adam’s harp really shines in Ray’s
“Next Thing You Know”, again a slower tempo number with
lovely thought provoking lyrics and Ray is also involved on the next
track “It Ain’t Easy To Please Me” an excellent
romping r’n’b shuffle with lyrics by Adam.
“The Code”, another Clive composition has a really
jazzy/soul feel to it with Jamie very busy on bass including a lovely
bass solo, Clive treating us to some almost Hendrixian guitar, all in
all something rather different from the guys including some almost
ethereal harp from Adam.
“Something’s Wrong” from Ray is a slow and smoking
number which is over 8 minutes of heaven opening with some delicious
harp and then running the gamut with the band taking turns to take
the spotlight. This number can only be superb played live as must be
the up tempo instrumental “Supernatural Ball” again
featuring some phased Hammond to confuse your brain if you listen on headphones.
The CD closes with a big surprise which may be a shock for some, yes
Bad Town Blues play reggae! Clive has composed a lovely number
“Skinny Brown Girl” which has a totally tropical Caribbean
feel to it and which Clive’s voice suits very well. This is
great way to round off this varied, interesting, exciting and
immensely satisfying album. Bad Town Blues are to be congratulated on
producing a collection which is a very definite quantum leap from
their previous, very good and very well received CD. Make sure you
get your copy when it is released soon, you will not be disappointed.
17th October 2005 |
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Review
by Jim Riley for "Blues in Britain" magazine
Essex Based 5 piece band "Bad
Town Blues" have put down fourteen original numbers on their
first album. These are generally well crafted songs of the classic 12
bar construction (not a derogatory term), but lyrically there is a
distictly British slant to the stories told. Refreshingly little
effort is made at cod American accents, so we hear the voice of the
Essex Delta - think Ian Drury with a blues band (what a nice idea).
I particularly enjoyed "New
Age Blues" which seemed to me to have a feel of blues touching
Trad. Jazz, as the man said- "Nice"; "Slow Lane"
shows off Ray Bartrip's excellent piano playing; "Grape and
Grain" - definitely written by a guitarist - in this case Clive
Mulcahy, has shades of ZZ , people will want to cover this I think.
Overall the playing is of a high standard, and "Right This
Time" has very tight, punchy Brass. Classy.
There is a lot of good boogie,
some thoughtful moments, and wry observations on our middle years.
All in all a real effort has been made to produce a set of songs
played with care and thought, In this they have succeeded. 8/10
Jim Riley 2002
"Blues in Britain"
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Review
by Ashwyn Smyth of Phoenix FM :
"In my humble opinion, one of the best, if not the best CD of
2002, this debut offering from Essex's very own Bad Town Blues is a
cracker. With band leader and founder Adam Norton playing a very mean
harp, Brentwood's very own guitar meister, the incomparable Clive
Mulcahy on guitar and vocals and Chigwell Fats himself, the keyboard
maestro, Ray Bartrip in the front line and a rhythm section of Reg
Patten on drums and John Cullerton on bass this is a band whose live
performance are receiving rave reviews wherever they play. Unusually
for a debut CD, all fourteen tracks are self penned and Adam &/or
Clive or Ray and what an excellent variety there is, including a
number of very nice instrumentals.
Clive has a very distinctive voice and this is perhaps at its best on
'Right This Time' which also features some really tight horns
arranged by Mike Thorne at whos studios the CD was recorder and who
also mixed the whole thing as well as playing drums on some tracks.
Clive also excels on the very entertaining 'New Age Blues' which
features him playing some great slide guitar as well as delivering
lyrics with which everyone of a certain age can identify.
'Life in the Slow Lane' gives Ray Bartrip the opportunity to
demonstrate what a very good pianist he is as well as the fact that
he has a very fine voice. The lyrics again strike a chord with anyone
who is in what is euphemistically referred to as middle age! It is
another nice feature of this CD that the vocals are more or less
equally shared between Clive & Ray, to great effect.
If you like instrumentals, then there are loads to choose from
including the title track, an uptempo romp written bu Adam and the
excellent 'Late Night Creeper', another of Adam's compositions which
demonstrates his self-confessed addiction to Big Walter Horton. There
are also some fine boogies which cannot but have your feet tapping
such as 'Summerland Boogie' and the excellent 'Chigwell Fats Boogie'.
'Grape and the Grain' is another fine number which has shades of ZZ
Top with Clive on both vocal and guitar duties and demonstrating his
rock roots as well as delivering more well observed lyrics.
It is perhaps somewhat ironic that, as Adam told me when he and Clive
played live on Digital Blues on Phoenixfm in October 2002 and we gave
exclusive first radio plays of some tracks from this CD, Adam started
off learning guitar and was taught by Clive but he then heard a
Howling Wolf track at a friend's house and, in a road to Damascus
moment, resolved to become a harp player. He bought a harp songbook
and subsequently had lessons from Errol Linton and Paul Lamb and he
has learned well! Adam's playing throughout is top flight without
being showy or over emphasised.
Clive has played with many people over the years including the Tom
Robinson Band and himself made an excellent CD back in the mid-90's
produced by Ray Marquis. He is as at home with rock, boogiw woogie,
slow blues or acoustic magic, a very talented guitarist as well as a
gifted writer and singer.
Ray Bartrip, or Chigwell Fats, has played with so many different
people over the years but his main claim to fame is being part of the
Worrying Kynde, a top club band back in the sixties. He is an
extremely accomplished keyboard player, vocalist and writer who, like
Clive, is equally at home playing out and out boogie, slow, moody
blues or anything in between.
Anayone who has seen this band will know that when any individual has
a solo there is no clash of egos, each player makes room for the
soloist and patiently awaits his turn. Very refreshing. If you have
not seen them, then you should not miss any opportunity you have to
do so soon, If there is any justice, this band will rise to the upper
echelons of the Blues and their CD cannot fail to please whatever
your taste. I cannot remember a more wide-ranging and varied debut CD
and I keep playing it over and over. So will you."
Ashwyn Smyth
Digital Blues
www.phoenixfm.com
© Ashwyn
Smyth - January 2003 |
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Review
by Bill Smith for "Blues in Britain" magazine
This five piece band all hail
from Essex with the exception of Reg Patten, on drums, who comes from
the Croydon area. This is their first album and all the songs are
written by the band members. The songs are well written and the sound
the band creates is first class and is more like American blues than
the Canvey Island variety. With two main vocalists in Clive Mulcahy
and Ray Bartrip (Chigwell Fats) there is a variety of delivery. The
line up is as follows: Adam Norton on harp, Clive Mulcahy on
guitar and vocal, Ray Bartrip on piano, organ and vocal, Phil Wilson
on acoustic fretless bass and Jeff Cater on double bass and Fender
bass, Mike Thorne on drums (tracks 1,5,6,7,9 and 13), Reg Patten on
drums (tracks 2,3,4,8,10,11, 12 and 14). This band is refreshingly
different and rightly pays homage to the great era of Chicago blues
of the 1950's. Adam Norton claims Shakey Walter Horton as his major
influence and it shows in his fine melodic and rhythmic harmonica playing.
On the opening track "Bad
Town Shuffle", the writer is Adam Norton lets rip with fine
mellow toned harp and is ably supported by Ray Bartrip on piano and
Clive Mulcahy on guitar. The overall ensemble sound is fruity and
well-balanced. Ray Bartrip features on vocal on the self-written
"Baby What You Doin' to Me" with Clive playing a fine
guitar solo. And so the album continues with excellent solos from all
the lead instrumentalists and strong vocals from both singers. Both
Rhythm sections provide excellent support and the overall sound is
pleasing to the ear. The highlights of the 14 tracks, which are all
excellent, are the up-tempo "Driving This Road", the fine
bottleneck guitar and harp on "New Age Blues", the fine
intrumental harmonica number "Late Night Creeper", the
piano led "Summerland Boogie", the entertaining "Grape
and Grain", the title track "Down in the Alley", a
fine harmonica instrumental, the thoughtful "Peace of Mind"
and the rollicking "Chigwell Fats Boogie".
For a first album this is a
tremendous achievement and on this showing they can only get better!
Bill Smith 2002
"Blues in Britain"
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Review
by Roy Bainton for "Blues Matters" magazine:
Where do they all keep coming
from? Blues bands in Britain keep cropping up all over the place, and
you would think by now quantity wouldn't mean quality.
Here's an outfit based in
Colchester that has been around since the start of this century, a
thrusting five piece with all the drive and confidence you'd expect
from such experienced musicians who, in turn, have played with such
luminaries as Gerry McAvoy and a variety of other line-ups.
Both Ray Bartrip (keys) and Clive
Mulcahy (guitar) take lead vocals from time to time, and in addition
to the latters strident fluid guitar there's an extra dimension of
authenticity provided by Adam Norton's gritty, growly harp.
Completing the line-up is Reg
Patten on Drums and John Culleton on Bass.
It is refreshing to learn that
all 14 tracks on this album are Bad Town Blues originals, and damned
fine they are. These guys have got a grip on their blues.
The opener "Bad Town
Shuffle" draws you in and holds your interest. By the time
you're into "Right This Time", with its great horn section
arranged by Mike Thorne, you realise that yet again here's a British
blues outfit of some quality and distinction.
Whatever gigs they already have
lined up certainly ought to be added to once promoters cock an ear at this.
So, lads, you have a great album
and it is an impressive debut. Don't change a note, it's cracking stuff.
Roy Bainton
Blues Matters
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"Happy Days" - Solo
Album from Ray Bartrip
Review
of "Happy Days" by Bill Smith for "Blues In
Britain" magazine :
This is a solo
album by Ray Bartrip, the keyboard player with Bad Town Blues.
It features Ray on piano and vocals singing and playing on an album
featuring all original numbers that are self-written. Ray has
been on the British R & B scene since the early 1960's when he
was in the band The Worrying Kynde, that had at that time a residency
at the 100 Club in Oxford Street. The songs on this album are
well crafted, with a fair amount of sardonic humour spread amongst
them. The piano playing and arrangements are first class and
showcase Ray's talents as writer, pianist and singer.
Among the eighteen
tracks are a great variety of piano blues and boogie-woogie - from
the regular boogie shuffle of 'All Dressed Up', the medium shuffle of
'You Get What You Get' to the boogie with a Rock & Roll
tinge of 'Never, Never Woman'. Ray's voice is heard to good
effect on sixteen of the tracks, and for me the stand out vocal
tracks are 'Life in the Slow Lane', a slow boogie with a humorous and
laconic view of life put across in Ray's inimitable manner, and 'Baby
What You Doin' to Me', where Ray's gravelly voice adds something
extra to the track. There are also two first class
instrumentals - 'Just Sittin' Blues' is a slow boogie which is a fine
track reminiscent of the work of the great Jimmy Yancey - and all the
better for that. The other instrumental is 'Call Me Home', a
slow, sonorous and highly elegiac number. This is a fine and
highly original piece of music and for me is one of the highs of the
whole album.
This is a very
fine piece of work, and is good from start to finish. Ray is
certainly as good an exponent of boogie piano as any other pianist on
the circuit and his writing is superior to many. Anyone
listening to this album will be surprised and entranced by its quality.
Bill Smith 2003
Review
by Ashwyn Smyth of Pheonix FM:
The third CD released this month
is a solo effort from Ray Bartrip, the outstanding keyboard player
and one of the vocalists with Bad Town Blues. Entitled “Happy
Days”, it contains no less than 18 tracks, all written and
performed by Ray accompanying himself on keyboards. There are a
couple of instrumentals including the wonderful and very moody
“Call Me Home” plus what might almost be described as
acoustic versions of three songs from the Bad Town Blues CD,
“Down In The Alley”. This then is yet another side of Ray
and a very enjoyable on. We shall be featuring tracks from this CD
and from the Bad Town Blues and Customtones CD’s in June to give
you a full cross section of this man’s talent! The CD is
obtainable at Bad Town Blues gigs or you can contact Ray via the
band’s website at www.badtownblues.com.
Ashwyn
Smyth 2003
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