Finally – a Christian blues-rock record with some muscle. Although not as meaty as Stevie Ray Vaughan or John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, these California boys make a pretty good go of it with their tough hard-hitting style. Triple rocking guitar action courtesy of John Fowler, Randy Rigby and Mike Matthews, with Michael Aguilar on bass and Johnnie “Boom Boom” Graves on the back-beat. Fowler is the lead vocalist and also blows a mean harmonica. The live setting works perfectly here – I enjoyed the little things, like John saying he’s gotta take his jacket off cuz he’s burnin’ up, or when he runs through the band members’ names and their instruments in the middle of a song. The slow-burner ‘B. C. Blues’ kicks things off, followed by the fast-paced ‘You Only Go ‘Round Once’. Next Fowler’s harmonica gets a decent workout on ‘Fifty-First Street Blues’. ‘Lookin’ Back’ opens side two with a forceful swinging mid-tempo jam. The mood shifts for the 6:43 ‘Faithful’, a Springsteen-esque heartland power ballad with saxophone. ‘Liar’ closes the set, burnin’ away in Southern boogie fashion. Only 26 minutes of music since this is an EP, but what’s there is solid. It’s also a rare example of 10-inch vinyl, housed in a 10-inch cover (you can store it next to your Horrendous Disc EP). The second release on this label, following the Born To Die project (see entry). Wish we could have heard more from these guys.
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