With a scratching harmonica and a singer who sounds like a young, inspired Harry Muskee in the ranks, the Dutch blues group Cuban Heels has grown into a much sought-after live act on the European blues circuit in recent years. The five band members call it 'Garage blues' themselves, but their sound harks back through the British sixties blues boom (Alexis Korner, John Mayalls Bluesbreakers) to the
… noisy big city sound of the Chicago blues of the fifties. And goodness, that works out well on this third album by the group! Pure passion and energy immediately make you forget the word retro. This is contemporary music; gritty and at the same time widely produced so that the group bursts into your living room lively. The arrangements are also rough and unadorned, inventive but with a sense of tradition. It is especially striking how their own compositions are not inferior to (not the least) covers of Over The Hill and You've Got To Move (best known for Janis Joplin). Whether Cuby & The Blizzards would like to move a bit further. (MR)more