Thursday, August 14, 2008

Review: Jo' Buddy & Down Home King III



I found this great blues cd by a guy from Finland! The new cd is "Whole Lotta Things To Do" (Ram-Bam Records, 2008) and it is a cooker! If you like blues, or rock, or Americana--this cd can wake you up and make you smile.

Jo' Buddy (real name Jussi Raulamo) plays electric guitar and sings, and Down Home King III (real name Tyko Haapala) plays drums and percussion. That's it--just the two of them--but they make a roomful of raw blues music. Jo' Buddy writes all the lyrics and plays an East German Klira guitar through a tube radio and the result is a bit of distortion, some grit and howl. On first listen you may think this is classic hill country Mississippi blues, and these guys are from Finland! Jo Buddy sings like he just swallowed a cup of sterno. And Down Home King III plays the drums with urgency and heavy hands--it's stripped down blues music. This is the duo's second cd together, following "Grits and Rattles" (2006). You may not have heard of these guys but you need this cd. This is the real deal, good honest rootsy blues. You can get this cd at: http://www.ram-bam.com/

No comments: