Your Baby Has Left
VizzTone, 2020
8/10
The Florida veterans Backtrack Blues Band return with one of the best records in their 40+ year career, where excellent production and recording to analog tape help capture the energy and detailed musicianship present on Your Baby Has Left.
After the soaring guitars and energetic rhythm of “Best Friend’s Grave”, “Your Baby Has Left” follows with spirited harmonica on the soulful, bluesy delivery where frontman Sonny Charles signs powerfully.
Elsewhere, the groove friendly “Killin’ Time” will get your body moving and shaking to its bouncy tempo, while “Natural Born Lover” flows with a timeless rock’n’roll spirit amid the playful blues. “You’ll Come Back Someday”, one of the album’s best, then offers infectious harmonica solos amid the organ fills from Bruce Katz, not to mention the dynamic work from the rhythm section.
At the end, “She Might Get Mad” points towards the early days of rock’n’roll with strategic piano and call and response vocals, and “Times Is Hard” finishes out the calmer but no less impactful in its horn friendly, slow burning exit.
A listen with plenty of Chicago influences as well as guitar indebted to Texas lineage, this 7th album from Backtrack Blues Band is a must hear for those who prefer their blues authentic and with zero filler included.
Travels well with: Phantom Blues Band- Still Cookin’; 11 Guys Quartet- Small Blues And Grooves