Joe Blues Butler - Down On Beale Street (2010)

Joe Butler is one of these shadowy figures who inhabits the soul/blues world of the American Southern states but is virtually unknown beyond his core audience. Yet this is a good, enjoyable release of almost all blues which deserves a wider audience. It is a typical production of the genre with the synthesiser much in evidence and very occasional backing voices; there is an ok blues guitarist throughout. The tracks seem to be all original with reasonable lyrics, which inevitably include some of the double entendre associated with the Southern soul/blues idiom. Highlights include Crumb Snatchers and an aggressive Don't Rush Me, with added harp. Don't look for the emotional intensity and rich instrumental interplay of older blues recordings but if you like contemporary blues and want to hear what still sells in the South then this is well worth the cost of a download. Recommended. ~Alexander Sinclair