Seasick Steve - Love & Peace
Seasick Steve is back with his latest offering, this his tenth studio album, not bad for an ex-hobo and paramedic who is still rocking at the age of sixty nine (?). The blues, boogie woogie, country and rock ‘n’ roll is sounding as original as when he first burst onto the scene back in 2006.
A previous MOJO award winner, he is a very fascinating man that has certainly lived quite a colourful life by the sound of it. He has a real warmth and depth and is still very clearly well connected to his roots, as portrayed and played out in Regular Man.
During his career he has played in many bands while cutting his teeth along the way and has played with so many great musicians such as Son House, Joni Mitchell, John Lee Hooker, John Paul Jones, Jack White and Albert King. He was also an acquaintance of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin in the late sixties via the Monterrey music festivals. He has also worked across several musical genres along the way in his time, in previous bands doing DISCO and even transcendental meditation.
I Will Do For You has a real atmospheric kind of John Martyn feel to it, while Church Of Me finds Steve in fine fettle, he is sounding just great as he bellows away like a preacher man.
Toes In The Mud was surely just made for some muddy music festival during the summer of 2020? Oh well maybe next year then? It’s certainly ready to go down a storm when the next one comes around that’s for sure.
The man has certainly been on one heck of a musical journey thus far and whilst the new album is undoubtedly the handy work of this well-heeled Jack, it maybe lacks a bit of the rustic dynamics and cutting edge that was Seasick’s trademark in the earlier days when he first found fame, but I have no doubt that hard core fans, will I am sure just love it. His regular three stringed and alleged haunted guitar ‘The Trance Wonder’ is sounding mighty fine. Sure the Clock Is Running but there is plenty of life is this old dog’s engine yet.
Love & Peace is released on the 24th of July.
