Meat & Potatoes

[wimpLink artistId="4968087"]Ian Siegal[/wimpLink] doesn't sound like the name of a blues singer; his name doesn't have the stereotypically bluesy ring of names like [wimpLink artistId="4144"]Memphis Slim[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="13679"]T-Bone Walker[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="450"]Mississippi John Hurt[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="437"]Lightnin' Hopkins[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="4142"]Big Maceo Merriweather[/wimpLink] or [wimpLink artistId="14835"]John Lee Hooker[/wimpLink]. Perhaps someone who is seeking to combine Celtic music and klezmer could be named [wimpLink artistId="4968087"]Ian Siegal[/wimpLink] (Ian is a very Scottish name, Siegal very Jewish). But this [wimpLink artistId="4968087"]Ian Siegal[/wimpLink] (who is from England) doesn't play either Celtic music or klezmer, and [wimpLink albumId="241479908"]Meat & Potatoes[/wimpLink] is most definitely aimed at the blues market. On this 2005 recording, [wimpLink artistId="4968087"]Siegal[/wimpLink] favors electric blues-rock with a strong [wimpLink artistId="30429"]Howlin' Wolf[/wimpLink] influence; his vocals owe a lot to [wimpLink artistId="30429"]Wolf[/wimpLink]'s raspy vocal style. But [wimpLink albumId="241479908"]Meat & Potatoes[/wimpLink] (which was recorded in Kent, England) is far from a carbon copy of the classic '50s and '60s recordings that [wimpLink artistId="30429"]the Wolf[/wimpLink] made in Chicago for Chess Records. [wimpLink artistId="4968087"]Siegal[/wimpLink] has a different writing style, and as much as he obviously admires [wimpLink artistId="30429"]Wolf[/wimpLink], he does things that [wimpLink artistId="30429"]Wolf[/wimpLink] didn't do. "Butter-Side Up," for example, is jazzy in a way that [wimpLink artistId="30429"]Wolf[/wimpLink] was not, and "Brandy Balloon" recalls the bluesier funk bands of the '70s (such as [wimpLink artistId="31327196"]War[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="32170"]the Ohio Players[/wimpLink]). Without question, [wimpLink artistId="4968087"]Siegal[/wimpLink] sounds like he has spent a lot of time listening to [wimpLink artistId="30429"]Howlin' Wolf[/wimpLink], but he also sounds like he has spent a lot of time listening to [wimpLink artistId="13596"]the Doors[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="454"]Muddy Waters[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="124"]Eric Clapton[/wimpLink], and [wimpLink artistId="715"]Tower of Power[/wimpLink]. While [wimpLink artistId="4968087"]Siegal[/wimpLink] is blues-oriented, he is far from a blues purist, and there is no overlooking the fact that rock, soul and funk have also affected his musical outlook. [wimpLink artistId="4968087"]Siegal[/wimpLink] has his heroes and his idols, but he is his own person and paints an attractive picture of himself on this promising CD. ~ Alex Henderson