• Backroom Blues Volume Thirteen

  • 05.27.25

  • 1. The NEW Bardots - Born Ready 3:46
    2. The Delta Hound Dawgs - Homeward Bound ft. Sapphire Star Studios 3:30
    3. Covid Recovery Ministry - Crocodile Sunset 4:56
    4. Ann M Wolf - Is There Any Room, Anymore for Love? 4:13
    5. Charles Brown Mystics - Back Alley Blues 2:12
    6. Shar - Give Me One Reason 4:20
    7. Plainfield Slim - It's All Over Now 3:24
    8. The Delta Hound Dawgs - Chasing Bright Horizons ft. Sapphire Star Studios 2:48
    9. Clark Ford - Baby on Board Blues ft, Underground Treehouse 3:14
    10. Shar - No Shenanigan (Blues Version) 3:50
    11. Tiki Cowboys - My Friends 5:08
    12. Boys'N'Barry - Couldn't We 4:21

    STREAMING WORLDWIDE

  • UPC: 727252975015 -------------------------- ISRC: USPXQ2552701-12

  • Physical Album Available (Disc) $14.50 includes Shipping in USA

  • BLUES - RELEASE DATE: 05.27.25

  • FEATURED BLUES ARTISTS

  • Like most genres, blues is a broad and often misunderstood region of the musical map. Some would argue that it is a state of mind, and others might point out its characteristic musical conventions. For many, it is a pure and understated form; for others, it is wild, electrically charged musical expression. There are those who see it as a nostalgic sound, but just as many are keen to see where it goes and what it does next. I would argues that it encompasses all of that and more; like all genres, sounds, and styles, it needs to evolve and move with the times.

    And if all of those often contradictory and wonderfully creative aspects of the genre are highlighted best, it is in the Bongo Boy’s Backroom Blues album series, of which volume 13 is now out.

    The album kicks off in fine style, with The NEW Bardots reminding us that not only were they “Born Ready” but that blues is one of the major components of rock and roll. Here, they give us a rolling, barrelhouse blues-rock hybrid, complete with energetic piano lines and fired-up guitars. And if that is a sonic bookend for the modern sound of the genre, “Homeward Bound” sees the aptly named Delta Hound Dawgs digging into its earliest forms, with raw guitars, a voice that echoes with the sonic history of the Mississippi, and angst and attitude emanating from every word, every note.

    “Crocodile Sunset” sees the COVID Recovery Ministry take the form of a place that feels wonderfully progressive yet doesn’t stray too far from its core sonic ideals, almost becoming a musical production in its own right, having incorporated all manner of blues musical tropes and treatments.

    And again, contrasting the contradictions and breadth of the genre, Ann M. Wolf’s delicate “Is The Any Room, Anymore for Love?” is one of those blues diva piano ballads that runs from the understated to the anthemic. Chicago-style electric blues come courtesy of Charles Brown Mystics and “Back Alley Blues,” a searing and scintillating showcase of the sound that turns the genre into an American sound into a global phenomenon.

  • “Give Me One More Reason” is low-slung and full of groove, a blend of early emotive minimalism and a bigger, electric sound, with Shar’s vocals dripping with honesty and heartache. Her other offering, “No Shenanigan,” also brilliantly straddles the line between authenticity and progressiveness. Blues is also a genre where the recording of standards is a familiar practice. So, while you might recognize Plainfield Slim’s contribution as a song that was made famous by The Rolling Stones, whose take on The Valentinos’ classic saw them rock it up, here it is taken to an even more wonderfully raucous sonic conclusion.

    The Delta Hound Dawgs return with another slice of artful authenticity in “Chasing Bright Horizons,” a nostalgic and optimistic stomp through rural blues territory, which is the perfect buildup to Clark Ford and Underground Treehouse‘s groovesome “Baby on Board Blues.”

    Tiki Cowboys put their usual island spin on the sound with “My Friends,” a punchy blend of steel drums and classical sweeps, and things round off with Boys ‘N’ Barry and a cool, modern blues ballad called “Couldn’t We,” the sort of thing that David Soul would have killed to record back in the day. And I mean that in the most positive of ways.

    Yes, blues has been with us a long time, a hundred years or more, and in that time, it has both survived and evolved, taking on new forms with every decade to appeal to a fresh audience. But no matter what sonic form it takes, it has always been emotive and honest; it has always come from the heart, and it has always chronicled the life and plight of ordinary folk, their daily trials and challenges. And never was that more apparent than with this brilliant contemporary collection.

  • Written by Robert Silverstein
    June 7, 2025 - 6:46pm UTC

    Review Rating Star Review Rating Star Review Rating Star Review Rating Star Review Rating Star

    Bongo Boy recently released the thirteenth edition of their Backroom Blues various artists album series and it’s mostly a fine, modern day examination of the blues, with instrumentals and a wide assortment of blues rock tracks. The music is modern and vintage sounding at the same time featuring some tracks that transcend the genre with both fierce and spiritual sounds.

    Bongo Boy favorites The New Bardots, featuring rocker Gar Francis, kicks off the album with a track called “Born Ready”, essentially an electrifying 12-bar blues-rocker filled with amusing lyrical innuendos. With their acoustic track “Homeward Bound”, The Delta Hound Dogs offers a slice of Delta blues that just about revives the ghost of Robert Johnson.

    Another interesting track here comes by way of poet-vocalist Ann M. Wolf with her hypnotic spiritual called “Is There Any Room, Anymore for Love?” Not exactly a blues-rocker, the deep messages in her track are both inspiring and mesmerizing in their own way. The beauty here is the strength of Ann’s strong voice and the song's messages with strong political overtones.

    A mainstay on Bongo Boy’s impressive roster of artists is Colorado-based guitarist and composer Charles Brown. With many acclaimed solo albums to his credit, Charles hits hard and fast with another instrumental blues-rock fusion track filled with his guitar wizardry. Renowned for his mastery of the instrumental rock genre for decades, Charles stands out here with his contribution “Back Alley Blues”, credited to his group moniker Charles Brown Mystics.

  • Also on this 12-track, 2025 CD/DL release is a fresh take on “It’s All Over Now” by Plainfield Slim. The song, written by Bobby Womack, sounds great in Slim’s hands and even stands up well next to the Stones 1964 version which was their first number one hit in the U.K.

    Boyz ‘N’ Barry closes the album with a track called “Couldn't We” that sounds more like Brian Wilson than other tracks here. And that’s not a bad thing as the track has a tastly lyrical bounce that gives it a breezy West Coast pop feel. Yet, it’s a great way to end this CD or any CD for that matter.

    Hats off again to Bongo Boy for their expertise at picking music by an exciting range of recording artists for this latest edition of their classy and classic sounding Backroom Blues series. Blues-rockers and rock music fans overall will find much to like about Bongo Boy’s Backroom Blues Volume 13.

    RMR speaks to Charles Brown about Backroom Blues Volume 13