Nine Below Zero – 13 Shades Of Blue (Out 30th September 2016 via Zed Records)
Mixing blues, R’n’B and even a hint of New Wave MOD, Nine Below Zero have been a cult favourite since their formation in 1977. Their high energy live act was already well established by the time they signed to A&M RECORDS in 1980 and was forever captured on their classic live album 1980’s Live At The Marquee. And who can forget their appearance on the first ever episode of the Young Ones (Demolition), performing the cracking ‘11+11’; that was my intro to the band and I’ve kept an ear out for them ever since.
The new album, 13 Shades Of Blue, takes in a range of styles within the blues and R’n’B genres.
Featuring the original members of the band: Dennis Greaves (guitar and vocals) Mark Feltham (harmonica and vocals) Mickey Burkey (percussion) and Bryan Bethell on bass (as well as touring bassist Ben Willis), the band have had hits, splits, line-up changes and reformations. But here we are with a covers album of some great tracks.
The album opens with the grooves of ‘Don’t Lay Your Funky Trip on Me’ made famous by Señor Soul. Such is the diversity of Blues, Dennis Greaves only found out who wrote the song after he “walked into a bar and heard the track playing in the background and thought, this is great who is it? So I got my phone out which has the app SHAZAM and found out it wasSeñor Soul a band that would soon become War. War were famous for a track called Low Rider and featured the Harmonica player Lee Oscar. I thought this is a perfect start to a new project: Best of the Blues by Nine Below Zero taking in all the shades the Blues offers. The next move was to start a playlist on Spotify and to share it with the band, so began 13 Shades of Blue.”
The is some fantastic guitar, a decent groove, and ‘Don’t Play That Song’ highlights how well the songs have been bolstered by horns and backing vocals. The band’s trade-mark harmonica, which is a large part of what attracted me to the band in the first place, plays a solid part, as does some funky piano in places.
‘Crawling Up A Hill’ is one that reminds me of the band’s roots and early daze, the guitar is quite blistering here, welcome return after a big band number or two.
With a number of guests, including Squeeze’s Glen Tilbrook, it’s well worth checking out. 8/10
Joe Geesin
TRACK LISTING:-
1. Don’t Lay Your Funky Trip On Me (Dickerson/Miller/Brown/Scott/Oscar/Jordan)
2. Watch What You Do To Me (Hodges/Mitchell/Randle)
3. That’s What Love Will Make You Do (Campbell)
4. Don’t Play That Song (You Lied) (Ertegun/ Nelson)
5. It’s Your Voodoo Working (Sheffield)
6. You’re Still My Woman (King/Clark)
7. The Toddle (Jacobs)
8. I’m Gonna Keep What I’ve Got (Moore)
9. Crawling Up A Hill (Mayal)
10. I Want To Know (Badger / Desanto / Geddins)
11. My Woman Is Good To Me (Sonny)
12. Hercules (Toussaint)
13. Paper In My Shoe (Chavis/Shuler)
13 Shades of Blue Tour 2016/17
30th Sept The Mill, Banbury 01295 279002
1st Oct Pizza Express, Maidstone 01622 683548
7th Oct West End Centre, Aldershot 012452 408040
8th Oct Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth 023 9286 3911
14th Oct The Phoenix, Exeter 01392 667080
15th Oct The Fleece, Bristol 0117 945 0996
21st Oct Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 0844 249 1000
22nd Oct The Arc, Stockton 01642 525199
29th Oct The Horsebridge, Whitstable 01227 281174
4th Nov Under the Bridge, London 0844 249 1000
10th Nov Norwich Arts Centre 01603 660352
11th Nov The Concorde, Brighton 0844 249 1000
19th Nov The Ruby Lounge, Manchester 0844 249 1000
26th Nov The Kevin Thorpe Blues Night, The Elms Notts
2nd Dec The Electric Palace, Bridport 01305 426 336
3rd Dec The Globe, Cardiff 07590 471888
8th Dec The Junction, Cambridge 01227 511511
9th Dec Greystones, Sheffield 0114 266 5599
10th Dec The Musician, Leicester 0116 251 0080
17th Dec Ripley Blues Club, Ripley, Yorkshire
2017
27th Jan The Mirren at The Towngate, Basildon 01268 465465
24th Feb The Flowerpot, Derby 01332 204955
3rd Mar The Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne Minster 01202 885566
4th Mar The Stables, Milton Keynes 01908 280800
10th Mar The Robin 2, Wolverhampton 01902 497860
11th Mar Windelsham Theatre, Windelsham 07903 462636
17th Mar The Bullingdon, Oxford 01865 434998
18th Mar The Citidal, St Helens 01744 735 436
24th Mar The Cluny, Newcastle 0191 230 4474
25th Mar King Tuts, Glasgow 0141 221 5279