Blues Underground Network (Featuring Plain Dirty Blues Band "Slow Burn")

Just got the new release from the Plain Dirty Blues Band, called "Slow Burn", and I must say after giving it a listen, I am simply just blown away.

The Plain Dirty Blues Band have been playing their exciting brand of music to the East Coast of Canada since 2005 and along the way they have certainly received their share of awards and accolades, most recently with their Debut release "Five Dollar Cover" being nominated for the 2011 Music PEI Blues Recording of the Year and receiving critical acclaim in the East Coast Blues Society's newsletter. Consisting of members Simon Moore (Drums), Doug Burton (Lead Guitar/Harmonica/Vocals), and Jason Furness (Bass/Vocals) the Plain Dirty Blues Band brings an intense brand of Blues Rock, like you have have not heard in many years, taking one way back to the early 70's.

"Slow Burn" consists of 11 immensely entertaining Tracks, all new originals written by the Plain Dirty Blues Band, something for which not too many bands have the guts to try for their Debut album. Guest appearances on "Slow Burn" included, Dan Rowswell (Sax), Jon Matthews (Organ/Backup Vocals/Hand Percussion), and Susan Burton (Vocals). In addition to making a Guest Appearance, Jon Matthews also produced and Engineered this album (The Sound Mill).

When I started listening to "Slow Burn", it only took a split second for the album to catch my attention as the drums pounded to life with a sound that had me thinking of the opening to Led Zep's "When The Levee Breaks", followed shortly after with the rest of the band kicking into gear. I knew right then that I may be in for quite a ride and I was not disappointed in the least as they showed me, in no uncertain terms, that they had the grits to serve up a mighty tasty album.

As mentioned earlier, this album really can take one back to the great Blues Rock feel of the early 70's, in fact Plain Dirty Blues Band would have fit in and done quite well in that era. It is the kind of music I miss and often long for, and when I hear that style played ala modern band, I really get quite excited, as it certainly is a somewhat rare treat.

For favorites on "Slow Burn", and their were lots, as I did not come across a weak Track amongst any of them, for which my top four were, Track 3 "Ode To George", Track 5 "Find A Better Way", and Track 6 "Hey Diddle Diddle", and Track 7 "Alone".

Great songs come from stories about great characters and "Ode To George", is such the case. "Ode To George" is about George Gill, whom lived in Charlottetown, P.E.I. and was a local guy whom one could easily see, on any given day, pushing a shopping cart around as he collected bottles. He was considered to be a local legend before he passed away a few years ago. "Some of his classic lines were "hey you ol Cheeseburger!" and "you ol Fishstick!". Everybody in Charlottetown has a story about George ." A very nice and well done song with great Slide Guitar work throughout.

"Find A Better Way", came across with a nice, at times, slightly psychodelic feel which reminded a lot of older British Style Blues Rock. This one was written by their Bass player Jason and is about a guy who has finally made the decision to change his life around for the better.

"Hey Diddle Diddle", got me groovin' right from the start, as it opened with Dan Rowswell tearing up the room with some wonderful Sax. A really fun song to listen to and a real toe tapper for sure. Based on the Mother Goose Nursery rhyme, Doug Burton wrote this song way back in 1987 as a reply to the Blues tune "Mary Had A Little Lamb".

If ever there was a song for which the term icing on the cake applies, "Alone" was certainly that one for me, especially when the heavenly Vocals of Susan Burton, Doug's wife, entered the song around the halfway mark. A wonderful slow haunting Ballad, that I must say left me on the edge of feeling just a little Verklempt. I really like it when a song can convey pure raw honest emotion, and this one certainly does that. "Alone" is another song written by Doug Burton which he wrote while teaching English in Korea, in 1993, and is a very sad song about a guy whom had lost his wife and daughter in a car accident. Susan Burton enters the song as an angel singing to him in a dream. Wonderfully accentuating this beauty was Jon Matthews' really nice work on Organ.

Honestly I don't know what to expect when I get an album from a group I have not heard of before, but believe me when I say, I don't really expect it to be as good as "Slow Burn" was. Thankfully, there are still artists with enough creativity to go way beyond the boundaries of average expectations. Plain Dirty Blues Band are such artists.

5***** for "Slow Burn", an album second to none when it comes to great Vocals, Lyrics, and Musicianship, in the Blues Rock vein, and then factor in that it is a Debut Album, and all I got to say is Wow.