Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Paul Boddy & SlideWinder Blues Band, Slide records 2021.
I hadn’t heard of Paul Boddy & SlideWinder Blues Band until this EP arrived in my mailbox.
They originally started out as a Tuesday night blues jam held at the ‘Puck Live’ in Doylestown Philadelphia, a session that has been running for five years.
What we have on this six track EP is the core band line-up consisting of Paul Boddy on lead vocals and guitar, Glen (the ‘wizard’) Hale on keyboards and accordion, Lori Gaston on backing vocals, Chuck Hearne on bass, and Jim Bowman on drums.
They are joined by guest artists Micky Jr. on harp and Tim Shay on sax.
The songs on this EP were all written by Paul Boddy who co-produced the record as well.
They are a good line-up of blues musicians with some very tasty licks.
The opening track Over The Hump tells the story of a man pining for his youth, “When I was a young boy I could run like Forrest Gump, now I’m over the hill but I’ll never get over the hump.” It’s a very relatable feeling.
The second track Love me Darlin’ has a great bass line that propels the up-tempo track forward and the exchanges between Boddy’s guitar solos and the Wizard’s organ are wonderful.
Money On Love contains some delightfully understated slide guitar work while Knock My Boots, like the opening track is a play on words.
It has some impressive drumming from Jim Bowman and honky-tonk piano from the wizard plus slide from Boddy and sax from Shay.
There’s plenty of innuendo in the Chicago blues of Pretty Kitty with lashes of Hammond B3 organ from the wizard and harp from Mikey Jr.
The final track, Makin’ Me Cry, is a slow blues that highlights Paul Boddy’s great blues drenched vocal.
As an introduction to Paul Boddy and SlideWinder Blues Band this EP ticks all the boxes and whets the appetite for more.
Boddy writes a good song and his guitar work is very classy. The whole band produce the goods.
