BLUES N'AT

Back in December, we saw a blues band in the basement bar of the Trio Lounge in Washington. They sounded really good and their guitarist knocked us out all night with his impressive licks. On a lark, we picked up said band's CD. Little did we realize when we saw Billy the Kid & the Regulators and purchased the CD, "She Got a Hold on Me", of the good things that were yet to come. The CD competed in the self-produced category at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis this past February. And Billy the Kid & the Regulators recently won the Blues Society of Western Pennsylvania's Blues Challenge, getting to represent the BSWPA in the best band category next year. After Billy won the competition this past weekend, it occurred to me that I never reviewed this tasty CD. I'm about to rectify that below.

Is Billy the Kid a gun-slinging guitarist or a master chef? The reason I pose this question is because "She's God a Hold on Me" is a delicious blues & rock stew with a hint of funk to satisfy your musical taste buds. The appetizer is the hard-driving "Nothing to Lose". Then Billy dives into "Say You Wanna Woman". The lyrics aren't really my taste but the mixture of horns, harmonica and keyboards really bring out the boldness in Billy's guitar. After that comes a slow-burn, funked up version of "Born Under a Bad Sign" to get you ready for the main course. Then Billy serves up more funky blues with the title song. This song reminds us why this CD represented at the IBC. Next comes my favorite offering, "Disturbed by the Peace". In this song, Billy sings that a policeman tells him to turn down the guitar saying, "Billy that guitar is just too loud". Sorry officer, but I object! That's like asking Wolfgang Puck to order some Domino's Pizza. Billy then cleanses our palettes with the slower, "Free from Your Spell". On it, he continues to keep listeners under his spell with more tasty licks from his delicious Flying V. You may ask, at this point, what's for dessert? "One More Chance" gives us one more chance to enjoy this smorgasbord of musical musings by Billy the Kid & the Regulators. Boy, does this hit the spot!