Kirk Fletcher 

My Blues Pathway
Cleopatra Blues 

Review by Greg Johnson 

If you were to sit down and ask people about who they felt were the most impressive guitar players in the blues world today, you just might find a long list at hand. But more than likely, you’d find Kirk Fletcher’s name prominently on most of those lists. He garnered attention while working with bands like The Fabulous Thunderbirds and The Mannish Boys, but if you heard his last previous disc, Hold On, you’re already aware that he has a lot to say on his own. My Blues Pathway confirms this. Whether Fletcher is performing his own material or covering somebody else’s songs, he delivers with soulful vocals and stunning guitar work. And it comes across with his own passionate signature performance on each. 

He is joined by Robert Cray bassist Richard Cousins for the recording, who also lends a hand in writing a couple of songs, “No Place To Go” and “Love Is More Than A Word.” The rest of the band behind Fletcher includes bassist Travis Carlton, keyboardist Jeff Babkos, drummers Lemar Carter and David Kida, plus horn work from Joe Sublett on sax and Mark Pender on trumpet. The album closes with Fletcher teaming up with harmonica legend Charlie Musselwhite and guitarist Josh Smith on the acoustic number, “Life Gave Me a Dirty Deal,” written by Juke Boy Bonner. 

Six of the 10 pieces are originals, with the remaining covers being Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Fattening Frogs For Snakes” where Fletcher shines on his guitar with a song written to showcase Sonny Boy’s harmonica;  Chris Cain’s “Place In This World Somewhere;” and AC Reed’s “I’d Rather Fight Than Switch.” His self-written numbers are exceptional as well. Standout offerings include his tribute to one of his guitar heroes, Denny Freeman, “D Is For Denny;” heartbreak in “Heart So Heavy;” and the autobiographical “Struggle For Grace.” 

Kirk Fletcher is destined to become one of the renowned masters of blues guitar if he isn’t there already. The Hold On album reaped numerous nominations for various awards. My Blues Pathway follows right along in its footsteps and beyond. Expect more accolades coming Kirk Fletcher’s way here. 

Total Time: 45:34 

Ain’t No Cure For The Downhearted / No Place To Go / Love Is More Than A Word / Struggle For Grace / Rather Fight Than Switch / Heart So Heavy / Fattening Frogs For Snakes / Place In This World Somewhere / D Is For Denny / Life Gave Me A Dirty Deal 

Paul Boddy and the SlideWinder Blues Band

Friends of Tuesday
Slide Records

From the downbeat of the first song on this EP – “Over the Hump” – you know you’re in for a bumpy, but fun, ride. And while this is the first album for Paul Boddy and his irreverent SlideWinders, it sure ain’t their first rodeo. 

The band from Doylestown, Pennsylvania  — just outside Philadelphia – takes its name from a weekly open blues jam (“The Every Tuesday Funk ’n’ Blues Jam”) that started at a club in their hometown. But all the members of the band have earned their own names by years of hard work and paying their blues dues: 

n     The British-born Boddy (vocals and guitar) grew up listening to his grandmother singing in London blues clubs, enjoying family barbecues with the Bay City Rollers and sitting in while his uncle’s band – which included a guitarist who went on to join Judas Priest – rehearsed in a warehouse. And Boddy’s dad worked with Mark Stevens of The Dovells and the late Don Kirshner. In addition to founding Cayman Records in 1999 and producing Bob Lowery’s “Yellow Light” album, Boddy has put in 40-plus years of performing, writing and recording music in multiple genres. 

n     Lori Gaston, whose vocals wrap nicely around Boddy’s, started singing in a funk band at 16, and she hasn’t stopped moving since. She’s jumped in and out of disco and R&B bands until joining the SlideWinders three years ago. 

n     Organist and pianist Glenn “The Wizard” Hale, uncle of Lzzy and Arejay Hale of rock’s Halestorm band, has played music across the country for half a century. 

n     Bassist Chip Hearne, a SlideWinder since 2018, adds another half-century of performing experience, including two decades with the Flamin’ Harry Blues Band and the Craig Thatcher Band. He also laid down the bass line for Leslie West’s “Mystic Fire” album. 

n     And drummer Dave Hollinsworth, who joined the band last year has toured with Todd Wolfe, performed with Leslie West and Geoffrey Whitehorn of Procol Harum, and sat behind Dickey Betts, John Mayall and Wishbone Ash’s Andy Powell. 

With Boddy’s bawdy vocals leading the way, the Slidewinders roll through five songs that’ll have you turning up the volume and hitting replay more than once. 

The album is full of the time-honored blues tradition of all-in-fun double-entendre lyrics (“I might be over the hill, but I’ll never get over the hump”) and titles (sorry, kids, but “Pretty Kitty” isn’t really about a cat), and the polished, lively sounds jump right out of the box. 

Tight rhythms, cinched up with the steady hands of some seasoned pros, make this one an out-of-the-chute champ. 

Count us in as some of Tuesday’s closest friends. 

Total Time: 20:18 

Over the Hump / Love Me Darlin’ / Money On Love / Knock My Boots / Pretty Kitty / Makin’ Me Cry