Studebaker John – Between Life And Death (2004)

01. Between Life & Death (4:41)					play
02. This Road (4:39)
03. I Deceive Myself (4:48)
04. When I Look Into Your Eyes (6:02)
05. Crazy For Your Love (5:52)
06. Hard Place & The Ground (4:40)				play
07. If I Had A Nickel (5:44)
08. I Don't Know (5:39)
09. Can't Forget About You (4:40)
10. That's Why I'm Living (5:54)
11. Cold Chills (8:26)

Personnel: 
Studebaker John – guitar, harmonica, vocals;
Felton Crews - bass guitar; 
Earl Howell - drums.

Studebaker John has always been one of the most talented and versatile artists in the blues world. He's equally good at slide guitar and harp. And his playing has always been some of the most intense that I've ever heard. He doesn't disappoint with this effort. He's dropped the name the Hawks here following his name, but this is the same tight little rhythm section that he's had on his last few albums. But this cd sounds miles better to me than his last outing Howl With The Wolf. It has the live feel of someone who just came off tour and has retained that spontanious energy of a live concert. The solos here, both slide and harp, are simply amazing! In my opinion tha best he's ever done. Some great standout songs here include the slide happy "Hard Place And The Ground". The magnificent "If I Had A Nickel" which features some of the fattest and nastiest harp that he's ever done. But perhaps the standout song for some here will be the 8 minute album closer "Cold Chills", which has some of the catchiest chord changes that I've heard in a long time. What's remarkable about this album is that Studebaker John said this whole thing came about by accident.

Studebaker and the band went into the studio to back a popular blues musician, who he said would remain nameless. But as it turned out this artist got drunk at a local pub and never showed up for the recording session. Since they were already in there, Studebaker decided to use the studio time himself in one marathon live-in-studio recording session for this album. After just coming off a month long UK tour and performing these songs on the road, everything here was ripe for the picking. What is maybe just as remarkable is these songs have been ready for over 2 years, but he had trouble with the music industry and unbelievably parted ways with Evidence Records. Now on a small independent label, this cd probably won't be promoted like it should. It's too bad. I've got all of his cd's, and i think this is his stongest to date. If your a fan, roll the dice and see for yourselves. I don't think you'll be disappointed. This is a real blues gem! --- Patrick Earley, amazon.com

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