Artist:     Wily Bo Walker & Danny Flam

Album:     Ain’t No Man A Good Man

Label:     Mescal Canyon Records

Release Date:     7.31.2020

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Ten-track album Ain’t No Man A Good Man simply demands full-throttle, crack-up-the-volume listening, like Spinal Tap on steroids. Walker is a Scot, resident many years in London, and Danny Flam a US Grammy-winning musician and arranger who leads the New York Brass. As a combination, this unexpected duo works remarkably well from start to finish.

Walker often works the rockier edge of blues, soul and downright quirky themed modern music. Known for his spectacularly arresting live sets in the UK, he works his usual magic here with shades of swinging jazz—with a macabre flourish—and blues undercurrents that lead to a great in-your-face, fun release. In 2015, the pair teamed up to deliver the widely admired and acclaimed Moon Over Indigo. Here joined by the New York Brass, the Brown Sisters of Chicago Gospel Choir and the Cenovia Cummins String Quartet, the result is a fully-rounded, raucous release that is guaranteed to keep interest levels soaring.

Tracks range widely from rock, jazz and blues to swampy voodoo Southern blues sounds, always anchored by that hard-hitting, Memphis horn sound, with its invariably uplifting beat and bounce. Described as a bit of a journey from London to New Orleans, the album includes a truly arresting take on the old bluesy standard, “Saint James Infirmary,” here given a rollicking, riotous drive and delivery.

Having listened to all of Walker’s previous output in recent years, it seems he’s hitting a new high working with Flam and a Stax-like sound that suits his storytelling musical abilities and aspirations. Joined by many of his usual UK support team (Karena K on vocals, Troy Redfern and Mike Ross on guitars, Stevie Watts and Paul Long on Hammond and keys, all near-royalty in the UK blues scene), Walker and Flam have delivered a wonderful bit of pedal-to-the-metal music.

—Iain Patience