2018 was a huge year for Melbourne-based acoustic blues trailblazer Lloyd Spiegel, with his outstanding ‘Backroads’ album collecting #1 Blues & Roots accolades everywhere you looked. 2019 looks to be no different as Spiegel’s follow-up album ‘Cut and Run’ looks to continue this rich vein of form. It has already taken #1 spots on the ARIA Jazz & Blues Chart, #1 on the iTunes Blues Chart, #1 on the Australian Blues & Root Airplay Charts and #4 in the iTunes pop charts, just behind Tool and Taylor Swift, since its release on September 3 through Only Blues Music.
‘Cut and Run’ plays with our emotions throughout, as it takes us through the peaks and troughs of differing tempos & moods. The album kicks off with an almost ZZ Top feel to it with the rocking ‘Any Second Now’ with Spiegel’s electric-acoustic solo work setting the standard for what’s to follow. If you have never had the opportunity to see Lloyd play live then you are certainly missing out on one of Australia’s finest artists, as he manages to produce incredible sounds from his fabled Cole Clark guitar, using a variety of effects pedals & stomp box. When you hear it on his albums you would believe he is achieving these sounds using a full electric guitar set up but it’s only when you catch Spiegel live that you realise that it’s all done on his acoustic – breath taking stuff.
We go a bit bluesier with the shuffling ‘Rattle Your Cage’ before once again picking things up with the wonderful ‘Tokyo Blues’. The emotional ‘Let Your Love Lie Down’ is one of my highlights on this album, as it takes us down a completely different path with beautiful acoustic guitar work twinned with Lloyd’s soothing vocals. Staying with the more slower of the tracks on this release, ‘Run’ once again tears at the heartstrings with Spiegel delivering spellbinding simplicity to maximum effect with this unaccompanied acoustic composition.
The first single to be released was the catchy ‘Track Her Down’ back in July, with its foot tapping rhythm & wonderfully gentle horn section that intermingles with Spiegel & drummer Tim Burnham with great effect. ‘The Hustle’ is a repetitive electric devil which grinds and growls, leaving you remembering the melody with deadly ease. ‘Mr Jenkins’ is another rocking romp of electricity before we chill back off for the penultimate track, ‘One More Heartache’, a much more mellow composition with its easy rhythm & laidback vocals. We are greeted with the final track of the album, which is quite possibly my favourite in the form of the quite stunning & stirring ‘Old Wounds’, which is a breath taking end to what could quite possibly Lloyd Spiegel’s best album to date.
Once again Spiegel has shown his hand at the poker table of incredible Australian blues releases for 2019. And judging by the high chart positions already so far, he could very well be playing the winning hand.
Will this be a front running contender to Australian Blues album of the Year? Most definitely!
TRACKLIST
Any Second Now
Rattle Your Cage
Tokyo Blues
Let Your Love Lie Down
Run
Track Her Down
The Hustle
Mr Jenkins
One More Heartache
Old Wounds
