BB & The Bullets – High Tide (Dixiefrog Records) (13th Floor Album Review)
It’s no mean feat to put out a debut long player, but to do so through a well-respected overseas indie label has to be viewed as a triumph.
Whanganui 3-piece blues rock outfit BB & The Bullets have done just that with High Tide, their first collection of 12 songs, through the Paris label Dixiefrog Records.
The band have built a reputation for blistering live shows and now bring their energy, emotion and fun-loving style to a wider audience beyond these shores.
Brian Baker, band leader, producer and owner of Nixon Street Studios where the tracks were laid down, says having the album released in Europe, UK, US and Aotearoa NZ is a dream come true.
“We hope everyone comes along for the ride,” he says in the album release notes.
And what a ride it is with a collection of originals that span the gamut of blues expression plus a cover of The Beatles classic I Want You (She’s So Heavy) as the icing on a very skilfully-baked cake.
The themes are regular blues fare with a Kiwi twist adding some local colour.
The opening track, Something In The Water, has The Bullets in full ZZ Top mode with a bourbon-laced number in a classic macho stance.
Hey girl where do you come from, there’s nothin’ round here – it’s the bottom of the boat.
I don’t catch fish, well maybe one or two, but you’re something special – I ain’t seen nothin’ like you…
Must be something in the water… and it’s got me seeing double!
At under three minutes its a punchy opening track that doesn’t get bogged-down in self-indulgence, the way some blues grooves can.
The Bullets immediately change things up with their version Born Under a Bad Sign, a groovy Stax style blues that they revisit a number of times through this collection.
Wine and women could be all I crave, a big leg woman is gonna carry me to my grave…
Born under a bad sign, I been down since I began to crawl, If wasn’t for bad luck I wouldn’t have no luck at all…
Baker’s guitar solos, compared to Peter Green and Johnny Winter, show nuance and restraint as much as they display his obvious skill, complementing some fine drumming by Brad McMillan and an anchoring bass from Stu Duncan.
The vocals from Baker are crisp, never attempting to push beyond his natural tenor with some cool harmonies from the other band members.
High Tide, the title track is third on the set list, and a chance for The Bullets to show off their home-grown talents. The sound is Nashville but the themes are definitely New Zealand.
There’s a farmer up in Ruawai digging out his fields, graders working overtime on drainage pits…
I survived the mortgage but if this river breaks its banks, please don’t judge me at least I swam before I sank…
But it’s still above our hand, The high tide won’t rule my land.
By this steel, or by my hand, the high tide won’t rule my land.
A defiant anthem of struggle on the land – a universal theme, but the language is definitely rooted in home.
The Bullets get down and dirty with I Can Tell, a classic lament from many past blues exponents of a love lost.
I can tell cos its plain to see
I can tell the way you look at me
The way you know you hold my hand
Yeah pretty baby I understand
I can tell, I can tell, I know you don’t love me no more….
It may be a sad-sack story, but The Bullets deliver it with chins up and a foot-tapping groove, a style honed on the the live circuit with discerning audiences.
Seven Ways To Sin shows the band in yet another light with a Southern style to their blues rhythm. It’s a fun, wicked song with a real contemporary feel, despite the well-worn genre.
I saw a one armed man outside the tattoo parlour made me think about my girls skin There’s not a mark on her that God didn’t intend, there’s more than seven ways to sin…
With most of these tracks running around the three-minute mark the songs feel crisp and light reeling through their catalogue of styles with pace.
Rufus Thomas‘ Walking The Dog is no exception playing at under the three minutes. It’s a jumpy upbeat number that even gives us a reason to dance.
The mood changes a bit with Little Fishes, a slightly surreal, psychedelic number that has an early 1970s feel.
It don’t matter what you say all the fishies gonna have their day
It don’t matter what you do in the end all the fishies gonna feast on you
Little Fishes is one of a couple of tracks that divert from classic blues. Comparisons with Peter Beck have been made and this song certainly fits that bill.
That diversion carries through to the cover of The Beatles’ I Want You (She’s So Heavy), a song that Baker describes as a show-stoper from their live set.
“We’ve tried to be respectful of the original John Lennon song, but also put The Bullets stamp on it,” He says in the album release notes. “I have no idea why this song hasn’t been covered by more contemporary blues artists. It’s such a perfect storm.”
That Bullets stamp, after the classic intro, is a funkier drum beat, a more stripped-back sound delivered with the crispness redolent throughout this album. It’s also a whole 2 minutes shorter than the original, too.
Baker and Duncan might not be Harrison and McCartney, but they are a pretty good home-grown version and you can picture a packed-out dance floor to this number.
Letting Go intros with a stripped-back feel, John Lee Hooker-style – even with the trade-mark Hooker guitar trill. The song, however, veers off into more of a ballad, albeit with a rock and roll heart.
It’s heartfelt, tortuous and emotional.
Letting go of you is the hardest thing I ever had to do
I tried to face the truth
But I cant seem to get my mind over you
All of these onely nights lived between wrong or right
You know I’ll leave a light on for you
Baker sings with just the right amount of crack and strain in his voice, but never wavering from his crisp delivery.
This is a longer track that builds into a full-on crescendo before returning to a bluesy-rock fading outro.
B. B. King gets a look in with The Thrill Is Gone, a real classic 12-bar bottom of the whisky glass song.
Baker again shows his skilful guitar over a nicely-laid rhythm from McMillan and Duncan.
It’s a little slower and time to grab a partner…
Before The Bullets finish they want you to jump around and shake your tush for a quick Brian’s Boogie. This instrumental track will have you up out of your chair, but has a couple of little surprises thrown in. You’ll work out the appropriate moves after a couple of listens – maybe an evolution from Walking The Dog?
The closing track Big Boot Running is another change up for The Bullets. This is classic Kiwi rock – you can hear the past 50 years in this song. It’s a nightmarish, surreal scene that finishes the record in an abrupt and, perhaps, strange way.
Big boot running throwing sparks I wil fix that puddle in the park
Wherever you go its always now and big boot running off somehow
The addition of Big Boot does seem out of place, almost as if the album ended with Brian’s Boogie but The Bullets wanted to maximise their time on stage. It’s a good song and well-delivered, but could be better placed elsewhere.
These songs deliver everything The Bullets have built during their live apprenticeship with the addition of some skilful production. They’re on a nationwide tour to promote High Tide and I’ll make sure to catch them when they swing into town.
After you’ve listened to this album, I’m sure you’ll do the same.
Alex Robertson
High Tide is released Friday, September 12th. Click here to buy.
