We’re sure we weren’t the only ones disappointed to read the news of the sale of fabled blues record label Blind Pig Records in early 2015, having heard and purchased many of the label’s albums over the years from such artists as Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Pinetop Perkins, George “Harmonica” Smith, Tommy Castro, Carey Bell, James Cotton, and others. The label has put out a few albums since, mostly early on, but has largely been quiet for much of the past decade. So we were of course delighted to see the label’s late 2023 announcement of its relaunch, and even more delighted to hear some of its new offerings, despite coming from names much less familiar than those listed above. That said, a listen to these albums tells us that both of these names will be quite a bit better known in the coming years.
Jovin Webb – Drifter
We haven’t watched American Idol since its earliest years, and generally don’t feel that we’ve missed too much as a result, especially when we read that a guy as talented as Jovin Webb was eliminated before making it to the top five back in 2020. Fortunately, Blind Pig was savvy enough to sign the Louisiana native late last year and wasted no time in recording and delivering his debut album Drifter, which shows that Webb’s performances on Idol, which included takes on the Allman Brothers Band’s “Whipping Post”, James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World”, and Joe Cocker’s version of “With a Little Help From My Friends”, according to our research, were really only the tip of the iceberg in showcasing Webb’s immense talents.
Alternating between such gritty numbers as the driving “Blues for a Reason” and the opening, “way down” slow shuffling “Bottom of the Bottle” — which almost guarantees this album is going to be a good experience with its Delta-esque guitar and harmonica intro and the first lyrics you hear being a gravelly “Don’t know where I’m goin’, don’t know where I’ve been/ but the bartender knows me, as soon as I walk in” — and such soulful, soaring tracks as “Livin’ Reckless” and “Mine Someday” and slower numbers like the creeping “Save Me” (with its refrain of “I choose love, not hate”) and swaying “Drunk on Your Love,” Drifter does a superb job of showing Webb’s dynamic range, with strong vocal resemblance to Mississippi neighbors Grady Champion and Ryan Perry (Homemade Jamz Blues Band) peppered with shades of Ty Taylor (Vintage Trouble) and Lenny Kravitz.
Along the way, you’ll also hear such in-your-face (either musically, lyrically, or both) numbers as the title track, the rockabilly “Wig on Wrong”, and a groovy, hook-filled “Bad Deeds”, before the album closes out on a strong, horn-soaked cover of “Born Under a Bad Sign”. Several songs also include Webb on harmonica, while producer Tom Hambridge provides drums, percussion, and background vocals (along with having co-written all of the original songs, most with Webb), and Kenny Greenberg and Mike Rojas add some impressive guitar and piano/keyboards to the project, respectively, joined by Rob Cureton on bass. While Hambridge has of course produced many albums for both Buddy Guy and George Thorogood in recent decades, as well as others from the likes of James Cotton, Keb’ Mo’, Joe Louis Walker, Ana Popovic, Tommy Castro, Devon Allman, Kenny Neal, and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, just to name a few, Drifter could very well be the best Hambridge-produced project since Susan Tedeschi’s Just Won’t Burn.
Sonny Gullage – Go Be Free
We still weren’t watching the show, but a little research on the trusty interweb reveals that, two years after Webb’s appearance on Idol, a blues singer-songwriter and keyboardist named Kevin “Sonny” Gullage made it to that season’s Showstopper round of the top 56 contestants, where Gullage’s performances included strong, soulful takes on Roosevelt Jamison’s “That’s How Strong My Love Is” (O.V. Wright, Otis Redding, the Rolling Stones and many more) — followed by a judges-accompanied snippet of Hank Williams’ “Jambalaya” — during his audition and Al Green’s “Tired of Being Alone”, along with a playful duet of “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)”, during subsequent rounds.
The son of bass player Tony Gullage — who has performed with the likes of Henry Butler, Dr. John and Vasti Jackson, and now plays in Sonny’s band the Blues Groovers — and believed to be a descendant of the great Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Sonny’s got some major talent, on full display here on the 25-year-old’s debut Go Be Free, also produced by Tom Hambridge.
The album starts on a playful, funky “Just Kiss Me Baby” that immediately draws you in, followed by the driving, liberating (with huge potential for radio and dancefloors alike) title track and a groovy, horns- and keyboards-laced “Things I Can’t Control” before Gullage slows things down with the more R&B sound of “Separate Ways”.
“Worried About the Young” is a midtempo blues scorcher that features Christone “Kingfish” Ingram on guitar, while swaying numbers such as “I’ve Been There” and the closing “Home to You” nicely show Gullage’s smoother, more sensitive side, the latter a lovely piano ballad incorporating some terrific guitar and horns. And we’d of course be remiss if we didn’t mention the steady shuffling “Blues All Over You” and boogie-woogie “Stop That Stuff” — one of several songs to feature some swampy, stinging guitar from Kenny Greenberg — among the album’s other noteworthy tracks.
From more tender numbers like the above-noted swaying tracks to the belting vocals of songs like “Things I Can’t Control” (or get a feel for both in the same song on the smoky, creeping blues of “Tattooed Wings”), Gullage’s vocals are diverse and strong, evoking comparisons to the likes of Ty Taylor (Vintage Trouble), Taylor’s Ghost Hounds replacement Tre’ Nation, Mr. Sipp, Selwyn Birchwood, and Luther Vandross, depending on the song, and often sounding well beyond his actual years. In addition to co-writing all of the album’s dozen tracks (ten with Gullage), Hambridge also handled drums for the project, with Kevin McKendree assisting Gullage on piano and keyboards and Rob Cureton and Tommy MacDonald splitting bass duties.
Sure, either of these debuts will make a nice addition to your blues collection, but do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of both. It’s rare that you hear such strong albums — much less debuts — from two different rising artists on the same label in such short succession. But something tells us there’s probably a lot more good stuff to come from the reinvigorated Blind Pig Records!