Black River Bluesman & Bad Mood Hudson "Double Headed Trouble"

 

 

There are a lot of Blues bands in Finland, in fact one website I recently went to had over 150 listed, which also included one of my favorites, the Black River Bluesman & The Croaking Lizard. The Black River Bluesman part of that band is none other than Jukka Juhola, one of the better known blues artists in Finland. Over the last few years he and his band has played in over 25 Festivals throughout Europe and has also toured extensively on several continents. Over the last little while, Jukka Juhola has embarked on a solo career with the assistance of his "Johnny Lowebow’s genuine handmade custom cigar-box guitars", for which when he plugs them into two amps "makes the noise of a whole band ". Joining Jukka on his latest project is another well known blues artist, Andy Bad Mood Hudson, a name that Jukka jokingly says Hudson got because of his "cheerful disposition". Andy rounds out this unique two piece band with his expertise as a drummer and percussionist, as well as a great backup singer. Together, they bring us their own special brand of the blues that comes at us with as much intensity and urgency as someone outside trying to light a fire when it's forty below.

 

"Double Headed Trouble" consists of 9 Tracks of which 8 were solely written by Juhola. The one that was not written by Juhola, Track 6 "Madness', has the lyrical credits going to John Gerhard with the musical credits going to Juhola and Gerhard. 

 

"Double Headed Trouble" is not an overly long Album, clocking in a just under 30 minutes, but the appetite for more is easily quenched simply by hitting the replay button, which I am sure you will do, as I have, often.

 

Describing the music that is on "Double Headed Trouble" is not overly easy, but lets just say that if Black Sabbath were blues artists, this is probably what they would sound like, especially if you throw a little Jim Morrison and Tom Waits into the mixture and stir occasionally with a little bit of Punk. 

 

Now one may think that the sound would be a little thin on "Double Headed Trouble", considering it is just 2 artists performing on this album, but let me tell you that you would be dead wrong. "Double Headed Trouble" comes at you with all the ferocity and sound that you would have expected to have come from a much larger band, something that pays homage to just how good Jukka “Black River Bluesman” Juhola and Andy Bad Mood Hudson are as artists.

 

With "Double Headed Trouble", Juhola and Hudson have managed to take the blues right to the edge and in doing so they have managed to also bring us a lot closer to it's raw origin. They managed to do this by taking the old style Mississippi Delta Blues and basically tearing it a new one, giving us something fresh and new, with the essence and respect for the old and pure. This sense of simplicity and creativity does not stop with their music, but has also carried on to the cover art they chose for this album, which is basically a drawing of their stage plot setup. A very unique approach to cover art.

 

With "Double Headed Trouble", as with the other music I have had the good fortune listening to by Jukka “Black River Bluesman”, I also give it my highest rating, Five *****. Once again Jukka “Black River Bluesman” has managed to create, with the help of Andy Bad Mood Hudson, a great representation of the Old Blues played at it's most Modern .

 

Excellent CD... Thoroughly enjoyed them... Highly Recommended...

 

Review by John Vermilyea (Blues Underground Network)

 

Additional Info

 

Tracklist

 

1. Chicken In The Watch
2. Sit And Burn
3. Gone For Good
4. There Is No Relief
5. Out In The Woods
6. Madness
7. One Too Many
8. Double Headed Trouble
9. Good Thing Gone Bad

 

Listen To Samples Here...