Downchild Can You Hear The Music

Listening to Can You Hear The Music (True North Records), the new recording by the venerable Canadian blues band Downchild, one is struck by the sound and the pace of the music. Given the four decades plus Downchild has been around this should be no surprise, but it is also refreshing in this age of guitar shredders whose idea of nuance is only occasionally turning the volume dial on their guitar or amps down. Don Walsh with his guitar, harmonica and songs may be the axis about which Downchild revolves, but Chuck Jackson's gritty singing, Michael Fonfara's keyboards and Pat Carey's saxophone also standout while the bass of Gary Kendall and the drums of Mike Fitzpatrick lay out a tight rhythmic foundation. On several tracks they are joined by Peter Jeffery's trumpet.

The title track, a hot jump blues that musically evokes Louis Jordan’s classic, Choo Choo Ch’Boogie, kicks this set off. The easy rocking I'm Always Here For You, like the opening track, benefits from crisply arranged horns in addition to the band's solid groove. I Need a Woman musically suggests Little Richard’s Directly From My Heart, with Walsh's fuzz-tone guitar break complements the urgency imparted by the Jackson's vocal. Blue Moon Blues takes the band down into the alley, while Fasten Your Seat Belt is another hot jump blues with strong harp and a tough tenor sax solo.

After Walsh's jaunty slide guitar on The Road, there is a nice swampy feel about My Mississippi Queen where Jackson (who wrote this choice lyric) sings about meeting a lady near New Orleans who later one night caught the eye of everybody in every club on both sides of Beale Street before she broke his heart. She took his money but more when she took his heart it was the worst thing any woman can do. Walsh adds a strong harp solo to go with the strong lyric and backing resulting in quite a jewel of a performance.

There’s a full moon out and Downchild are on a rambling mood on the rocking shuffle Don’t Wait Up For Me, with Fonfara's rollicking piano accompaniment and Walsh's crisp, slide guitar break. Scattered, a jumping harmonica feature concludes a superbly played, and consistently entertaining blues recording.

I received my review copy from True North Records or a publicist. Here is a video of Downchild in action.

DownChild Still Playing the Blues With a Feeling After Four Decades

Downchild is a Canadian institution that has been laying down the blues for forty years and for their fortieth year they have a new release “I Need a Hat” (Linus). Donnie Walsh with his brother Richard formed Downchild back in 1969 and after the brothers had a parting of the ways, Donnie remained as the leader and focus of the band.

Over the year’s Downchild has had a variety of vocalists fronting the group, and that role is presently held by Chuck Jackson. The rest of Downchild is Pat Carey on saxophones,Michael Fontara on keyboards, Gary Kendall on bass and Mike Fitzpatrick on drums and this edition of the band has been together for a decade and a half which is evidenced by the crisp, swinging and rocking grooves the band puts together. They are augmented by the likes of Colin James and Colin Linden as well as famed trumpeter Wayne Jackson. Dan Ackroyd joins the party for one track on harmonica as Downchild was an inspiration for Ackroyd’s act with the late John Belushi, The Blues Brothers.

This lively disc is comprised of Walsh’s originals which are full of humor as well as some dark-sided twists on the breakdown in relationships that mark most blues songs. The title song is a delightful ditty about figuring out that to be a famous blues man one needs a hat and too bad he should have seen it sooner, as he would be a rich and famous man. Jackson delivers it with the appropriate tone while Walsh rips off a strong solo. Its followed by a strong slow blues, “Somebody Lied,” as Jackson sings about how his life is falling apart with Wayne Jackson taking a terrific trumpet solo before Colin James rips off an energetic solo.

“You Don’t Love Me” features Linden’s guitar and Ackroyd’s harp, on a nice Jimmy Reed inspired shuffle that benefits from the band’s relaxed groove. In contrast, “Rendezvous”, has Walsh with driving slide and a harder groove hints at some classic Elmore James. “Down to the Delta,” is a bouncy number with Jackson on harp as he sings about going down from Mississauga in the land of snow to the Delta with some swinging, jazzy guitar. The last of Jackson’s vocals, “What Was I Thinking,” has him wondering why he couldn’t see “there was no light at the end of the tunnel.” Pianist Fontara is excellent here as throughout while Walsh takes a harp solo. Walsh follows with two vocals, one of which “These Thoughts Keep Me Marching,” with a topical tinge, is built on an old country blues groove, and has more trumpet from Wayne Jackson. His other vocal, “Some More of That,” is a nicely delivered bit of homespun philosophy. If not having the range of Chuck Jackson as a singer, Walsh certainly puts plenty of feeling in his very likable singing.

The disc closes with the instrumental “El Stew,” which is an instrumental reworking of the title track, sporting a funky groove and some very nice organ. Walsh’ guitar solo that shows more concern with developing ideas than simply displaying technique, although Walsh has plenty of technique. It is a fitting end to this first-rate disc of Walsh and his fellow blues road warriors that should be of interest in blues enthusiasts everywhere.


For purposes of FTC regulations, the CD was provided by a publicity firm for this release.