Mick's Back

It's a funny thing about Mick Abrahams -- he and his one-time Jethro Tull bandmate Ian Anderson are both "trapped" in time warps, but of very differing kinds: Anderson in a folky art rock musical loop and Abrahams in a '60s-style electric blues cycle, with the echoes of Chess Records' roster and also Albert King et al. rippling through his work. And at this late date, Abrahams may be the one with slightly more elbow room. The opening track on Mick's Back, Percy Mayfield's "The River's Invitation," could almost pass for an early-'60s Howlin' Wolf track, and the rest doesn't try to be much more advanced, nor does it have to be -- "Cold Women With Warm Hearts" offers Abrahams in his own "voice," and it all sounds very close to the kind of rootsy blues that Alexis Korner and Blues Incorporated used to do, with some of the virtuosity of the Graham Bond Organisation in there as well. The electric guitar is, of course, very prominently featured throughout, and there are saxes and even a little brass, but they're sufficiently subdued to keep the focus on Abrahams' playing where it belongs. His singing is also expressive, a powerful, raspy instrument in its own right -- coupled with the rippling instrumental breaks on songs like "Time to Love" and the mixed acoustic/electric textures of "Leaving Home Blues," the CD justifies itself as a still very credible version of '60s British blues, which will appeal to anyone who loved early Alexis Korner, Cyril Davies, Graham Bond, or the first two Cream albums. ~ Bruce Eder|