Gerry Cooper & Phil Snell
Album: Truckin' On To Happy
Label: Limbo
Tracks: 13
Website: http://www.gerryandphil.co.uk/

I was surprised to find that it is getting on for two years since I reviewed the first duo CD released by Gerry Cooper & Phil Snell (Winding Boy & Other Tall Tales) so their new album is very welcome.

For this outing the acoustic blues enthusiasts have, as suggested in the title, focussed on the happier end of the genre's spectrum. Much of the material originates from the Atlantic seaboard and the Piedmont plateau that links the coastal strip to the Appalachian mountains. There are strong ragtime and jazz influences and the overall effect is an upbeat one with nary a trace of the angst or, dare I say it, misery that is usually associated with blues music.

The instrumental playing is, as always with this duo, extremely tight and close to virtuosic - Phil's mandolin and fiddle providing a higher register counterpoint to Gerry's acoustic and resonator guitars. As for the songs there is a mix of the familiar (Ragtime Millionaire, Hesitation Blues) and the less well known (Happy here I come, Richland Blues) but I must admit my favourite tracks are Dallas Rag and Ted Hawkins/ Dill Pickle Rags - probably because I have always loved ragtime music since I first heard Scott Joplin's 'Entertainer' many years ago. A fully instrumental CD from this duo would I am sure be an absolute treat!

If you like your blues to be on the brighter side then this is the CD for you!

Joe Grint