Album review : RUTHLESS BLUES – Nice Work

Bandcamp [Release date 01.11.24]

‘Nice Work’ is an aptly titled album for a band who always managed to convey their natural exuberance in a straight forward mix of old school rock and blues.

This is Ruthless Blues first studio album for 30 odd years, with only Smith being a surviving member of that period, though guitarist Martyn Taylor also used to play bass for the band way back.

It’s the sort of recording on which you can feel the current band (already several years together) straining to reach a mutual accommodation, as they broach grooves, stomps and stop-time blues on a mix of the good, the occasionally inspired, and as on ‘Long Long Ago’, the forgettable.

The problem with that particular track is that Stevie’s vocals don’t match his lyrical harp playing, while in sharp contrast the band really comes together, deep into the album on ‘Fast Train’.

Indeed at the 2.08 mark they sound in their element, driven by the consistently good rhythm section of bassist Richard Taylor and the marvellous stick work of Clive Edwards, while Messieurs Smith and Martyn Taylor lock into some exhilarating harp and guitar interplay.

They are nearly as good on the title track, which is built on harp-led, slide guitar bluster and is topped by a potent hook and a concluding South London Smith rap.

They set the standard with ‘Non So Blind’, an opening muscular funky groove which subtly builds a tension leading into a harp and guitar break either side of the verse featuring Smith’s sharp lyrics: “He heard the door slam on an empty life.”

The following ‘Maintenance Man’ and the closing ‘Tightrope Blues’ date back to the band’s 1989 self titled album.

The former revels in the Ruthless Blues blueprint of a slide led funky stomp, with humorous use of metaphor and wailing harp and guitar.

The latter appears to incorporate the ghost of the late John Irish Earle’s grainy sax as Smith delivers one of his best vocals on the album.

‘Ain’t No Fool (Like An Old Fool)’, is effectively Ruthless’ definition of cool and taps into the sense of restraint to be found at the heart of the album.

It’s the first of 3 successive mid-tempo to slow tracks, which does have the belated benefit of a much needed injection of energy on ‘Fast Train’.

That said, ‘Feel That Thing’ lives up to its title, on a groove which builds to a harp-led flourish with double tracked vocals on the final chorus.

Smith vocal is more confident on the spiky ballad ‘All The Same’, which uncompromisingly takes a poke at Boris J and contemporary politics.

Happily it’s also a musical celebration of a shimmering guitar tone, evocative harp playing and intuitive phrasing from drummer Edwards who provides the pulse, cohesion and sparkle.

‘Square Peg In A Round Whole’ is arguably one of the best songs on the album.

It’s a sonorous ballad, topped and tailed by a filmic harp riff with additional Hammond and features two contrasting guitar solos, before somehow overcoming a slightly strange vocal overlap at the 3.12 minute mark.

Everything flows seamlessly into the swagger of ‘Tightrope Blues’, a distant cousin of ‘I Just Want To Make Love’ To You meets ‘Riot In Cell Black #9’.

It provides the kind of energy and fattened production that the rest of the album might have befitted from.

‘Nice Work’ is a decent comeback album with a few rough edges, not so much Ruthless perhaps, as nicely mellowed with age. ***1/2

Review by Pete Feenstra

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