Mike Onesko - Re-covered (CDr pro)

Mike Onesko has released a buch of albums on his own, as well as with Blind Side Blues Band. There has been the occasional cover on his previous albums, but as the title may suggest, this one is all about that. The album starts off with two Robin Trower interpretations, the usual suspects I would say - ”Day of the Eagle” and ”Bridge of Sighs”. Mike doesn’t really stray away too far from the originals and even though I really like Mike as a guitarist, he unfortunately doesn't (and, well, not many) come close to Trower. The vocals are kick-ass, though. Steppenwolf’s ”Sookie Sookie” gets a solid makeover and he does a really fat and chunky updated version of Arthur Brown’s ”Fire”, where the vocals are instead a slightly weak link. I also like the chugging arrangement of The Beatles’ ”Elenor Rigby”. The cover of The Motels ”Only the Lonely”, to me, feels a little out of place with its semi-soft standard rock feel. Really good vocals by Angela Onesko, though. Odd choice of a cover methinks. Cream’s ”SWLABR” is more in line with the rest and is a great and solid offering. When doing a cover album I always try to avoid the obvious bar band cover songs recorded a zillion times. Well, Mike doing Hendrix ”Hey Joe” proves he doesn’t share that philosophy. A good effort, but I do wonder why? ”Wishing Well” is another standard, done true to the original. Led Zeppelin’s ”No Quarter” is not your average bar band cover, even though it has been quite frequently interpreted, and Mike does do a solid version of it, here with Jeff Martin handling the vocals, embracing his inner Plant. The album is a really good effort, no doubt, but I must admit I would have liked to see more unexpected covers, or at least some more daring arrangements. Maybe next time?

Janne Stark

Label: Jib Machine Records

Year: 2017

Country: USA

Blindside Blues Band – Journey To The Stars (CD)

Mike Onesko and Blindside Blues Band is something of an American institution. They released the debut album back in 1993 ad checking my own collection this is my BBB album number eleven. Racer X singer and Paul Gilbert/Badlands/MSG drummer Jeff Martin is back in the band, Steve Evans handles the bass and this time Mike has used the lead guitar skills of Danish dynamite guitarist Martin J. Andersen (Blindstone). I really like the previous BBB albums, but I think Andersen’s co-writing input gave the band a nice injection. The band feels truly vital and alive. They say you shouldn’t fix something that already works, but you can always rev up a motor to give it that extra boost. Mike also sings better than ever. I really like the mix of the songs on the album and don’t be fooled by the “blues band” tail in the name. This is not your standard four bar blues band. It is of course based on the blues, but this is so much more, with kick ass riffing hard as rock. They actually sometimes remind me of West, Bruce & Laing, but with more even quality song material. If you’ve never heard the band, this is where you start!

Janne Stark

Label: Grooveyard

Country: USA

Year: 2016