Incredible Blues Puppies Album Launch - Dover Street Wine Bar, London 23/1/06

 The very likeable Papa George kicked off proceedings with a short solo set. As diners were, er, dining, George was softer than I would have liked. Then again, I would have liked his full band too. As an aperitif he hit the spot and perfectly warmed up the digesting guests to hunger for more.

Within fifteen minutes of George stepping off the Incredible Blues Puppies were stepping on and stepping it up. Playing linear blues, they took a few numbers to warm up (but then again people were still eating) and then it kicked off into a fun evening. It was like a who's who of British blues as guest after guest gave a turn for the well-behaved Puppies. Reminiscing and mirroring the Chess House Band, the Puppies were happy to let each guest take the lead. T-Bone Taylor chilled with G. L. Crocket's "Man Down There" (via Duster Bennett's version), before handing the baton to Jim Mercer on the upright bass
for Eddie Boyd's "Too Bad". I got the feeling that the band could comfortably swap roles as they each took turns in coming forward. I guess the liberal educationalists would call it unity in diversity.

An animated Chris Youlden embraced the fever with Shakey Vick blowing hard on harmonica and Barcode Bob Haddrell adding width on keyboards. Earl Green's mellow voice shouted out in harmony with Nick 'Zoot Money' Newell's triumphant sax playing. Jon 'Bo Street Runner' Dominic got the diners dancing with "Flip Flop And Fly". John O'Reilly did
more great Muddy Waters with "I Can't Be Satisfied" and Dm0 Coccia provided a steady beat throughout unfazed by the Marx Brothers chaos up front. Even Whispering Bob Harris was honoured with a 'whistle test'. Well these guys passed the audition. The first set ended about halt past eleven and with John Dominic's rendition of "Walking The Dog" still Saturday nights as from February. We all wished Alan the best for the launch of The Incredible Blues Puppies CD Puppy Fat, which I will be adding to my collection.

 Helen Steele - Blues In Britain

Incredible Blues Puppies Album Launch

The flyer from this upmarket West End bar/restaurant described the Blues Puppies as four of the finest blues musicians around', a statement few present this night would argue with. We were treated to four hours of music from the Puppies and their illustrious guests,
celebrating the launch of the band's debut album, Puppy Fat, on Note-Records.

The south London quartet of Alan Glen (harmonica), John O'Reilly (guitar), Jim Mercer (double bass) and Dino Coccia (drums) opened with their own harp-led shuffle "Puppy Fat". Mercer took the first vocal, Junior Wells' "Blues Hit Big Town", then there were turns at the mic for O'Reilly on Rosco Gordon's "Just A Little Bit" (with Glen switching to guitar) and Glen on Jimmy Rogers' "That's All Right",
some tasty interplay from the two guitars here.

The second segment from the Pups included "Another Kind Of Love", written by Glen with Nine Below Zero in the nineties and sung here by O'Reilly, Dixon's "Sugar Sweet", the Fab T-Birds' rumba "Walking To You Baby" (a Glen vocal) and a swinging T-Bone Walker instrumental. Bob Haddrell and Roger Cotton added keyboards to a few numbers, as they do on the album.

It is hard to imagine a Blues in Britain reader not enjoying an Incredible Blues Puppies performance. Although Coccia and Glen are experienced in many genres - jazz, soul and reggae, to name three - this is their straight-down-the-line blues project. These are
forces of conservatism that should not be stamped out! In Mercer they have a bass player fluent on upright and electric instruments with a deep knowledge and understanding of the blues. Newest member O'Reilly suits the band well, being well
versed in various blues styles, from T-Bone Walker to Buddy Guy. Their musicianship is out of the top drawer and the three vocalists are all highly capable. (I imagine the name is ironic, since three of the band are over 50.)

Note-records album launches always include guest artists. There were short showcases for labelmates Paul Cox, Richie Milton and Linda Hall. O'Reilly's Blues Engineers trio did a short spot. An all-star jam featuring Val Cowell, Tim Ham, Papa George and Robin Bibi took place before the Puppies returned to close the night. Four hours of quality music for no over charge made it well worth advancing to Mayfair.

-Tony Joel Barton - Blues In Britain