(Blues) Bex Marshall - The House Of Mercy - 2012, MP3, 320 kbps

Any female blues slide guitarist is bound to gather comparisons with Bonnie Raitt. Well, if comparisons have to be made, then in Bex Marshall’s case they’re more than favourable. And somehow, her throaty vocal performance and soulful blues groove, just has a greater degree of ‘authenticity’ of some of her British contemporaries (Joanne Shaw Taylor, for example). The fact that she’s from Devon, and not the Southern States is something of a revelation.
Quite apart from the excellent vocals and guitar work, the album is infused with gospel vibes and some great playing courtesy of guest appearances including Don Wayne Reno (banjo), Dale Reno (mandolin) & Jake Byers (acoustic bass) all from Hayseed Dixie. B J Cole (dobro), Eileen Healy (fiddle), Gary Choules (acoustic bass) and Brigitte DeMeyer adding backing vocals, along with The Bex Marshall Band of Barry Payne (acoustic bass), Crispin Taylor (drums), Danny Bryan (percussion), Toby Baker (keyboards) and newest edition, gospel singer Shola Adegorove.
Make no mistake, Bex Marshall is the ‘real deal’ and I’m off to check out her previous two releases – Bootlace (2002) and Kitchen Table (2008). Impressive stuff. ~Pete Whalley