The Idle Hands Blues Band
"A Touch Of The Blues"
Bone Idle Records TIH03

The Idle Hands will be well known to rock & Blues fans around their hometown of Chesterfield, UK & further afield too . . . originally formed in 1989, the present line-up has been together since 1997. "A Touch Of The Blues" is their latest album of 13 original compositions with music & arrangement credited to the band whilst the lyrics are copyrighted to Phil Allen, the band's frontman & vocalist.

Not much here for "real" Blues fans but plenty on offer for lovers of grunty stripped-down rock . . . the rhythm section of Jamie Burns (bass) & Simon Evans (drums) solidly underpin Dave Robinson's searing guitar work & Phil Allen's expressive vocal delivery.

My only minor grouch is that for most of the album the vocal part is under-produced & somewhat submerged in the mix. As is applicable to most bands in their genre, the real experience is to be had at their live gigs where, reportedly, they usually tear the house down whilst whipping up mass-nirvana. Long live Brit-Pub-R&B.

Charlie Gray
Blues Freepress. January 2004
http://www.bluesfreepress.org/

Available from: www.the-idle-hands.co.uk