It's great to hear twenty-somethings like Jacobs-Strain, here artfully
shadowed by harmonica virtuoso Bob Beach, continuing to take the blues
in fresh new directions but, then again, with the equally imaginative
Otis Taylor and Bob Brozman as mentors, what else would you expect?
Recorded live at the Rolling and Tumbling temporary juke joint in
Eugene, Oregon, the well-traveled musician brightly brings his primal
slide guitar sound to the millennials generation with an eclectic vision
that merges blues, folk, rock and indie pop into an engaging Americana
brew with pockets of funk and reggae around the edges. A trio of covers
pay homage to other early heroes with Taj Mahal's “Big Legged Mamas”
getting a bouncy setting, Stephen Stills' “Treetop Flyer” turned into an
extended rumination and Robert Johnson's “Come On In My Kitchen”
suffused with some nearly hollering slide work. Impressive Jacobs-Strain
originals include the ballad “Halfway To The Coast,” the anti-war song
“Ocean Or A Teardop,” a Northern California travelogue called “Pescadero
Beach” and the buoyant set opener “Rainbow Junkies,” with Beach's Sonny
Terry-influenced harp work the perfect foil.
