2021 – Self-released
By Phillip Smith; March. 27, 2021
Occasionally
a debut album really grabs ahold of me and gives me true hope for the future of
the blues. The ten-track, self-titled record
from Sugarmill Slim is truly one of those. It’s loaded down with six ripping deep-cut covers
and four marvelous originals delivered in a fearless juke-joint fashion. Sugarmill Slim aka Anders
La Source is a multi-instrumentalist based in the Los Angeles/Hollywood/San
Fernando Valley area who found focus playing harmonica in the confines of raw
blues. Produced, engineered, and mixed
by Chuck Kavooras (Bob Margolin, The Mannish
Boys), the album features Slim on harp and lead vocals, with a band
comprised of Courtney Kakebeen on bass guitar, Slam McAdam
on drums, Luca Neroni on guitar, and Isaac Rawdog Plummer
on organ and piano.
From
the beginning of their cover of Muddy Water’s “Just to be With
You”, I was totally amazed at the intensity of Slim’s harp playing and his
made-for-the-blues vocals. His cover of Little
Walter’s “Me and Piney Brown” is a pure delight. Plummer wails on the organ of this red
hot rhythm section. A funky slice of
soul “Leaving Truck” is an uncontested favorite. “Screamin’”, an instrumental which first
landed on the debut album of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, is given a
makeover cloaked in steamy Memphis soul. It reminds me immensely of the MGs. More intense blues follows with covers of Sonny
Boy Williamson II’s Help Me” and Junior Wells’
“Little by Little”. These are absolutely
fabulous. Slim sings with the
ferocity of Jerry Lee Lewis on “Hook Me Up”, the scorching
original track he first released as a single.
I’m
so glad I stumbled upon this record. This
is honestly one of the best straight-up blues albums I’ve heard this past year. I highly recommend checking it out. You will not be disappointed.
---
Take a listen to the
album on Apple Music.
