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HOT CLUB SANDWICH : Ridin' With Bob

In 2005, Wellington-based Hot Club Sandwich (HCS) received a rare four-star review in Downbeat magazine for their album 'Toasted'. They could equally have done it with this great
follow-up. HCS, basically the duo of songwriter/singer/guitarist Andrew London and pianist/bassist Terry Crayford, augmented here by some guests who absolutely belong in the band (guitar veteran Bob Heinz -
presumably the Bob of the album title; Nils Olsen, baritone sax; and Neil Billington, blues harp) remain steeped in all the right roots (western swing, great geetar picking, rolling
blues-based piano, louche lounge swing a la Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli), while delivering well-crafted songs in the great back-porch tradition, wry folksy takes on the vicissitudes of life. Apart from a fine version of Fats Waller's Your Feets Too Big, all the songs and instrumentals are originals, many with local references (which songwriter London has the knack of making universal). A few years ago, Asleep At the Wheel, the world-renowned heirs-apparent to Bob Wills, made a superb tribute album titled 'Ride With Bob'. HCS's 'Ridin' With Bob' belongs on the shelf right alongside that one. As Guy Clark would say, now there's a pair to draw to. On Jayrem Records.

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