Larry Baeder

Maximo Strut

New Moon Blues

Upon first look at the cD cover, I thought "Oh no, not another Stevie ay Vaughn prodigy trying to recapture the fire that was lost when Stevie passed away." In some respects this is true. Natural Fact sounds as if it could have been penned by SRV himself. However, the Larry Baeder Group goes way beyond the Texas Blues-Rock genre that SRV has
come to epitomize.

This band ventures into my style of the Blues. A dobro interlude leads into the gospel-tinged ballad, Tell All The World, John complete with organ and back-up gospel singers. Vocals are not Larry's strong point, yet he sounds "hip" on Drink Muddy Water and Great Big Gal. These are swingin' jump-jive numbers that sound a lot like our own Dan Electro & The Silvertones. Don't Mess With Fate takes the listener through a 10 minute instrumental journey through the deep south, reminiscent of the Allman Brothers. New York-Havana Blues sounds like a smoky jazz standard that you would hear in a late night downtown New York Jazz club. The Rain Song is a nice New Orleans R&B ditty and the disc closes with a traditional style acoustic number titled Going Back to New York.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised as each song had its own style and feel. Just another reminder not to judge a book by its cover!

Tom Darby

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