PHIL WIGGINS & DOM TURNER                                                                                               Owing the Devil a Days Work                                                                                                           No label/no release #

OK, folks, it’s recent LB cover guy Phil recorded with Turner in Sydney, Australia last October: They are old friends and will be playing the Byron Bay festival this year in March. This CD is a nice sampler of their international musical compatibility. Guitarist Dom Turner is a founder of long-time Sydney blues-based band The Backsliders: Read the Dec 2014 issue for the low-down on Phil Wiggins. I met Phil with John Cephas, recording them in July of 1980 in our nation’s capitol, and kept up with he and John over the years. Now a free-lancer, Wiggins has managed to have a nice career since Cephas’ departure from this world.

An acoustic session recorded hereabouts last year, Phil and Dom work well together, each taking vocals on different tunes. They are mostly unexpected covers (Cat Iron’s “Jimmy Bell” [John], R.L. Burnside’s “Going Down South” [Dom]) plus a few originals by Phil (“Roberta”, “ No Ice in my Bourbon”, “No Fools is No Fun”). Both musicians are knowledgeable about the traditions, but are not bound by the past – the best of both worlds! This results in an album that gives the listener a good blues experience without pushing the boundaries too much – they play well with each other! Highly recommended for fans of subtle acoustic music – if one is at Byron, by all means!

PETER B. LOWRY

Available from: philwiggins.com, or domturner.com