I Started With Nothin & I Still Got Most Of It Left Seasick Steve Reviewed By : David Ellis

Anybody who has witnessed Seasick Steve’s charismatic live performances this summer, or his regular appearances on Jools Holland, both of which have led to the foundation of his popularity, will expect nothing less than an album of great rhythm and an infectious humour which gladly the American delivers with aplomb.

(Seasick) Steve Wold’s most significant skill is being able to craft blues numbers that are appreciable, not just to those who can name check Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson, but to your average X Factor viewer. First track, ‘Started Out With Nothin’’ is a perfect example, lyrically playing on the classic blues themes of being down on your luck but having a gruff strength in the face of this adversity, it teems with a genuine humility and warmth that gives it a buoyant feel belying its theme, as too does the easy country-folk melody of ‘Walking Man’. However he is at his best on the up-tempo, tub-thumping tracks like ‘Thunderbird’ when accompanied with wailing guitar and freight train momentum and ‘Chiggers’ which is essential travel advice for anyone who finds themselves in a cornfield in the deep south being ravaged by insects and slapped all over with some sumptuous slide guitar.

He isn’t quite a lost genius of blues (discovered just in time) that some might have thought, the guitar work, whether slide, bo diddly (look it up!), standard or customised 3 string is both immaculate and enthralling throughout. The hobo blues premise cracks in places, the pristine production on the first four tracks exposes his latter day production work with American college indie outfit Modest Mouse, and there aren't many hobos who can call upon Nick Cave and K T Tunstall to do some backing vocals. But even if you choose to stare the reality in the face, Seasick Steve is a lovingly, expertly and beautifully crafted caricature with an amazing musical pedigree and a consummate sense of style.

9/10

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