Review: The Troy Redfern Band – Backdoor Hoodoo

Blues Boulevard (2015)

Reviewer: Dan Mann

To my eternal shame I wasn’t aware of Troy until I saw him as support to Skinny Molly at the Beaverwood Club.  And mightily impressed I was too.

So when I heard that there was a new album coming out, I had to take a listen to it. What you get with Backdoor Hoodoo is a mix of slide guitar, blues & blues rock. From the first notes of ‘It Stacks‘ you realise that your in for something a bit special. ‘The Other Side‘ has almost a rockabilly feel to it with a frantic pace throughout, then you slow down for ‘Salvation‘ which is one of my favorites on the album, think elements of Clapton’s ‘Rush” soundtrack coupled with Troy’s unique vocal which disguises his roots of the Welsh Borders, rather than the Deep South of the United States.

Once again the pace picks up with ‘Wildfire‘ which gives you a mental picture of someone at the back strumming away at a double bass coupled with some incredibly tight drumming by Alex Bridge. The blues rock element of the album is clearly illustrated in ‘What Goes Around‘. Settling back listening to ‘War Cry‘ you realise that Troy’s guitar playing is so expressive and controlled. Want more slide guitar? Well you’ve certainly got it on the title track. ‘Backdoor Hoodoo‘ is just the sort of dirty blues rock I love. ‘Lamb Of Zion‘ is a very short track at a tad over two minutes long ,but it’s just Troy and his guitar exposed so you can here every pluck of the strings. You could easily imagine him sitting on that porch watching the world go by. Now there’s absolutly nothing wrong with ‘Back Home‘ but for some reason I can’t quite put my finger on it’s not grabbing me as much as the other tracks. Maybe it’s going to be one of those tracks that grows on me til I realise I’ve got it wrong.

I found the mix on ‘Running With Ghosts‘ just a bit cluttered for my tastes, which leads onto the longest track on the album, ‘Survive‘. At just over eight minutes long it has to be something special to keep the listener hooked and hooked you’ll certainly be, with the rhythm section of the previously mentioned Alex Bridge on drums and Stuart McDonald on bass keeping everything so tight and beautifully paced, you can just allow yourself to be enveloped in what is a superb piece of guitar playing which more than puts Troy in the same league as the likes of Bonamassa & Co.

Two tracks left, ‘Cold Day In Hell‘ which has an almost modern feel to it and ‘This Raging Heart‘ which has quite an unusual intro leading into a track which probebly won’t appeal to blues purists. Personally I found it refreshing and enjoyable.

To sum up, Troy Redfern has dragged slide guitar into the 21st century and is bound to appeal to more than just blues aficionados. If you get the chance to catch him live then don’t waste it.