Review: ‘With A Little Help From My Friends – A Tribute To Matt Long’

Independant (March 20^th, 2026)

Reviewer – Paul Dubbelman

This album, born out of grief and sadness but with beauty and love at its core , is far more than a tribute. It is a celebration of Matt Long, his songwriting, his prodigious talent, and his glorious humanity. Matt, frontman of Catfish and The Revenant One, lost his 18-month battle with cancer in October 2024 aged just 29. Throughout that battle, the Blues community rallied round, raising funds to provide treatment, organising Benefit concerts and providing love and support to Matt, his wife Sam, to his parents, Paul, and Fiona, and to family and friends , all touched by Matt’s ordeal. An idea mooted by Dudley Ross, Guitarist, Composer & Producer, as well as a close family friend, was to ask Joe Bonamassa to record a solo for one of Matt’s songs. Matt was a great admirer of Joe and the two had met several times in the past. Joe said yes, and then the idea snowballed, with many of the artists that had performed at the benefit gigs, along with many of Matt’s musical friends, including Walter Trout, taking part to produce this album.

Sixteen tracks in total, fifteen of them Matt Long compositions, including collaborations from Paul Long and Adam Pyke, and finishing with the glorious finale, recorded live, at the Benefit Concert held at the Stables, Wavendon in the summer of 2024 which gives this album its title. Every artist put their own stamp on Matt’s compositions from the buzzsaw guitar of Brave Rival’s Ed Clarke on ‘Up in Smoke‘ the stripped-back beauty of ‘So‘ performed by Dom Martin, Alice Armstrong’s heart-wrenchingly powerful ‘Archangel‘ to the Swing and sparkle of ‘Better Days‘ from Elles Bailey with The Cinelli Brothers and featuring an exquisite harmonica break from Blues Legend Paul Jones.

In addition to these, and the other tracks from the likes of Zac Schulze Gang, When Rivers Meet, Blue Nation, Chantel McGregor, and a load more (see below for full list)  you have the two heavy hitters in Joe Bonamassa and Walter Trout. Joe provides the Solo on the epic ‘Broken Man‘, with Walter performing on the blues-burner ‘All I Ask Of You‘, with both tracks featuring Matt’s original vocals.

The final track is the live recording of ‘With A Little Help From My Friends‘ at The Stables, Wavendon in June 2024, and features many of the artists that performed that day including Brave Rival, Will Wilde, The Cinelli Brothers and Ben Poole, joining Matt Long on stage. This was to be Matt’s last  public performance.

Many of the album tracks were mixed by Dan Lucas of Joplin House Studios, who also allowed the artists to use his studios free of charge. Artwork is by Matt’s close friend and collaborator, Alice Armstrong. The album is on pre-order currently  with a release date of 20^th March, and the proceeds from the album  will go to support the  cancer ward at Royal Surrey County Hospital which cared for Matt.

This album is so much more than a tribute to Matt Long. It is a celebration of his musical legacy. ‘With a Little Help From My Friends‘ is an album that warrants repeated plays – there are so many delights in every song, the spine-chilling BVs by Lisa Mann on ‘Broken Man‘, Paul Jones’ Harmonica on ‘Better Days‘, Nat Martin’s Guitar solo on ‘Archangel‘ , Nicholas Meier’s guitar and Adrienne Cowen’s vocal on ‘The Root of All Evil‘.  Bury yourself in the sonic beauty of this album, let the songs warm your heart and think of Matt when you do so, his legacy and his talent lives on.

Pre-order the album – here

Read More about the work of the Royal Surrey County Hospital – here

Tracklisting:

1. Broken Man – Matt Long feat. Joe Bonamassa
2. Have My Say – Zac Schulze Gang
3. Archangel – Alice Armstrong
4. Better Days – Elles Bailey feat. The Cinelli Brothers and Paul Jones
5. Up In Smoke – Brave Rival
6. Forevermore and Again – Chantel McGregor
7. Root of All Evil – Adrienne Cowan (Vocalist of Avantasia)
8. All I Ask Of You – Matt Long feat. Walter Trout
9. Exile – Sean Webster
10. Hit The Ground Running – The Cinelli Brothers feat. Stephen Giry
11. Soulbreaker – When Rivers Meet
12. Change My Ways – Katie Bradley & Dudley Ross
13. Break Me Down – Will Wilde
14. Take It All – Blue Nation
15. So – Dom Martin
16. With A Little Help from My Friends – Matt Long, Brave Rival, Will Wilde, The Cinelli Brothers, and Ben Poole

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