Veteran
blues
guitarist
Barry Levenson
wrote all 11 selections for
Hard Times Won
, which co-stars
Johnny Dyer
on vocals and harmonica. The music ranges from lowdown
Chicago blues
to swinging
jazz
/
with
Mike Thompson
's organ giving a
soul-jazz
feel to some of the instrumentals.
Levenson
's lyrics are intelligent, there is a surprising amount of variety on the songs even though they do stick to
, and the musicianship is excellent.
and
Dyer
in particular make for a great team, and the results are often exciting and are always quite spirited. This highly enjoyable set should appeal to both
fans. ~ Scott Yanow