James Leg

Blood On The Keys

ALIVE NATURAL SOUND. CD/DL/LP

Ex-Black Diamond Heavy righteously branches out.

The sometime Reverend James Leg, né John Wesley Myers, was raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee as the son of a Baptist preacher, and joined the family business to the extent of actual pulpitbashing as a mid-teen – until rock’n’roll saved him. Where BDH launched a seemingly unstoppable locomotive of punk-rockin’ blues, halted only by sticksman Van Campbell’s 2010 wedding, Myers’ solo records have deviated admirably from that script, colouring around his Howlin’ Wolf growl and filthy-dirty organ with unexpected shades. Here, street-walking disco (Mighty Man), weepie Stones balladry (I’ll Take It) and Waitsian oddness (St Michel Shuffle) make for an enjoyably varied journey, while the title track takes it to church with a sinister edge that only a fallen pastor could muster. Out-andout blues monster DogJaw, guest-starring Soledad Brothers’ Johnny Walker on slide, serves a welcome reminder that Myers still harbours wildfire in his breast.