Francis Dunnery - The Blues of Tombstone Dunnery

CLASSIC BLUES PLAYED BY A CLASSIC ARTIST ALONGSIDE A CLASSIC BAND

The blues. Or, I should say, THE BLUES, because without this, no modern rock music would exist. From the slave days in the Deep South of the USA to 2023, there is a linear progression (pardon the pun) to virtually everything I review, and you listen to. Doff your cap and say a prayer of thanks to those slave pioneers, to Elvis, to the blues revolution pioneers in London of the 1960’s, and now to Tombstone Dunnery.

Francis Dunnery is obviously a blues fanatic, and he has formed a band, recording and touring, to play the music he loves, and the recorded outcome is an unalloyed pleasure for music lovers everywhere. He first came to my listening attention back in the day as the vocalist & guitarist for It Bites and since then he has played with a list of royal rock artists reading like a Who’s Who of modern culture. Plant, Santana, Difford, Hackett and a host of others. A very talented man, indeed.

The Blues of Tombstone Dunnery is now on release, and you can get this at the artist’s website directly at https://francisdunnery.com/shop/

Before discussing the album, Dunnery has surrounded himself with a great band, namely Paul Brown on bass, Phil Beaumont on drums, Quint Starkie on rhythm guitar, Nigel Hopkins on keyboards, Neil Yates on brass and woodwind, and last, but by no means least, on backing vocals Deanne Blazey.

We open with She Left Me With The Blues, and immediately you smile, because there is absolutely nothing “alternative blues”, “modern take on blues”, “outrageously called rhythm & blues when it is no such thing” about this. Pure blues dripping into your ears, the sax, brass, bass, organ, pulsing drums, rhythm and lead guitar producing a joyous intro showcasing a collective as opposed to merely one man. She took everything, all his money, property, children, she took everything leaving him with the blues. Love it, six minutes of sheer unadulterated pleasure utterly unspoilt by modern sensitivities and far better for it. Dunnery’s guitar sings to us, as it always has.

This sets the scene for all that follows. How often have classic bands sung about a Poison Woman, all dressed up like a glamour girl? Pulsing bass, sax, and the collective then rearing up to tell us how she turned him into a poison man, the guitar singing the pain above the rhythm and Dunnery’s voice the perfect storyteller. The brass and sax in perfect harmony with a deliciously heavy riff from Dunnery. Five minutes of Boys Running Wild with its wonderfully intricate chord interplay, belying that old trope about the blues being a “simple form”. Nonsense. Dunnery’s voice is an emotional smoky room of its own on this telling the story of a bunch of lads with no father to tell them right, a tale as timeless as the blues itself.

Take My Joy Away is simply a romp with those knowing “ah ha” backing voices and some fine sax and brass supporting the narrator in a tale of mutual pleasure, the guitar solo suitably seductive. Don’t You Cry is pulsing with a funky rhythm in a very short homage to the thrill of treating her mean, but insisting she don’t cry about it, the guitar here screaming out the masculine strength. The Town Where Nobody Feels reminds me strongly of classic British R&B boom from the 1960’s in a track where you close your eyes and hear the likes of Peter Green riffing and singing, that is how good Dunnery is, but also set in modern production techniques proving that there is ample space for this music in 2023. Danglin’ Man is impossibly catchy, a song which will bring joy to the coldest heart with its relentless beats and very clever brass, wood, and guitar riffs.

I love My Whole Life, melodious blues dripping with the injustice of it all, but with a bow tie in his pocket ready for those good times to roll – fantastic. With his whole life and family in flames, telling her never to come around again and features as good a guitar solo riff as you will hear all year, followed by the same descriptor for a magnificent saxophone turn together with an intricate piano all underpinned by a heart beating musically. Blues Falling Down Like Weather has an introduction the musical equivalent of a cold, dark, damp day, the guitar crying out our pain and the pouring rain. In fact, it could almost be an ode to life in dear old damp West Wales, with the constant bloody weather falling all over me. Hard To Love Another Woman is great, telling how hard it is to love those with a perfect face, perfect smile when you’re showing your style, all us blokes always wanting to put on the “cool”, no matter our age, especially when we are on fire (I wish!).

I have embedded a video for The Comeback Boy here, an official release. A great example on film as well as sound of this band, I just love Blazey’s contribution on this and witness Dunnery’s sheer passion and pleasure in his craft and features some incredible keyboard work. Persistence. Never Say Die. Amen to that! A terrific heavy commercial blues number which deserves wide airplay.

The album closes with Ridin on the Blues Train, with a mood of the week every working person has throughout their life, short of money, struggling with work, but it doesn’t matter, because we’re riding on the blues train, and the music is really all that matters. A magnificent thoughtful close to the album featuring some stunning guitar work.

The band are shortly touring the UK, starting with my old hometown of Oswestry, and if you can get to see them, I would recommend it. If you can’t, well certainly pick up this album, an album which I have loved listening to this past couple of weeks.

Yeah……..

UK TOUR DATES

Tour dates are correct at the time of going to press – please check the band’s website and the venue itself before buying.

THURS 5th: OSWESTRY, Hermon Arts https://www.hermon-arts.org.uk/events/tombstone-dunnery-2023

FRI 6th; CARLISLE Blues Festival

https://carlislebluesfestival.com/

SAT 7th: SETTLE, Victoria Hall https://www.settlevictoriahall.org.uk/eventsandshows/tombstone-dunnery-071023

SUN 8th: ASHTON-UNDER-LYME, The Witchwood https://thewitchwood.co.uk/product/tombstone-dunnery-featuring-francis-dunnery-sunday-8th-october-2023/

MON 9th: YORK, The Crescent http://thecrescentyork.com/events/tombstone-dunnery-feat-francis-dunnery/

TUES 10th: BLACKPOOL, Waterloo Rock Bar https://www.seetickets.com/tour/tombstone-dunnery

WED 11th: HULL, Wrecking Ball Arts Centre https://wreckingballstore.co.uk/event/francis-dunnery-the-blues-of-tombstone-dunnery/

THURS 12TH: STOKE, Eleven Music Venue https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tombstone-dunnery-ft-the-legendary-francis-dunnery-live-eleven-stoke-tickets-690703682307