Being a history nut, I would love to go back in time to meet, watch, and listen to the great blues artists of the 30’s 40’s and 50’s. But recently, I found a band releasing their debut album, The Long Road Home. Hearing the sounds of music duo, Darren Poole and Bobbi Richards-Poole, it felt as if the past met me in the present. The name of their band is RootBone. With the album composed solely by Poole and Richards, RootBone compels you to sit back, relax and listen to good blues tracks. If you love the sounds of Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker, and others from the Chess family, The Long Road Home is an album to play from beginning to end.
Recorded in what used to be an old church, RootBone borrowed a few techniques from producer/songwriter Daniel Lanois to produce well thought-out pieces of the blues.
RootBone opens with a strong jump-jive number, “Tables Gonna Turn.” This piece could bring Louis Prima back to life. “Stacked Deck” is a piece that features a cool sax toward the end. “Wrong Way Jack” and “Toll Jumping” shout out at Bo Diddley loud and clear.
The last track, “Come Home,” has a different quiet touch to it with nice harmonies. This song has a little touch of Appalachia tagged onto the harmonies. It’s well done.
Listening to The Long Road Home from beginning to end, you can hear pieces of swing, pieces of jazz, and pieces of rock and roll. It’s an album with variety, but never drifts from the blues. If you are looking for different pieces of the blues, The Long Road Home will fit nicely. I’m J.R. Miller with High Note Reviews, and this is Darren Poole and Bobbi Richards-Poole of RootBone singing along The Long Road Home.