MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: JAKE CHISHOLM - DIAMOND IN A COALMINE

Deep blues and hard-hitting, raw electric guitar from the veteran Toronto player and front man (Jake and the Blue Midnights).  This is true grit, power-trio blues that slinks but never plods, getting deep in the groove, and hitting all the important moments. 

Chisholm is a nasty player, always preferring a dirty tone, with just the right amount of distortion, distortion on the vocal mic too.  That doesn't mean he can't play pretty though; the chording on Diamond In A Coalmine has the sweet soul notes of the 60's, on this slow heartbreak tale.  The follow-up, That's All They Could See, has some high-string riffing and slide sweetness too, but it's earthiness of the bass-drums-rhythm guitar groove that makes this song, and several others too.  Just like in baseball, good fundamentals make a great team.

There's a clever remake of The Rascals' You Better Run, and a different interpretation of Traveling Riverside Blues, but the rest are all Chisholm originals.  I really like that several of them are blues ballads, moving into soul.  The finale, When Love Goes Wrong, is the kind of blues not heard enough, a real tear-inducer, no machismo or b.s. or cliches, just the facts and emotions of a break-up, complete with Jimi Hendrix Angel-style guitar.  With this type of material, Chisholm stands out from the electric blues pack.