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Delta Moon
Clear Blue Flame

Jumping Jack Records

Run Time: 40:28

Delta Moon is one of those road tested southern rock & blues based bands of old. They’ve had their highs and lows and are still pluggin’ away after all this time. Delta Moon, like all bands with a good story, formed with a chance meeting by Mark Johnson and Tom Gray a few years back in a music store. Mark tried to sell Tom a dobro. He didn’t sell him the guitar but they exchanged phone numbers. After Ry Cooder and Dave Lindley perform together, Mark gave Tom a call and the rest spiraled together.

Their unique dual-slide guitar approach to a band is unique and almost unheard of in the blues world. Playing around the South and in Atlanta GA they picked up a female singer Gina Leigh and took off, winning the International Blues Challenge in 2003. Gina left the band in 2004 and was replaced for all of 2005 and part of ’06 with Kristin Markiton. Since then Tom and Mark decided it was time to pursue their musical careers as a quartet with Tom at vocals.

Here we are in 2007 with Tom’s gutsy gravel voiced approach, reinventing Delta Moon into almost an entirely new band from what the blues community heard in 2003. With sometimes a progressive blues-rock feel (as demonstrated on the album’s title track that hearkens a bit to Steve Earle’s “Copperhead Road”) or to some latent country stylings a la Ry Cooder. Delta Moon serves up some hungry southern rock for those starving to relight the flame of the genre that some say passed on with the onset of the 80s. “Cool Your Jets” though offers a taste of the blues of old from this band, copping the ever famous “Spoonful” from Howlin’ Wolf and spinning it into something entirely new.

The band doesn’t completely depart from straight ahead down home blues. Feeling a bit disjointed, almost like a bonus track to the album is the final track “You Done Told Everybody” that has some gritty Mississippi Hill Country stomp to a completely acoustic track (which is the only acoustic track on the album). And because it is the only acoustic track and what some purists would consider the only completely “blues” track on the album, it offers a glimpse into the band that was and affirms that two slide guitars can work in the acoustic blues form and work well. To me, this last track is what I would’ve liked to have heard more of out of this disc. If you like bands like Devon Allman’s Honeytribe or JJ Grey and Mofro, this is the band for you and I would highly recommend picking up this highly unique dual slide guitar heaven.

Visit Delta Moon on the web at: http://www.deltamoon.com/ or http://www.myspace.com/deltamoonrocks  Delta Moon’s “Clear Blue Flame” is available at all major record outlets and on CD Baby.

Ben Cox is a Blues Songwriter, Musician, DJ and Journalist.

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