Lethbridge blues/ folk musician Leon Barr is back with his long awaited Cd “Summertime Alley Rag.”
Barr, a mainstay at the Lethbridge Folk Club , really spreads his wings playing a variety of instruments including acoustic guitar, harmonica, slide dobro, bass, mandolin, mando-banjo, washboard, spoons, shakers and even a kazoo.
His wife, Wendy Faith, also spreads her wings as a talented lyricist. She paints vivid, dark, gritty word pictures of drifters, bums, buskers and others people who are down on their luck, which perfectly complement Barr’s gravelly, smoke and whisky soaked Tom Waitsish voice.
Barr grabs the listeners attention immediately with the jazzy “Summertime Alley Rag and carries on with one of my favourites “Alonso’s Night Out.”
“Spare Change,” is another upbeat highlight.
He slows things down a touch on the tenderly wistful “Pigeons on Parade.”
Another highlight is the bluesy dobro of “Fifth Street Blues” which even mentions the Coalbanks Inn in Lethbridge.
The stream-of conscious, poetic lyrics are a highlight throughout the CD.
He slows things right down on “Little Saigon.”
Barr shows his musical prowess on several instruments on “Let’s Make Do” before ending the CD with a spoken word poem, “ For Saskatchewan,” backed by an understated harmonica.
It isn’t as bluesy as his previous CD, but it is all original material featuring a variety of instruments and fascinating lyrics.”
CD: Summertime Alley Rag
Artist: Leon Barr
Genre: Blues
Record label: none
