The aptly named CD Better late than never is now available and has received some airtime on BBC radio and has been rated 8/10 by Blues in Britain magazine. (see review below)
Contact Chris on 01795 590445 or 07740183985 or email cjb18@hotmail.com for a copy at bargain price of £10
Track list
Thanks to Pete Brown at the Annexe studio in Folkestone, England 07881 953078
Better Late Than Never
Porch Swing Blues is an acoustic-blues duo consisting of Dave Ferra on guitar, slide, vocals and some very good country-blues harmonica, and Chris Berry on guitar and vocals. Dave already has a couple of solo releases under his belt and Chris has spent twelve years plying his craft in the southern and western USA in a musical career of nigh on forty years.
After a couple of well-known openers this set settles down into a selection of mainly lesser-known titles. There is a smooth rendition of “Trouble in Mind”. Eric Bibb’s “Where the Green Grass Grows” is a well-read, welcome and somewhat surprising inclusion. Don’t be put off if I say there is something of the vocal groups of the sixties, (The Bachelors?), especially towards the end of the set with “Three Days” (Nelson/Young), “Baby Baby Baby” (David/Livingstone), and “Any Old Time” (Rodgers). There is also a common quality with the choice of material that comes from an age fast disappearing from active memory; songs worthy of being kept in live tradition, with appropriate vocal and instrumental arrangement. There is in addition to three titles that, although somewhat predictable choices, we never seem to tire of hearing, especially when done with such taste. Porch Swing Blues play at an inspiring and uplifting pace and deserve wider recognition. Rating: 8 – Frank Franklin