Pontus Snibb- ‘Wreck Of Blues’ cd

You know when you wreck your brain cells trying to remember thing’s, well I have just done that over this cd.I knew the name Pontus Snibb, I just couldn’t remember where from, that was the hard part, and I was not going to read the press release or use Google to find out.
So the best thing for it was to just play it, and see what happens.
By the time the first track has finished ‘More blues and blue sounds’ I was convinced I knew the voice, the man, in fact I’ve even met him, and that man is Pontus Snibb, the lead singer with Swedish rock/blues band Bonafide.
Having seen Bonafide quite a few times over these last few years play their brand of hard rock with a blues influence, this new release ‘Wreck Of Blues’, by Pontus Snibb is the direct opposite, blues with elements of rock.
So has Pontus gone off in a totally different direction? The short answer is no, there are many elements of the harder rocking Bonafide in here, as Pontus has teamed up with veteran drummer Hakan Nyberg, also known as Pontus’s father and bass player Micke Nilsson, it is produced by Martin Ekelund (the current bass player in Bonafide). However Pontus seems to have rekindled the original Bonafide sound as found on their debut.
Featuring eleven songs eight originals and a trio of covers ‘Wreck Of Blues’ might be considered something of a vanity project for Pontus ( after all he already has a side project, playing drums in Jason And The Scorchers), or a reminder that Bonafide should be more of a blues band than the current hard rock band they are now.
The album opens with the first single – “More blues and blue sounds”. It’s a great choice as the single – check out the video below.
This a great album, easy to listen to as it drags you in, Pontus’s voice is full of emotion, and the guitar sound is great. The three cover tunes ‘Boogie Man’, made famous by Freddie King; The Fabulous Thunderbirds track ‘One’s Too Many’ and ‘Keep On Loving Me Baby’ by Otis Rush fit the album’s overall sound with ease, for the casual listener these cover tracks could easily be passed off as Pontus’s own.
There’s a nice mix of songs too, from the slow “Longing for you” to the faster paced “Keep on loving me”, “No Peace Of Mind “and “Same Same” , there is enough variety to keep both Pontus fans and blues fans in general happy.
No great blues album would be complete without a couple of down and out songs, and tracks like “I’m Walking”, “Turning Back The Clock” and “Boogie Man” hit the mark completely.
Even with all these great tracks ‘Longing For You’ is this albums stand out song here, the simple, yet effective strumming on a guitar with not much input from the rhythm section is all that is needed.
However much it pains me to say this, there is a fly in the ointment, and that is the instrumental
“Lightnin’ Change”. This really does sound like a jam session , there is no real musical direction, either Blues or Rock and really shouldn’t be on here as it spoils the overall feel of a great album.
Track listing:
01. More blues and blue sounds
02. Same Same
03. No peace of mind
04. Boogie man
05. Longing for you
06. As I please
07. Lightnin’ change
08. I’m walking
09. Turning back the clock
10. One’s too many
11. Keep on loving me

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laid back blues played with style