On the back of the bands recent vinyl 45 release of ‘County Farm’ Thee Ones come back with their debut LP ‘Eve Session’.
The album captures a long and sleepless weekend at Eve Studios, Manchester. The combination of Producer, Martin King’s old school recording techniques and Thee Ones back to basics sound resulted in a collection of recordings that echo back to the roots of Rock n Roll.
Ingenium Records, added: “The band has been working so hard for the last few years, it’s good to see all the hard work coming together. The band will be performing at various venues throughout the summer, promoting the single and album!” The band also recently supported Glen Tilbrook and Nine Below Zero on their recent tour.
About the band:
Thee Ones is made of up Nick Buckle on Guitar and Vox, Greame Owen playing Double Bass, Rufus Fry on Harmonica and vocals and Chipeye on the Drums. Cooking up a retro raucous RnB sound inspired by their love of vintage records spanning the 50’s and 60’s. They draw influences from the genres of blues, rockabilly, soul and Latin, to serve up a driving swamp boogaloosis set. Guaranteed to get people’s feet moving. Nick is an avid collector of vintage 45’s, and DJ’s at the popular Mockers nights which provides much inspiration for the band and their sound.
Eve Sessions LP – GENI RECORDS (INGENIUM RECORDS) – Released Oct 2012
BLUES SIDE
DONE WAITING – A nice punchy start to proceedings from Thee Ones debut LP with Chipeye setting up a pure gumbo beat that merges into swamp boogaloosis. A blend of hypnotic bluesy hues with a gritty warm overtone!
RICH WOMAN – One of 4 covers on this collection this being (to my ears) by far the most successful! A really nice treatment of a cool true Blue Boogaloo track originally from ‘Lil Millet & His Creoles’. A timeless classic that glides effortlessy along and finds space to really flex the groove yet keep the sharp shape! Nice! Really loving this one! Could be spun on any decent Modernist dancefloor!
COFFE & HONEY – Another band original with some cutting Harp Licks from Rufus Fry that pin onto Nick Buckles guitar phrases and lock nicely into the tight rhythm of Graham Owens double bass command!
PASS THE HATCHET – Roger and The Gypsys supply the second cover here with Chipeye and Graham Owens doing this one proud with a nice loose/tight feel to do this New Orleans classic some serious justice, the band can indeed pull off these obscure covers and slot them nicely into their own framework which is never that easy.
LIKE IT OR NOT – A stabby tune that again is bluesy to the core with a slight 60’s Doors/Hendrix/Beefheart howl here and there that manages to ride along, weaving lines of notes and stabby licks in and out of the backbeat. Maybe a few backing harmonies or counter melody would snuggle in nicely on this one! Get that Sitar out Nick!
SIGNED DC – Pulling off a cover of this classic by Love tune is never gonna be a breeze – sadly this is not my own favourite attempt. Thee Ones do however manage to find an almost Bolan/Velevets dynamic in amongst this spacey sad refrain that is always haunting and stays with the listener for quite some time. An uneasy end to the Blues Side maybe?
RHYTHM SIDE
COUNTY FARM – This is the recent single from this LP (available here folks) and picks up the pace again with a jaunty, jumpy rolling blues journey where the band get to show their true heart and soul.
DADDY ROLLIN’ STONE – An Otis Blackwell blueprint original with a slight stoner-blues type of feel produced here, also covered by many diverse Artists such as Derek Martin, Johnny Thunders, The Who. A nice ‘in-the-know’ sussed choice of source inspiration. Thee Ones manage to meander their way to a new place with this one! It could maybe due with condensing slightly, that’s my only crib!
GREEN OIL – This along with ‘Rich Woman’ get my own personal vote on this Session Collection! A really nice stroll, thats emerges from a chain-gang train huff n puff, with a nice element of twangy guitar, excellent tight drum sound, sublime walking bass and a clever use of the Harmonica to stagger and link. An instrumental that feels nicely balanced and timed! Super stuff!
SLACKJAW – A jazzy, bluesy, jump ‘n’ swing with great bass runs and snap-shut drumming with the odd hint of White Stripes type vocals that give way to a doubled-up military style rolling beat, nice production values keep the warmth and sonics in exactly the right place!
SOUP – A dancey start with a groove to die for, great harp work again and some nice guitar chords and progressions that show that Thee Ones can build on taking the traditional swamp blues mode into the West Country and beyond! I have no idea why big promoters of the growingly xerox festivals that book countless feckless young indie clones do not reach out, break the mould and book bands like Thee Ones who can easily deliver their groove live in an entertaining and educational way. The blues via Thee Ones is like a good Picasso, ‘there is no best before date on this one’.
So there you have it, a track by track rundown of what is a hugely successful and noble first effort from Thee Ones, its great to hear classic sounds giving such respect and also a breath of life! If these chaps from Stroud can keep it together and rolling along then there will always be a well earned space for a decent Rhythm ‘n’ Blues band to evolve, experiment and thrive – even in the 21st Century. A new generation of kids could do with a dose of Eve Sessions! This LP was ‘captured’ in One Weekend, in One Room, in One Go with No Overdubs and definately no bullshit! That in itself should be a wake up call to those that spend zillions and get no-where near the super production warmth on this disc! Now go buy it!
