Ritchie Dave Porter and Debra Susan are a couple of hard-working blues artists who are well respected on the British live circuit. We chatted to Ritchie Dave Porter a few years ago about his life in blues, and he spoke to us about his guitar playing.
“I’m a blues-based guitarist, or more accurately, a blues-based rock guitarist. Obviously, everything I play is heavily influenced by the bluesmen of old. I like to combine blues pentatonic guitar scales and licks with Spanish and jazz scales, and I’m free to do whatever I want. If I want to do a country rock song, then I will dip into country, like when I do “River and the Preacher,” which is Southern style. If I want to turn to the Hendrix kind of heavy blues rock, then I’ll do “Sugar and Spice” or “You’re Bad in a Good Way.” If I want to rock out 100%, then I’ll write “Sweet Treacle.” I play what I want to play and don’t like to be pigeonholed, and that’s probably why Jimmy Page is such an influence. He played folk and blues, classical, whatever he chose. As a guitarist, just express yourself as honestly as you can through whichever style suits you best.”
With this in mind, we turn to the new single from the duo. It is called “Got My Black Cat Bone” – great title!
The Review:
Ritchie Dave Porter and Debra Susan’s “Got My Black Cat Bone” has a cool, late-night nightclub feel from the start. Susan’s sultry vocal sits naturally over a bopping bass line, while Porter keeps the guitar tasteful, dropping in short blues licks and hooks that give the song room to breathe. One of the strongest touches is the call-and-response between Susan’s voice and the guitar, almost as if she calls out and Porter answers her back.
The blues is clearly at the centre of the track, but there are also jazzy, funky and rock undertones that keep things moving. The nod to “Got My Mojo Working” before the title hook is a clever little touch, and the whole thing carries an old-school feel without ever sounding forced. It’s simply a fun, well-played blues number with enough groove to get your foot tapping.
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Produced by Michael Tingle available on Amazon Music and Apple Music and Spotify
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By: Chad Cubberly
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