“Another sad case of the blues, and other stories” - Cadbury-Hicks - The new ablum by Dik Cadbury and Peter Hicks reviewd by Alan Hewitt.

Well, who would have thought it. Any self-respecting fan of Steve Hackett will recognise the names of the two protagonists of this album as key members of the classic Hackett band line up. Amazing to think, as the sleeve notes to this release say, that this is their first album together - about time I hear you cry (a damn fine album by Mr Cadbury it is too!).

Anyway, what do the two of them sound like together? Bloody fantastic to my ears. OK, I’m biased but in the words of the song I know what I like and here we have an album of solid rock and blues with some brilliantly observant lyrics thrown in especially on the deliciously acerbic Recession Blues. The album opens with Get Outta Here which to my ears sounds like the theme tune to the TV series New Tricks but that’s no bad thing as it’s a great series and this is an instant toe-tapper. Peter’s vocals have seldom sounded better than they do on this album while Mr Cadbury also turns in a nifty turn himself in between playing more instruments than an octopus! The one thing that is evident throughout this album is that it was evidently a whole heap of fun to produce and it is an equally big heap of fun to listen to and I for one would love to see a gig by these two at some point, how about it, chaps? Especially if you can bring along that Hackett chap to do his stuff on the blues harp as he does on Just Another Honky Tonk on the album!

In the meantime, what you have here is a collection of solid originals in the country blues style which will make you smile in recognition of a situation or character from your own life so vividly depicted here in thoroughly entertaining music and lyrics. A million miles from Prog but hey, we all need a breather from that sometimes don’t we and this is the perfect tonic for a night with a beer or a glass of wine and the company of two exceptional musicians - superb stuff all round!

Dik Cadbury/Peter Hicks - Cadbury-Hicks. Beach Hut Records BHCD 5107

For further info: www.dikcadbury.com and beachhutrecords@petehicks.com