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Milwaukeeveteran blues rocker Greg Koch is among the few musicians from the citywith a foreign label deal. His latest trio outing on a European imprintdelivers textural and lyrical diversity with a blue-collar sense ofhumor that makes it difficult to understand why Koch doesn't have adomestic record contract.
His engagingly plain-spoken voicesinging aboutcommon sense, reconciliation and forcing his listeners to rock soundsis like apal with enough chutzpah and brains to steer you on a reasonable course ofaction without being a jerk. And he works his ax in ways representingprimary influences such as Freddie King and Albert King while showingappreciation for later crowd-pleasers such as Robert Cray and StevieRay Vaughan. Both vocal and instrumental pieces vary the pace betweenmeditative mellowness and rollicking rowdiness. The bare-bonessetup of Koch with his drummer and bassist allows all parties toshine on numbers that walk the fine line separating the raw and the slick.Maybe nothing’s new here, but nothing’s stale, either.
