Blues from Down Under

by Jim Trageser
This review first appeared in the October 27, 1995 issue of the North County Blade-Citizen (now North County Times).

Australian bluesman Dave Hole is back with his third album on Alligator, and he just keeps getting better. His guitar playing is more incisive, his solos more imaginative.

And adding more punch to his sound are Hole's improved vocals. On this new album, he sounds like a cross between longtime Robin Trower vocalist James Dewar and Eric Clapton's Freddie King rip-off, with a heavy nasal overtone that balances well off his guitar playing.

The only drawback is that Hole's songs tend to lack individuality; there's a sameness to them that makes the album as a whole seem somewhat flat.

Still, Hole is one of the best slide guitarists on the scene and this is his best album yet.