DOWN SELLINGS LANE
There’s nothing cryptic or mysterious about the title of Paul Buchanan’s Voodoo Preachers’ second album – Sellings Lane, on the outskirts of Maffra, is where the band rehearsed, compared notes and laid down a number of tracks in preparation for new product. Twelve songs made the final cut and Down Sellings Lane delivers more of The Voodoo Preachers brand of brass knuckled Blues with a couple of exotic detours. Buchanan’s manifesto has always been grunt over gloss and The Voodoo Preachers are clearly along for the ride.
The album kicks off with the menacing rattle of Bad Luck And Trouble, a Buchanan co-write with fellow Blues traveler Aaron Begbie, which serves as a neat fit for Buchanan’s gravelly growl and the locomotive force of guitarist Marc Leyshan and the fuzzed out bass of John Werner. The toughness continues in the slide guitar drenched Blues Man’s Shoes, a gritty kiss off tale driven hard by Buchanan’s gruff Howlin’ Wolf inflected vocals.
Gears shift on the atmospheric Blues Harp And A Bloody Mary – Ning Hopkins’ Spanish guitar and Phil Coyne’s squalling harmonica take the “stranger in town” narrative a little south of the border and set up a nice bare bones framework for Buchanan’s hushed but sinister vocal. A proudly self-sufficient unit, The Voodoo Preachers rarely require outside help but were happy to call on Winston Galea (cabasa) and Ian Clarke (congas & guiro) to add some subtle percussive nuances to the track.
Buchanan’s flair for storytelling continues on Roadhouse, a brawny blast of Blues Rock riding on the twin guitars of Ning Hopkins and Marc Leyshan that neatly underpin a gritty tale of isolation and mystery. The Voodoo Preachers stretch out on the broken hearted Blues of Lost where Buchanan’s aching vocal squeezes out every bit of feeling as he laments over a love gone wrong. Tryin’ To Hold On is a full throttle Blues pushed all the way by Phil Coyne’s paint stripping harmonica whereas Oh Mercy heads for the backwoods. Uncluttered but with the jolt of a Sonny Liston left jab, Oh Mercy is held together by the solid groove of new bassist John Werner and the woody thump of Stuart Anderson’s drums. The tough Blues stomp of Gotta Stop Thinkin’ prods Buchanan into some of his more blistering growls.
Although Buchanan may occupy the roles of bandleader, front man and songwriter, he’s all in favour of the democratic brotherhood. As such, Ning Hopkins brings two of his own compositions into the mix. Leaving Yesterday Behind is an amiable boogie all about self-reflection and getting on with the business. Blues with a slow burn informs Whatever Happened and allows guitarists Hopkins and Leyshan to each deliver crunching solos. Neither outstay their welcome and leave enough room for Buchanan’s soulful husky croon.
Buchanan and The Voodoo Preachers have always been particular with outside material and although the album’s two covers may be familiar they’re far from predictable. Hop Wilson’s Black Cat Bone is given a tight syncopated workout where Buchanan’s blues soaked vocal goes head to head with Phil Coyne’s wailing harmonica. Slightly more left field is Fats Domino’s Hello Josephine which The Voodoo Preachers drag out of New Orleans and drop deep into the heart of the Gippsland Delta via Chicago – Buchanan’s full throated roar recalls Muddy Waters while Phil Coyne’s harmonica stirs up the spirit of Little Walter. No carbon copies with this unit who like to do it their way.
As a whole, the new album showcases an uncompromising band comfortable in their own groove and determined to sound like themselves. “No egomaniacs in this band,” Paul Buchanan asserts. “Just a bunch of good blokes that all get along very well and are all very creative and not stuck in the same style or tone.” Can’t argue with that logic – it’s all there loud and clear on Down Sellings Lane.
MICHAEL MACDONALD
MELBOURNE 2022