Blues 'N' Trouble : highlands boogie & loch blues Not swamp blues but loch blues, not Mississippi Hill Country style but Highlands boogie, not moonshine fueled but soaked in old whiskey, here are...

The volcanic bluesboys from Scotland

Boogie, jump, stomp, shuffle, honky-tonk, ragtime, rock'n'roll..., Blues 'N' Trouble is the most exciting blues band I've heard in a long time. This deserved making a pause in the Journey To Nawlins series (that will continue very soon indeed).

B.B. King who was backed by Blues 'N' Trouble on several occasions in his UK tours complimented them as “the best white blues band in the world”. The album "Lazy Lester Rides Again" (1987) on which they backed the Louisiana bluesman was crowned with a WC Handy award. Still, Blues 'N' Trouble remains largely unknown to many blues fans though it gained a cult status among sharp connoisseurs and local supporters along his touring path.

John Bruce & Tim Elliott

Formed in Scotland in the early 1980's by Tim Elliott and John Bruce, the band has never derailed from its hard hitting rockin’ blues and boogie tracks despite numerous line-up changes from the beginnings. Touring relentlessly, supporting visiting US blues artists in the UK (Pinetop Perkins, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, Robert Cray…), the band married a powerful drums/bass/guitar rhythm section to the gripping showmanship of (slide) guitarist John Bruce and to the explosive vocal and harmonica performance of Tim Elliott, and is able to switch all of a sudden from a blazing boogie to the most soulful slow blues.

On their debut album, “First Trouble”, originally released in 1985 as “Blues 'N' Trouble”, the already chaotic line-up was Tim Elliott (vocals & harmonica), John Bruce, Jim Brown & Pete Sklaroff (guitar), Gus Boyd, Chris Grey & Willie Pettigrew (bass), Paul Collins & Sean Scott (drums).

Ian Stewart

Their second opus, “No Minor Keys” (1986) includes Tim Elliott, John Bruce, Dave Neill (guitar), Alan Scott (bass), and Sean Scott (drums) and features renowned guest Robert Cray and long time Rolling Stones' pianist Ian Stewart who actually recorded here for the last time before his untimely death in 1986.

Mike Vernon

1987 was a fruitful year with three releases : the half-live vinyl LP “Thankyou And Goodnight” in UK, “Live”, and "Hat Trick", produced by famous 1960's British Blues explosion producer Mike Vernon who also brought Blues 'N' Trouble to back Lazy Lester on his Handy Award winning album “Lazy Lester Rides Again” the same year as mentioned earlier.

Elliott & Bruce

"With Friends Like These" followed in 1989, "Down To The Shuffle", in 1991, and "Poor Moon", in 1992. Meantime Dave Neill had left, and John Bruce had recruited ex-Rory Gallagher keyboardist Lou Martin, while Lox Lovell had replaced Sean Scott on drums.

John Bruce himself left by 1992 or 93, replaced by Mike Park who appears alone on guitar on the 1994 live "Bag Full Of Boogie". In 2000 the band was reduced to a four-piece combo (Tim Elliott, Mike Park, Alan Scott and Lox Lovell) who recorded "Devil’s Tricks" though it was released later, in 2003, and “Blues Graffiti”, the first of the two-CD release “Blues Graffiti / Live And/Or Rare, The Hat Trick Era) in 2002, while Bruce is featured on the second CD made of recordings from back in 1987.

Sandy Tweeddale

In the following years, the line-up saw further changes : Blues 'N' Trouble switched back to its vintage double guitar format by asking guitarist Sandy Tweeddale to join the band, bassist Alan Scott who left for Holland was replaced by former early member Gus Boyd, himself soon leaving the bass in the hands of Rod Kennard, Andy Munro took the drums after Lox Lovell quit, and in 2011. it was Mike Park who left and was replaced by keyboard/guitarist Angus Rose.
Released in 2005, "Lost Deposit", a live album and DVD was actually a recording from 1992. “Try Anything Twice” came out in 2012. I also discovered two digital releases free for listening on Sandy Tweeddale's Bandcamp pages : “Blues N Trouble 30th Anniversary Concert” (2015)  and “Bootleg at the Bongo” (2016) actually recorded in 2013.

The incredible thing is that, despite such chaotic changes in their line-up, Blues 'N' Trouble managed to keep their thrilling musical identity and communicative energy intact for nearly forty years ! If only for this, Elliott has to be saluted as a great band leader. Because, if there's anything else to add, Blues 'N' Trouble is a captivating hell of a great blues band !
So there's no point detailing their repertoire or analyzing this or that album : there's nothing, strictly nothing to discard in their work, originals or covers (except maybe some of their poor CD covers). On the contrary, such a consistent quality is rare. These guys are all excellent bluesmen and a unique phenom of raw energy. It's not surprising that they put out so many live recordings. Blues 'N' Trouble is the best medicine to endure the harshness of the coming winter and beyond, the chaos of wild bloody violence and natural disasters that's threatening mankind.
Scotland already had its legendary Loch Ness tenant, hundreds of haunted manors and nearly as many whiskey distilleries, now they also have Blues 'N' Trouble... ■

Rod Kennard

Two Long Interviews To Read (Full of Anecdotes)

► Tim Elliott (about the British Blues, Mike Vernon, Lazy Lester, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and Blues 'N' Trouble of course) : https://blues.gr/profiles/blogs/tim-elliott-of-blues-n-trouble-talks-about-the-british-blues-mike

► Bassist Rod Kennard (about River Devils, Blues ’N’ Trouble and James Burton) : https://blues.gr/profiles/blogs/scottish-bass-player-rod-kennard-talks-about-river-devils-blues-n

Some Of Their Albums (Audio)

► First Trouble (1985) / No Minor Keys (1986) : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kyGt65FRXZqcI2Ptl4NPxNv4QFrOb0e-k

► Live (1987) :

→ Side A : https://youtu.be/9sISK74MNPU

→ Side B : https://youtu.be/ka1dyp7FiBo

► Down To The Shuffle (1991) : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kkOyqNJtF5cs3CPUopdjryPA-H1_9FdI0

► Live-Bag Full Of Boogie (1994) : https://youtu.be/aL-1dfIYiRw

► Blues Graffiti / Live And-Or Rare: The Hat Trick Era (2002) : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nKSVr1UA1484PBT4OOu1AjhEW_P3rihTU

► Blues 'N' Trouble 30th Anniversary Concert (2015) : https://sandytweeddale.bandcamp.com/album/blues-n-trouble-30th-anniversary-concert

► Bootleg at the Bongo (live rec. in 2013, rel. in 2016) : https://sandytweeddale.bandcamp.com/album/bluesntrouble-bootleg-at-the-bongo-2

Live Videos

► Basingstoke, UK, 1992 :

→ “Long Gone Man” : https://youtu.be/e-AeqxU30j8

→ “Pretty Thing” : https://youtu.be/ydr13E2eoJ

► “Train Time”, Shetland Blues Festival, 2007 : https://youtu.be/xM2KrYL9Z0Q

► “The Dark Street”, Cupar Blues and Beyond Club, 2007 : https://youtu.be/BV254vh2QBo

► “Ridin' in my Cadillac Car”, 2007 : https://youtu.be/IAi7kHwGskQ

► “The Dark Street”, Edinburgh Blues Festival, Scotland, 2008 : https://youtu.be/nouIvtGs0PU

► Edinburgh Blues Festival, Scotland, 2010 :

→ “Why Why Why” : https://youtu.be/h8PuY6LD2kY

→ “Honey Pot” : https://youtu.be/BtShzABDoWQ

► Thornhill Blues Festival, Scotland, 2011 :

→ “Travelling Light”/“Honey Pot” : https://youtu.be/EQmS527QGVw

→ “Bye Bye Bird”/“Bring It On Home To Me” : https://youtu.be/1Db-LAmMtX4

► “Long Gone Man”, Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Scotland, 2012 : https://youtu.be/eBDQf_ntdLs

► “Walking the Dog”, 2013 : https://youtu.be/DXs-oExLL_0

► Maryport Blues Festival, Cumbria, UK, 2013 :

→ “I'm A King Bee” : https://youtu.be/qrD7TIooN5g

→ “Try Anything Twice” : https://youtu.be/69WH2Wz0GVs

→ “Five Long Years” : https://youtu.be/5r9Eq2UmTK4

► Darlington RnB Club, UK, 2014 : https://youtu.be/djRZCa5xx00

► “Long Gone Man”, Edinburgh, Scotland, 2016 : https://youtu.be/AyXQpGbPyU0

► “Wake Up Mama”, Darlington RnB Club, UK, 2017 : https://youtu.be/10ezxD0Lg-