Why Deborah Bonham and Peter Bullick aren’t considered a reigning couple of British blues remains a mystery for many of those who familiar with their music. There’s no surprise, however, given that Deborah has always been in the shadow of her legendary brother, although the siblings played different roles in their bands, and Peter had a proper chance to shine only when he joined Paul Rodgers’ collective for a “Free Spirit” trek. It was after this tour, where Bonham opened for Rodgers and Bullick accompanied both of the singers as documented on the Blu-ray filmed at The Albert Hall, that they were approached by Bruce Quarto, the head of Quarto Valley Records, and the label operations director Mike Carden, with a prospect of a deal for a new project, simply named BONHAM-BULLICK, whose eponymous full-length debut will see the light of day on April 29th.
The platter is a set of songs from other artists’ catalogue, including old masters like Stephen Stills and Sam Cooke and contemporary composers like Mark Lanegan and Bernard Fowler, but the couple go beyond the obvious selections if the first single, the ensemble’s take on “Can’t You See What You’re Doing To Me” by Albert King which is scheduled for March 25th release, is anything to judge the results of their work by.
“It was suggested to me several years back that I did a blues covers album,” says Deborah. “But I wanted it to be band project hence the idea of BONHAM-BULLICK was born with an album featuring interpretations of classic and obscure songs that we loved, all rooted in the blues.”
The entire record is to look like this, with originals performers indicated in brackets, and to feature quite a few stellar participants, among them John Baggott and Marco Giovino, who worked with Robert Plant, BJ Cole and Richard Newman. Read the review.
Bonham-Bullick
1. See You Again (Bernard Fowler)
2. I Had A Dream (Johnnie Taylor)
3. Can’t You See What You’re Doing To Me (Albert King)
4. Bleeding Muddy Water (Mark Lanegan)
5. I Don’t Know Why (OV Wright)
6. Trouble Blues (Sam Cooke)
7. Sit Yourself Down (Stephen Stills)
8. I’ll Get Along (Ann Peebles)
9. When This World Comes To An End (Ashley Cleveland)
10. When It Don’t Come Easy (Patty Griffin)
11. What Did I Do Wrong (Betty Harris)
12. It Ain’t Easy (Ron Davies)
13. The Changeling (Chris Wilson)
