Album review - Colourful House - Blues In Britain ‘Blues For Sale’ Issue 287 November 2025

Zoe Schwarz, Rob Koral & Friends - Colourful House RKUK Records: A Seventh recorded outing for Zoe Schwarz and Rob Koral (though not billed as Blue Commotion on this occasion) and they’ve wisely kept Pete Whittaker’s keyboards and Eddie John’s drums firmly on board. Bass duties are split between Anth Caplen and Paddy Blight.

   Co-written with Pete Feenstra, ‘Venus Ain’t So Far Away’ is a compelling six-minute opener, Zoe’s distinctive jazz-inflected tones immediately recognisable, before a finely-crafted instrumental section allows Koral’s guitar to trade blows with Whittaker’s Hammond. ‘Your Love Hurs’ follows, a slower, classy ballad, while Whittaker takes centre-stage on the sprightly ‘What Can I Do?”, as he does on ‘See You Soon’ (which features additional slide guitar from Paul Stacey) and the blues of ‘You Know It’s The Right Thing To Do’.  ‘Out The Front Door’ is marvellous: opening on a clipped guitar riff (reminiscent of Gary Kemp’s rhythms with Spandau Ballet), it’s a widescreen, ‘80s-sounding jazzy rocker, all swirling keys, driving bass and horns.  Another highlight is the stately ‘A Tear Drop In The Sun’, Schwarz’s emotive vocal sharing the honours with a well-judged solo from Koral – though it’s on ‘City Of Blues’ where the guitarist really lets rip.

   Describing the fourteen tracks on Colourful House as “uncensored” in terms of stylistic constraint, the Schwarz-Koral musical partnership certainly hinges on an imaginative approach to their songwriting and performance: ‘House Of Colours’ proves a fine example, a sturdy mid-tempo rock song with layered vocals and great instrumental interplay, and there’s an aura of late night, rainy streets about Zoe’s jazzy delivery on ‘Hear My Cries’ – she’s comfortable, as ever, straddling genres and styles – and she fires off some trademark shrieks on ‘There’s A Cold Wind A Comin’’ before Koral and Whittaker take respective solos.

  A bonus track ‘It Ain’t Easy’ belies its title: these are musicians that can make everything they turn their hands to sound accomplished. Imaginative and inventive,Colourful Houseis bright, bold and beautiful.  

words by: Leon Blanc