Album Review, Colourful House - Zoe Schwarz, Rob Koral & Friends - ‘Get Ready To Rock’at getreadytorock.com
[Release date 31.10.25]
Are they Blues? Are they jazz? Are they psychedelic? What the hell does it matter when they are are all fused together in such a seamless and powerful way.
The Zoe Schwarz Blues Commotion release their seventh album Colourful House with the nucleus of Zoe, Rob Koral on guitar, Pete Whittaker on keyboards and Eddie John on drums, augmented sometimes by bass, horns and BV’s.
Zoe was born in Bahrain to a military family so travelling is in her DNA. She discovered the Clash and The Stranglers via John Peel on a tinny transistor radio under her bedclothes at night, then came the lightening bolt moment when her uncle introduced a teenage Zoe to Billie Holiday. Her voice to me is like the pure notes of Holiday melded into the raspiness and delivery of Eartha Kitt, with a uniqueness belonging to herself.
Zoe and Rob have had a 20 year musical relationship, and it shows. Their symbiotic chemistry shines through all these tracks, and on the videos where there is just the two of them.
‘Venus Ain’t So Far Away’ kicks off the album, with some very simple guitar chords, then the full band come in and those vocals, oh those vocals, singing lyrics penned by our very own DJ and reviewer, Pete Feenstra. The song permeates into a supreme psychedelic soundscape, like The Byrds Eight Miles High meets Steppenwolf’s Magic Carpet Ride. It wasn’t what I was expecting but it had me hooked.
Your Love Hurts drops us to a slow blues which wouldn’t have sounded out of place on an early Fleetwood Mac album, Zoe’s vocals projecting the pain exquisitely.
‘What Can I Do’ ups the tempo to a funky little number, the ending of which sounds like the result of many jams, harnessed to perfection. There are many jam like outros to these songs, conveying the joy the musicians had recording them.
‘House Of Colours’ follows next, with another Pete Feenstra lyric, about the astrological significance of colours, which sounds pretty trippy, and coincidentally I could hear CSN&Y doing this number. In fact this band would not have sounded out of place in America’s west coast in the late 60’s/early 70’s, as they go from that to ‘Hear My Cries’, a slow keyboard led Doors type blues. This isn’t surprising as their core line up is vocal, guitar, keys and drums, the classic Doors line-up and not often utilized in a band line up. I hear a Doors vibe in a few of these tunes.
‘See You Soon’ follows which is a quirky jaunty little number, carried by Zoe’s almost childlike delivery, but very endearing. Another keys led blues follows with ‘Tell Me’, and then into ‘Out The Front Door’, which is my personal favourite. Zoe has real attitude in her voice on this number and its rocks along at a delicious pace. I can imagine it is a real crowd pleaser in a live setting.
A couple of slow blues follow, ‘You Know It’s The Right Thing To Do’ which features a sumptuous Eartha Kitt vocal and ‘A Tear Drop in The Sun’, both numbers featuring some delectable bluesy organ.
We have ‘City Of Blues’ next, another Pete Feenstra penned uptempo blues about Chicago. Followed by ‘There’s A Cold Wind A Coming’, which isn’t surprising if you have just been in Chicago, but this one really shows off Zoe’s vocal gymnastics, going from a throaty screech, to a pure as the driven snow sustained note in an instant. Very clever stuff.
And then finishing this delightful opus is a boogie called ‘It Ain’t Easy’, and it certainly ain’t easy realizing you have come to the end of this album. I went straight back to the beginning and started again.
Throughout the album, the interplay between guitar and keyboards, particularly Hammond organ, is a very satisfying listen. The keys remind me of Ray Manzerak, Rod Argent and Jon Lord, bouncing off Peter Green, Carlos Santana and Mark Knopfler depending on the demands of the song. All this is nailed down by a drummer, who Charlie Watts would have been proud of.
And of course the icing on the cake Zoe Schwarz and her eclectic musical journey, creating the foil for Rob Koral, Pete and Eddie. The thing I really like about this album is the order of the tracks, as they mostly bounce from one speed to another, keeping you engaged in the experience
If you are a fan of any of the artists I have mentioned, or just a blues fan then please check this band out and buy, or whatever you do to digest your music, this album.
I think they must be based in the Bournemouth area as all their gigs seem to be down that way, but if you see them coming to your area, support your local music venue and go see them. ****
Review by Andy Sharrocks
