Album Review: Frank Sultana proves his legacy to the Oz blues scene and beyond with release of powerhouse new album, Have Band Will Travel.

Still riding on the coat-tails of his win in the 2023 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee, Frank Sultana has kept busy writing and recording, with the resultant The Ghosts of Sun 2023 being quickly followed up by this masterful release, Have Band, Will Travel.

While largely steeped in blues tradition, this album also nods to styles on the periphery of modern blues. As for the music, there are classic acoustic, and modern electric elements which combine seamlessly, whilst elsewhere, within the lyrics, there are trains and railways, there are broken hearts, there are disasters (floods), there is intoxication, there is love…..but most of all…..there is the blues.

Right across the album, Sultana’s song-writing has a genuinely gritty feel while his vocal delivery oozes with the experience of a life well-lived. His guitar work is often understated, yet combined with his vocals, is central to the music creating mood and feel. The band’s rhythm section is as tight as a pauper’s budget, with Adrian Herbert (drums) and Stan Mobbs (bass) seemingly joined at the hip, whilst Dan Sullivan’s harmonica takes the songs to extraordinary heights – Sultana has often proffered at how Sullivan’s playing is the best in the land, and it is easy to hear why he thinks so.

The album begins with the delectable slow-burn of Side Of The Road; from the opening harmonica lines which are quickly joined by a vintage resonator guitar and the classic symbolism of the opening line as he unveils his highly-distinctive voice with “I went down to the river…….” leading us into what feels like familiar, and comforting territory before the song builds into an epic, morphing beast, as it twists and turns through moments of minimalism into a fully-charged, grunge-filled ending. Side Of The Road turns out to be the ideal opening ‘sampler’ – a perfect taste of everything that is to follow across the rest of the album.

As the name implies, Hell Or High Water Revisited is a re-working of his track from previous album, The Ghost Of Sun, as is Still Homesick Blues. Both of these tracks are bolstered by the more full sound that is provided by the addition of drums and bass, giving them both a somewhat more contemporary edge.

Mississippi Saxophone follows, and along with Bender Blues & Vegas Hues and My Baby The Party Song are further fabulous examples of how Sullivan’s harmonica playing is a gilt-edged gift to the overall feel and sound of this album. My Baby is already a popular staple of the band’s live sets, and is perfect for the band to show their chops and jam along to.

The most ‘Australian’ song on the album is, for me somewhat ironically, Overnight Plane To Memphis. It begins with a narrative which unapologetically takes my mind back to the work of Paris, Texas-era Ry Cooder, before moving into an echo-laden guitar and vocal, strangely suggestive of the works of the late, great Australian story-teller, Archie Roach before morphing yet again into an amazing full-band, quasi-psychedelic fusion, showing Sultana to truly be a ‘nu-blues’ artist as well as a traditionalist.

Surfing With The Howling Dogs is an ingenious blend of blues and classic surf-guitar riffs and carries on the theme of The Howling Dogs from The Ghost Of Sun.

Rounding out the album are more blues for contemplative times, with God Damn Low and Goodbye, both of which create a dramatic sense of the desolate, dusty back roads and the vast, wide-open spaces which exist in outback Australia and large sections of inland USA.

Frank Sultana has, with the advent of Have Band Will Travel, moved from being a classic blues interpreter to a mover and shaker of the growth of the blues into the modern era. Whilst his sound is deeply rooted in the classic sounds of the Delta, it would appear that perhaps his recent US trips and tours have seen him strike up a deal at some long-forgotten crossroads whereby he has taken the classic, and sprinkled it with a bit of modern-day voodoo to ensure the blues remain well and truly alive.

The CD for Have Band, Will Travel is currently available at live shows (band or solo) or directly from Frank himself via email (franksultanamusic@gmail.com) or via his Messenger service on his Frank Sultana Music page on Facebook. It will also soon be available on his Bandcamp page, alongside his previous works.

Feature Image: ©fullonrockphotography/Andrew Fuller