Flash Forward

• Artist: Siegel-Schwall Band
• Rating:
• Release Date: August 16, 2005
• Genre: Blues

Review

Thirty years after their last full-length studio effort, and nearly 40 years since they released their debut album in 1966, the Siegel-Schwall Band is back with Flash Forward, a delightful little folk-blues outing that is refreshing both for its sense of humor and its breezy, lighter-than-air ensemble playing. Not that they're doing anything new here, but the contemporary blues scene is so full of hot-shot players, each one trying to be heavier than the next, that Siegel-Schwall's brand of easygoing, good-natured blues sounds downright radical by comparison. Sporting a longtime lineup of Corky Siegel on harmonica and Jim Schwall on guitar and mandolin, with a crackerjack rhythm section of Rollo Radford on bass and the legendary Sam Lay on drums, the band sounds like it had a blast recording these songs, and although it seems odd to call a blues album joyful, that's exactly what Flash Forward is. Highlights include Siegel's "Afraid of Love" (with the wonderful chorus "I'm afraid of love, but only a little afraid of you"), Lay's laconic "Going Back to Alabama," and Radford's absolutely loopy "Krazy." Who would have thought, out of all the blues bands that formed in Chicago in the 1960s, that it would be the Siegel-Schwall Band left still standing and making lively music 40-some years later? And judging from this album, they're still having a hoot doing it. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Afraid of Love		Siegel-Schwall Band	(4:42)
Deja Vous		Siegel-Schwall Band	(4:25)
Going Back to Alabama		Siegel-Schwall Band	(3:39)
The Underqualified Blues		Siegel-Schwall Band	(5:28)
Krazy		Siegel-Schwall Band	(4:40)
Can't Stop		Siegel-Schwall Band	(4:38)
On the Road		Siegel-Schwall Band	(3:38)
Twisted		Siegel-Schwall Band	(3:49)
Rumors of Long Tall Sally		Siegel-Schwall Band	(3:05)
Hey Leviticus		Siegel-Schwall Band	(2:42)
Sweet Liz		Siegel-Schwall Band	(3:34)
Pauline		Siegel-Schwall Band	(6:04)
Stormy Weather Love		Siegel-Schwall Band	(3:56)

Credits

Rollo Radford (Vocals (Background)), Jim Schwall (Mandolin), Sam Lay (Drums), Jim Schwall (Guitar), Corky Siegel (Vocals), Marcy Levy (Guest Appearance), Corky Siegel (Engineer), Rollo Radford (Bass (Electric)), Ken Goerres (Engineer), Sam Lay (Vocals), Marcy Levy (Vocals (Background)), Holly Tucker Siegel (Engineer), Sam Lay (Guitar), Corky Siegel (Group Member), Michael Trossman (Logo), Rollo Radford (Guitar (Bass)), Jim Schwall (Group Member), Jim Schwall (Vocals), Jim Schwall (Guitar), Ken Goerres (Producer), Sam Lay (Group Member), Rollo Radford (Bass (Upright)), Jim Schwall (Vocals (Background)), Holly Tucker Siegel (Producer), Jim Schwall (Guitar (12 String)), Ken Goerres (Mixing), Corky Siegel (Harmonica), Mitch Zelezny (Mastering), Corky Siegel (Liner Notes), Corky Siegel (Vocals (Background)), Paul Natkin (Photography), Corky Siegel (Piano), Rollo Radford (Vocals), Rollo Radford (Group Member), Jim Schwall (Vocals), Howard Gale (Technical Support), Kevin Niemiec (Package Design), Jim Schwall (Accordion), Corky Siegel (Producer), Holly Siegel (Audio Production), Corky Siegel (Audio Production)