CD review: The Blues Company, Hot and Ready to Serve (Inaskustic)

By Nikki Williams

It is truly amazing how people from totally different walks of life can find a common thread in music. Take blues for instance. The blues was born deep in the southern state of America in post-Civil War times by a people who just needed an opportunity to freely cry out from their souls. Who knew that a century later, The Blues Company of Germany would embrace the genre and put out an album called Hot and Ready to Serve.

The blues is a momentary escape from this very interesting existence that we all have. In spite of reality, the blues literally makes fun of our plight just like in the track “Till the Lights Go Out:” “If you’re here to have some fun, ev’ything’s gonna be allright.” Whatever one’s troubles may be, sing a little and this too shall pass.

The blues also exists to tell a harsh story of reality. The track, “Kids,” talks frankly about children in the world who “ain’t got nothin,’” meaning no parents, no food and no hope. The irony is that obviously someone has taken notice and because the take has been put to music, then hope does exist.

The blues is about unrequited love and the wrongs of the world. It’s about dancing and music and instrumentation. It’s about life, actually. And then again, the blues is all about connecting people, whether it be new millennium Germans to American ex-slaves or one crazy, music-reviewing foxy lady to you. I strongly encourage you to take a break from the rock, the pop or the hop and give the blues a chance. You may just like it.