Albums Of The Year So Far (pt.3): Featuring Ian Siegal, Joanne Shaw Taylor, GravelRoad, Jack White and more…

GravelRoad: Yates rates 'em

We asked various members of the Classic Rock team to come up with their Top Five Albums Of The Year So Far. Yesterday we had Geoff Barton’s list – with a shock No.1 choice. The day before we had the sultan of sleaze, aka Sleazegrinder, with a quintet of surprisingly un-sleazy selections. Now it’s Henry Yates’ turn to list his five faves.

5. Ian Siegal & The Mississippi Mudbloods – Candy Store Kid (Nugene)

Decamping to Mississippi to record with the hill musicians would reduce most British bluesers to simpering, hat-doffing fanboys, but Ian Siegal stood toe-to-toe with the locals on last year’s The Skinny, and has planted his flag deeper on this sequel.

There’s a tendency to reduce Siegal to a gravel-gargling voicebox, but the real draw of Candy Store Kid is the light-footed songwriting, with Siegal dragging his players across a tracklisting that splices the backyard slide vibe of Kingfish, the swampy grooves of So Much Trouble and the New Orleans tang of Earlie Grace Jnr.

There’s no shortage of bluesmen out there trudging the twelve-bar, but the 42-year-old feels like he’s got broader horizons. If music be the food of love, this record is the all-you-can-eat buffet.