Zozo

Australian blues-folksman Steve Tallis has generated justified comparisons with some other white guys with wizened voices who've effectively tapped into the deepest roots of the blues, like Captain Beefheart, Dr. John, and Tom Waits. Zozo isn't on par with the best work of those artists. But it's an effective and very respectable mesh of what are most likely some of the original sources of the blues — tribal chants, field hollers, and elemental riffs and beats — with more contemporary lyrics and visions. Also in common with Beefheart, Waits, and Dr. John (and bluesmen like Howlin' Wolf), there's a voodoo swamp feel to many of the songs, as if Tallis is both running from demons and summoning spirits to come to his aid. At 71 minutes, it's a long CD — perhaps too long, considering that many of the tracks get in a lick or groove and pretty much stick to it, as well as going on with the same train of thought longer than they need to. The downbeat grizzled aura can get a little tiresome in such a large dose. It's certainly a genuine grab down into the depths of his soul, however, and has a creative integration of standard blues-folk-rock patterns on guitar and harmonica, with more unusual field recording-like snippets of voice, chants, and percussion, as well as some mandolin and violin.