DON CAVALLI: Temperamental (2013)

[RATING: 5] Five years down the line from last LP Cryland and funky bluesman Don Cavalli has clearly made another crossroads deal with Satan in order to create the equally brief and equally brilliant Temperamental. For those not familiar with the Don, what he likes to do on record is rock up, provide extremely funky delta blues with vocals in sung in English (with an American blues rasp and the faint ghost of the cadences of his native French accent) and disappear the early side of forty minutes. If you imagine a not-so-heavy Black Keys around about their Big Come Up/Rubber Factory period with even greater emphasis on the breaks and more soul – congratulations – you’ve arrived in Cavalli-land.

Anyone who reads the preceding description and doubts the funkiness on offer is pretty much guaranteed to have their doubts assuaged in the first bars of the opener and title track – all squelchy crybaby wah-wah and funky percussion. There may be western-soundtrack influences on Santa Rita and The Greatest (which also features a unexpected but surprisingly fitting vocal from Chinese vocalist Xiao Li Zhan) but percussion is always to the fore when the Don is in action and the hefty rhythms of Gonna Love You and especially the fat break of Feel Not Welcome are practically flashing underwear which says, ‘anyone fancy doing an Electro blues remix?’ on it. Vids below…
(Out now on Because Music)

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