"For this recording Lon Eldridge from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Steven Troch of Mechelen, Belgium, join forces for a journey into America’s musical past. This cross-Atlantic collaboration started in 2015 when both musicians were on a bill at the N9 club in Eeklo, Belgium. Lon was playing a solo set before Tiny Legs Tim & Band featuring Steven on harmonica. Steven was intrigued when Lon started playing “Take the 'A' Train” on his guitar backstage. Lon was impressed with the soulful harmonica playing and deep knowledge of American blues that Steven brought to the bandstand that night. The meeting eventually led to a 2017 Belgian tour that included fifteen performances in seventeen days and also produced this album.

Two of the tracks were recorded live at the Kafee Zapoi in Steven’s home town of Mechelen. The other seven tracks were recorded by Bird Stevens at Tub Thumper Records Studio in the Netherlands. From the good time hokum of Tampa Red’s “You Can’t Get That Stuff No More” to the sophisticated jazz of Fats Waller’s “Ain’t Misbehavin'”, the duo weaves between musical styles effortlessly throughout the recording. In the haunting “Jack of Diamonds”, Eldridge’s well-traveled voice laments losing his money in a card game. In “Leavin’ My Blues With You” he celebrates the end of a relationship with manic enthusiasm. Troch’s original harmonica composition “Sunday Morning Waltz” has more of a European feel and is the only track that features the chromatic harmonica. Eldridge’s finger-picked resonator guitar and vocals mixed with Troch’s soulful harmonica make for a classic combination. The two rely not on modern technology but on musicianship and feeling to create honest acoustic music that’s good for the soul."

Eric Noden
Chicago, April 1, 2018