On BLUEBELLY CD
"As good as anything you will hear from the Mississippi Delta…., Bluebelly, music from the Moray Firth Delta if you will"
MALCOLM BROWN: DJ, Moray Firth Radio

On HANGOVER BLUES(played at live radio session)
"Excellent,I'm surprised nobody has written a blues about that it seems so obvious a subject"
MALCOLM BROWN: DJ, Moray Firth Radio

AT ORKNEY BLUES FESTIVAL 2003
"They played an excellent set of songs about love lust and rejection ……….the audience who were in the pub enjoyed the music and banter"
THE ORCADIAN: 2 October 2003

"The gentle sound of acoustic blues duo, Bluebelly makes a welcome return to the Waverly Hotel next Saturday. Dougie Burns and Bobby Mc Donald played there last autumn as part of the Howlin' Halloween Festival with Martin Stephenson. Next Saturday they head the bill, supported by Ivy League.
Bluebelly play all their own material and utilise guitar and slide guitar to present a relaxed blues sound. Bobby on double bass gives the duo quite a unique flavour."
THE NAIRNSHIRE TELEGRAPH: 16 March 2004

BLUEBELLY- BLUEBELLY CD
The first thing that excited me about this album was the fact that it was done by two local guys from around the Inverness area.Secondly,it was recorded as basically a 'live' album all the tracks having been done in one take and no overdubbing.Pretty close to a 'warts and all' recording.
Bluebelly consist of Douglas Burns ,guitar and vocals and Bobby McDonald,double bass,dobro and vocals.All the tracks are written by either Burns or McDonald with a couple of collaborations thrown in for good measure.
The majority of the recordings lean towards the blues,with some solid pop-rock flavoured material put into the mix.It is very refreshing to hear original songs and full credit is due to the guys for doing this. It would have been so easy for them to do an album of standard blues classics but I'm glad they didn't go down that avenue.
The c.d consists of twelve tracks with double bass and guitar or dobro accompaniment nothing else, this really is stripped down ,bare to the bone stuff which I must say works very well as there are no distractions so you can just concentrate on the songs.
Pick of the bunch for me are the opener ,Blues in my soul, a guitar and dobro driven blues tune.I particularly like the lines about ' aint poor and hungry and my skin aint black' and ' never been to Chicago or Memphis Tennessee……but I got the blues in my soul'.I think we can all relate to that! Hangover blues is a classic blues riff but done with pronounced native accent which adds a real authentic quality to it and I must say took me back a few years to my murky youth! Great stuff!
Armageddon Boogie is a kind of apocalyptic blues with a'I don't give a damn if the world is about to end I'm going to sing about it anyway' attitude to it. The insistent guitar riff add to the sense of impending doom although the whole song is done in a fairly upbeat manner.It works pretty well and certainly gets the old foot tapping along to it.
'Lonely heaven' is the real outstanding track on the album. A beautifully crafted ballad with a mournful double bass riff and some wonderful lyrics 'I thought I would be happy living on my own………..no one gives a shit if I come home, could be the loneliest part of heaven'. I think that there is a part of all of us in this song I certainly found it quite moving and a great way to finish the record .
This is a brave effort by the boys because they have bared their soul for all to see and not hidden behind a mask of producers and engineers. Its beauty lies in its simplicity but that does not detract from quality and ability of the performance. I liked it a lot and it made a real change from some of the over-produced, string laden, blandness that we listen to today.
I'm not sure of the availability of the c.d . you can probably get it at their gigs or possibly on the net at douglas.burns@virgin.net . Go check 'em out at a gig near you. You won't regret it.

David Tonberg -Flyin Shoes Reviews

http://flyinshoe.fsnet.co.uk

BLUEBELLY CD

Now receiving Radio airplay in Germany , Italy , France , The Netherlands , Ireland , Texas and Cumbria !!!! Hopefully a gig or two will come from this International attention