Julian Sas is a name that has suddenly made a huge impact on me after reviewing his brilliant
 Ragin' River CD .I also procured For The Lost and Found by my own devices. This is another great blues CD by Julian and his Band.

This DVD is a massive bonus to me as there are songs on it from both CD's and more . The DVD has the normal format with the opening ”page” or screen offering the set list, the concert, a bonus clip of Mean Old City , and the audio set up. I am personally quite new to the world of DVD but nobody could fail to be impressed with the format, especially if the content of the music is good. With Julian Sas, the content is more than just good. It is fantastic.

This DVD is a full gig and is filmed with a number of cameras to a very high degree of quality. The result is very professional simply because it is professionals who have carried out the operation! The Van Mobile recording facilities at the Patronaat, Haarlem in the Netherlands have provided the Co- producers of this DVD, Ed Bos and Evert Wilbrink with a great product.

Right from the very start you feel like you are there at the front of the stage. Julian looks to be enjoying his performing all through the set and to say he is enthusiastic would be a huge understatement! He plays with a very enjoyable Hendrix/Rory Gallagher cross-pollination, with added essences of BB King, Johnny Winter, Albert King and many other classic American Deep South and Chicago players such as the great Buddy Guy. So you can imagine why I am so enthusiastic about this artist! His rhythm section of “The Boogie Machine” drummer Pierre de Haard and the stylish new bassist Tenny Tahamata are a joy to hear providing Julian with perfect backing to his great choice of songs on this top quality and highly enjoyable DVD offering from CoraZong Records BV.

The set starts with Sugarcup Boogie and there's no doubt about the fact that this band can boogie! The Patronaat crowd just love the song which features a nice bit of Wah Wah. The clarity of the image is very good indeed as is the photography.

Then Spellbound Woman is next. A typical 12-bar with the obligatory 5 th 's and 6 th 's , Julian phrases well both vocally and with his reverse headstock Strat. The rhythm section sound brilliant…..I just love a good old 12-bar shuffle.

Julian and the Band then play a song dedicated to his home town on the number called Home Feeling . The Rory Gallagher feel comes to the fore on this song, particularly in the solo. Rory, I know, has been a massive influence on Julian, and this can be seen on a number by the name of Driftin' Boogie .

From the Ragin'River CD comes the P. Chapman song Mother Earth . The chords sound brilliant and the riffs are great too. The clarity of the photography is stunning too.

The DVD rolls on with more songs then a Chicago 12 bar in the style of Buddy Guy strikes up from Tenny and Pierre. Julian decided to give us a Blues Lesson ! He tells a story of him raiding his Father's record selection of Blues greats at a time when Julian was learning to play. As the Chicago rhythm continues, Julian tells us of BB King and his black 335, Lucille, and the way Riley B would play his riffs on his beloved Gibson. Julian can certainly play in that style too, as he illustrates on this DVD! The Blues Lesson continues with Albert King, Buddy Guy and Johnny Winter style playing, all very authentic, until Julian explains who his main influence was. This influential guitar player was from Ireland, tells Julian, and “ When Rory played….the whole World just shattered!” Well the earth moved for me too when I saw Rory play live, so I know just where Julian is coming from with this Blues lesson!

I think I ought to drop the Rory influences as you may think that's all Julian plays. You would be quite wrong to think that. Julian plays with versatility. As the DVD continues, he plays Boogies, When I Boogie from Ragin River, and riff-laden songs like Am I Losing My Way and oldies such as Hey Joe . This particular version of Billy Robert's composition is excellent to say the least. Using some kind of pitch-shifter/delay, the intro is a bit of a showcase for Julian's guitar inventiveness, then the familiar riff chimes in and the CGDA E chord progression takes us straight back to '68. Julian talks us through the great feeling he gets when he plays Jimi Hendrix songs wherever he performs. The solo was interesting and the second half of this solo had a slight tinge of Roy Buchanan in style as the song slowed down. (Roy Buchanan did this classic on his Anthology CD.)

The DVD also has Blues for the Lost and Found (a great blues) Travelling Home , The Rory favourite, Bullfrog Blues , and a Boogie Jam with Norman Greenbaum's Spirit in the Sky feel to it, and a great finale to the gig…. wonderful!

It's nice to watch Julian close-up, the thoughtful camera work allows this. The craftsmanship of the cameramen shows through on this DVD. It is a tremendous piece of production in every way, and it's just like being at the gig on the front row…. in fact it's better than that; it's like being on stage with the Band. This Band is excellent too. The cool, bowler-hatted Tenny Tahamata and the hard working, very busy percussionist, Pierre de Haard give Julian the finest backing he could wish for.

I also found the stage persona of the man to be very charming. He has a nice disposition and comes over well when he is being interactive with his audience.

I had only heard Julian's music on CD before now, and I liked it very much indeed, but this DVD has taken it a step further. I can see just how good a live performer he is, for that is just how good this DVD is. It takes you right into the club and for one hour and twenty-five minutes, you can hear twenty songs played well by this great band.

If you would like to buy this DVD, you might have to order it from your local record store, but I'm sure CoraZong Records will be on the ball with a distributor in the UK. There is a U.S. office too. CoraZong are on line at www.corazong.com should you have any difficulty in buying their merchandise.

Steve Lally ©