Monthly Archive for December, 2007

The Producers were one of the very best British blues bands for many years before their much lamented break-up a few years back. The good news is that singer/guitarist, Harry Skinner, and bass guitarist, Dave Saunders, have continued to perform as an acoustic duo – to the delight of their many fans.

A packed village hall was treated to two brilliant sets that ranged over a variety of acoustic blues styles. For most of the show, Harry played an acoustic guitar, switching from time to time to a Martin resonator. Dave also predominantly played an acoustic guitar, which he occasionally replaced with a Takamine acoustic bass guitar.

They started with an instrumental version of “St Louis Blues”, followed by “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” and “Trouble In Mind”. Harry then described the next number, “Somebody’s Diggin’ My Potatoes”, as very appropriate for North Wales as ‘it was about sex and agriculture’ – a revelation for the naive amongst us. The resonator was brought into play for “Walking Blues” and “Can’t be Satisfied” before the upbeat “Mistreated Blues” and Mississippi Fred McDowell’s “Try Me One More Time” concluded the set.

The second set opened with “The Money Lender”, a brilliant, original composition. A fast moving and jazzy number featured a very rare occurrence – Dave adding backing vocals on the refrain. “Now you know why it’s so rare”, said Dave with unnecessary modesty. “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out” was followed by a magnificent rendition of Van Morrison’s “Moondance”, embellished by some lovely bass lines from Dave. An instrumental rag preceded a wonderful version of “Diddy Wah Diddy” and the set was closed with “My Baby Just Cares For Me”. A superb show was completed with three encores that included a splendid rendition of “Nobody’s Fault But Mine”.

The gig was an absolute joy, with Harry Skinner reminding us of his magnificent vocal and instrumental abilities while Dave Saunders provided his customary rock-solid support.

Lionel Ross