Kid Idaho describes himself as "…stripped of all the superfluous trappings that jangle from modern music today", so this Bluesbunny wonders how much self-important twiddling he's let himself in for. Thankfully, and rarely, the hype is more than somewhat justified.
Kid Idaho's punky energy comes as breath of fresh air when so many singer/songwriters wallow in worthiness. Don't get me wrong, there is a sensitive side to this CD, but its simplicity and directness shows a clear focus which has been lacking on so many of the CDs of this genre that this 'Bunny has had to wrap his ears around. The stripped down arrangements allow the songs to breathe, and Kid Idaho has been brave to leave the tracks as simple and clear as he has. This, in my opinion, shows a belief in his own work which is rare these days. It would be easy to build big arrangements full of orchestration and samples - as too many do - but no, Kid Idaho has stuck to his guns and let us hear his feelings and thoughts with the minimum of distraction and without any clutter which would have muddied the sentiments.
A stand-out track is a cover of the Blind Willie Johnson number, "Lord, I Just Can't Keep From Crying", sung accapella with nothing but the percussion provided by layered hand claps for company, the one man multi-tracked gospel choir turns in a powerful spiritual experience.
The only downside is its length. With 9 tracks in under 23 minutes - that works out to an average track length of 2-1/2 minutes - this mini LP is criminally short considering how good it is. It definitely shows quality over quantity and leaves you begging for more - much like the empty bottle of Jack Daniels in front of me.