When I listen to the early recordings of the founding fathers of the blues, I always find myself wondering "what if?". What if these great artists had lived in a different time and in a less biased society? They most surely would have been more appreciated for their contributions than they were during their respective lifetimes. Most of them played before sparse crowds and in places about as far removed from Carnegie Hall as the Earth is from Pluto. Most of their works were recorded in makeshift studios, during a day when recording equipment and engineering was still in its infancy.

What if T-Bone Walker, Magic Sam, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Elmore James, and many others like them had lived to see this day of improved racial opportunity and the incredible recording technology of this generation? I can only imagine in my mind the kind of tremendous music they would have surely produced.

But, despite all of these obstacles, the voices from the past still burn brightly to fans of this great genre of music. With all of these hurdles to clear, they still managed to put out a product unlike anything ever heard before or since. In my old age, I have come to realize that this music has endured because it was genuine. Digital signal processing is amazing, but it cannot change artificial to authentic. The power of the blues, and great music in general, comes from the hearts and souls of passionate artists.

I receive a lot of recordings to consider for reviews and most all are from the hands and voices of extremely talented individuals. These days, if a recording is going to gain commercial success, the common thinking is that it has to be professionally packaged and painstakingly polished in order to be embraced by the public . Sadly, unlike those early recordings, in many of the CDs I preview the passion has been replaced with production.

However, in the midst of the recent arrivals to my mailbox, I received a copy of what most would consider a "home made" recording from JP Stringer from the Netherlands. It is a CD containing 15 original songs, on which JP plays all of the guitar tracks (lead, rhythm, and bass), a bit of keyboard fill, and provides some very fine vocals as well. It was recorded in his home studio with mixing and production provided by, you guessed it, Mr. Stingray himself. The brief liner notes give special thanks to wife, parents, family, and especially his elder brother who first interested him in music as a boy. I discovered that this recording and this person behind it were both very real and genuine. These factors, which may have turned off the more sophisticated critics to this work, I found endeared me to it even further.

The CD is a delightful collection of material including Texas shuffles, blues/rock, and ballads. The good news about JP playing all of the tracks is that he plays them all very well. Stingray cites both Stevie Ray and his first guitar hero, Rory Gallagher, as influences and I hear more of the latter in his playing than I do the former. I especially enjoyed the Texas blues/rockers "Sacrifice" and "Baby's Walk", the slow blues burner "Didn't Mean to Hurt You", and my personal favorite the hard driving "I'm Going Home".

This recording is indeed "home made" and you may hear a gliche or two along the way, if you are a perfectionist of sorts. However, if your musical heart and soul are still intact, you will be treated to a genuine treasure of unique charm from someone who still just loves to play and sing.

"Blues Stringer" is available from (who else?) JP Stingray by email at jp@jpstingray.com .