As convincing a Blues album as you could wish for.

I've always thought The Quireboys were a little misunderstood, frequently labelled as a Glam band because of the theatrical scarves and eyeliner, they've often not been taken very seriously. Sound wise they are reminiscent of the best of sixties and seventies Pop music – Rod Stewart, The Faces and The Rolling Stones come to mind. The root of all the great Rock and Pop music of that period was the Blues and Folk, and it was deconstructed, reconstructed and re-arranged in many different ways to be almost unrecognisable; 'White Trash Blues' is like the "Missing Link" that connects the genres.

The Quireboys' roots are Bluesier than most, so doing an album of classic Blues covers is not as great a leap as it would first seem, and they have without doubt "made it their own". Blues was the music of the Juke Joints, and if anyone can update that mood to the 21st century, it's The Quireboys. John Lee Hooker's 'Boom Boom' has the perfect wailing guitar and squalling harp sound for authenticity, while Billy Boy Arnold's Chicago Blues classic 'I Wish You Would' is given a contemporary take. 'Take Out Some Insurance' is a Jimmy Reed song on the edge of many peoples' memory (The Beatles covered it if it's driving you mad) and here The Quireboys deliver a Rocky Blues version of it.

Freddy King's 'Going Down' is a personal favourite and I love this twist on it; it has one of the great Blues riffs of all time and Guy Griffin and Paul Guerin pull it off with panache. Another Reed song, 'Shame, Shame, Shame', sounds like it could be a cover of an early Stones song. Muddy Waters' 'Hoochie Coochie Man' is a beloved song for Rock singers to perform live and Spike adds his own spin. Towards the album's end, there's another classic, 'Walking The Dog', with the lovely jangly guitar sounds giving it a vintage feel.

This album may not appeal to some Quireboys fans, although it should, as this is their DNA laid bare. It may not appeal to Blues purists, but it should, because this is how these songs should sound fifty or sixty years after they were written. This is an album that The Quireboys can be very proud of, the enjoyment of the recording shines through and it is as convincing a Blues album as you could wish for.

Helen Bradley Owers