The Kinsey Report "Edge Of The City" 1987***

I recently came across this album on an internet piece called 10 forgotten blues rock albums from the 1980s that deserve another listen. And I thought... forgotten, yes, indeed, I really had forgotten I had it. And...does it? deserve another listen? Well, since I'm going to do it anyway, so why not present it on my blog? I'll start from the name: The Kinsey Report was a groundbreaking, taboo-busting scientific research on human sexual behavior - I learned about it, like many others I guess, when the biopic of the same-named scientist came out (featuring Liam Neeson, well worth watching I thought at the time). And it has absolutely nothing to do with this album, except that the 3/4 of the band are brothers Donald (guitar & vocals), Kenneth (bass), and Ralph (drums) Kinsey. Second guitarist Ron Prince is the fourth musketeer. Also, sex is one of the subjects negotiated here. But, of course it is; what popular music album isn't about sex, even a little bit? Fun fact: 97% of the thousands of subjects participating in Dr.Kinsey's research reported experiencing sexual thoughts and fantasies in their daily life. So, if you're writing songs, it's going to get in there. Of course relationships (especially broken ones) are a big subject matter for the blues, as are sexual innuedos e.g. "Back Door Man" (in this case an original composition, not the old Willie Dixon number). At least The Kinseys mix it up with social commentary e.g. on the funky "Poor Man's Relief" and atmospheric inner city blues "Full Moon On Main Street". Re-listening to this LP, I must admit that its good reputation is well deserved - and, at the same time, that it's not surprising that it's "forgotten". The reason being that it's way too similar to other (good) blues records from the same period that I have in my collection; e.g. the funky "I Can't Let You Go" reminds me of Robert Cray, while "Got To Pay Someday" kicks off with hard rock guitar a la Gary Moore; "Come To Me" and the upbeat "Give Me What I Want" are closer to the style of Stevie Ray Vaughan. There's also clean, B.B. King-like rhythm and blues ("Lucky Charm") and, of course, some "blue" blues, that is slow pieces with atmospheric guitar and smoky late-night vibes, like "Answering Machine", "The Game Of Love", and "Full Moon On Main Street". In any case, while the music isn't terribly original, it's very well played: Donald Kinsey (who had previously played with Bob Marley and Albert King) is a soulful vocalist and a talented guitarist, while the production retains a bit of raw authenticity - which wasn't a given in the 80's when even legends like B.B. King made boring generic pop-blues LPs burdened by an overpolished and levelling production. Thankfully, Alligator Records managed to avoid the worst pitfalls; most of their albums that I have from that era (by Albert Collins, Koko Taylor, Johnny Winter, Lonnie Mack etc) are gritty electric blues. Edge Of The City is an, above average, example of that sound.

**** for Poor Man's Relief, Got To Pay Someday, Give Me What I Want, Full Moon On Main Street, Lucky Charm, Back Door Man

*** for I Can't Let You Go, Answering Machine, The Game Of Love, Come To Me