There ain’t nothing like the plaintive wail of an acoustic guitar at the best of times, and that’s even more true when it’s played by Rev. Peyton.
On the title track of “Honeysuckle,” the good Reverend has the weight of the world on his shoulders: “Trouble, trouble, and it’s all mine,” he offers into the ether—like he’s paying for all our sins.
It’s amazing how raw he can make an acoustic sound. The late, great Kelly Joe Phelps would be proud of the bleakness of the blues in “If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day” (and to be honest, I’m not betting he doesn’t). That one is a cover of Robert Johnson—but to be fair, like all the other covers here, they own it. The music sounds so traditional anyway, it almost doesn’t matter.
“Washboard” Breezy—Mrs. Peyton to you and me, to be sure—adds her glorious harmonies to the quite magnificent quasi-hymn “Looking for a Manger,” and her washboard is played expertly on perhaps the shining moment here, “Like a Treasure.” When the two sing “we belong together,” you sense an unbreakable bond.
The skill of this band is the way they happily channel the spirit of the likes of Blind Lemon Jefferson—like they do on the ridiculously catchy “One Dime Blues”—and bring it to a whole new audience.
Another Blind Lemon song, “Nell (Prison Cell Blues),” is perhaps the perfect blues song, augmented as it is by the harmonica of Billy Branch (one of a smattering of guests here).
“Freeborn Man” (another cover) nails the itinerant road-dog life perfectly; you can imagine their lives on the road as they wind from town to town.
And if on “I Can’t Sleep” we’re all front and center in the night terrors, then it’s an unsettling thing.
“Let Me Go” changes the mood, whipping up a storm at your next barn dance. Colton Crawford of The Dead South appears on “Only the Good Die Young,” which poses the not-unreasonable question: “If only the good die young, then how are we growing old?”
The traditional “Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning” is a wonderful vehicle for Peyton’s mighty voice (like Neil Fallon of Clutch gone blues), while “Mama Do” is just another chance for them all to have fun. “The fellas don’t like me, but the ladies do,” he sings here. Ok, yeah—not quite true.
Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band doesn’t sound big at all. They sound like three people who make some of the purest blues you’ll ever hear.
They are a sensational band, channeling everything that has gone before—embracing their influences as well as anyone has—but as they prove yet again on “Honeysuckle,” making it all their own.
Rating: 9/10
REVIEW: REVEREND PEYTON’S BIG DAMN BAND – HONEYSUCKLE (2025)
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