"I promise you this is not a line" (as the Windy City Strugglers sing in their opening cut) when I tell you about one of the most intriguing and original bands I've heard in ages. For me its deep blues from way down under, as if the Mississippi River had gorged its way through the center of the earth and come home inNew Zealand of all places; where they tell me these boys have played together for more years then they probably care to remember. There is an easily recognizable purity to their musical approach and a respect for tradition in their songs and yet when you put it all together its like something you've never heard before. Some kind of World Music Blues from the netherworld between dance hall Tom Waits and acoustic Eric Clapton with roots even I can't trace. The guitar picking is elegant and rustic, the slide guitar and harmonica totally authentic and the arrangements sparse and leaving nothing to be desired. And the vocals are so very, very moving (at least to my ears) and as effortless and natural as Van Morrison, even as heartfelt as Bob Dylan in places. Listen to "Snow on the Desert Road" and tell me if you've ever heard anything sung like that before. It evokes a land and a time that can leave you lost between centuries.
I doubt if any worlds could be farther apart then New Zealand and Cuba and yet there's a tradition that unites the Buena Vista Social Club and The Windy City Strugglers. It's as if both groups of musicians have worked totally outside the pressures of the commercial music business to evolve into a sound so irresistible. (Ry Cooder could easily make a guest appearance here as well!). This is not pop music by any means and probably falls into the easily indefinable category of World Music somewhere. But the way it avoids categories is what finally makes all great music timeless. I remember some years sitting in the old New Rose offices in Kremlin Bicetre when Patrick Mathé first played Calvin Russel for me and I was electrified and now I believe with the Windy City Strugglers lightning has struck twice.
And as I said, this is not a line

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SNOW ON THE DESERT ROAD is the new CD from the Windy City Strugglers.

While the Strugglers' blues and jug band influences have been documented extensively on their previous albums (The Windy City Strugglers and On Top Of The World), Snow On The Desert Road breaks new ground in consisting entirely of original songs by singers Rick Bryant and Bill Lake (in collaboration with songwriting partner Arthur Baysting).

Among the fresh ingredients are Appalachian, West Indian, Celtic and Pacific influences, leading to a number of hybrids that almost defy description such as the Middle Eastern/Gypsy/British Traditional stylings found in the aural surrealist landscape of Playing With The Gypsies. But the blues is still reflected in the themes and overall mood of the album, while songs like Sip Of Your Wine and Swimming refer directly to the Strugglers' roots in both Chicago and country blues.

The Strugglers began and remain based in Wellington, but have frequently traversed the geographical space between their home town and Auckland, the same journey described in the album's title. The journey is a central image in the songs of Snow On The Desert Road, one that can signify the relentless passage of time (a perennial Strugglers obsession), love and disillusion, or the life of the musician, but is also a literal one firmly placed in the New Zealand landscape. The mood spans both dark and light; songs of innocence (the tropically idyllic Margaret) and experience (Contract With The Blues, Corner), world-weary one moment and cheerfully exuberant the next.

The Windy City Strugglers is one of New Zealand's most enduring bands and revolves around the blues-soaked singing, songwriting and guitar playing of Bill Lake, and the immensely soulful vocals of Rick Bryant. Their long-serving cohorts are Andrew Delahunty on harmonica and mandolin, Geoff Rashbrooke on piano and guitar, Nick Bollinger on double bass, and drummer Steve Cournane. Their music is a unique amalgam of mostly black American styles, which has evolved into a personal expression combining the band's blues roots with a wide range of other historical and contemporary influences. Moving with ease from an acoustic format to a full electric lineup, the Strugglers are equally at home in a folk club, blues bar or concert hall.

  When the group made its debut at the 1968 National Folk Festival the line-up consisted only of Lake and Rashbrooke, with Geoff's brother Mike on jug. Rick Bryant, already a fixture on the Wellington R&B scene, joined soon after. Though numerous musicians passed through the ranks of the early Strugglers, the group has existed in more or less its current form since Andrew Delahunty and Nick Bollinger joined in the mid-70s.
While Rick and Bill also played in rock groups such as Mammal, the Pelicans and the Jive Bombers, the Strugglers always existed as an entity in its own right, performing whenever busy schedules make it possible. In 1990 Rick and Bill released We're In The Same Boat, Brother, a cassette-only that included some Strugglers material. In 1994 the Strugglers released their own self-titled CD, which won Best Folk Album in the New Zealand Music Awards. In 1998 the Strugglers released their second  CD, On Top Of The World, which also became a Music Awards winner. The opening millenium finds the Strugglers, 34 years on from their first gig, performing more frequently and with more vitality than ever.