Little Willie & The Night Train / Inspiration Blues
Little Willie & The Night Train
Ville "Little Willie" Mehto is a bluesman of the new generation, who was bitten by the blues fly even as a child in Rautalammi's keeper. When Ville got excited about the blues harp as a teenager and wanted to get the best possible lessons in playing it, he dared to ask the Finnish harp virtuoso Pepe Ahlqvist. Courage paid off, because Pepe agreed to learn and the consequences can be heard on this record. "Little Willie" was thus guided to the right path right from the start. At least that's what you can conclude from Little Willie's juicy harmonica, which is nicely presented on this first record. Mehto doesn't grope for rock blues, but mostly sticks nicely to the traditional blues interpretation. Sometimes his playing sounds like Sonny Terry, sometimes like Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller).
"Little Willie" also dominates the Dobro like a true country bluesman. He mentioned Bukka White, Robert Johnson and, of course, Muddy Waters from the Chicago blues side. The influence of Howlin Wolf can also be noticed, and it is said that at the gigs even the familiar hauntings from Wolf's performances have been seen.
