“Blues For Hard Times” is the new project that beautiful singer and songwriter Fiona Boyes has done for the Blue Empress / Vizztone company. Once again Miss Boyes shows a deep respect and knowledge, not only for pre-war country and southern blues, but also for any kind of blues, a musical style that has no secrets for her and, as she did in her previous albums “Lucky 13” and “Blueswoman”, she tastefully combines vibrant acoustic and electric blues with some drops of Delta, ragtime, urban Chicago blues, in the path of Tampa Red or Curtis Jones, but she also plays early New Orleans blues or Piedmont blues, (with an effective finger-picking technique), Louisiana Country blues, Mississippi Mountain Hills, and even the old 20’s vaudeville blues, (impressive her version of Sippie Wallace’s “Woman Be Wise” she entitles “Guys Be Wise”). Sixteen faultless delicious songs, full of magic, with a special beauty and sound sensitivity you will remember for a long time. Some of the musicians involved are real masters, such as Bob Margolin, Derek O’Brien, Jimi Bott, Frosty Smith or Mark ‘Kaz’ Kazanoff. Can you ask more?