A close friendship with Brownie McGhee at age 10 is a great start to a blues career. That’s how Lloyd Spiegel began. By 20 he had three albums and four international tours under his belt and had performed alongside Ray Charles, Buddy Guy, Canned Heat, Robert Cray and Bob Dylan.

Today, at 25, he showcases the fruits of his 15-year career in his latest album Tall Stories (BMM 297.2).

Re-released in 2005, Tall Stories’ proficient calibre assures us Spiegel absorbed the gems of advice passed down to him from the masters. He gives Tom Wait’s Goin Out West a distorted rock treatment while Loretta and The Storm highlight his original song writing skills. Mississippi Sun is a stripped back meander into the Delta with just a voice, guitar and haunting harp.

Spiegel knows the blues and the blues knows him. Based in Melbourne, he’s a household name in the Australian blues scene. He formed his first band, Midnight Special, when he was 13; they toured continuously for five years. He’s also a familiar face in the USA having toured the country six times.

“I was six years old when I first heard the blues. I was going through my dad’s record collection and found Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee’s Midnight Special album. I instantly fell in love with it. It’s stayed with me forever,” says Spiegel.

“Spiegel should be commended for letting his soul and sincerity shine through. He obviously feels The Blues” - Blues Revue (USA).

“An immense talent...the best kept secret in Australian music” - Lee Howard, Sunday Herald Sun.

“Spiegel was born to create and perform a sure as the rest of us breathe and eat” - Joni Mayberry (USA), Delta Blues Museum Manager and Big City Blues journalist.