When you’ve been playing blues-rock for 30 years, you learn your trade. That’s what Too Slim and The Taildraggers have been doing, and Blood Moon shows them at their best. The trio consists of Tim “Too Slim” Langford on blistering lead guitar and vocals, Jeff “Shakey” Folkes on drums and Robert Kearns on bass. Langford lists Robin Tower, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and The Rolling Stones among his influences, and all of those are obvious here., although all with the group’s own distinctive feel.

“Evil Mind” sets the tone. It’s a straight-out rocker, with blazing guitar and an earnest vocal. “Blood Moon” has that early 79’s Robin Tower feel with a cool droning bass line,, while nobody can miss the Hendrix feel of the next song,”twisted Rails,” one of the highlights of the album for this writer.

“Get Your Goin’ on On” loosens up the mood with an early Stones sound, back when their blues -loving roots were most obvious. It’s a fun number with great vocal harmonies. Itis followed by “Gypsy,” which is a mesmerizing tune that makes use of Too Slim’s rasping vocal delivery to full effect, as does the next tune, a haunting blues called “My Body,” which will send chills down your spine, guaranteed.

“Dream” is a slow rock ballad with some very interesting harmony and nice distorted guitar for atmosphere. It is followed by my favorite song on the album, “Letter.” This one is a straight-out rocker, written as a thank youand an invitation to celebrate from Slim to his friends and fans who supported him during his fight with and ultmate victory over cancer in 2014 and early 2015. It is a joyful, life-affirming number. The theme continues with the next song, “Good Guys Win,” a very singable song that may get stuck in your head. It did in mine!

Wrapping it all up is the instrumental “Twisted Rails (Slight Return)” which calls up nothing so much as The Allman Brothers fr this listener It’s a great blues- rockin’ ending to a spectacularly good album by Too Slim and The Taildraggers that belongs in your blues collection as quickly as you can get it there.