By Michael Limnios, Blues.gr

“Way Back Home” (2026), the first album in nine long years from Reverend Raven & The Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys, brings all the fire and then some. The second album in Rik Raven’s canon with longtime co-conspirator Westside Andy on harp - and, for the first time, playing with the Rev on every track - Way Back Home celebrates 30 years of throwing down some of the finest blues the midwest (or anywhere, for that matter!) has to offer. It’s a collection of requested fan favorites from their decades of live shows, none of which have made it onto studio recordings until now. “For years now,” Raven explains, “people would be buying CDs at our shows and asking 'what record is that song on?' Originally, this was just going to be an album meant to be sold at shows, but it morphed into something else entirely.” The addition of special guest Altar Boy Dennis Wade on keys to the core quartet of Raven, Andy, PT Pedersen (bass) and Craig Panosh (drums), sends everything into overdrive and makes this record, arguably, the band’s crowning achievement.

(Photo: Reverend Raven & Westside Andy with The Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys)

“Once Dennis wanted to be on it, we realized we had to do this right and see what happens. What’s nice is we’ve been playing for so long we can just go in and know what’s going to happen. We get in one room, the baffles go up, and we just lock it in.” Across nine covers and two originals, Raven and Andy are the perfect foil for each other. There’s an unconscious synergy between the two, as they trade leads, that elevates everyone’s game and lets the music flow with a tight looseness few bands can achieve.

— Michael Limnios, Blues.gr

Source: https://blues.gr/profiles/blogs/q-a-with-guitarist-singer-reverend-raven-celebrates-30-years-of-t