Rating: RRRR1/2Label: Blues Bureau International
Review by: Martien Koolen
Chris Duarte, guitar player and singer, emerged on the music scene out of Austin in the early nineties and his debut album Texas Sugar/Strat Magik was an excellent blues album which gained lots of great reviews and sold rather well. Since then Duarte has released more critically acclaimed CDs like Tallspin Headwhack (1997) or Love Is Greater Than Me (2000). Duarte's albums/songs have alwasy been rooted deeply in the blues with a rock and roll edge. The new album Lucky 13 continues in the tradition of contemporary blues rock with bursts of fusion, pop and heavy psychedelia throughout. Duarte's guitar playing brings back memories of magical guitar players like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robin Trower and Jimi Hendrix and I must say that Lucky 13 is Duarte's best album by far, featuring some of his most impressive and extended guitar work to date. The album opener You Know You're Wrong grabs you by the balls right away and Duarte does not let go till the final impressive instrumental Jump The Trane, which is filled with lots of sleazy, swampy, dirty, jazzy and funky guitar passages and solos. Absolute highlights on this album are: Let It Go, an amazing blues ballad with smashing solos, Weak Wheels, a typical Duarte blues/boogie song, Minefield Of My Mind, an impressive instrumental song with howling and screaming guitar solos and Setting Sun, a slow blues track in the veins of Stevie Ray Vaughan with melodic organ parts and again breathtaking guitarwork. On this album you will find NO fillers as all the tracks are just guitardriven and therefore a MUST for fans of amazing guitarsongs. THis is the best blues rock album I have heard in a very long time and I can only say: buy or die and by the way: Joe Bonamassa eat your heart out with this Lucky 13.
No comments:
Post a Comment