Review of Crossroads to Freedom by Jerry W Henry in the Tannehill Trader April 2011
by Chris Dair on Sunday, 17 April 2011 at 16:06
I have been in the music business pretty much all my life. I have a love for music that seems to control most of what I do in life. I am a music journalist along with several other music related jobs and projects. As a music journalist I don’t review the bad stuff. I only write reviews on releases that have merit. I listen to an average of 4 releases to find 1 worthy of a review.
~ Jerry W. Henry (JerryW.Henry@yahoo.com)
Chris Dair’s Crossroads To Freedom (self released) is a 13 song collection for those who want serious guitar work. The guitar work on Crossroads To Freedom is amazing - tastefully amazing. Chris Dair is French, he sings very well and can play guitar with the best of them. That’s all I know about the man. Track 2 is “See The Stars” which has a moody melody that is hard to get out of your head once you have heard it. Listening to “Lovin’ You Too Much,” I checked the liner notes to make sure it wasn’t Johnny Winters.
On “Never Comin’ Home Blues” he added sounds like it was on a 78 rpm vinyl disc. When he plays “Last Fall” you think is from the swamps with a sound somewhat like Tony Joe White or J.J. Grey. I enjoyed every single track on this blues masterpiece. Don’t expect an hour of Hendrix frenzy. There are all kinds of tempos and he never overplays. This guy is brilliantly creative. Diversity in styles and composition make this a great blues listen.
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est blues. Afficher tous les articles
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est blues. Afficher tous les articles
mardi 19 avril 2011
mardi 22 mars 2011
FABULOUS Review from John Stracey @ THE BLUES CONNECTIONS on CROSSROADS TO FREEDOM
Chris Dair – Crossroads To Freedom
Crossroads To Freedom is written and performed entirely by Chris Dair and is his first album dedicated purely to the blues from the Mississippi delta all the way to the streets of Chicago and beyond! What is refreshing is that there appears to be no limitation as to how Chris Dair interprets the way his guitar should be played, having jammed with the best of them down the years including Jeff Beck, Peter Green, Rory Gallagher, Jimmy Page, Mark Knopfler and the great Bukka White to name but a few!
Crossroads To Freedom gets straight down to business with 'No Reason Blues' that is classic Chicago blues harking back to the Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf era! Influences abound here as you would expect from such a seasoned musician, with a somewhat mystical sounding 'See The Stars' offering more than a hint of Ravi Shankar, before the Santana inspired instrumental 'Obsession' transcends over proceedings. Some of these recordings might easily lend themselves to a film soundtrack, that incidentally is not new territory for this man who is not afraid to experiment, as is well demonstrated on the innovative title track 'Crossroads To Freedom' which delivers some very interesting psychedelic blues! 'Please Don't Let Me Go' cruises into some really cool jazz tinged blues ahead of the vintage sounding 'Never Comin' Home Blues', which is given some authentic worn vinyl treatment that many listeners may find intriguing? Right from the first note on the laid back 'I Feel The Need', you become spellbound as his guitar riffs and smooth vocals combine to find the perfect blend and are only set fee once a wailing harmonica introduces 'Lovin' You Too Much', as he connects his wah-wah pedal to unleash some screaming guitar SRV style! The laid back 'Last Fall' and 'Leavin' Town Blues' lead us well into JJ Cale chartered territory and on 'Ya Smile At Me', he even finds time to mix in some rare juice harp with some good ole country blues. Listening to 'Goldwater Mountain', you discover a fabulous example of American acoustic roots music (reminiscent of the early Doobie Brothers), before 'Lost In Wasted Time' delivers a dreamy guitar solo that even Roy Buchanan might have taken his hat off to!
Crossroads To Freedom is the album you always wanted to own that you could never remember the name of, and it also marks the moment Chris Dair stepped out of the shadows to become a genuine blues artist in his own right! Check him out on his website at http://www.chrisdairmusic.net/ where you can also order a signed copy of the Crossroads To Freedom CD, and discover what you've been missing!
John Stracey – Blues Connections
Crossroads To Freedom is written and performed entirely by Chris Dair and is his first album dedicated purely to the blues from the Mississippi delta all the way to the streets of Chicago and beyond! What is refreshing is that there appears to be no limitation as to how Chris Dair interprets the way his guitar should be played, having jammed with the best of them down the years including Jeff Beck, Peter Green, Rory Gallagher, Jimmy Page, Mark Knopfler and the great Bukka White to name but a few!
Crossroads To Freedom gets straight down to business with 'No Reason Blues' that is classic Chicago blues harking back to the Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf era! Influences abound here as you would expect from such a seasoned musician, with a somewhat mystical sounding 'See The Stars' offering more than a hint of Ravi Shankar, before the Santana inspired instrumental 'Obsession' transcends over proceedings. Some of these recordings might easily lend themselves to a film soundtrack, that incidentally is not new territory for this man who is not afraid to experiment, as is well demonstrated on the innovative title track 'Crossroads To Freedom' which delivers some very interesting psychedelic blues! 'Please Don't Let Me Go' cruises into some really cool jazz tinged blues ahead of the vintage sounding 'Never Comin' Home Blues', which is given some authentic worn vinyl treatment that many listeners may find intriguing? Right from the first note on the laid back 'I Feel The Need', you become spellbound as his guitar riffs and smooth vocals combine to find the perfect blend and are only set fee once a wailing harmonica introduces 'Lovin' You Too Much', as he connects his wah-wah pedal to unleash some screaming guitar SRV style! The laid back 'Last Fall' and 'Leavin' Town Blues' lead us well into JJ Cale chartered territory and on 'Ya Smile At Me', he even finds time to mix in some rare juice harp with some good ole country blues. Listening to 'Goldwater Mountain', you discover a fabulous example of American acoustic roots music (reminiscent of the early Doobie Brothers), before 'Lost In Wasted Time' delivers a dreamy guitar solo that even Roy Buchanan might have taken his hat off to!
Crossroads To Freedom is the album you always wanted to own that you could never remember the name of, and it also marks the moment Chris Dair stepped out of the shadows to become a genuine blues artist in his own right! Check him out on his website at http://www.chrisdairmusic.net/ where you can also order a signed copy of the Crossroads To Freedom CD, and discover what you've been missing!
John Stracey – Blues Connections
vendredi 18 mars 2011
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