 |
|
 |
KIRK
FLETCHER "SHADES OF BLUE"
Source: Blues Wax
Date: 12/15/04
Writer : Art
Tipaldi |
Perfect
For The Shuffle Button
New Blues label Delta Groove's follow-up
project (the Mannish Boys 'That Represent Man was their
debut in the Blues) shines a spotlight on Kirk Fletcher
, one of today's premier young Blues guitar slingers.
Only in his late twenties, Fletcher is currently the
guitarist in the Fabulous Thunderbirds and the Kim Wilson
Blues Revue . Before that he traveled with Charlie Musselwhite
. Before that, he was an important member of Kim Wilson's
Blues Revue. Before that, he recorded his debut CD on
JSP in 1999. Before that, he was tapped to play guitar
behind Lynnwood Slim , and then the resurrected Hollywood
Fats Band with Junior Watson . Before that, this son
of a Baptist minister was growing up in L.A. where he
was exposed to music from Gospel to the deepest Blues.
Because T-Bird boss Wilson sings and plays on six of
the 17 tunes, Thunderbird bassist Ronnie Weber and Blues
Revue drummer Richard Innes handle the rhythm section
on ten songs, much of this record is grounded in Fletcher's
love of traditional Chicago Blues.
The title here tells it all. Fletcher is about to deal
out all shades of the Blues. Though the disc opens with
Fletcher and organist Red Young tradin' punches on "Blues
For Boo Boo," a song that recalls Ronnie Earl/Bruce
Katz 's foot tappin', Jazz guitar and organ work, Fletcher
quickly shifts gears to Chicago Blues. The follow-up
song, Eddie Taylor 's "Bad Boy," brings in
Wilson and the Blues Revue rhythm section. From there,
Fletcher calls in West Coast Blues belter Finis Tasby
to toughen Jimmy Dawkins ' "Welfare Blues"
and Blues diva Janiva Magness to tear it up on Willie
Dixon 's "Don't Go No Further."
By the album's fifth song, "Club Zanzibar,"
a Wilson/Fletcher composition that honors the storied
Blues joint where Muddy ,Wolf , and Little Walter cut
heads, Fletcher's devotion to time honored Blues is
obvious. His solos here and elsewhere show that Fletcher
has done his Blues guitar homework. Throughout his guitar
work you can hear snatches of Chicago string masters
like Jimmy Rogers, Dave and Loius Myers ,Luther Tucker
, Jimmy Reed, and Buddy Guy . Fletcher has also assimilated
the essence of Little Milton , all the Kings, and Hubert
Sumlin . Simmer that with the modernistic West Coast
guitar of Junior Watson, Hollywood Fats, and the many
others and there is no denying the Blues guitar history
that is present in every note Fletcher plays.
Then, Fletcher and Magness dig into a sexy exploration
of Magic Sam 's "That's Why I'm Cryin'," while
Fletcher and Tasby accelerate an Elmore James approach
on "Worried Man Blues." Kim jumps back with
his Sonny Boy acoustic harmonica on two tunes, B.B.
King 's "Country Girl" and his quintessential
slow Blues thesis on "Stranded In St.Louis."
As the CD winds down, Magness lets her vocal power slowly
ooze on Junior Wells' "Little By Little" and
Tasby tells a soul filled tale on Percy Mayfield 's
"The River's Invitation." When Fletcher and
Wilson slow the pace on "My Home Is A Prison,"
Fletcher picks his color tones from the red mud of Mississippi.
The CD ends as it began, an instrumental, jazzy organ/guitar
delight on Booker T and the MGs ' "Hip Hug Her."
But it's not over yet. Fletcher includes three bonus
tracks, B.B.'s "You Don't Know," and alternate
takes on "Club Zanzibar" and "Don't Go
No Further." Because so many of the tunes here
offer a tireless variety of Blues sounds Fletcher studies,
this is the perfect record for the shuffle button.
|
|
|
