 |
|
 |
KIRK
FLETCHER "SHADES OF BLUE"
Source: Living Blues Magazine
Date: 01/2005
Writer : David
Whiteis |
Guitarist
Kirk Fletcher weighs in with another
diverse set ranging from smooth- sheened , West Coast-flavored
outings to rootsy evocations of Chicago . He is not,
however, a vocalist, so the ultimate success of the
disc depends on the singers he’s chosen to enlist
to his cause. And they’re a stellar crew. Janiva
Magness contributes her insinuating warble to Jr. Wells’
“Little By Little”, the Magic Sam chestnut
“That’s Why I’m Crying”, Willie
Dixon’s “Don’t Go No Further”,
and BB’s “You Don’t Know” (although
she sounds oddly stiff on the last one.) Finis Tasby’s
gutsy tenor squall adds urgency to “Down Home
Woman”, Jimmy Dawkins’ “Welfare Blues”,
asomeaht -too-sprightly take on Percy Mayfield’s
“River’s Invitation”, and his own
broomdusting “Worried Man Blues”.
Fletcher’s old bandleader Kim Wilson delivers
Eddie Taylor’s “Bad Boy” with an uncanny
feel for Taylor ’s vocal timbre and phrasing,
and he sounds appropriately bereft on Slim Harpo’s
“My Home Is APrison” (sung through a bullet
mic that makes him sound eerily like Big Walter Horton).
He also contributes tasteful, wide-mouthed harp work
throughout – especially on his own “Club
Zanzibar”, on which he invokes both Big and Little
Walter with uncanny verisimilitude. If there’s
a flaw to this outing, it’s that Fletcher is just
a tad too tasteful – in his zeal to bring his
full talent to bear on as wide a stylistic range as
possible, he occasionally sounds as if he’s trying
to transport the blues from the gin mill to the musicology
seminar. But in today’s world of “ blooze
” overkill, that’s hardly a fatal flaw.
As the twenty-something Californian continues to grow
into his music, he’ll no doubt attain the confidence
to give his passions free rein alongside his impeccable
musical intelligence.
|
|
|
