Kevin Brown – Tin Church (Doo Dah Records).

I’ve been waiting in anticipation for the new Kevin Brown album since hearing Mojave Dust and Tin Church does not disappoint. He opens with Lancashire Blood On A Texas Floor, a tale of the Alamo that will send a shiver up your spine. The complete album was recorded live and on Watch Your Step he has that certain tone to his voice that will pierce your inner thoughts. Love Hurts is faster paced than most and shows that he has fantastic control of his guitar and the traditional Jack Of Diamonds is given the Kevin Brown treatment to great effect. He keeps up his superb level of guitar playing on You Never Can Tell before going off to the Delta for All Around The World. All I can say about this is that it is a stunning live performance and vies for the top track of the set.

Brown will take your emotions to the limit and does so with the subdued, rhythmic classic song Take Your Troubles And Let Them Rest to great effect. Take The High Road follows and no, it’s not about the Scottish soap opera. I’m running out of superlatives now and each song is getting better and better. Athletics is not a subject normally associated with the blues but the subject of The Ballad Of Jesse Owens is, I feel, exactly the kind of man that people should be singing about, no matter whether it’s the blues or not. Well done Kevin. What Kevin Brown does so well is his ability to fill out the sound and Stone By Stone is a good example of this. Sometimes a guitar on its own can sound a bit thin but not Brown’s. Shellshocked Johnny is more Americana than blues but it does show an artist that is so comfortable with his talent. The final track is Lead Me On and it is a wonderful way to finish. It’s almost spiritual feel with give you that feel good factor for hours afterwards.

The only problem that I have now is that I’ll have to wait for the next album.

http://www.thekevinbrown.com/

Copyright David Blue 2006.