Memphis Gold – The Prodigal Son (Chet Chandler).
Chester Chandler aka Memphis Gold has shared a stage with the best of them; Bernard Allison, Otis Rush, Taj Mahal and Robert Cray to name but a few. The thirteenth child of fourteen, he was mentored by his father, John, and the Reverend Robert ‘Tim’ Watkins whose claim to fame was that his song ‘That’s No Way To Get Along’ appeared as ‘Prodigal Son’ on the Rolling Stones album Beggars Banquet. So it is appropriate that Memphis Gold has decided to call his album Prodigal Son in an homage to his mentor. Come Wit Me features a funky bassline and is an excellent opener with Memphis Gold’s smoky voice complimenting it well. There’s a surprising harmonica break, considering the style of the song but it shows what a clever artist we have here. Don’t Let Her Ride is a vibrant, bouncy, staccato blues. There’s some tremendous barrelhouse piano from Kurt Gibbons and excellent guitar from the main man himself. This will easily be a favourite. He keeps the fast pace going with Crabcakes and it’s Gibbons again who makes himself the star on this happy tune. The pace is slowed down for Big Leg Woman which is a classic guitar blues that highlights Memphis’ lovely voice and top class guitar work. The title track confirms that he could have been a preacher himself. This is a chugging blues on the Gospel side. The instrumental Chicken It is enjoyable and enthusiastic and runs up to the more sombre and serious 3s Tonic. This is a slow, hypnotic blues that doesn’t change much throughout. What it does do is show that there is another guitar star on the block.
Preacher Blues swings along very well and the addition of horns from Robert Eldridge is of great effect. Memphis is not at his most PC on Test Drive That Woman but if you put aside the lyrical content then you have a good old time blues underneath with the horns on fire again. Serves Me Right has a lovely guitar intro and has a classic blues theme. This is an all round top song and really deserves to be heard by more people. The album has been well above average so far but the closing two tracks let it down somewhat. The instrumental Melt Down Baby is a strange one and doesn’t seem to hang together completely – maybe Memphis has suffered a meltdown of his own. The closing track, Bedroom Mumba, is most definitely the weakest track on the album and is a disappointing way to finish what is an excellent album.
http://www.memphisgoldprod.net/
David Blue.
Chester Chandler aka Memphis Gold has shared a stage with the best of them; Bernard Allison, Otis Rush, Taj Mahal and Robert Cray to name but a few. The thirteenth child of fourteen, he was mentored by his father, John, and the Reverend Robert ‘Tim’ Watkins whose claim to fame was that his song ‘That’s No Way To Get Along’ appeared as ‘Prodigal Son’ on the Rolling Stones album Beggars Banquet. So it is appropriate that Memphis Gold has decided to call his album Prodigal Son in an homage to his mentor. Come Wit Me features a funky bassline and is an excellent opener with Memphis Gold’s smoky voice complimenting it well. There’s a surprising harmonica break, considering the style of the song but it shows what a clever artist we have here. Don’t Let Her Ride is a vibrant, bouncy, staccato blues. There’s some tremendous barrelhouse piano from Kurt Gibbons and excellent guitar from the main man himself. This will easily be a favourite. He keeps the fast pace going with Crabcakes and it’s Gibbons again who makes himself the star on this happy tune. The pace is slowed down for Big Leg Woman which is a classic guitar blues that highlights Memphis’ lovely voice and top class guitar work. The title track confirms that he could have been a preacher himself. This is a chugging blues on the Gospel side. The instrumental Chicken It is enjoyable and enthusiastic and runs up to the more sombre and serious 3s Tonic. This is a slow, hypnotic blues that doesn’t change much throughout. What it does do is show that there is another guitar star on the block.
Preacher Blues swings along very well and the addition of horns from Robert Eldridge is of great effect. Memphis is not at his most PC on Test Drive That Woman but if you put aside the lyrical content then you have a good old time blues underneath with the horns on fire again. Serves Me Right has a lovely guitar intro and has a classic blues theme. This is an all round top song and really deserves to be heard by more people. The album has been well above average so far but the closing two tracks let it down somewhat. The instrumental Melt Down Baby is a strange one and doesn’t seem to hang together completely – maybe Memphis has suffered a meltdown of his own. The closing track, Bedroom Mumba, is most definitely the weakest track on the album and is a disappointing way to finish what is an excellent album.
http://www.memphisgoldprod.net/
David Blue.
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