Kris Dollimore – 02/01/1978 (Sun Pier Recordings).
Former lead guitarist and founder member of the cult 80s band The Godfathers, Kris Dollimore has taken some time to release his debut solo album. Since leaving The Godfathers in 1990 he has certainly diversified, playing with those such as Adam Ant, The Damned, Del Amitri and country-rock singer Eileen Rose. 02/01/1978 is the result of Dollimore’s abandonment of session playing to concentrate on writing. Inspired by the blues of John Lee Hooker, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Robert Johnson he has produced an album of highly original songs. Opening with Groundhog, a jangly John Lee Hooker blues with thumping drums from Wolf Howard, Dollimore leads us off into his world. Brother Ray is an acoustic blues and a foot-stomper to boot. His frenetic guitar crosses over into mountain music at times and this sets the standard of guitar playing for the rest of the album. Dollimore continues in the acoustic vein with The Enemy. This incorporates slide guitar and keeps both the standard and the pace up. Miss Emma Jane is a storming blues that is on the rock side and played in a Rory Gallagher style. He goes all broody on Loved Up Blues and listen to the lyrics here because in many cases, it can be very true.
The interestingly titled The North Kent Post Industrial Hillstomp Blues is a modern blues shouter, nothing more, nothing less. The next one, Take What’s Mine, is a plodding blues that is surprisingly hypnotic and he goes back to acoustic for the country blues of Cry For Me. One small gripe with this is that there isn’t enough edge, something that the rest of the album has in heaps. The John Lee Hooker influenced Caned is a return to form and the gentle acoustic blues rock of Rollin’ Stone takes us on another journey. T.V. Eye, co-written by Iggy Pop, is another blues influenced rocker and the closing track, East Of England is a slow acoustic finish that runs for over 6 minutes and is the perfect end to this first solo album. I hope that it won’t be too long until the follow up.
http://www.krisdollimore.com/
David Blue.
Former lead guitarist and founder member of the cult 80s band The Godfathers, Kris Dollimore has taken some time to release his debut solo album. Since leaving The Godfathers in 1990 he has certainly diversified, playing with those such as Adam Ant, The Damned, Del Amitri and country-rock singer Eileen Rose. 02/01/1978 is the result of Dollimore’s abandonment of session playing to concentrate on writing. Inspired by the blues of John Lee Hooker, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Robert Johnson he has produced an album of highly original songs. Opening with Groundhog, a jangly John Lee Hooker blues with thumping drums from Wolf Howard, Dollimore leads us off into his world. Brother Ray is an acoustic blues and a foot-stomper to boot. His frenetic guitar crosses over into mountain music at times and this sets the standard of guitar playing for the rest of the album. Dollimore continues in the acoustic vein with The Enemy. This incorporates slide guitar and keeps both the standard and the pace up. Miss Emma Jane is a storming blues that is on the rock side and played in a Rory Gallagher style. He goes all broody on Loved Up Blues and listen to the lyrics here because in many cases, it can be very true.
The interestingly titled The North Kent Post Industrial Hillstomp Blues is a modern blues shouter, nothing more, nothing less. The next one, Take What’s Mine, is a plodding blues that is surprisingly hypnotic and he goes back to acoustic for the country blues of Cry For Me. One small gripe with this is that there isn’t enough edge, something that the rest of the album has in heaps. The John Lee Hooker influenced Caned is a return to form and the gentle acoustic blues rock of Rollin’ Stone takes us on another journey. T.V. Eye, co-written by Iggy Pop, is another blues influenced rocker and the closing track, East Of England is a slow acoustic finish that runs for over 6 minutes and is the perfect end to this first solo album. I hope that it won’t be too long until the follow up.
http://www.krisdollimore.com/
David Blue.