Chris Duarte Group – Blue Velocity (Provogue).
The Chris Duarte Group comes from Austin, Texas and Duarte follows in the steps of Stevie Ray Vaughan, whom he has been compared to on many an occasion. He finished fourth behind Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and B.B. King is 1995s Guitar Reader’s poll so you can imagine what a talent we have here. His previous four albums were all critically acclaimed and I’m sure that this will join the list. Amy Lee is stomping blues rock on which Duarte uses sustain to great effect and grinds it out to the end. Things go a bit more up-tempo on Do It Again and this has more of a vintage feel. Dextrous guitar playing and a classic rock voice make this a favourite. Damien Lewis’ rolling drums guide us through Hard Mind but when Duarte unleashes his guitar, the whole tone changes. This is good time music, played by a top practitioner and although it is over 7 minutes long, it certainly does not feel it. The opening to Something Wicked blew me away and this has power all the way. Don’t fall for the sedate opening bars and turn up the volume – you are liable to go deaf very quickly. When the vocal comes in, things slow down to an epic blues and blues with such feeling. At over 13 minutes long it sits with the classic tracks of the seventies – get your air guitar out! The pace picks up again for I’ll Never Know, another rocker on which Duarte funks it up. The vocal is a little detached at times but there is no doubting his guitar credentials. The rhythm section deserves special mention for Dustin Sargent’s pulsating bass and pounding drums from Lewis.
Sun Prairie Blues is a laconic blues with a not so PC lyric but many blues songs fall into that category. Guitar and voice are in complete synchronicity and he keeps things simple, apart from his solo where he rips it up. Never Gonna Change is a total wall of sound with the full band on a rocking tip but R U 4 Real? (I hate text language) is probably the weakest track on the album. Even Duarte’s guitar pyrotechnics fail to save this strange one and it is far too long at just under 9 minutes. He is back on form with the straightforward rocker, Out In The Rain and follows it up with a standard electric 12 bar blues, Leave Her Be. This Chicago style blues has a ringing guitar and heavily accented vocals and hits the spot. It’s a heavy finish as the band takes it to the limit with Met My Match. It’s short, it’s sweet and it’s a great way to finish.
Provogue keeps coming up with more and more top class guitarists and long may it continue.
http://www.provoguerecords.com/
David Blue.
The Chris Duarte Group comes from Austin, Texas and Duarte follows in the steps of Stevie Ray Vaughan, whom he has been compared to on many an occasion. He finished fourth behind Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and B.B. King is 1995s Guitar Reader’s poll so you can imagine what a talent we have here. His previous four albums were all critically acclaimed and I’m sure that this will join the list. Amy Lee is stomping blues rock on which Duarte uses sustain to great effect and grinds it out to the end. Things go a bit more up-tempo on Do It Again and this has more of a vintage feel. Dextrous guitar playing and a classic rock voice make this a favourite. Damien Lewis’ rolling drums guide us through Hard Mind but when Duarte unleashes his guitar, the whole tone changes. This is good time music, played by a top practitioner and although it is over 7 minutes long, it certainly does not feel it. The opening to Something Wicked blew me away and this has power all the way. Don’t fall for the sedate opening bars and turn up the volume – you are liable to go deaf very quickly. When the vocal comes in, things slow down to an epic blues and blues with such feeling. At over 13 minutes long it sits with the classic tracks of the seventies – get your air guitar out! The pace picks up again for I’ll Never Know, another rocker on which Duarte funks it up. The vocal is a little detached at times but there is no doubting his guitar credentials. The rhythm section deserves special mention for Dustin Sargent’s pulsating bass and pounding drums from Lewis.
Sun Prairie Blues is a laconic blues with a not so PC lyric but many blues songs fall into that category. Guitar and voice are in complete synchronicity and he keeps things simple, apart from his solo where he rips it up. Never Gonna Change is a total wall of sound with the full band on a rocking tip but R U 4 Real? (I hate text language) is probably the weakest track on the album. Even Duarte’s guitar pyrotechnics fail to save this strange one and it is far too long at just under 9 minutes. He is back on form with the straightforward rocker, Out In The Rain and follows it up with a standard electric 12 bar blues, Leave Her Be. This Chicago style blues has a ringing guitar and heavily accented vocals and hits the spot. It’s a heavy finish as the band takes it to the limit with Met My Match. It’s short, it’s sweet and it’s a great way to finish.
Provogue keeps coming up with more and more top class guitarists and long may it continue.
http://www.provoguerecords.com/
David Blue.
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