Saturday, September 26, 2009


Rick Derringer – Knighted By The Blues (Provogue).

Knighted By The Blues opens with The Mess Around, a famous song (written by Ahmet Ertegun) and Derringer is a famous artist, having played with the McCoys as far back as 1965 on Hang On Sloopy. He went on to be an able sideman for Johnny and Edgar Winter as well as launching his own solo career. He plays this at high pace with searing guitar as you would expect. Derringer doesn’t over complicate things and when you do that, things are unlikely to go wrong. The gritty Sometimes is a bit heavier and Derringer’s voice is superb as is his guitar playing. He has certainly stood up to the test of time. Give Me Some Money is a stylish blues that swings along just fine and he delivers a fine version of If 6 Was 9, a Jimi Hendrix written chugging blues. He has certainly not lost any of his panache through the years and he delivers a big solo. The eponymous title track is a strolling blues – sophisticated night club stuff and exquisitely performed.

Jenda is not up to the standard of the rest of the album but we’ll forgive him one average track. The lively instrumental Cat On A Hot Tin Roof is jazz rock with intricate runs and able backing from Ron Reinhardt on keyboards. My Gals Kinda Crazy is a classy hard core Chicago blues and Derringer lets rip. Time To Go is a driving blues that is let down slightly by the vocal but that’s only a small criticism as the guitar work is superb and more than makes up for it. He finishes with the sultry Funny I Still Love You, which is the kind of slow blues that Clapton excels at. Written by Ray Charles, it sounds a bit like Hard Times.

You don’t last as long as Rick Derringer without being good and Knighted By The Blues shows how good.

http://www.rickderringer.com/
http://www.rickselectricguitar.com/
http://www.provoguerecords.com/

David Blue.

No comments: