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Brad “Guitar” Wilson—Lovers Before Sunrise—Cali Bee
Music

This is Californian blues rocker, Brad’s sixth album and he has
the talented former Quincy Jones engineer, Francis Buckley

now, a Grammy Award winner producer, sitting in the produc-
er’s chair. Three of the fourteen numbers here, are covers. The
last number is a live version of ‘Slide On Over’. Joining Brad;
lead vocals and guitar, in the MT Studios in Hollywood, are his

core band of; Brian Beal; bass, Adan Gust; drums, Hal Cragin;
flugelhorn and Chris Rhyne; keyboards. Deb Jacobs provides
vocal support.

The opener is ‘More Than I Do’, a sweetly low key, swing number with a mellow easygoing feel,

here the musicians are; Jeff Covell; bass, Peter Wolf; drums, with Kiki Wow and Amber
Guzman providing the hypnotically swaying backing vocals. The open relaxed atmosphere
continues with ‘Blues Magic’, a gently, loose limbed Latin, floor duster, with guitar work
reminiscent of Carlos Santana. On the angling themed ‘Big Fish’ the rich, lazy guitar is well

matched with an equally lazily enticing flugelhorn, tinkling underneath, is a gently rolling
piano.

Leroy Carr’s ‘Blues Before Sunrise’, possesses a pleasant tramping feel to it, a rich mellow
rising guitar pleases, with a tinkling piano and burning organ underpinning it all. Brad’s

tribute to Cream is amply displayed on the guitar wailing, drum pounding and surging organ
of ‘Sunshine of Your Love’.

Francis Buckley composed ‘When You Get To My House’, and it features the musicians Zach
Andrews, bass; Dillion Diaz, drums; Timothy Jones, piano, and Daniel Levin on horns. This

rolling and swinging piano-led number features some lovely rising and punchy horns, with a
mixture of fuzz and richly picked guitar on top.

The music is a touch more solemn and moody on the slow blues of ‘I’m Still Breathing’, a
sensitive wailing guitar and gently pounding drum work set the scene. ‘Goin’ Fishin’ In The

Rain’, is quite simply, an easy going West Coast road cruiser with rolling piano, driving drum
work entwined with an enticingly, insistent guitar and surging organ work.

Willie Dixon’s ‘I’m Ready’, is a very pleasant mixture of goodtime rocking guitar and piano led
rolling blues. Netherlands native, Deb Jacobs joins Brad in a duet on the enticing, slow ballad

‘Words I Want To Say’, the laidback arrangement is such; that you can almost hear the surf
lapping upon the sand. The bonus live number ‘Slide On Over’, is quite simply, a hammer
down, racing guitar hard rocker.

Very enjoyable!

Brian Harman.