Page 60 - BiTS_05_MAY_2025

whole band have a great vibe that just makes me want to go and see them live, go
check this out.

Ged Wilson

Dudley Taft—The Speed Of Life—American Blues
Artist Group

This is the tenth album from Cincinnati-based, blues
rocker Dudley. He takes lead vocals and guitar with

Nick Owsianka; drums, Dave Marks; bass, percussion
and keyboards, Bennet Holland; keyboards, Ashley

Charmae, Gina McCann on backing vocals. The album
was recorded at The Svarov studios in the Czech

Republic and Dudley’s own Muchmore studio in
Cincinnati. The ten numbers here are all Dudley

originals.

Opener, ‘Wanted Man’, has a gentle percussion-driven, urban groove, with a sensuous
vocal and gently ringing guitar on this ode to love. On ‘Miles and Miles To Go’ the
combination of percussive tom-toms and rushing acoustic and electric guitars,

splendidly evokes motor biking across vast spaces. The brash guitar work and

harmonies of ‘Work It Out’, illustrate the thrill of riding out on the open roads of
California. The rocker, ‘Burn It Down’, possesses fast paced, searing guitar work.

‘Set Me On Fire’, refers to the effect a certain lady has upon him; the fiery guitar, well
expresses his electrified emotions. ‘Pretty Little Thing’, is a rousing, affectionate,

grooving guitar-laden and organ piece, dedicated to his wife and daughter. In a similar
vein is the dramatic ballad ‘Topaz Blue’. The swirling, whirling guitar and orchestral

flourishes are filled with love.

‘Same Mistakes’ is an out and out pulsating, melodic rocker. ‘No Yesterday’, is a

spiralling rocker in a Hendrix mood. ‘The Traveller’, is an expansive, rising and falling
guitar ballad.

The Spanish guitar fuelled intro of the ballad ‘Into The Blue’ settles into the simple
love of everyday mundane family bliss. While the blazing guitar work of ‘No Time

Left (Long Live The King)’, represents the burning of the world today and the effects

of climate change, disaster beckons!

Recommended!

Brian Harman.