Page 43 - BiTS_05_MAY_2022

You might have heard Son Of Dave on Breaking Bad, Gossip Girl, or other soundtracks. But if not,
or maybe even if so, you’re still in for a big and very pleasant surprise…

Norman Darwen

David Lumsden – Rooted in the Blues - Independent

(www.davidlumsdenguitar.com)

Many years ago I witnessed Eddy Clearwater in London play-
ing his Chuck Berry styled rocker, “Wouldn’t Lay My Guitar
Down” – a cherished memory, but David and his band do it full
justice as the opener for this set.

… And the CD generally continues in this vein. Yes, the acoustic
‘Your Memory’, halfway through the album, is rather mellow
and reflective, not a blues in itself, and Steely Dan’s ‘Josie’ is a
slab of jazz-funk originally played by Larry Carlton, but num-
bers like the self-explanatorily titled ‘Ruthless Boogie’, the
reworking of ‘Hound Dog’ or the tribute to BB King that is the cover of ‘Everyday I Have The
Blues’ show the validity of the title of this CD, David’s second.

‘Hooked On Something’ is a tough, raw blues with leanings to blues-rock, and then David pays
homage to another guitar god on ‘Ode To Jimi AKA Slow Burn’, before the Bob Dylan song,
‘Everything Is Broken’, closes proceedings, an attitude laden live recording, well sung by Kylan

Davis, son of bass player Gary Davis. It makes for a fine ending to a very enjoyable release.

Norman Darwen
Christos & the Violet Crown (Featuring Olina) - Naked
NP061
(www.christosandthevioletcrown.com)

Well, this is different – and nicely so. It is a four-track CD EP, by
guitarist Christos Chatzipyrou and London-based female sing-
er Olina, originally from the Greek island of Limnos.

The opening track is a blues number though with a strong hint
of free jazz – yes it works – and track two is more difficult to
categorise – elements of modern soul, singer/ songwriter-ish
material, modern pop and a real left-field guitar break. ‘No
More’ has some tough blues guitar playing throughout and a
very slight jazz tinge to the vocals. The closing number, ‘Move Over’ veers between blues-rock
and funk within the first few seconds, and continues in a tough manner.

So no, not a traditional blues set. This leans more towards strongly blues-inflected contempo-
rary music (which does not come along too often these days) – and it is more than “rather
interesting”.

Norman Darwen