| CD REVIEW |
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| TO RETURN TO THE CD REVIEW INDEX, |
| ABSOLUTELY - DAVID BREWER AND THE INTIMIDATORS (2006) |
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| This third release by David Brewer, now including The Intimidators, begins with a cover of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee�s �The Battle is Over (But the War Goes On)� from 1973�s Sonny & Brownie vinyl album. This interpretation is a good example (among many) of how country, blues and rock are perfectly interchangeable, according to personal music preferences. �The Battle is Over� is my personal favourite track on Absolutely, demonstrating that if he keeps within his natural range and pitch without having to compete with the volume of the instruments, David sings just fine. Otherwise, the vocals sometimes verge on being unmusical hollers.
The covers of �Don�t Let Me Be Misunderstood�, �Into the Mystic� and �You Never Can Tell� were unappealing to me, although I'd have to admit they were innovative in the instrumental arrangements. Speaking of instrumentation, David re-enlists drummers Pete �The Beat� Langhans and Kirk �Spiderman� Tuttle on drums, but Nick Deville, who recently passed away, also contributed on the drumkit, which I believe made this recording his �swansong�. Since I began listening to Seattle blues artists in 2000, there have been a number of long-time musicians who have passed away, including Dave Conant and Isaac Scott, both of whom David�s current bassist, Bill Freckleton, played with. Bill alternates on bass with Rob Moitoza (Nick Vigarino Band, Sugarloaf, etc.) and Kevin Wallace, in addition to Hammond keyboardist Mike Kalanj of the Powder Blues Band, who also appears on David�s 2000 Bad Habits CD, produced by Mike�s bandleader, Tom Lavin. Raven Humphres (who recorded and mastered this CD as well as All Tore Down) is joined by Allen DeVille on saxophone and trumpet on the Mexicanized versions of �Don�t Let Me Be Misunderstood� and �You Never Can Tell� and �Into the Mystic� (now transformed into a quirky little march). Other tracks worth taking a listen to are the revelatory and grudging �I Told You So�, the closing instrumental, �Blue Bird (Blues for Tony)�, which is a tribute to the aforementioned Tony Thomas, and the slow-blues �Don�t You Get It�, a compositional format that David excels in. David Brewer has been playing guitar (and obviously damn well to attract the attention of Albert Collins) for over 30 years, so, along with his topnotch songwriting abilities and accomplished sidemen, he has more than enough talent to move forward in his career. With all due respect, though, I prefer his previous releases. However, that's just my own ears listening, and I'm sure there will be differing subjective opinions. David Brewer has dedicated Absolutely to "Mel Brewer, 1924-2005 - my father, my teacher, my hero". As an aside, David has some unreleased recordings he made while performing with Albert Collins on July 4, 1976, at the Hayloft in Vancouver, WA. Anyone interested in their distribution may contact him at [email protected] or visit www.davidbrewerblues.com.. |