 |
| CD REVIEW (Also published at www.701.com) |
| TO RETURN TO THE CD REVIEW INDEX, |
 |
| LIVE AT MONTREUX 1999 - THE JEFF HEALEY BAND |
| Despite Mr. Healey�s recent claim that he prefers to play trumpet and trombone in his beloved traditional jazz combo, he sure can make that blues-rock guitar sing, despite admitting to a severe level of inebriation (and jetlag) at these performances. It�s a sign of his professionalism, though, that he can still inject passion and soul into music that doesn�t otherwise inspire him. To say that these loyal European fans loved him, in spite of the minor musical imperfections captured on the disc, is an understatement. Although he has declined any official endorsement of this CD, not having much input on its release to begin with, it�s not too difficult to guess which songs he would have preferred to exclude from it and mostly from a vocal standpoint. That being said, some of these tracks are actually terrific (especially the last three � �Roadhouse Blues�, �See The Light� and �Hoochie Coochie Man�). Drummer Tom Stephen and bassist Joe Rockman certainly give it their best shot. Jeff Healey Band fans should consider it an unauthorized bootleg and accept it as such. For those more visually oriented, it�s also available on DVD. Apart from the 1999 Montreux concert, with the tremendously talented Pat Rush on second guitar, there are two tracks (Harrison�s �While My Guitar Gently Weeps� and Healey�s own �That�s What They Say�) inserted from a 1997 appearance in Montreux, featuring guitarist Philip Sayce, who, in fact, was the star performer at the opening of Healey�s club in Toronto. Other tracks that I liked were Robert Johnson�s �Stop Breakin� Down� (featuring �Paddy� on slide guitar) and the requisite slow-blues of �Third Degree� (Boyd/Dixon). Healey�s ironic penchant for singing songs dealing with vision (�got me accused of a-peeping, but I can�t see a thing, accused of a forger, can�t even write my name� and his own hit, �See The Light�) further endear his audiences fascinated by his blindness. He even outdoes himself on his classic interpretation of Mark Knopfler�s �I Think I Love You Too Much�. Although he denigrates his own skills as a songwriter, I personally think �See The Light� and �Can�t Get My Hands on You� are ingenious compositions. The latter features a kick-ass drum solo outro by Stephen. John Lennon�s emotionally revealing �Yer Blues� begins the heavy-duty blowout, but there�s a momentary breath-catcher on Fred Koller/John Hiatt�s �Angel Eyes�, with which Healey will forever be identified. From there on, it�s almost a half-hour of full-tilt boogie! Jeff Healey may have had his fill of �rock�n�roll� in 2005, but fans of the genre will fall in love with him all over again, particularly during the guitar-lick crescendos with Rush on �Roadhouse Blues�, where he concedes it�s �not bad for a couple of jetlagged idiots�. Not bad at all, mates, not bad at all. |
 |