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| Luke Mulholland, at 17 years of age, is poised to become the new sensation of the Canadian �nouveau classic rock� scene. He�s equally oriented towards blues, so I�m hoping his amalgamation of the two might lead to a wider acceptance by the record-buying public of this neglected genre of music. Despite his tender age, Luke has nailed the music of hard-rockin� baby-boomers and die-hard blues lovers alike. Whether he can convince his generational peers, on a grand commercial scale, to latch onto the more instrumentally focused music of his (grand) parents is going to prove a challenge, I�m sure. Meanwhile, veteran rockers had better concentrate on keeping their chops honed!
His poetically romantic lyrics, whether vocalized in harsh, slurred tones (a la David Lee Roth) in the standard rocker �Baby, Stay with Me�, or sexy-soft, as initially introduced on �Christine�, will certainly charm the souls of female audience members. The male contingent is bound to admire his guitar dexterity, which is carefully reined in to avoid going off on the usual predictable tangents. Mulholland�s a natural on guitar. He plays intuitively rather than excessively and that makes him all the more likeable. �Almost Famous� features a head-banging bass groove by Barry Murray, who also contributes complementary backing vocals, crackling drumwork by Karim Moussa, and Luke�s dynamic lead guitar, harkening back to Led Zeppelin�s Presence recordings. The rock anthem �Her Touch� is vaguely reminiscent of Joe Walsh�s �Rocky Mountain Way�, while �Love� seems Hendrix-inspired before veering into Eddie Van Halen�s territory. If you�re a Hendrix fan, you�ll want to take a listen to the �Wind Cries Jimi�, although it�s a tribute in name only, except for the beginning and ending riffs. �Hey, Man� is a hand-clapping, foot-stomping acoustic roots-rocking spiritual similar to some compositions by Hamilton�s Famous Framus, but it�s got a relaxed groove to it. The exotic �Black Country Side� stands out both in the classically-picked guitar melodies and percussion (provided by the band�s effective drummer, Karim Moussa), but I would have liked it better as a completely acoustic performance. �Working Man Blues� is a bang-on (minus a final chord) tribute to the Texas boogie immortalized by Albert Collins but even further eclipsed by Stevie Ray Vaughan. My favourite track is �Until the End�, which captures the dreamy essence of psychedelic classic rock, particularly as created by the Moody Blues, Uriah Heep and Bad Company, while adding a touch of The Arc Angels - gorgeous vocals on this one. �Take You Home� is another Texas blues-rockin� slide shuffle for music fans of the style mastered by ZZ Top and Too Slim & The Taildraggers. The CD ends on an equally enjoyable note with the bluesadelic �Seaside� (originally recorded when he 13 or 14 years old on his Road Home CD). I was really digging it, but like �Black Country Side�, I didn�t understand the abrupt switch to hard-rock mode before returning the song to its blues origin. Two separately recorded renditions would have worked better for me, as it�s a great song either way. Despite the many influences I heard, Luke is obviously a talented guitarist, singer and composer in his own right. Now that he�s paid his respects to his mentors, I look forward to hearing some truly original material from him. |
| MULHOLLAND DRIVE - MULHOLLAND DRIVE (PRESS COPY - 2005) |
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