Sunday, November 15, 2009

Ten Till Midnight reviewed by Rick Davis

Ten Till Midnight
Sean Chambers
Blue Heat Records
http://www.seanchambers.com/
10 Tracks

At the age of 10 Sean Chambers knew he was destined to play the blues. After only a few years of experience, he began touring with B.B. King, Robert Cray, and Buddy Guy. He has currently been touring with Hubert Sumlin as a musical director and guitarist for Sumlin.

His guitar style is electrifying on his new CD Ten Till Midnight . The band wanted to create a sound as close to a live concert as possible. He opens the cd with the title track "Ten Till Midnight". On drums he is joined by Paul Broderick, with Tim Blair on bass and Ben Crider on the Hammond B3. He is absolutely amazing on guitar and equally experienced on vocals. He continues with "Blues & Rock N Roll" accompanied by Gary Keith on Harmonica. He rips into a guitar solo that would leave most audiences breathless. His version of Luther Allison's "All The Kings Horses" would equal Luther himself. His slide guitar on "You're Gonna Miss Me" written by Eddie ("Guitar Slim") Jones is as high powered as any slide guitar I have ever heard. Featured on this cut is Jack Henriquez playing his honky-tonk style piano. "In The Winter" really establishes Chambers as one of the premier high-energy guitarists today. “Too Much Blues” has a slightly different mix than the rest of the CD. In keeping with a live sound, the band liked the way it sounded so it was recorded as it turned out. “Make It Go” is really representational of the way the band sounds live. ZZ Top’s “Brown Sugar” is a number the band has wanted to do some day. The song was recorded live in the studio with the slide part added later. “When I Get Lonely” is another slide guitar number equaling his other slide guitar work. The last song on the cd “I Don’t Know Why” features Gary Keith again on harmonica with Chambers on a National/Steel Resonator guitar, giving this tune more of a delta sound.

If you like blues with intensity and fire, this cd is must! Chambers can absolutely burn up the fret board. He has also mastered the acoustic guitar as you will hear on the last cut. For his high-powered guitar style, I would compare him to Gary Moore. If this cd is an indication of the band’s live sound, count me in!

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