Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Blues seems to bring out the very best in musicians, it also seems to the one genre in which many a talented artist seems comfortable in letting themselves go and placing themselves in the multitude of songs from its illustrious past. Jazz constantly re-invents itself, Progressive Rock is so utterly unique, Heavy Metal only really covered by the completely dedicated and pop, at times seems to let anything go, Blues however appeals in its homage to the past.
Chris Bevington is the latest in a long-line of great Blues artists who has rubbed his metaphorical shoulders alongside the greats of era’s past and alongside some of his confidants and comrades have dedicated the last year to laying down some of the most gorgeous sounds imaginable in his album Chris Bevington and Friends.
Although cover versions can sometimes tell you very little about the artist recording them, aside from their own, sometimes fascinating, taste in music, Chris Bevington and Friends reveals so much of the intensity that emanates from the man’s thoughts and through his playing ability. The songs he has covered, the sublime Crossroads, I Don’t Need No Doctor, the excellent Blue On Black, She’s Out There Somewhere and All I Want Is You, uncover a man who knows his way round the Blues history like a person who has been studying for years to get their Doctorate, each note dedicated to sounding as pure and as wholesome as possible. These songs aren’t faded copies in which to get the interest of the new fan, they are songs which are sang direct from the heart, the laying down of tracks in which resonate across the decades and which still hold relevance to the current crop of Blues admirers.
With contributions from Jim Fitzpatrick, Jamie Bannister, Mark Hargreaves, the superb Angela Lazenby and Sarah Miller and a whole host of others, Chris Bevington and Friends is an album’s album, an enthusiast’s dream come true and one in which to wallow in the world of peace and away from the madness that grows in the dark.
Chris Bevington and Friends are performing at the Robin 2 in Bilston on August 3rd.
Ian D. Hall