Plug in, kick back and let it roll!
Christian Collin sings and plays the guitar like a-ringin’ a bell on this collection of verified blues originals with a core team of Alex Evans/b, Chris Morrow/dr, Johnny Uguana/B3 and Jen Williams/voc. He’s got a voice that can go gritty on the galloping “One and Only” and can get clear and ominous on the smoky “Dead Man Walking.” Matthew Skoller adds a wailing harp on the boogie blues “Highway Song” and when Collin goes acoustic on ”The River” the mix with Billy Branch’s harmonica takes you the back porches of Tennessee. A Staxy horn section gets as chunky as wet rub BBQ on “Forever Friends” and you’ll shuffle off to Buffalo on the boogie-ing “A Woman Like You.” Sticks to the ribs!
Def Leppard lead guitarist Phil Collen mixes head banging fun with the rock and boogie blues here with a wide mix of guests that include Robert DeLeo/b, Debbi Blackwell-Cook/voc, Forrest Robinson/dr and guests Joe Elliott/voc, David Coverdale/voc among others. What you get is more bang for the buck than you can imagine, with “Bang the Lid” featuring a stampede of drums and wailing guitar and voices as Blackwell-Cook wears out her larnyx. Collen shows tasty picking on ”Whiskey”, “Treat Her Like Candy” and “Private Number,” the latter including David Coverdale’s voice in vintage form. A heavy metal read of Humble Pie’s “Black Coffee” is a head banging hoot, while the boogies are woogied on “Miss Me” and the blues are smoked like Tri Tip when CJ Vanston handles the B3 on “Burnt Sally.” Hints of early 70s rockers like Led Zeppelin are evoked on this gritty guitar gem.