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Father's Day
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Father's Day
Current price: $16.99
Barnes and Noble
Father's Day
Current price: $16.99
Size: CD
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Blues guitarist
has been making records since the end of the '70s, and he has a long legacy of fine picking to live up to, but it's not hard to wonder how much the man still has to say musically in a career that's spanned five decades. Released in 2015,
shows that
is not only still a master of the six-string, he still has a few new tricks up his sleeve.
gets its title from a song dealing with
's long estrangement from his father and their belated reconciliation, and it's a personal piece that gives
plenty of room to stretch out on spare, jazzy figures while the lyrics weigh the emotional hardships that come with family strife. Between the title cut and his two other originals on the album, "Higher Love" and "Follow Your Heart,"
seems to be in a contemplative mood, pondering the nature of the heart and soul, and it suits him well, influencing his choice of covers like
's "I'll Take Care of You" and
's famed spiritual "Precious Lord."
boasts a richer sound than
's last several albums, with a horn section bringing muscle to several cuts,
's Hammond B-3 adding some welcome texture, and vocalists
and
belting it out with plenty of soul power. Of course,
himself is the headliner on
, and his guitar playing is what fans come to hear, and on that score this finds his chops and his imagination are both doing well indeed. While
's technique is excellent as he shows off his killer tone, splendid string bends, and bold flurries of notes, he also has the taste to hold back rather than drowning the songs in excess soloing, and once again shows off a jazzy sensibility for making sense of the space around the notes rather than randomly filling every nook and cranny.
is more conceptually bold and contemplative than many of
's previous albums, and musically the work should satisfy blues fans of all stripes while also attracting more thoughtful listeners brought in by this album's clever, philosophical vantage point. ~ Mark Deming