Jazzhaus (label)
21 April 2017 (released)
06 May 2017
I have been following Danny Bryant for more years than I care to remember, since seeing as a ‘sprog’ with his Red Eye Band supporting Walter Trout in Rayners Lane. He was raw, energetic and completely fearless, mentored as he was by Trout.
Since then I have seen him live around a dozen times and enjoyed watching the kid developing into a Blues/Rock monster. All the passion was still there and his skills were growing, tour after tour.
This sees another turn for Danny, adding a four piece horn section and keyboards – BIG indeed.
And it works.
The horns add some real balls to music that is already powerful and the keyboards give the listener another texture to absorb. But it doesn’t detract from the Danny Bryant sound.
You still get that massive guitar, screaming solos and all and his vocals are a deep and gruff as ever but the new format simply adds to an already potent sound.
The set includes a stack of Bryant originals including an incredible ‘Prisoner Of The Blues’ that builds from a simple riff very quickly into a full ballsout performance with the keys carrying the song and the horns blasting – including a wicked trumpet solo. Bryant’s vocals never more Trout-like, it is one of those tracks that has the listeners bouncing around the room.
There is also a brilliant cover of Willy Dixon’s ‘Groaning The Blues’ with Bryant’s guitar dripping with emotion and a superb organ backing him up.
He can do ‘lighter’ material such as the swing-style ‘On The Rocks’ but he really excels as the more Blues.
‘As The Years Go Passing By’ was written by Peppermint Harris in ’58 and I’ve heard dozens of fine versions including Albert King and Gary Moore but somehow, in this setting, Bryant adds something to a hoary classic and makes it almost his own.
Bryant hasn’t gone down the route Joe Bonamassa has in using the horns and keys to allow him to play in many other styles, rather this is allowing Danny Bryant to be more Danny Bryant and that is a good thing.
The album holds so many gems that it is impossible to rathe them all here. Suffice to say that this is Danny Bryant at his best and worth every minute.
