Scott McKeon

Interesting album. No, scratch that, fascinating album and bloody good too.

You know that feeling, when you are listening to a live album from Gov’t Mule or The Allman Brothers or Phish and you just can’t wait for the song to break out of its’ structure and just move straight to the jam? This album basically does just that. 9 tracks, all essentially instrumentals and with all the unnecessary bits stripped away. Frank Zappa released a series many years back called 'Shut Up And Play Your Guitar' featuring just the solos and there are elements of that here but when he builds a song around the playing it is rather fine.

The majority of this was recorded in one take by a bunch of musicians who clearly know and trust each other implicitly so you get the immediacy and intellectual interplay that enables the music to play on a razors edge of structure. Alongside McKeon Jeremy Stacey lays down the drums, Rocco Palladino bass and some gorgeous Hammond from Ross Stanley. Paul Stacey produced and recorded the album and I’m guessing it was a real white knuckle ride.

McKeon is one of the most in demand session musicians around and the flexibility he shows here demonstrates why and he lays down some awesome Blues, Jazz and soul based music. His guitar playing is remarkable, at times reminiscent of Roy Buchanan or Gary Moore but displaying a brilliant sense of his instrument’s position within a band complex.

Every track here has a unique character, but you really do get the feeling that one man is at the core of it and everything flows around him. Whether it’s a burning belter like ‘Zapruder’ or a sweet and dark ballad like ‘Fego’ he really does cover the gamut.

I’ve been listening to this album on virtual repeat for over a week and it really is one of the most invigorating albums I’ve heard this year.
A belter.