Fred Hostetler has been around a long while and I have enjoyed his music more and more as he has matured. This collection though, is a series of songs that he has written over the years and not previously finished off or recorded. Intriguingly, it has both the feel of a new album and a collection of odds and sods.
Hostetler spent around 17 years living in India and picked the Blues back up on his return in 2017. Many of these songs had been around in one form or another since he first started in earnest in 1977, but these are mainly new recordings or completions of original recordings.
Hostetler has the sound of a classic Bluesman and most of the acoustic Blues on this album are top class. He is a fine guitarist, featuring a superb slide tone along with a slightly hoarse vocal style – which makes for authenticity – and he is an accomplished songwriter as well.
Of the eleven songs here, ten are original compositions with a fine version of Bill Withers ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ that really tugs at the heartstrings. I enjoyed ‘Hey Corporate Vandals’ and ‘Shelter From The Storm’ particularly, but standout has to be the epic ‘Taming The Wolf’, an autobiographical piece about Hostetler’s own relationship with the Blues.
There isn’t a weak track here, it just doesn’t – for me – hang together as a coherent album. On stream though, a lot of good tracks to try out.
