Maurice Hope – May 2, 2016 at 04:55PM
Tags:_AMERICANA
Manchester born and bred, now living in Cheltenham bluesman Ged Wilson has seen a great deal of water pass under the bridge since 1971 when he walked into a bookshop in St Ann’s Square Manchester to purchase a copy of Penguin Modern Poets 10, and in doing so he found his gateway to the poems of Adrian Henri to change his way of thinking. In his words after only scratching on the British blues boom he went on to discover a whole new music through Gil Scott-Heron, Miles Davis and Lightnin’ Hopkins. That’s not all because he also gained another great influence on seeing Led Zeppelin live in concert and insight what music comprised of. When you place all the above in a melting pot you arrive at the place where Ged Wilson (guitar, harmonica) now comes, and though jazz isn’t my thing even on “The Mighty” one of two or three tracks that way inclined the opening alone is something to behold and to savour.
At his best when laying down a busy blues shuffle as on “What The Blindman Saw” and “Ain’t That A Shame” this is timeless fare, utterly timeless. Great groove. I love his innovative, simple grasp of what it takes to slow down the world, grab the attention of the listener as he utilises guitar, harmonica and hooks, as country (“What The Blindman Saw” is something Rodney Crowell could just as easily have written), as for “Meet The Boss” it wanders through good old-fashioned rock’n’roll and traditional blues and r&b without a change in Wilson’s demeanour.
Some humour is shared on talking funky blues “Tonight At Noon” before on he returns with muddy blues “Irwell Delta Blues” which speaks of how he has never been down to New Orleans or Memphis but can still get an authentic dose of the blues. On utilising harmonica and piano (Jack Baldus) speaks of a different class as the music takes the listener across the pond, it is class fare. Some might say different class.
Juggling the sounds, styles and on flitting across the pond for his ideas Wilson ensures the record keeps moving forward, and never become anywhere near predictable. Best of the rest include what I take as autobiographical “Northern Town”, funky ode “Run With The Devil” that features some wonderful playing as Wilson, Baldus, Oli Tabor (drums, percussion) and acoustic, electric bassist Josef Kaspar surpass themselves.
There is also some more sophisticated, wonderfully worked fare for the die-hard enthusiast to muse over too, my review far from tells the whole story I have left a bunch of stuff for you to discover in your own time.
Maurice Hope
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