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BLUES
REVUE
THE WORLD’S LARGEST BLUES PUBLICATION,
DEVOTED TO THE LISTENER AND MUSICIAN WHOSE
MUSICAL PASSION IS THE FULL SPECTRUM OF THE BLUES
www.bluesrevue.com
EDDIE TURNER
Rise
NorthernBlues 0027
Out from Otis Taylor’s
shadow comes guitarist Eddie Turner with a statement of his own. Where
Taylor mines a minimalist, disturbing vein, Turner peppers his
music with equal parts rock, funk, and gospel, guided by a love of Hendrixian
guitar. Producer Kenny Passarelli afforded Taylor a precision that helped
him define his unique sound; here, Passarelli complements Turner’s
voice with multilayered textures that lean on percussion, thudding
bass, and (unlike Taylor’s projects) the very real drums
of Mark Clark.
The title track’s eerie soundscape makes the most of Turner’s
neo-psychedelic guitar lines; they stab out of the gloom flanked by
military drums, exotic background singers, and biblical passages. "The
River” makes an indelible impression and is the record's standout
performance: Its percussive, slide-driven dip into the Mississippi is
both cleansing and apocalyptic, a thoroughly original cocktail
where modern production merges with the past. “Resurrection”
takes little more than three guitar parts and bass to weave a darkly
intriguing path down the dirt tracks of a chilling Southern night.
It’s not surprising that Turner covers “The Wind Cries Mary,”
but his unexpectedly fresh delivery speaks highly of his confidence.
In truth, he’s full of surprises - from his fresh reinvention
of Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s “Gangster of Love”
to his Satriani-esque “It’s Me” to the a cappella
spiritual attack of “Sin.” The screaming guitar that opens
“Play It Cool” sets up Turner’s limitation - his soft-spoken
whisper of a vocal lacks the bite of his instrument. But Passarelli
artfully disguises the weakness:
Case in point is the spoken-word “Privileged Life,” with
its guitarslinger signature. When Turner tosses in some funk on the
final two tracks, “Secret” winds up leaving the strongest
impression, thanks to a generous helping of B-3 and Anna Givens’
background vocals. Rise isn’t for everybody- it might cause the
eyebrows of purists to do just that -but it represents a strong, highly
stylized release from an artist previously in the background. The
timing is right for Eddie Turner to make his stand.
ERIC THOM
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