Burning Bridges
Guitar Pete
Tangible Music
1998
10 tracks
I never liked much of the so called "rock" music of the Seventies, now tagged "classic rock" on the radio. With the exception of a few talented artists, most players of this genre borrowed the best riffs of electric blues and rock and roll, blended them and blanded them. They got some of the sound but none of the soul. The best of today's blues artists are not just bringing that soul back but investing it with new power. Some play traditional acoustic blues with feeling that draws on the ages. Others play rocking blues that are pure rock and roll. I've just discovered one of the best in that last category: Guitar Pete Brasino.
Guitar Pete is aptly named. He plays a solid rocking blues guitar with hot licks that drive his music like a locomotive. There is power and style here that can stand with the best. But there's more to Pete Brasino.
Pete Brasino has a massive voice and he punches out his lyrics with deep feeling. As a vocalist, he may well be one of the finest vocal stylists around. Clearly well-rounded in the work of the blues greats, Brasino brings to the music a rock and roll sensibility that reaches out and pulls the listener in. Think Tony Joe White with a harder edge or maybe David Clayton Thomas on steroids and you'll come close to the soul this man exudes.
Does Brasino's talent never end? He is also a talented songwriter. [Unlike most labels, Tangible Music has not included lyrics with the CD, instead listing an address to mail away for them. Very quirky, especially since the lyrics are readily available on the Tangible Music website.] Brasino is a talented lyricist who understands his genre inside out. Not slap-dash efforts, these lyrics are well thought out and tightly structured, with an authentic blues feel. Most musicians with a modicum of talent can string together a few blues riffs and call it a song. The music here is more than that. Like the lyrics, Brasino's music feels whole and full-bodied. Put together, the lyrics and music become songs that are at the very least above average.
This release is pure rock and roll. Listening to it, the blues masters come to mind. This is the blues of B. B. King, Muddy Waters, Willy Dixon, and a score of others. But there are also echoes of groups like the Sir Douglas Quintet, Golden Earring, Steppenwolf, and others who made driving blues-based rock and roll. This is blues in the pattern followed by groups like the Fabulous Thunderbirds, but without the raw edges sanded off. The closest comparison I can come up with is Montreal bluesman Frank Marino, also an exceptional guitarist, and his band Mahogany Rush, who put out the toughest version of "Roadhouse Blues" I've ever heard.
Many young musicians today understand the term "cover" to mean performing a song already done by someone else. In fact, to "cover" a tune is to do it the same way the original artist did. I abhor this practice, but I love when an artist brings his own interpretation to a song and breathes new life into it. "Mustang Sally" is the only song on Burning Bridges not written by Brasino. The original "Mustang Sally" is a solid rocker, but Brasino's treatment makes the original sound middle of the road quiet. Guitar Pete and his band dig deep into the steroid bin and pump out a driving rock and roll "Sally" that's much more than just a ride.
Unlike many contemporary bluesmen, Brasino isn't afraid to have some fun with his blues. Some of his lyrics hark back to the hocum blues of the Twenties, telling stories with a wink of the eye and a twist of humour. "Jellyfish" is a good example of his lighter side. Over a spritely rhythm, Brasino sings lyrics harking back to the double-entendre of songs like the Dominos' "Chicken Blues" ("If you don't like chicken, leave that hen alone/She'll give you so much chicken, you cannot do a thing but moan") or Eddy Vinson's "Kidney Stew Blues". In a politically incorrect lyric reminiscent of songs like Jimmy Soul's "If you want to be Happy" or Joe Tex's "Skinny Legs and All" and "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Women)," Brasino sings:
have i ever told you baby, pound for pound
nothin' i like better than a butt so big and round
so move on over with them hips
let me squeeze ya like a jellyfish
oh, gimme just a little bit
come on let me squeeze ya like a jellyfish ...
...some people like 'em skinny
some people like 'em flattened
but i love the way when you're walkin'
it starts slappin'
oh, gimme just a little bit
let me squeeze ya like a jellyfish
once i start i'll never quit
let me squeeze ya like a jellyfish
Brasino shows off his guitar licks in his "J. B. Shuffle," an instrumental that's sure to start your feet moving to the beat.
While this release may all be heavy blues, it's not all up-tempo and some of the best songs are slow and soulful. Brasino's three long slow songs, "Do You Hear the Rain" (5:43), "Makes No Sense" (8:24) and "Gasoline"(5:54) are well worth the price of the CD all by themselves. These powerful, soulful interpretations prove the blues is alive and well in the new millennium.
I would be remiss not to mention Anthony Bernardo's drums and Marc B. Gilman's bass guitar. Without the driving force of this great rhythm section in every song, this release would not be the success it assuredly is. The additional bass tracks by Ray Arias on "Makes No Sense" and "Gasoline" further enhance these songs.
Guitar Pete's Burning Bridges should be an essential addition to any collection of the top contemporary blues artists.
Anyone interested can find out more about Guitar Pete Brasino by visiting Tangible Music.|
Since about February 14, 2004, |
While you're here, please take the time to check out our sponsors below and on other pages.
Got a new or recent release you would like reviewed?
Click here 
for more information.
|
on Sound Bytes' Free-For-All Links page... Click Here.
Canadian.