Blurry blues fusion
For years people have been debating whether Music/Art can be objectively good, I find myself entering into the same debate over Scott Henderson's album; I know it's good, but I'm just not a jazzy or bluesy kind of person. That being said, Scott Henderson manages to play what gripping blues fusion, the blues undertones melding with a variety of different directions taken by the psychedelic guitar solos.
With epic track lengths of 7 or 8 minutes in places, this album feels a bit exhausting to be the kind of music you'd actively listen to; but as something funky to brighten up an otherwise silent room, it'd do a great job. Henderson's credentials are, after all pretty impressive, he's been named by Guitar World and Guitar Player as number 1 Jazz Guitarist, and his first solo blues album won yet another Guitar Player accolade.
The intro track of the first disc “Slidin’ ” is all about furious, feisty fretwork, but as an intro with no vocals it feel like one of the most drawn-out tracks, although it does good a great overview of what Henderson’s music consists of. Many of the tracks, including “Slidin’ ” come from Henderson’s band Tribal Tech but are revitalised here by Henderson and equally inventive drummer Kirk Covington and the groovy bass of John Humphrey. It’s great to have tracks where, even with the presence of vocals, the melody revolves so completely around the stylish guitar work, this is especially noticeable in “Xanax”, where the vocals just seem to provide an interlude from the real tune being carried across by Henderson's guitar.
The second disc contains the same samples of shiny blues fusion. "Dog Party" is funky and driven, with the fascinating lyrics, "You're invited to a dog party got to bring your dog or your ugly girlfriend"… I think I'll stick to writing about the guitar playing. "Fee Fi Fo Fum" bounces along to start in a chirpy but softer little melodic intro, with the twiddling guitar solo accompanied by brushed cymbals and the bass only entering to add a few sultry scales.
Returning to my earlier philosophical musings, I can hear exactly why Henderson is a veritable blues genius. He reaches heady heights of guitar playing and you can almost feel the creative vibe beneath his fingers, but this album does just become one rather long blur, especially as each track has so much variation and no clear motif or chorus like I'm used to in popular music. I had to give the two disks separate listening's as they were such a handful, however for any fans this live album would be a real treat with over 1h30 between the two disks.