BLUES MATTERS
WILLIE PHOENIX
Plastic Blues and Grooves
Willie is a singer/songwriter/guitarist with a real pedigree. He was taught guitar by his father and bluesman, the Rev. Willie Creagh who played with Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson 2 and who is also Willie's godfather. On this CD Willie has Hendrix, Santana,Cream,The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The 60's British Blues Scene, and mixed and matched in a present day setting. He's moulded classic '60's guitar riffs, which he plays with skill and passion,with lyrics that go from intensly profound on one track to the more commercially accessible the next. The opening track, 'English Tea', is rock-Blues with mean axe and lyrics that suggest maybe the industry could do with a Hendrix type today-just to stir things up. Otis Rush's 'All Your Love' is the only cover on this 15 track CD-and it is class. "The Birthday' is the Stones meet The Beatles, who go head-banging with the Status Quo! 'Burning Blues' is a slower Blues ballad, with a touch of soul and passionate guitar bemoaning lost love. 'Protest Song 99' and 'Dead Soldier', again a guitar cries for a generation of young soldiers, poignantly point out the futility of war. If anyone has grasped the true ethos and roots of '60s music, it is Willie Phoenix on this CD.
Carol Borrington
www.bluesmatters.com