I first happened upon this artist through television coverage of the Cambridge folk festival, and was overwhelmed by the quality of his performance. Solo artists often sound lifeless without a backing band to fill in the gaps for them, but Kelly Joe Phelps certainly does not fall into this category; it’s strangely powerful that one man sitting on a chair with his guitar can hold the attention of a field full of people so completely.

Let me make this clear right away, when I say that this is blues dont think about the dull lifeless misery that is often passed off today as blues, think (as Steve Earle writes in this album’s inlay) “a smoky, painful, yet somehow comforting groove that lets you know you are not alone”. This is music that sits in the woods late at night next to its brother’s grave with a bottle of whiskey and a pack of cigarettes, and in a world full of the Backstreet Boys and Britney it’s refreshing to hear something that sounds so real, honest and earthy.

Phelps’ voice is superb throughout; deep and growling, but with a soft heart behind it. Like John Lydon for the Sex Pistols, the real strength of Phelps’ voice (although he is gifted with a good vocal range and tone) is that it simply suits the sound of the music so well. Phelps also proves that it is possible to be a technically dazzling guitarist without ‘doing a Steve Vai’ and degenerating into self indulgence and musical masturbation; nearly all of his playing is extremely complex, but still manages to be very rarely dull or complicated for complication’s sake.

The standout tracks on this album are when he plays slide, particularly the ode to aging wanderlust that is Wandering Away and the tender cover of Leadbelly’s Goodnight Irene. The album is not without its weaker moments though; on Train Carried My Girl from Town and Capman Bootman Phelps is a touch weak lyrically, and many of the songs could be criticised for being overly long.

Many will not enjoy this album, if you have no interest in this field of music, then you will find little or nothing here that appeals to you, but I would recommend this album to anyone ineterested in blues, folk or any acoustic music.

A warning to guitarists though - this album will seriously damage your ego.

9/10 Mr.Roper

Album Reviews
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