BACHMAN – Heavy Blues (2015)

* the Real one

Where have you been for the past two decades Randy? Canadian Randy BACHMAN, who made classic rock history with Bachman-Turner Overdrive and superb The Guess Who, has recorded one of the best album of his career. The name says it all: “Heavy Blues“.
Indeed, this is a fantastic set of blues-based classic rock / hard rock of all times, delivered by this veteran with an energy & passion of a young musician in his twenties.

This album is exactly how I happen to like my bluesy classic hard rock – Bachman has wrapped his heavy blues in a lot of great melody, a slamming rhythm section, down and dirty rhythm guitar tones, and some screaming guitar solos from himself and a slate of bona fide six-string superstars.
Kevin Shirley (Journey, Mr. Big) no frills, in your face production works perfectly here, and in a move that is either brilliant serendipity or extremely shrewd marketing, Bachman is joined on the record by a sexy couple of serious slammers in the way of drummer Dale Anne Brendan and bassist Anna Ruddick, who look great, but who also do a fantastic work.

Things come quickly into focus as the trio rips into opener ‘The Edge’ – there’s no mistaking the homage paid to the classic British blues / hard scene. Bachman tears off an unmistakable piece of melodic lead playing over the crashing intro before turning things around with an equally recognizable voice that proceeds to tell the tale. It’s like coming back home – this is all familiar, but it’s a brash and powerful update.
It’s all here, and they pull it off with no sense of anything but pure joy. Bachman hasn’t slowed down a single step – he’s never sounded better.

Now we get straight into the list of co-conspirators, and could Bachman and Shirley have found a better first example than Scott Holiday, he of the next big thing Rival Sons?
‘Ton Of Bricks’ hits the listener as advertised, is a brilliant tune that’s filled with a fountain of great and fluid guitars. Bachman has always been a great songwriter, and one of rock’s best storytellers, and here he is absolutely on fire – as the rhythm section pummels, this metallic rocker jumps off the platter, and Holiday and Bachman sound like they are having a great time jousting with their respective instruments.
Next it’s Joe Bonamassa on ‘Bad Child’, and together with Bachman he has never sounded this aggressive and in your face.

“Little Girl Lost” features Bachman’s old friend from Canada, Neil Young, joining in on a vicious rocker that should serve as a primer for all the kids on how it is to be done. The guitars are huge, and the groovy riff is a classic stomper.
On ‘Confessin’ To The Devil’ the cameo slot is filled with some carefully cut and pasted posthumous licks courtesy of the estate and hands of the late Jeff Healey, from a long-ago unreleased session with Bachman. This is another rifling riff that has no sheen, no gloss, just grit and grind.

Talented Peter Frampton join for title track ‘Heavy Blues’. He and Bachman roll with some pretty impressive velocity and attitude, going lick-for-lick with Frampton in a guitar workout that gives both performers room to lay out without sacrificing songwriting economy.
Liquid, melodic, and edgy, Frampton definitely went back in time for this one, and all I can hope is that sometime in the near future we see the man strap up like this on an album of his own.
This is great hard rock – blues? Well, it’s bluesy hard rock, but like I said…. Great, great stuff.

‘Wild Texas Ride’ is a fast one – they’re throwing it down hard, and Bachman’s fleet fingered rhythm section pushes this one down the highway like the devil’s on their tale.
A sleek and slinky syncopation defines ‘Please Come To Paris’, and it’s funky grooves are joined by a cameo by a fellow that some have called Canada’s best guitarist, Luke Doucet. This one is wrapped in women whispering, and more sizzling rock.
Things finally slow down a bit for the set closing ‘We Need To Talk’. It is actually close to a classic slow blues, but it’s still a bit too melodic and sophisticated to be lumped in by that classification. This is just great songwriting, cool, cool playing, and a nice smooth but gravelly vocal. Bachman’s guitar solo is fat, lyrical as the verses, and the very definition of tasty. Yeah, this is a nice way to wrap it up.

What a great surprise – I had no real idea what to expect from Randy Bachman 2015.
“Heavy Blues” is ‘heavy’, yes, bluesy, in the best traditional hard rocking way, but also melodic and with a feeling that few can express in classic rock today.
Great songs, great band, great guests, excellent production, but more than anything, this is a great picture of the musician that is Randy Bachman.
Real Rock ain’t near dead, and warhorses like Randy Bachman are proving it. No matter how you look at it or slice it, this is a terrific album.
Highly Recommended.

01 – The Edge
02 – Ton Of Bricks (feat. Scott Holiday)
03 – Bad Child (feat. Joe Bonamassa)
04 – Little Girl Lost (feat. Neil Young)
05 – Learn To Fly
06 – Oh My Lord (feat. Robert Randolph)
07 – Confessin’ To The Devil (feat. Jeff Healey)
08 – Heavy Blues (feat. Peter Frampton)
09 – Wild Texas Ride
10 – Please Come To Paris (feat. Luke Doucet)
11 – We Need To Talk

Randy Bachman – vocals, guitar
Dale Anne Brendan – drums
Anna Ruddick – bass

PRE-ORDER:
www.amazon.com/Heavy-Blues-Bachman/dp/B00S0DW4DU
.