BERNIE MARSDEN – Kings (2021)
“Kings” is the first album of BERNIE MARSDEN’s “Inspirations Series”. Featuring 10 songs that were originally recorded by Albert, B.B. & Freddie King, and recorded in a studio in Oxfordshire with a band that just locked into a natural groove, “Kings” is chock full of blues and soul. Additionally, two Bernie Marsden penned songs inspired by ‘The Kings’ appear as bonus tracks on the album.
The LP marks both Marsden’s first solo effort since 2014’s ‘Shine’, and the first of his newly announced Inspirations series, which will see the former Whitesnake guitarist pay homage to a host of his influences.
The idea for the series was born after Marsden was invited to play on stage with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, who said to him, “Bernie, wouldn’t it be great if we could all record the songs we grew up with as we learned to play the guitar?” Shortly after, Marsden began making a list of the inspirations he wanted to pay tribute to.
‘Kings’ is a collection of classic tracks delivered with a pure and unadulterated joy at the simplicity and quality of the songs, a laconic masterclass of blues guitar work, and the clear and easy vocal delivery, which is obvious from the very start in Don’t Lie To Me, an upbeat skiffle workout that highlights the clear guitar tones that Bernie is renowned for.
Key To The Highway opens up with a dirty blues riff and a typical Bernie lead break, before rolling into the gorgeous body of the track, that allows free reign to the lead guitar, and becomes more solo than song!
Songwriting legend Leon Russell’s Help Me Through The Day brings back memories of the ‘Lovehunter’ Whitesnake album, which featured this cover, and Bernie makes the vocal his own, while the band lay down a casual late-night groove, and then we get a languorous warm solo that ties in perfectly with the feel of the track.
There is a bit more kick in I’ll Play The Blues For You, and a heartfelt voice, which seems to just get better and better, over the mellow guitars. Some great Hammond Organ work lifts up the intensity mid song, while Bernie takes a bit of a back-seat, applying some quality touches where needed.
A drop in tempo to a classic blues ballad in Woman Across The River which pushes Bernie’s voice a little until he really opens it up, and features one of those classic blues shuffle time changes, and then rips into a sizzling little solo over the honky-tonk piano melody.
Help The Poor written by Charles Singleton, and made famous by BB King and then again by BB and Eric Clapton – so no real competition! Bernie makes this one his own with a low-key vocal and wonderful guitar work throughout.
One thing strikes me from the record, is just how much is crammed in to each of the tracks, many of which under 3½ minutes as they were written.
Me And My Guitar could be the Bernie Marsden anthem – a joyous rendition of this Freddie King version written by Leon Russell with his drummer Chuck Blackwell, who also played with Freddie K. This just belts along with a great underlying riff and some searing guitar licks over the top – I reckon this is the track of the record.
Another Leon Russell penned Freddie K track is up next in Living On The Highway, also recorded by John Mayall and Dr Feelgood, and Bernie pays this one due homage, and again the piano and guitar interplay is excellent.
A classic belter of a blues ballad in Freddie K’s own You’ve Got To Love Her With A Feeling allows Bernie to absolutely rip out solo after solo, before the Don Nix’s track Same Old Blues which is one of those heart-wrenching, string-bending blues standards.
Bernie then provides two of his own tracks in Runaway, a gleeful romp through a three-chord standard, with the melody delivered in true lead-break style, and a switch or two in rhythm that keep pushing the tempo, while the licks and solos keep coming. This is a blues guitar masterclass in 2m 50s.
Uptown Train smoulders into view with organ and sleazy blues guitars, and which is the perfect close to the album.
If you had no idea who this was, and heard the record playing in a café or bar, or record store, the music would just flow around and through you as befits the set of classics it is, and fingers and toes would start tapping.
For the blues aficionados, they would know the songs and the provenance, and many would then be stuck trying to work out who was playing!
Bernie Marsden has provided a fitting set of tributes to some of the great blues songwriters and the 3 Kings as titled.
Highly recommended pure music
01. Don’t You Lie To Me
02. Key To The Highway
03. Help Me Through The Day
04. I’ll Play The Blues For You
05. Woman Across The River
06. Help The Poor
07. Me And My Guitar
08. Living On The Highway
09. You’ve Got To Love Her With Feeling
10. Same Old Blues
BONUS TRACKS:
11. Runaway (Bernie Marsden original)
12. Uptown Train (Bernie Marsden original)
BUY
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kings-bernie-marsden/36615118
