Doyle Bramhall II & Smokestack - Welcome

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Free Music Notes for Welcome

Free Music Review: Classic blues rock is alive and well...
Hit: 5 Stars

It moves through all sorts of genres, from the Floydian sounding "So You Want It To Rain" and "Thin Dream," to the swinging Stones' style "Soul Shaker." You can definitely hear his Texan blues influences in tracks like "Problem Child" (which I've heard compared to "Voodoo Chile"), "Helpless Man," and the tour de force "Smokestack," which goes all over the map, touching on quiet acappella and ending in a fury of guitar pyrotechnics. Material like that may prove to be a bit much for some people, but not to worry, there are other highlights. Every single song has its hook, resulting in me never hitting the skip button on my CD player when I put this on.

"Life" reveals some distinctively Beatle influences, and the passage where Doyle sings "Closer you get to the edge and you're floating away" sounds eerily similar to John Lennon's "Cellophane flowers of yellow and green towering over your head." "Send Some Love" is absolutely fantastic, with hauntingly beautiful soul-filled vocals (he hits some high notes in there that you will not have heard anywhere from him before) and a great guitar solo in the middle. Fans of Eric Clapton, for whom Doyle is the opening act right now, should catch the opening riff of "Cry" and make the connection to EC's "River of Tears." Here Doyle evolves it into a masterpiece, with some of the best riffs of the album to close it all off, really giving the entire album a sense of finality, as if this were one 68 minute concert.

I highly recommend this for anyone looking for great rock and roll in this day and age, and I guarantee you you won't be disappointed.

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