Matt Schofield: Heads, Tails & Aces

DVDfever.co.uk – Matt Schofield: Heads, Tails & Aces CD reviewElly Roberts reviews

Matt Schofield: Heads, Tails & AcesDistributed by
Nugene Records

• Released: May 2009
• Rating: 8/10
• Vote and comment on this album:View Comments

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Matt Schofield: old-school bluesman with 21 century tricks.

If there was ever a ‘proper’ bluesman, then 31 year old Brit Matt Schofield is he. Head, Tails and Aces shouts out, “I’m here, check me out!” And, yes, some of the greats better look over their shoulders because he’s hot on their heels, and I mean hot. This guy’s got it all, just like all the greats, rolled into one.

Steeped in the territory of blues rockers such as Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and co, Schofield is a rare breed of axemen who knows how to thrill with each note. And that’s key here. Touch, like the brotherhood of Page, Carlos Santana, Rory Gallagher, Hendrix, Paul Kossoff et al, is crucial to getting the right effect.

There’s nothing gratuitous going on here. Each note is meant to be savoured making the solos memorable in every way, whether they’re energetic sojourns or laidback, which is the measure of a great guitarist, which he is.It’s taken some time for him to reach this point. Schofield has learnt his trade well by being a ‘side-man’, spending four valuable years with British Blues Diva and Dana Gillespie, touring the UK, Europe and India.

What we get here is an exquisite collection written (or co-written) and produced by Schofield. He’s a useful singer too, with husky-lite timbre. Together he, organist Jonny Henderson, bassist Jeff “The Funk” Walker and drummer Alain Baudry pool their collective skills to maximum effect – this is a band effort – and it feels like it.

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Though primarily a blues album, he masterfully throws in occasional funky grooves, jazz lines, though not as many as previous albums like the cool and measured Nothing Left that includes one his best vocal performances. This and Nothing Left, reminds me of Clapton’s crossover blues of the early-mid 80s, whereas his sublime solos on Lay It Down are echoes of Page’s wizardry on Since I’ve Been Loving You (Led Zeppelin 2).It’s when he’s really attacking the neck he’s at his most effective, like the rip-roaring opener What I Wanna Hear. Check the string bends.

This is bettered by some astonishing deft touches on War We Wage, bringing back memories of Kossoff’s ‘hanging’ style from say the Heartbreaker album of 1973.Again he’s on top form on the wailing guitar blasts of Betting Man, one of the best tracks here.It’s a long time since I’ve heard such great use of the wah wah pedal.

This is heavily featured on the blistering and funky Can’t Put You Down. If evidence was needed that Schofield is one of Britain’s finest, then this is it.Just like the opener, Stranger Blues is all-out-attack with gushing, fluid riffs and frenetic licks, which turns out to be a showcase for his stylish skills.

Closing a mightily impressive album, he does things nice and easy early- on, on Not Raining Now, where his disciplined skills come to the fore all over again, though without his superb band none of this would be possible. For the run-in he goes all out to impress with monster solos which mark Schofield as THE rising star of the blues today.

The verdict: Clapton beware !

Weblinks:mattschofield.com /nugenerecords.com

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The full list of tracks included are :

1. What I Wanna Hear
2. Live Wire
3. War We Wage
4. Betting Man
5. Lay It Down
6. Can’t Put You Down
7. Woman Across The River
8. Nothing Left
9. I Told Ya
10. Stranger Blues
11. Not Raining NowView the discussion thread.blog comments powered by Disqus= 0) {query += ‘url’ + i + ‘=’ + encodeURIComponent(links[i].href) + ‘&’;}}document.write(”);})();//]]]]>]]>

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