By E. F Nesta
The posthumous release Jeff Healey - Songs from the Road is an eclectic set of covers that captures the energy and musicianship that became synonymous with a Jeff Healey performance.
Songs from the Road: I Think I Love You Too Much; I'm Ready; Stop Breaking Down; Angel Eyes; Come Together; Hoochie Coochie Man; White Room; While My Guitar Gently Weeps; Whipping Post; Teach Your Children Well; Santa, Bring My Baby Back [To Me].
Personnel: Jeff Healey: Guitar, Vocals; Dan Noordermeer: Guitar, Vocals; Dave Murphy: Keyboards, Vocals, Lead Vocals on Whipping Post; Alec Fraser: Bass, Vocals, Lead Vocals on White Room; Al Webster: Drums; Randy Bachman: Guitar on Hoochie Coochie Man
Jeff Healey - Songs from the Road, produced by Alec Fraser and released on the Ruf Records label, is a posthumous release of Jeff Healey's live performances. Jeff Healey was a multi-talented musician whose life was taken all too young, but through the dedication of long time friend, producer, and band mate, Alec Fraser, the release Songs from the Road was born. Songs from the Road is a collection of covers that Jeff and his band performed during live performances in London, at the Notodden Festival in Norway, and in his hometown of Toronto.
Songs from the Road opens with the Mark Knopfler song I Think I Love You Too Much, which shows Jeff's ability to retain the original song's fluid arrangement while laying down his own "version" with scintillating guitar work and emotional vocals against a backdrop of an exhilarating audience. The track I'm Ready is one of two covers from the legendary Willie Dixon and this blues rendition brings out elements of Jeff that only a live performance provides. He digs deep into his blues background emphasizing every note as though it was his last while the band performs a blazing complement to Jeff's guitar and vocals.
Stop Breaking Down (Robert Leroy Johnson) is down and dirty and the band gets funky as Jeff drives his guitar and vocals through this rousing cover. Angel Eyes, though not a Jeff Healey original, has been identified with Jeff Healey and each time I hear this track it takes on a new meaning and feeling. Sliced in the middle of an eclectic set of music, Angel Eyes holds its own as a tribute to a remarkable musician.
Jeff was a lover of all things musical with an extensive collection of jazz and other genres, so when he turns his attention to the psychedelic era with the Beatles tracks Come Together and While My Guitar Gently Weeps he knows how to emphasize the raw elements that cut through each chord, which was an important component of psychedelic music. The band's blues roots project new layers onto these classics creating refreshing and stimulating renditions.
Jeff, with the help of fellow Canadian and guitarist Randy Bachman, deliver a blistering track for Hoochie Coochie Man (Willie Dixon) and the band cuts a deep groove as they ride the Jeff and Randy wave.
Looking at his rock-n-roll roots he covers the classic White Room (Jack Bruce/Pete Brown) with a vigor and fervor that conjures up the members of Cream and the electrifying guitar work of Eric Clapton. Whipping Post (Greg Allman) leans in a different direction with a mix of blues, rock-n-roll, and Jeff Healey, as the band casts a new light on this classic while staying true to the original arrangement's swagger. The track Teach Your Children Well is carried by Jeff's slide guitar work, while the harmonies, though not of the legendary work of CS&N, are pure and hold to the pacing of the original song.
The last track on the release is the rockabilly track Santa, Bring My Baby Back [To Me] with the band having some fun and showing that life on the road is where they are in their element, but it is family that keeps them moving forward. The release closes with an all too apropos phrase from Jeff "That was fun, and that's what it's all about."
Websites where you can procure Jeff Healey - Songs from the Road are Amazon, CD Warehouse, Ruf Records, and CD Universe.
E.F Nesta is the owner, contributing writer, and Publisher of Luxury Experience Magazine (http://www.LuxuryExperience.com).
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