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April 2024

• Vanden Plas: The Empyrean Equation Of The Long Lost Things
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March 2024

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February 2024

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January 2024

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Chris Duarte Group, The: Blues in the ...

Blues Rock

4.0/5.0

Blues Bureau International (Shrapnel Records)
Website Facebook Twitter MySpace
by Craig Hartranft,  12.05.2011

Texas is known for many things, not the least of which is blues music. Veteran guitar slinger and bluesman, Chris Duarte, moved to Austin, the natural home for all things big in Texas music, at a very young age. At first he was under the radar. Then in 1995 he finished fourth in the Guitar Players's "Best Blues Guitarist" category behind Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and B.B. King. Holy shiite! Those are some big shoes to fill.

Then with the passing of the legendary Stevie Ray Vaughn, many saw Duarte filling the gap. Accolades and comparisons aside, Chris Duarte delivers classic blues wrapped in the roots of rock and jazz. Playing the blues can be learned, but truly 'playing' the, blues ultimately, comes from the heart. Duarte's blues is imminent and passionate on his latest, Blues in the Afterburner.

With little doubt, Chris Duarte is the real deal. And I make no apologies for my fondness for the blues. This album is rich and fluid with classic Texas blues, melding rock and boogie. (Where do you think ZZ Top began from?) Another Man begins the blues, with the typical fair of tragic love. But you rebound with Make Me Fell So Right, a lively blues rock romp. Undercurrents of the famous bluesmen both past and present are found everywhere, notably on Black Clouds Rolling, Summer's Child, and Prairie Jelly. Perhaps the best quality of Blues in the Afterburner is it's raw, 'recording live' feel, when stripped of the theatrics of post-production, is certainly in its finest form.

If blues music is your thing, and it should be, then The Chris Duarte Group's Blues in the Afterburner echoes the glory of the genre and its greatest participants. It also enlivens the present, and those who wish to aspire to the blues heritage.

Well recommended.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

If blues music is your thing, and it should be, then The Chris Duarte Group's Blues in the Afterburner echoes the glory of the genre and its greatest participants. It also enlivens the present, and those who wish to aspire to the blues heritage.

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Three years have passed since Sweden's Cruzh dropped their second long-player, Tropical Thunder, also introducing their new singer, Alex Waghorn. Now the band returns with The Jungle Revolution ... [ Read More ]