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Deacon Records
by Craig Hartranft, 07.17.2013
Superb. Steve Hunter's The Manhattan Blues Project is simply a superb piece of work. You know Hunter as the legendary guitarist who has worked with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, David Lee Roth, Jack Bruce and Aerosmith. With The Manhattan Blues Project he turns to the famous New York borough and it's landmarks for his melodic blues rock compositions. He gets some help from some notable friends including Joe Satriani, Tony Levin, Johnny Depp, Joe Perry, and Marty Friedman, among others.
When I get pitched blues albums they are nearly all something in the range of Texas to Memphis blues, boogie to rock blues. Hunter's style on this album is more soulful and wistful blues, having qualities that flow from gentleness (Daydream by the Hudson composed by Jason Becker) to sharpness (The Brooklyn Shuffle) to playfulness (222 W. 23rd, the location of the (in)famous Hotel Chelsea).
Then there's both the calmness and sorrow found in the acoustic Ground Zero. Or the groove of Twilight in Harlem. And the interpretation of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On will surprise in it's inherent unpredictability. The closing piece Sunset in Central Park, with the cellos, turns into something like a blues hymn, if there is such a thing. The Manhattan Blues Project is simply a delightful breeze of fresh air, in light of most things I get. And on top of that, Hunter's music sounds so darn good.
Steve Hunter's The Manhattan Blues Project is superb, some of the most beautiful melodic blues rock I've ever heard. Strongly recommended.
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Steve Hunter's The Manhattan Blues Project is superb, some of the most beautiful melodic blues rock I've ever heard. Strongly recommended.
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