2017 –Rip Cat Records
Release Date : Oct 20,
2017
By Phillip Smith;
Sep 23, 2017
Alastair
Greene recently parted from his seven-year gig as Alan
Parson’s touring guitarist and made the decision to follow his musical
dream of pursing a full-time solo career. His most recent album, Dream Train, produced and mixed by David
Z is a monumental one to say the least. It contains a dozen originals and one fabulous
cover. With Greene on guitar
and vocals, he is joined by Jim Rankin on bass, and Austin Beede
on drums.
Beede’s
thunder-filled pounding beats fuel title-track “Dream Train” as Greene kicks
it into full-throttle fearlessly blasting his turbo-charged electric blues. “Nome
Zayne”, a previously-unreleased Texas-style blues-rocker written by Billy
Gibbons (ZZ Top) and featuring the great Walter Trout is
funky and infectious. It’s definitely one
of my favorites, as is “I’m the Taker”. Greene
keeps this one powerful, raw and a bit psychedelic.
The instrumentals on this album are delightful. So elegant is “Song For Rufus”. Though clocking in at just less than two
minutes in length, it carries heartfelt warmth. “Iowa” is a blessing to hear as
well, and not just because it is where I call my current home. The rich sounds from organist Mike
Finnegan and the gentile waves of crashing cymbals provide a perfectly textured
space for Greene’s guitar to explore.
This gorgeous song quickly brings to mind my first listen of Eric
Johnson’s Tones album. Debbie Davies appears with guitar in
hand for a swinging instrumental blues jam on “Grateful Swagger” and it is downright
terrific.
There’s a heavy North Mississippi Delta vibe in “Rain
Stomp”. Greene plays this wonderful
callback to classic blues slathered up with a heaping dose of exquisite swampy
slide. A collaboration with Mike Zito
results in one badass song called “Down to Memphis”. The riffs are hard and intense. The slide guitar is fantastic.
One listen to Dream
Train, and it’s so very obvious Alastair Greene made the right
decision to pursue his musical dream.
This is absolutely one stellar blues-rock album.
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