2018 – HipsterDumpster
Records
By Phillip Smith;
Sep. 8, 2018
Matty
T Wall, the Australia-based bluesman who wowed me over two
years ago with his Blue Skies album
has scored again with Sidewinder. Loaded
with nine original songs and four covers, this record showcases Wall’s songwriting,
guitar mastery, and vocal chops. This trifecta
of skills is what makes this artist a force to be reckoned with. Appearing with Wall on this recording,
is drummer Ric Whittle, bassist Stephen Walker, organist Gordon
Cant, backing vocalist Deli Rowe, Steve Searle on horns, and Jonas
Petersen on strings.
“Slideride”, a bodacious instrumental with a heavy
dose of electric slide heavy guitar, surely awakens the soul. The momentum of the opening track is further extended
by the driving riff which fuels rocking title track “Sidewinder”. Wall captures lightning in a bottle
with a fierce performance on “Sophia’s Strut”, a mind-melting blues-rich
instrumental. Clocking in at just less
than two minutes, I wish this jaw-dropper could have been a little longer.
Wall
beautifully takes on Sam Cook’s “Change is Gonna Come”. His soulfully smooth vocals sound great, and
his guitar sounds terrific as it lands in the pocket Walker and Whittle
construct with the rhythm section. The strings
and organ accompaniment on this one is the icing on the cake. When he hits the Don
Nix-penned tune “Going Down”, I have to crank up the volume. This tremendous song, recorded in 1971 by Freddy
King sounds great as Walls scorching guitar licks burn the house down.
Matty
T Wall’s brand of blues, impressively fresh and exciting, continues
to push in a forward direction with Sidewinder. It’s a terrific listen. That’s for sure.
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Click the link below to read the PhillyCheeze review of : Matty T Wall - Blue Skies
