2014 – FMI Records
By Phillip Smith;
Dec 13, 2014
All In, the
latest release from New York City bluesman Dave
Fields, is a great guitar-centric album to settle in with, for a good
listen. The songs are fresh, and Field’s guitar playing is
magnificent. He not only plays all
instruments on most of the eleven tracks, he produced the album as well.
Fields
ushers the listener into the album like a lion, with a ferocious guitar intro
and no-nonsense blues in “Changes In My Life”. More of the same bluesy goodness can be found
on “Wake Up Jasper”. Fields tackles Robert Johnson’s “Crossroad” in a more gritty nature than usual, and
breathes new life into this timeless tale of regret and damnation. One can feel the raw energy surging through the
guitar as he plays. Fields then takes Led Zeppelin’s
“Black Dog”, flips it one hundred eighty degrees, and turns it into a fun danceable
number with an infusion of funk.
Two other favorites include, “Voodoo
Eyes”, and “Dragonfly”. Infectious
grooves and soulful guitar licks accompanied by Vladamir Barsky on organ give “Voodoo Eyes” a retro late-sixties vibe.
I love the way “Dragonfly”, an elegantly
melodic song, slowly builds to a fantastic eruption of sound. This track which features Kenny Soule on drums and Tony
Tino on bass, seemingly draws a lot of inspiration from the band, Yes.
One can surely tell, Dave
Fields went “All In” on the creation of this album. It’s definitely worth checking out.
