2024 – AVA Records
By Phillip Smith; Nov. 21, 2024
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com
The Fury by Antonio Vergara is one of the 2025 Grammy-nominated
releases for Best Contemporary Blues Album. From the first song of this
thirteen-track original masterpiece, I surrender my utmost attention in return
for a one-of-a-kind mystical blues journey. Engineer/producer/multi-instrumentalist/vocalist
Vergara boasts a career which has stretched over three decades, and the
innovation and passion poured into this album definitely shows.
A tribal beat ushers the record in with “My Lucky Mojo” as Vergara’s melodic vocals float skyward. As soon as I hear him unleash his guitar, I knew this album was going to be absolutely amazing. “Delta Shine” encapsulates me with its riveting intro. The song is filled with unexpected treats within the groove. Vergara, with resonator guitar in hand, takes the listener for a walk through a Mississippi delta swamp on “Hoodoo”. An awe-inspired harmonica accompaniment is the icing on the cake. The horn-infused deep-blues groove which carries “Guitar Tree” pops like a secret hoedown in the dark delta woods. World-class Afro-fusion artist Tito Da Fire lends his voice to the spaghetti-western-friendly ballad “The Rebel’s Right”. I love how the song unravels into a furious guitar-heavy flurry of spoken word. Vergara cleverly brings The Fury to its final destination with “Outro”, a nearly fifteen-minute meditative experience filled with Native American chants, voodoo-inspired sound-bites, and the mysterious sounds of nighttime in the boondocks.
The Fury takes the Blues, bursts through to the other side and sticks the landing. It is a remarkable listen. I highly recommend it to all music fans.
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