Before being struck by one of the legendary live performances of King Crimson (especially by Bob Fripp), during the summer months of 1969 (Hyde Park), one of the musical passions of young Hackett—a passion that has never faded—was for Blues and R&B, both rooted and from Chicago as well, but with particular dedication to British white Blues, a hotbed of extraordinary guitarists. So, in a decade where he did a bit of everything, why not make an album to indulge in playing and composing some Blues? And the result is quite pleasant in my opinion. There are some covers, the pieces that are more radically Blues (and what can be said about the energetic one-two opener "Born in Chicago"-"The Stumble," a perfect start) as well as the title track, for example, but most are written by Hackett, who in the more successful songs focuses on a more modern take on Blues and infuses touches of "hackettism" here and there, making it all very personal (and what beautiful pieces "Tombstone Roller" and "Big Dallas Sky" are, as well as a more standard and fun song like "Footloose," which has great energy). Hackett also personally enjoys the harmonica, and he plays it quite well, it seems to me. Of course, it's not a masterpiece of the genre—some tracks, while pleasant, leave little behind; it's not one of the most visceral examples of white Blues—but the passion (and there was no doubt about that with Hackett) is definitely there, and the album comes across as beautiful, alive, and convincing, not a bored exercise in style.
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