Snowy White & The White Flames
Pure Gold - The Solo Years 1984-1998

I'll be honest: I'm writing about this person for one reason only. Or maybe two, perhaps three. I don't know. I'll see how many reasons I can come up with to convince you that this is an artist who deserves a capital A.

Let's start with the simple title of a song: "Bird Of Paradise". For most, this song will be completely unknown, not widely promoted because he's not very famous. But... then why dedicate a review to him? Because he doesn't have the success he deserves.

Let's delve a bit into history. Our dear Terence Charles White, known as Snowy White, is a guitarist who gets by, we could say, as a session man. In particular, he is part of the band playing with Waters but was also part of those who played with Wright and even earlier with Pink Floyd together. An excellent career as a supporting musician, in short. But why? After all, his single, precisely "Bird Of Paradise", reached the top ten of the UK charts.

In short, he may not be the luckiest guitarist in the world... and I want to dedicate some space to him.

Pure Gold is a collection of the best pieces he composed, along with his band (White Flames) between 1984 and 1998. A showcase of compositions that elevate blues rock to unimaginable levels. The calmness in the arrangements is surprising, fundamentally sparse, simple yet full of strong emotional charge. They are strokes of guitar against a backdrop of accompaniments made of just a few piano chords, with a drum helping to keep the rhythm.

Since a review should recommend or not recommend a CD or an artist, why listen to "Pure Gold" or simply Snowy White? Because his is true blues rock, pure, the real fusion of the two genres, something especially audible in the two most representative tracks: "Bird Of Paradise" and especially "Midnight Blues". Particularly the latter, it is a track that leaves you breathless: 8 minutes and thirty-three of solemnity. An anthem to the genre of which White proves to be a master. Strokes of guitar against a dreamy backdrop. Close your eyes and travel, fly by letting yourself be carried away by that instrument. A long final solo to seal a truly compositional gem.

For Snowy, many comparisons could be made... but I wouldn't want to diminish the character.

As you will have understood by now, mine is an ode to the artist more than the CD itself and that is precisely the reason that has led me to dedicate myself to one of his collections (fictitiously, to be honest) and to invite you to discover the depth of his guitar passages. More than this... cannot be said. Gem.