CD Review
Ross William Perry
The Move
(No label No cat #)
by Gordon Baxter
Review date: December 2003
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"Keeping the Blues Alive Award" Achievement for Blues on the Internet Presented by The Blues Foundation
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The last few years have seen the emergence on both sides of the pond of power trio blues bands who place the emphasis more on rock than blues. Although this has upset some of the more conservative blues journalists, the situation is perhaps understandable as it gets harder for bands to make a living out of just playing straight blues. On the evidence of "The Move," twenty-something mid-west guitarist Ross William Perry will be upsetting a few journalists, then.
Perry hits the ground running with the title track. This instrumental has a solid Chuck Berry beat underpinning it, courtesy of Scott Schultz (drums) and Brad Pelkey (bass). Perry is content to keep things relatively restrained, and gets positively mellow on the opening of "Too Much Of This" which has a touch of Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary" about it. Although the tune is shot through with blues, it is here that Perry's rock leanings start to emerge. If you can imagine something to the rock side of a slideless version of the Gun Club (if you can remember them) you are in the right sort of territory. The Gun Club also spring to mind on "Take It All" and "Waiting."
The straightest blues tune here, "Another Deal Gone Bad," shows that Perry can take it down low and slow. It does, however, also show the limits of Perry's vocals. In general, Perry seems much more at home with the rockier material such as "Drive Me Wild" with its Robert Ward guitar tone. It is therefore somewhat ironic that the best track is the closing almost jazzy "Almond Sundae." It opens in a mellow mood, with some very tasteful guitar from Perry, sounding a little like "Gone For Good," before the band wind the pace up on the second half, but without ever straying into rock territory.
"The Move" is a solid album, and Ross William Perry is an accomplished guitarist. If you like your blues served up with a fair sized helping of rock, then "The Move" fits the ticket. If you want something more traditional, however, you can safely omit it from your Christmas wants list. On the other hand, those people who like their blues with a smattering of jazz (think of people like Dave Specter in the USA and Sonny Black in the UK) should check out "Almond Sundae." If it is a taster of where Perry is heading, the next album could be a cracker...
www.rosswilliamperry.com
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Copyright © 2003 Ray M. Stiles & Blues On Stage All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author. Blues On Stage is a ® Trademark of Ray Stiles.
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