Nine years on the road with blues legend Buddy Guy has given Scott Holt, 33, the direct lineage to the blues that none of his contemporaries have. He has performed on stage with Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Albert Collins, Eric Johnson, Ritchie Sambora, Chris Duarte, Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon (SRV), Adrian Belew, David Bowie, John Mayall, Jack Bruce, Joe Perry,
Otis Rush, Koko Taylor, G.E. Smith, Dan Aykroyd, Buddy Miles and many more.
But all of that aside, what makes "Dark of the Night" function is Holt’s use of three different
backing bands, which in effect, provides three totally different vibes for Holt to wail away to on his Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster. However, if one listens closely, they can tell the difference between the bands and who is playing on each track. And this writer swears that Holt sounds much better on the tracks that Stevie Ray Vaughan’s rhythm section plays on (Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon and Reese Wynans).
Other backing bands include Jimi Hendrix’s "Experience/Band of Gypsy’s (Mitch Mitchell,
Billy Cox) as well as Holt’s normal band, which consists of drummer Derek Wiseman, keyboardist Drew Wiseman and bassist Chris Kent. Buddy Guy makes an appearance on the cut "Breakin’ Up Somebody’s Home." Other musicians include Paul Leim (drum loops), backing-vocalists Kim Flemming, Vici Hampton, Robert Bailey Jr. and percussionist Glen Caruba.
This 11-track CD is a nice improvement over the Lawrenceburg, Tenn. native Holt’s previous
release "Messin’ With the Kid." Required listening: "Ray Charles’ "I Believe To My Soul," John
Lee Hooker’s "Dimples," Otis Rush’s "Right Place, Wrong Time"(all with Double Trouble) and Bob Dylan’s "You Gotta Serve Somebody" (Jimi Hendrix Experience/Band of Gypsy’s).
Webpage: www.scottholt.com
www.geocities.com/~buddy guy/scott/scottindex.htm
Record company webpage: www.mysticmusic.com
This review is copyright © 2000 by Matt Alcott, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved.
