|
CannyGigs favourite and legendary blues outfit Stan
Webb & Chicken Shack are  heading
back to Newcastle!
Blues Guitar
Genius
The blues guitar of 60’s
heroes like Peter Green and Eric
Clapton is a sound that is as popular today
in the Northeast as it was way back then. The
problem is that neither Green nor Clapton visit
the region that often to give the fans a dose of
those gut wrenching guitar riffs. But there is a
fix this month.
Legendary blues guitarist
Stan Webb
and his loyal band
Chicken Shack, return to the region
in March. Webb’s recent album Still Alive
After All These Years was a timely release
and celebration of 40 years as a pro musician.
It is also a fabulous recording that reminds
everyone that a great guitarist like Webb is
still regularly touring the blues dens of
Britain and giving the fans their fix.
Webb is to be found at his
best firing off his unique big toned blues riffs
backed by his long-time band featuring Jim Rudge
on bass, Gary Davies on guitar and Mick Jones on
drums. The live CD also features a mighty horn
section who bring their full might to bear on
the very best of Chicken Shack’s favourites.
Best known for his chart
hits I’d Rather Go Blind and Tears
In The Wind, Webb stuck with his love of
the blues when many around him went psychedelic
in the late 60's. Ironically the live CD
gloriously demonstrates that he has absorbed the
best of all prevailing styles from that time.
What is clear is that Webb has matured as both a
player and vocalist and is arguably playing far
better than ever before.
There was pressure to leave
the blues back then. "Christine [Perfect - later
McVie] left Chicken Shack to join Fleetwood Mac
and my record company wanted me to change, but
blues is the music I was born to play" comments
Webb. Sticking to your beliefs can bring lean
times which happened with the collapse of the
Blues Horizon label. It wasn't until the
talented guitarist received a major boost from
his blues idol, the legendary Freddie King that
he felt the need to carry on. King toured with
Stan Webb and announced on stage; "You have a
rare talent, don't ever think about stopping".
It was also Freddie King
who inspired Webb's delicate vocal vibrato and
sustain and above all else his emotive tone.
Together with his characteristic throaty
falsetto, Webb has established himself as a hard
gigging blues guitarist with the emphasis on
style and playing. Albums such as 40 Blue
Fingers, OK Ken, 100 Ton Chicken and
the excellent Imagination Lady, which
included the classic Poor Boy, have
provided proof of an uncompromising, but
magnificent guitar talent.
Webb has enjoyed stints
with Canned Heat (the only UK guitarist to ever
play with them), Savoy Brown and touring the US
with Kim Simmons as The Boogie Brothers. Webb
returned to continue working the European blues
scene and has been rewarded by a steadfast loyal
following that have given him more big selling
albums such as Plucking Good and
Changes.
A high profile charity gig with Eric Clapton saw
Webb at his very best. With the upswing in blues
popularity Webb has been touring with the great
John Mayall over the past couple of years and
playing in front of big crowds. Stan muses "In a
way I think I've come the long way round. I've
been right up there and way down, but now I've
come back (along with the resurgence of the
blues). It's like poetic justice, if you like.
Eventually it all comes back to you.” |
