David was the lead guitarist for vocalist Hurricane Ruth from 2011 to 2017, but here he steps out under his own name, though with the support of a memorable group of “friends”. His buddies include the excellent singer and pianist Wayne Carter (lend an ear to his rendition of Denise LaSalle’s ‘You’re Ruining My Bad Reputation’, with David’s top-notch electric slide guitar playing), Steve “The Harp” Mehlberg, singer and guitarist Bill Evans, slide maestro Andon Davis on Led Zeppelin’s ‘Rain Song’, drummer Reggie Britton delivering a nicely down-home vocal on his straight Chicago blues offering, ‘What’s The Matter With The Mill’, and the wonderful Mary Jo Curry on appropriately tough vocals on the collaborative composition, ‘Raised Me Right’. As you may have already gathered, and as the CD title suggests, the repertoire draws from a wide range of blues, from Memphis Minnie (though probably via Muddy Waters), and Earl Hooker through B.B. King, Junior Wells, and Bobby Bland on to Ray Charles and Jeff Beck.
David is no slouch though, he more than holds his own throughout and impresses mightily in his own right on tracks like ‘You Got To Lose’, Beck’s ‘Brush With The Blues’ and a wild slide guitar tear ‘em-up, ‘Rollin’ And Tumblin’'. Although he seems reluctant to exercise his vocal chords, the two numbers where he does sing are just fine. As a debut album – or just an album – this is most definitely worth a listen.
Norman Darwen