Bret
Mosley - Light and Blood
Woodstock MusicWorks
Review by Ross Rice
Anyone can play the blues…it’s like
whistling or snapping your fingers. Three chords, nothing
fancy: in fact, the fancier it is, the less bluesy it gets.
It’s not rocket science, it’s the basis of 95%
percent of all pop music, and it’s just plain fundamental
(in a good way). It’s something we all have, whether
you like it or not.
On Light And Blood (the first release
from new local label Woodstock MusicWorks), there can be no
doubt that Bret Mosely has ‘em. With his open-tuning
guitar and his “stompboard,” Mosley puts his limited
vocal range to good use, keeping things bare bones and no-frills.
Opening song “Well And Good” defines the sound
of the CD, but it’s the next song, “Preachin’
Blues,” that sets the table properly with “I’m
gonna be a Baptist preacher….so I don’t have to work,”
a lyric that would cause a ruckus down South for sure, with
music that justifies it with slide, stomp, and blues harp
from Jason Novak. Mosely wisely keeps this CD simple, bringing
Woodstock guitarist emeritus Chris Zaloom onboard for occasional
steelwork, bringing a tasty country-blues twist to “Leavin’
Here” and “Barnfire.”
But, Light and Blood get its best
momentum up on the back end, starting with “Deliver
Me,” which digs the slide a little deeper (a la Chris
Whitley), where he’s “walkin’ on the bones
of worry and shame,” and the guitar tries to feed back,
but is (barely) held in check. “Step Up,” with
guest bass John Luther (and Zaloom again) brings back a goodtime
country feel, then Mosley lets his voice get a bit furrier
on “Supermartyr,” and we can feel a little Stax
soul creeping in. Modern politics get name-checked in “Climbing
The Floor,” and the CD closes with an up-tempo frailing
version of “Amazing Grace.” CONTINUE....
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