Glenn Hughes Blues

4 Stars = Classic

Glenn Hughes is known by millions as the bassist/vocalist in Deep Purple's MK III line up & to a much lesser extent Trapeze, but many don't know about Glenn Hughes as an solo artist with quite a few albums to his credit, many of them excellent.

Glenn has a phenomenal voice, truly one of the finest in rock, hell, the whole music world, as a matter of fact he has been dubbed "the voice" by many in the business. Glenn's vocals are drenched in soul & R & B, with an amazing range of growls, phrasing, vibrato & a perfect silken tone, which makes Glenn a versatile singer indeed, covering everything from soul & funk to heavy metal flawlessly. So one would expect his solo albums to follow suite, & they do. My fave would probably be the hard rocking set " Blues," which features the guitar & co-writing talent of Craig Erickson (Craig plays all rhythm guitar, but only plays lead on two songs).

"Blues" is an album that kicks hard & long with Glenn going back to his 70's roots. The name "Blues" is a little misleading, for this album grabs straight for the gut with a hard to heavy 70's vibe. The stand out cut here is "I'm the Man," a marriage made in rock & roll heaven of Glenn's wonderful voice & a killer rhythm section with hot guitars from Craig Erickson on rhythm & John Norum on lead. "I'm the Man" comes off like the best song ZZ Top never wrote on steroids & methamphetamine, a true monster if there ever was one, & the rest of the album not far behind.

"Blues" is well worth your time if you're looking for an album that rocks with authority for the most part, but if your looking for B.B. King, Albert Collins, or even SRV, you won't find it here.

Song list:

1. Thwe Boy Can Sing The Blues
2. I'm The Man
3. Here Come The Rebel
4. What Can I Do For Ya?
5. You Don't Have To Save Me Anymore
6. So Much Love To Give
7. Shake The Ground
8. Hey Buddy (You Got Me Wrong)
9. Have You Read The Book!
10. Life Of Misert
11. Can't Take Away My Pride
12. A Right To Live