Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 05/03/2005
Canada's
Jeff Healey burst on the scene in the late '80s with a pair of
John Hiatt songs,
"Angel Eyes" and
"Confidence Man," drawing a good deal of attention for his unique laptop electric guitar style. A turn in the
Patrick Swayze movie
Roadhouse playing a down-and-dirty version of
the Doors'
"Roadhouse Blues" also boosted
Healey's profile, but although the blind guitarist is obviously a special and gifted player, his style and approach haven't changed one bit since, which is a good thing if you love what he does, but it makes most of his releases after the impressive debut album,
See the Light, seem a bit like reruns. This live set recorded at
the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1999 (two tracks, a cover of
George Harrison's
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps," and the
Healey original
"That's What They Say," are from a
Montreux appearance two years earlier in 1997) likewise features few surprises, although
Healey has added a second guitarist (
Philip Sayce for the two 1997 cuts and
Pat Rush for the 1999 set) to his longtime rhythm section of
Joe Rockman on bass and
Tom Stephen on drums.
Healey's leads on
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" amp the song up in all the right places, and he brings out the inherent heaviness in another
Beatles tune,
John Lennon's
"Yer Blues." He breaks a string in the middle of
"Roadhouse Blues," which is a bit like watching a NASCAR driver throw a wheel -- you don't want to see it happen, but it definitely makes things interesting. A chugging version of
Robert Johnson's
"Stop Breakin' Down" is a clear highlight. In the end,
Healey and his band turn out solid, professional
blues-rock, the kind of thing you'd expect from a top-notch
bar band, and
Healey is undeniably exciting as a lead player, but it all seems a bit caught up in a 1980s time warp. It would be nice to hear
Healey expand his core sound a little with some
soul or
funk, say, or maybe go in the other direction and cover the
Charley Patton songbook -- anything to add some freshness.
~Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
;)
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