“When it comes to the Blues, I don’t like to mess around with the formula too much” says Will Wilde about his new release ‘Blues is Still Alive’. Will is true to his word on that score. There are echoes of the best of the best blues harp legends on here. ‘Don’t Trust Me’ evokes Sonny Boy 2’s rasping harp style, ‘Gypsy Woman’ calls up Muddy Waters with it’s title and ‘St James Infirmary’ in its style, whilst ‘Wild Man’ finds obvious DNA patterns musically with the very first electric blues harp legend Little Water. Wilde goes on to say “I wanted to prove that the blues is as relevant today as it’s ever been”. and again the Man has hit all the home bases on that one too. His lyrics, particularly on the title track are on the button with regard to topicality too: A woman working hard to ‘just’ be able to pay the rent and feed her children, as a man is Kicked down “for the colour of his skin” in a World divided where “everybody’s taking sides…”. Yes indeed, the Blues is, these days, still very much alive.
Will Wilde always had a great ability to tune in, literally, to the old Blues emotions and it’s great to hear that, after getting into a harder rock sound in recent years with the four-piece ‘Bad Luck Friday’ band he’s put the full force of his unique talent into the music he does best. There’s excellent musical backing here too, especially the Hammond sound of Greg Coulson and punchy backing vocals including sister Dani. The title track has an extra draw for Blues rock lovers in a sizzling guitar solo and harp duel on the title number but ultimately it really is all about that Blues harmonica, whether coaxing every drop of emotion out of it or blasting out a sizzling refrain that threatens to blow the instruments reeds clean out of the disc and embed them in your speakers. Put simply, if you love blues harp playing, and you have not heard of Will Wilde then DO NOT read further – just go to Will’s website at https://willwilde.shop/collections/cds buy and download ANYTHING on there and thank me later!
This is certainly the best, both lyrically and vocally, that I’ve heard from Will Wilde, but are the songs ultimately pure vehicles for Wilde to show his musical prowess on the Blues Harp? who cares? Will Wilde has been one of the Worlds best harp players for some years now, and ‘Blues is Still Alive’ presents a fine musician at the top of his game. On the tongue in cheek closer ‘Wild Man’ Will sums up his lifestyle pretty perfectly: “I’ve got a belt full of harmonicas; and a suitcase full of clothes”. On the strength of this disc – please bring that suitcase and belt to Bonn soon!
If listening to Will inspires YOU to blow a harp then Will Wilde also has you covered with his very own Seidel signature harp especially tuned for the grittiest of ‘Rock meets the Blues’ solos and his own overdrive pedal to give any lead guitarist a run for his money on the solo. You can even enroll in a Blues harmonica course tutored by the Man himself. All you need after that is a belt-full of harmonicas, a suitcase full of clothes – and a LOT of musical talent.