Bend in the Road
Propelz
In following up “Precious Little,” his notable 2006 comeback, Jeremy Spencer has crafted his fifth and finest solo release.
Maybe “Precious Little” was Spencer’s way of getting his studio legs back after a nearly three-decade absence from recording. Or perhaps choosing to make “Bend in the Road” a collaboration gave it that extra oomph. Then again, it could simply be — as he told The Oakland (Mich.) Press in January 2010 — that “I’ve got so much material ’cause I’ve just been, like, dormant. I just turned 61, so you do kind of want to get it out while you can and show people what you’ve got.”
Whatever the reason, “Bend” is a startling achievement for the founding Fleetwood Mac slide guitarist. It starts out in a solid and more traditional-sounding blues vein than its predecessor, but by Track 11 it’s in full folk-rock mode.
Speaking of tradition, the selection of covers this time around is even better than last: two songs by mentor Elmore James (“Cry for Me Baby” and “Stranger Blues”); a tune by James’ cousin James Williamson, aka Homesick James (“Homesick”); and an Otis Rush staple (“Homework”).
Kudos to Spencer on several other fronts, including also being the album’s keyboardist; generously including four instrumentals; occasionally adding violin-cello embellishments; and using literature or poetry as inspiration for three songs — “I Walked a Mile With Sorrow” (Robert Browning, King Solomon and Jesus), “Secret Sorrow” (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) and the title track (Praveen).
Special recognition is due for his collaboration with electric lead, rhythm and acoustic guitarist Brett Lucas. From Spencer’s liner notes for “Bend”:
Being an “elder statesman” in the music field, I have been asked if I had considered working with younger, like-minded musicians and performers to produce contemporary material. The question usually included a referral to Carlos Santana’s multiplatinum “Supernatural” album of about a decade ago.
Yes, I had considered it.
A positive example of such a like-minded experience for me began with an encounter with Brett Lucas, a respected guitarist from Detroit, who has been working the musical scene there since he was 15.
I heard about Brett through my friend and slide-guitar aficionado, Mark Grigorian, who told me that Brett Lucas was a guitarist for a Fleetwood Mac cover band called Rattlesnake Shake. I said that I would consider working with Brett if Mark would send me a clip of the young man playing a slow, sensitive blues solo. He sent me a live video clip of Brett playing just that on a soul number performed by Bettye LaVette. I was impressed and told Mark that I’m on, and at the beginning of 2010, we endeavoured to realise a recording venture together.
Lucas and the other musicians in the core backup band — James Simonson on electric and standup bass and Todd Glass on drums and percussion — have since formed a blues-rock band called Saint Cecilia and released their debut album of the same name.
Tracks
1. Homesick
2. Cry For Me Baby
3. Whispering Fields
4. I Walked A Mile With Sorrow
5. Earthquake
6. Aphrodite
7. Secret Sorrow
8. Stranger Blues
9. Homework
10. Desired Haven
11. Come To Me
12. Merciful Sea
13. Refugees
14. Bend In The Road
Total time: 1:00:03
External links
artist’s website
amazon.com
iTunes Store
