Artist:     Chris "Bad News" Barnes

Album:     Live

Label:     Vizztone Records

Release Date:     4.10.2019

90

BUY DIGITAL

BUY PHYSICAL

What to say about this guy, a musician who works the comedy and television circuit turning his evidently extraordinary searching eye on occasional, unexpected musical journey when the fancy takes him. Barnes has previously had considerable musical success with his delightful and disarming take on hokum blues, music that more than raises a smile, a nod and a blink of surprise. Here we have him working in a much more serious mode, live on-stage at the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise gig. This album has a touch of unevenness at times but that’s probably to be expected with a live recording in these circumstances.

Barnes has a mastery of stagecraft that is generally widely acknowledged but is too often viewed as a bit of a side-issue when it comes to serious musical endeavor. Here, supported by US harp master, Steve Guyger and the fiery fretwork of Gary Hoey, Barnes delivers a 13-track album that highlights his true musical worth. Produced as a live recording by Grammy-winner Tony Braunagel, Barnes fairly rattles through a range of modern blues classics including “You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover,” “Hoochie Coochie Man” (maybe the best cut on the album), “It Hurts Me Too” and some of his trademark hokum with an amusingly neat slide into “Hungry & Horny,” a clear, biting parody of Earl King’s “Come On.”

With remarkable self-confidence, he ventures into the world of acoustic blues giant Big Bill Broonzy, with his own take on “Keep Your Mind On It,” before throwing in a chunk of Gregg Allman, a flash of George Thorogood and others, all well known to blues lovers everywhere.

Barnes appears completely at ease here, roaring along with a blues gravity that is seldom associated with his off-the-cuff, mordant wit and sideways glance at the music world. As a result, Barnes comes across as a determinedly talented bluesman with this offering, a move that may catch many unaware but will surely push him firmly into the world of seriously good blues music. This is a surprising treat and an album definitely worth having.

—Iain Patience