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Erick Hovey 'Blues Farm'
Its just less than 40 years since the release of JJ Cale's 'Naturally'.
And while it took rock fans a few years more to catch up on to the
septuagenarian's understated take on the blues, he perfected a style
that is as enduring as it is influential all these years later.
Of course for every JJ Cale there's a coterie of guitarists of
a similar persuasion who prefer to eschew volume and speed and blend
together the more intricate parts of the blues tapestry. Mid-Western
blues guitarist Erick Hovey is undoubtedly one of a kind, a player
who celebrates the virtues of space, time and presence. His latest
'Blues Farm' cd bears a title that is almost the perfect metaphor
for a hot house of the blues, developing the subtler seeds of the
genre in between the cracks.
More than that, Erick is someone who is at ease with himself. He
seems to be aware of his limited vocal range, but he doesn't worry
about that as he lets his guitar do all the talking for him holding
an exquisite bluesy tinged conversation over some smouldering fluid
grooves and well crafted songs. Erick is a master of rich tones
and textures, sweet melodies, expressive phrasing, real feel and
always the blues.
And as he explores the blues in a sultry meandering way he's unafraid
to take on board disparate influences from the almost Skanking feel
of 'Baby Come Home' to the Latino/Bossa beat of 'Running With A
Full Moon' as well as lovely diversions though shuffles and muscular
funk ('Going Down') to the belated twin guitar intro on the cd's'
outro. 'Can't Fall Down' is a succinct concluding guitar blow out
that suggests he can jam with the best of them.
'Blues Farm' is an understated work of elegance and poise and fluency.
Where others overstate their abilities or resort to cliché
Hovey treads his own path. He may growl on 'Know Who You Are', he
may add a contrasting piercing guitar line to the laid back shuffling
stroll of 'Patchouli' and he may slip in a contrasting tone on the
gentle shuffle rhythm of 'Missing Part', but there's a signature
sound at play here. Erick Hovey's playing embodies a discernable
voice and a real unique feel for the blues that will surely gain
him plenty more fans.
**** (4/5) © www.getreadytorock.com
Review by Pete Feenstra / 7-5-10 / UK
Erick Hovey - Blues Farm
Erick Hovey debuts today on our radio, songs from his latest CD.
The album title has a close relationship with his daily activities,
since it is already the fifth-generation farmer operating a family
farm in Fort Dodge, Iowa. This CD is the fourth in his artistic
achievements. Erick is perfectly able to reconcile the work of the
farmer and musician. He has already accumulated a large group of
fans. His cheerful sounding tones are instantly well received.
delta.art.pl / Poland
Blues Farm Reviewed
By Richard Greaves / Blues In Britain Magazine
Erick Hovey is from Fort Dodge, Iowa in the Midwest of the USA.
He combines being a farmer (5th generation) and a musician. He is
a singer and guitarist who started gigging when he was fourteen
and put out his first CD about fifteen years ago. He has released
these two CDs at the same time. I'm going to concentrate on Blues
Farm which is the more blues oriented of the two. All songs are
original and there is a core backing band of keyboards, bass, and
drums together with occasional horns.
The CD opens with "Ball And Chain", which has a slow,
reggae-ish beat and some really good spare and moody guitar work.
And this sets the scene for the whole album with tastey and often
understated guitar work rather than fret burning speed playing and
high volume. "Know Who You Are" is an up-tempo blues with
horns and the one appearanceof a harp player (who is good) and some
tough guitar, really liked this one. A complete change of style
for "Soda Pop Girl" which is a 50s style swing blues with
piano and trumpet spot on. With the line "She likes driving,
I like drinking beer" this song hits the spot. Another of my
favorites! "Patchouli" chugs along nicely with some BB
King style guitar. There is a late night feel to the mainly acoustic
"Running With A Full Moon". "Fight That Monkey"
is another highlight with a good guitar intro, nice stop time, good
lyrics, and topped off by tasty guitar throughout. There are more
good lyrics in "Baby Come Home" and then it's back to
that swing jazz style on "Missing Part" where again the
band have it nailed. Next another favorite, "I'm Through",
which is a shuffle shot through with good guitar work. The reggae
style comes up again on "Talkin Bout Love" and then it
gets a bit more heavy on "Going Down" which lyrics-wise
borrows from "Going Down Slow". The CD rocks out with
"Can't Fall Down".
The backing musicians don't overplay and get it right for the style
of each tune. Erick has a good almost "smoky" voice and
is a very tasteful guitarist (think latter-day Eric Clapton for
instance). A couple of the reviews in the promo blurb call Erick
a hidden gem of the US Midwest and I can only concur. I really enjoyed
these CDs.
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