Anthony Gomes: LIVE

recorded February 27, 2007 at the Triple Door, Seattle, Washington


Anthony Gomes : LIVE
RUF 1136

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recorded February 27, 2007 at the Triple Door, Seattle, Washington

Release date

1/2008

Release Notes

"Pete Rose of the Blues
Rock is dead - long live the Blues! Perhaps since the guitar was plugged into an amplifier or maybe it was when Nirvana signed to a major label, either way "Rock" has been sliding into the obscurity of numerous niches categories and "Blues" has become a codeword for screaming guitars and loud drums. To some degree you have to know the code in order to fully understand the nuisance of the statement. Yes, there are still Blues records being put out, but many of the Blues records being released are actually Rock records. So what? Indeed, so what. Really it only matters when you consider Blues to be a traditional American art form - after that it's just music and the affixed genre label is little more than a marketing effort.
Anthony Gomes is the Pete Rose of the Blues, a fighter that just is not going to give up. The latest effort by showman Anthony Gomes is a live album recorded at Seattle's Triple Door venue in February 2007. It is a high-energy raucous affair showcasing Gomes' aptitude toward abandoned twang bar king playing. And it has absolutely no connection to Blues, but will be readily identified as the Blues. Much like Joe Bonamassa before him, Gomes ties into Classic Rock licks that sharp ears and sober minds will pick up on. For example, on the track "Bluebird" keyboardist Todd Hamric melds in an organ line by The Doors' Ray Manzarek from the famed song "Riders on the Storm." Again, it's a fun, tasty gesture.
By the fourth track the band jumps into Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker," including a bombastic extended guitar solo. What's not fun about a well-played cover? After all, some Blues artists are anchored to playing songs thirty years their senior.
The sixth track, "When The Right Woman Does You Wrong," is a slow Blues-y number that bears up to crescendo after crescendo giving Gomes a slow-burning simmer that explodes amid a cliché warning the he is "about to lose control." And so the platform for yet another guitar solo is set and like a lemming to the sea Gomes knows that it is pyrotechnics that butters the bread in his roadshow.
"Falling" is an U2-like track that pulls in sentimental mood as Gomes sings "At this moment I am humble and I surrender to your voice/I'm falling/You know it's hard to walk on water with broken bones and worn out shoes/I've thrown every punch/I've run every road/I've got nothing else to lose." Clearly a contemporary radio-friendly track that ends with the sound of helicopters and John F. Kennedy saying, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" before melding into the anti-conflict track from his previous album, "War on War." "Talk about a revolution, a soul solution, something worth fighting for/My name is Anthony Gomes, ladies and gentlemen, and I believe in love."
Gomes' band rocks and as his career progresses his playing becomes finer and more nuanced. That said it is unlikely he'll cut any new ground or create a school of protégées. His albums are readily apparent. Nonetheless he is a personable barroom brawler who can write a good song, play a mean guitar, and put together a well-constructed album that will stand up to repeated listens and bring the fan enjoyment. He is an entertainer first and foremost and there is absolutely nothing wrong with giving folks what they came to hear."

- Rick Galusha - BluesWax.


Tracklist

  1. Countdown
  2. Up 2 Zero
  3. Bluebird
  4. Heartbreaker
  5. Prelude In Blues
  6. When The Right Woman Does You Wrong
  7. Falling
  8. War On War
  9. Won't Let You Down
  10. Music Is The Medicine
  11. Wings Of A Song
  12. Testify