Duke Robillard - Guitar Groove-A-Rama Album Review

Duke Robillard
Guitar Groove-A-Rama
Album Review

There are still guitarists out there whose craft makes their albums well worth a listen. Duke Robillard is probably the finest proponent of T Bone Walker's blues style, and was chosen to be Tom Waits' guitarist on a recent tour of the US, which is some accolade. Here, he expands the stylistic range to incorporate jazz, surf, blues and rock - equally at ease in each, with mostly a drummer and bass player for company. Guitar Groove-A-Rama is the kind of album you may think doesn't get made any more - it genuinely sounds as though it could have been made by Scotty Moore, Brian Setzer or a relaxed Stevie Ray Vaughan. Better when it sticks to instrumentals rather than his limited voice, the standout track is Blues A Rama where he explores the styles of a whole range of blues musicians (introducing them, impersonator-style, as he goes). Robillard, former member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, is clearly an institution all on his own. When Tom Waits wants you behind him, you know you're doing something right.

4/5

Mike Rea