BRIAN E COPE Old New Borrowed & Blue.
Flagstop Records.
Presented in a quirky cover pertaining to a wedding invitation this makes for engrossing listening. Well I suppose the title gives it away and the smart bow tied photograph of this acclaimed musician on the back. But no this is not a wedding album just a very pleasant fifteen track easy going acoustic blues release. A mixture of eight classic blues favourites and seven self written songs this is certainly a labour of love for a musician who has played in bands for past forty year’s now and decided to go solo this his second release. The opening track a lesser known Mississippi John Hurt number Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me sets the mellow tone and simplicity of a man and guitar in true harmony. He also pays homage to BB King on the harmonica led Bad Breaks a typical tale of misfortune. The slow approach to Spoonful by Willie Dixon has a distinct drawl to the vocals. All songs are bite size pieces of the blues roots Americana and folk. His own compositions more than complement the old favourites. Talking In My Sleep has a boogie woogie feel to it with other stand out tracks mirroring each other are the serious Slippin Away and the light hearted The Devil Is A Woman His vocal style and range is not challenging but adds to his gentle approach to singing and writing tunes with an original fingerpicking guitar style.
COLIN CAMPBELL
