American Blues News - Reviews: The New Generation

Posted on 8/19/2010 by Silver Michaels

Oli Brown

Heads I Win, Tails You Lose

Ruf Records

Shew! Yeah, I saved the best for last - the folks at Ruf Records apparently have a good ear for promising young talent. Oli Brown is yet another 19 year old guitarist, and Heads I Win, Tails You Lose is another release full of solid talent and tons of promise.

This is the follow-up release to 2008's Open Road, and for all the positive attention that album received, this one should easily outdo it. For starters, the album was produced by one of the legendary figures of British blues, Mike Vernon; Vernon apparently came out of retirement to add his talents here, drawing from his experience as a producer for the likes of John Mayall, Fleetwood Mac (back in their early blues days), Ten Years After and Freddie King. Vernon seemingly hasn't lost so much of a step - he does a fine job of capturing Brown's talent with a good full sound that compliments both the playing and compositional skills Brown shows.

On this release, Brown on guitar and vocals is joined by Gary Rackham on bass, Jamie Little on drums and percussion and Dave Lennox on keys; Vernon adds "additional background vocals and tambourine." As might well be expected in part from the influence of Vernon, the album has a very distinct British blues feel to it. Keeping My Options Open, one of the strongest tracks on the album, is a great microcosm of most of the release, with a good, punchy melodic line nicely accented by Brown's excellent vocals and guitar work. Speechless is another stellar track that is helped a lot by some tasteful keyboard work and an almost delicate guitar line forming the foundation of the track. Brown's vocals here are particularly soulful and his solo guitar work here is among the best on the album; either of these two tracks would, in my opinion, be good choices for "focus" tracks for radio play.

Not A Word I Say is the closest the disc gets to a pure ballad, and I would love to hear Brown tackle more material like this on future releases. The melody is haunting and the interplay between lead guitar and keyboards adds a ton to the emotional quotient; this is, perhaps, the most mature track on this release, and again is way beyond what one might normally expect from a gentleman of 19. Real Good Time and Take A Look Back add a little bit of funk to the mix; both sound comfortable and easily within the talent and vocal prowess that Brown consistently show. Of the album's 12 tracks, the 2 covers presented are something of head scratchers. Remember No Diggity, the '90s chestnut from Blackstreet/Dr. Dre? Not your standard cover, especially for a blues artist, but this one actually fits nicely within the framework of the disc, resting comfortably between funk, soul and a touch of blues. The other cover, the classic Fever, is probably the one track I would have left off the album. It just doesn't really seem to fit, either in concept or style. Not a terrible job on the track, just somewhat out of place.

Still, that's a very minor drawback on a very impressive release. Throughout, Heads I Win, Tails You Lose sounds like the work of a well-rounded and experienced player. Good heavens! If Oli Brown sounds this good and this confident at 19, what might the future hold? Can't wait to find out!