"Blues Thunder" is the latest from Brad Wilson. It follows 2014's "Hands On The Wheel" and it is fine blues and blues-rock. Brad Wilson is on guitar and sings. He also wrote all 12 songs. Brian Beal is on bass. Amrik Sandhu is on drums. Kirk Nelson is on keyboards. Tumbleweed Mooney is on harmonica.
Things open with Is It Any Wonder, which sounds radio-ready. Wilson, who takes lead vocal and guitar, sings smoothly in quiet pop form but with tasty guitar riffs throughout. The next song, Change It Up, is an uptempo song with a kind of Santana feel. The next song, Blue Shadows, is a 50s style ballad featuring clean piano work by Nelson. I could imagine this one sung by Sinatra. Quite tasty! The next two songs, Step By Step and the title track, are a return to blues-rock. Tumbleweed Mooney shines on harp on Step By Step. On the title track Wilson burns up the fretboard. Some readers will love this one, some will think it overwrought, but the guitar work is top-notch. The next song, Let's Go Barefootin' It, starts out as a blues with a Bo Diddley rhythm, but soon gets around to cooking. Mooney's harp work here is excellent. The next song, My Faith Has Been Broken, is another shift in style, this time towards classic rock. The guitar on this one reminds me of the great Terry Kath of Chicago. Next up, Cool Runnin', is a radio-ready understated song featuring Wilson's vocals. The guitar work here is hot from beginning to end. The next song, Home, is another stylistic move featuring acoustic guitar. The opening reminds me of Led Zeppelin's Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, but it morphs into something like an unreleased Bruce Springsteen song. The next song, Black Coffee At Sunrise, is probably my favorite. This one is a 50s style jump blues with very sweet jazzy guitar. The next song, Sugar Sweet, features jazzy guitar but weak lyrics. Last up, Never Again, is a solid rock song. Wilson really wails on this one. A nice conclusion.
Brad Wilson's new cd is a strong follow up to his 2014 release. He shows a number of styles in both his songwriting and guitar. I enjoyed this one.
You can buy this one at http://bradwilsonlive.com/main.html
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