Sherman Robertson and Blues Move - Guitar Man Live

Movin’ Music Records MM001

Sherman Robertson is a rockin’ blues guitar vocalist and is no stranger to Rock of the North. Sherman is a stalwart of the blues and amongst the very best of the exponents of this genre.

This CD was recorded at The Kwadandamme Blues Festival on the 14th May 2005, and unusually for a live album, is note perfect but with a live feel and with none of the disadvantages usually found on this type of recording…bum notes etc!

The album starts up with cheers from the crowd, and Sherman and Blues Move’s grooving funky blues playing Chris Youlden’s Out of Sight Out of Mind. The bass riff and spine-tingling Korg CX-3 chord fills get the feet tapping and Sherman’s soulful vocals take a medium tempo canter to the finish.  A good song and with some nice snare hits.

The second track is Sherman’s own composition and is quite a fast tempo with a guitar sound reminding me of the late great Albert Collins. Entitled Long Way From Home, it’s real mover with subtle wah-wah sounds and fast moving guitar passages. The rhythm section work hard on this song and Julian Grudgings’ piano helps things along nicely. Choruses of “We’re Gonna Shake, Rattle and Roll” put you in the mood to have fun and your foot never stops tapping.

Another SR composition is the superb Guitar Man . It’s six minutes of great guitar, Sherman’s attacking phrases, and Julian Grudgings’ omni-present Hammond/Leslie emulations with chords which have the hairs standing up at the back of your neck! Fabulous sounds, everything you need in a rockin’ blues song, including the funky rhythm section of John Maloney on Fender Precision Bass and Mike Hellier on a well played DW drum kit.

The puzzlingly named Dust My Broom (Voodoo Dust) sounds nothing at all like Elmore James played it, but this is a great version, albeit still being a 12 bar shuffle in the key of E. This is a more potent and menacing sounding groove. The guitar, like all the other tracks is superb, Sherman is a great blues guitar player. The tempo and levels slow down about two thirds of the way through for Sherman to chant his blues before the solo kicks in again , much to my delight, it’s a great interpretation of this classic.

The David Steen/Colin James composition Home of the Blues hears more of this brilliant combo and I must say I have become a great fan of Julian Grudgings keyboard skills. Nice song.

I’d describe the song Linda Lou as having a Chicago blues rhythm as I can almost hear Buddy Guy grooving to this. It’s a quick pace and the bass and drums never miss a beat. There’s a really nice Hammond style keyboard break in the middle of this song and the obligatory guitar break sounds great with a nicely toned Stratocaster. I’d like to be at a concert to see this played live in front of me, it’s a great song and one which makes me so envious of Sherman’s guitar playing skills.

A down and dirty “real blues” in the key of E minor entitled Make It Rain has all the ingredients needed to contort the faces of any wannabe blues guitarist. With a repeating riff, Sherman’s soulfully delivered vocals, gut wrenching blues organ, and with a perfect rhythm section, this blues is utterly wonderful, a sublime indulgence for human beings with a claim to any kind of soul . We recommend this to be taken three times a day after meals. This blues makes you feel so good, it should be available on prescription!

Curtis Jones Tin Pan Alley has a Muddy Waters styled riff introduction as Sherman’s guitar takes us through a wah tinged passage and the rhythm section play a solid medium-slow 12 bar groove. Sherman’s vocals have a similar attack to his guitar phrases, “ They call it Tin Pan Alley” he sings, This song is another of those perfect blues songs, with the groove beneath the guitar. Relentlessly ploughing through the 12 golden bars, the feeling of the rhythm section is bedrock for Sherman’s fluent Stratocaster meanderings. The song like the previous one slows and quietens before the luxurious organ cushion and the superbly toned guitar takes us to journey’s end in great style and so enjoyably.

If you’d like comparisons, then I would say Sherman has many contemporaries , with perhaps Albert Collins, Bernard Allison, Carl Weathersby and perhaps a pinch of Walter Trout is in the recipe that makes up Sherman Robertson. He’s been around for a long time but on this CD he sounds as fresh as a daisy. With the backing of Blues Move, he can do no wrong.

This CD comes with our highest recommendation, you will love it, the residents in this household certainly do!

  Steve Lally