July 20, 2017

Ramon Goose | Long Road To Tiznit

ARTIST: Ramon Goose
TITLE: Long Road To Tiznit
LABEL: Riverboat
Ramon Goose is an English guitarist whose interest in American pre-war Delta blues has gradually expanded to include the blues-related styles of North and West Africa. He’s been involved in a wide variety of projects, from working with American bluesmen Eric Bibb and Chris Thomas King to leading his own projects NuBlues, Coconut Revolution and World Scatterings. On his sixth solo album, Goose traveled to Marrakech to record with Berber musicians and he brought his own trio into a London studio. The result is one of the most satisfying American-African blues fusions I’ve heard. Start with track 1, a uniquely African reading of Robert Johnson’s classic. Goose has a knack for original compositions that fit squarely in the modern electric blues idiom, but are lyrically and sonically subverted by North African elements – 3 and 5 are the best examples. He’s a functional singer but a heck of a guitar player: his slide is reminiscent of Ry Cooder on 8 which starts out mellow and ends sounding almost South African, and 6 is a deep-blues workout that showcases many facets of his string-bending skill. Equally recommended for blues and world music listeners.
TOP TRACKS:    1    3    5    6    8
ALSO RECOMMENDED:    2    4    9

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