Jeremy Spencer - 2 albums: In Session / Bend On The Road

Album: In Session
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:38
Size: 111.4 MB
Styles: Album rock, Acoustic/electric blues
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[3:09] 1. Red Hot Mama
[3:06] 2. Sea Of Love
[2:41] 3. Apron Strings
[3:47] 4. You Don't Have To Be Black To Be Blue
[2:22] 5. Many Sparrows
[1:50] 6. Pointed Toe Shoes
[4:33] 7. Psychic Waste
[4:08] 8. Bitter Lemon
[4:35] 9. Double Trouble
[3:07] 10. The Sky Is Crying
[4:02] 11. It Hurts Me Too
[3:20] 12. Doctor J
[4:22] 13. Shake Your Money Maker
[3:29] 14. Trouble And Woe

Jeremy Spencer is best known as the guitarist who deserted Fleetwood Mac in the middle of a tour in favour of a cult. His musical obsessions – now, as then – are rockabilly and Elmore James. Four of the album’s 14 tracks are by James, the great Bluesman, and they are by far the best. ‘Red Hot Mama’ features Spencer and his relaxed, easy slide, backed only by a fine Blues rhythm guitar. Great stuff. At 60, Spencer remains in good voice.

Then there are some 50’s numbers – ‘Sea Of Love’, for example, or Carl Perkins’ ‘Pointed Toe Shoes’ – sung rockabilly fashion, with “huh-uh-huh-huh!” inserted in the middle of words. The album’s worst numbers are the originals, which are preachy. ‘Bitter Lemon’ is about taking misfortune and making – you guessed it – lemonade. Then there’s the overly defensive song, ‘You Don’t Have To Be Black To Be Blue’. If you want to sing the Blues, just throw back your head and sing ’em – don’t explain why. Let your Blues explain themselves. Still, the slide is nice, the musicianship good.

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Album: Bend On The Road
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 79:34
Size: 182.2 MB
Styles: Electric/Acoustic blues
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[3:51] 1. Homesick
[4:01] 2. Cry For Me Baby
[3:15] 3. Whispering Fields
[4:16] 4. Walked A Mile
[3:23] 5. Eartquake
[3:57] 6. Aphrodite
[3:55] 7. Secret Sorrow
[3:49] 8. Homework
[4:00] 9. Jambo
[6:12] 10. The Sun Is Shining
[6:01] 11. Stranger Blues
[4:39] 12. Strange Woman
[5:16] 13. Blind Lover
[3:59] 14. Desired Haven
[3:36] 15. Come To Me
[4:29] 16. Merciful Sea
[5:41] 17. Refugees
[5:04] 18. Bend In The Road

Inside is a collection of songs that come from Spencer's love of the blues. It's an intimate journey but one that will connect profoundly and repeatedly with listeners. Having shared the Mac spotlight for years with Peter Green, here he is happy to do the same with Brett Lucas, a young Detroit guitarist who co-produced and whose band lends sterling support. Throughout this absorbing album are influences from Spencer's life. His take on Elmore James's "Cry For Me Baby", "Stranger Blues", "The Sun Is Shining" and opener "Homesick" (credited to Elmore James' cousin) are all sublime. Compositions from the sixties to modern day such as "Whispering Fields" (a beautiful instrumental), "Earthquake" (inspired by Eddie Cochrane's style) "Aphrodite" (painting a musical picture) sit firmly with "I Walked a Mile With Sorrow" (based on a poem by Robert Browning) and "Secret Sorrow (a Longfellow quote). "Jambo", as the title suggests, finds the band jamming on an old-time swing vibe. Spencer imitates the sound of trumpet/sax A la Louis Armstrong while Brett contributes nifty guitar work. "Refugees" is a re-work of an old 1978 song originally called "Flee". "Merciful Sea" is self-explanatory and the title track was inspired by an obscure, possibly Indian poet called Praveen. Without sounding dated, this collection is a career culmination of a dying technique, emotive, spiritually driven and well worthy of owning. Highly recommended. ~Clive Rawlings

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