
It has to be said that Paris Kis has written some great numbers for Aaron O’Brien to interpret and how he managed this, I do not really know. There seems to be a symbiotic relationship between these guys and this comes out in the finished product LONE SOLDIER.
There are many excellent blues bands around, as there have always been, but somehow Paris has managed to capture Aaron in a way that I feel no others could.
To sing the Blues is not easy and yet, here on this album, are 15 tracks that appear to be tailor made for Aaron’s vocals; from deep inside this old and wise voice appears and it hits you from the very first track, ‘Tell Me When.’ The feeling is there, the interpretation is so precise and it feels and sounds like a song from yesterday’s Blues men; the whole song is carefully wrapped in finely crafted music and continues the tradition of the Blues forebears.
Paris has, over a period of a year, with Aaron, produced an outstanding album with tracks that are short, sharp and succinct whilst retaining that true essence of the genre. Imagine a smokey saloon bar, a band in the corner, travellers wandering in and out and the dust outside gently rising on the breeze; the guitars fire up and the vocalist shouts out: ‘I’m outta here’ and the band starts grooving, the piano is subtly placed in the background and, well, that is ‘Never Coming Back’.
The percussion is precise, the harmonies are spot on, the sweat pours down Aaron’s face as the band turns into a powerhouse of its own and ‘Make It Right With You’ pours forth; this is modern and developed Blues but so reminiscent of earlier glorious days and without 20 minute guitar solos. Tight, tight, tight.
These tracks all have that recorded live feel, so to see Aaron and Band in full flow will be an experience to be relished, with or without a bourbon or two.
Don’t dump in my backyard, sings Aaron with angst and emotion on ‘This Is My House’ and the song rolls out into a post-modern blues classic; the pairing of Paris and Aaron has extended the longevity of the Blues and given it a refreshed and outstanding position for others to aspire to.
Tony Bates
Uncut and Unsigned
www.3MDR.com
There are many excellent blues bands around, as there have always been, but somehow Paris has managed to capture Aaron in a way that I feel no others could.
To sing the Blues is not easy and yet, here on this album, are 15 tracks that appear to be tailor made for Aaron’s vocals; from deep inside this old and wise voice appears and it hits you from the very first track, ‘Tell Me When.’ The feeling is there, the interpretation is so precise and it feels and sounds like a song from yesterday’s Blues men; the whole song is carefully wrapped in finely crafted music and continues the tradition of the Blues forebears.
Paris has, over a period of a year, with Aaron, produced an outstanding album with tracks that are short, sharp and succinct whilst retaining that true essence of the genre. Imagine a smokey saloon bar, a band in the corner, travellers wandering in and out and the dust outside gently rising on the breeze; the guitars fire up and the vocalist shouts out: ‘I’m outta here’ and the band starts grooving, the piano is subtly placed in the background and, well, that is ‘Never Coming Back’.
The percussion is precise, the harmonies are spot on, the sweat pours down Aaron’s face as the band turns into a powerhouse of its own and ‘Make It Right With You’ pours forth; this is modern and developed Blues but so reminiscent of earlier glorious days and without 20 minute guitar solos. Tight, tight, tight.
These tracks all have that recorded live feel, so to see Aaron and Band in full flow will be an experience to be relished, with or without a bourbon or two.
Don’t dump in my backyard, sings Aaron with angst and emotion on ‘This Is My House’ and the song rolls out into a post-modern blues classic; the pairing of Paris and Aaron has extended the longevity of the Blues and given it a refreshed and outstanding position for others to aspire to.
Tony Bates
Uncut and Unsigned
www.3MDR.com