R2 Magazine
"It's probably fair to say that there's nothing all that new to be found on this new CD from Adam Sweet. But when the blues is delivered with this level of style and élan, any requirement for novelty is little more than, well, a novelty. It is interesting how the influence of Joe Bonamassa is writ large over the current blues generation's music, just as Stevie Ray Vaughan's was over those that emerged a decade or so before. That's the case here but Sweet also seems to draw inspiration from a number of British blues-rockers, too. Here and there are hints of the guitar playing of Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden, Mick Ralphs and Paul Kossoff, and even Rory Gallagher in his vocal delivery. Elsewhere the odd smattering of Billy Gibbons, The Doobie Brothers or Duane Allman is thrown in where the song demands.
It all adds up to a very listenable selection of modern blues. There is enough immediacy to grab the ear on first hearing and enough crafted detail to reward repeat listening. Whether it's brooding electric tones or sparser, rootsy instruments that are used, the quality of the songs shines through. Small town thinking? Big city delivery!" ****
Trevor Raggatt
R2 Magazine, May/June 2014
"It's probably fair to say that there's nothing all that new to be found on this new CD from Adam Sweet. But when the blues is delivered with this level of style and élan, any requirement for novelty is little more than, well, a novelty. It is interesting how the influence of Joe Bonamassa is writ large over the current blues generation's music, just as Stevie Ray Vaughan's was over those that emerged a decade or so before. That's the case here but Sweet also seems to draw inspiration from a number of British blues-rockers, too. Here and there are hints of the guitar playing of Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden, Mick Ralphs and Paul Kossoff, and even Rory Gallagher in his vocal delivery. Elsewhere the odd smattering of Billy Gibbons, The Doobie Brothers or Duane Allman is thrown in where the song demands.
It all adds up to a very listenable selection of modern blues. There is enough immediacy to grab the ear on first hearing and enough crafted detail to reward repeat listening. Whether it's brooding electric tones or sparser, rootsy instruments that are used, the quality of the songs shines through. Small town thinking? Big city delivery!" ****
Trevor Raggatt
R2 Magazine, May/June 2014