WILSON T KING

Back in 2010 I had the utter pleasure of discovering the music of one Wilson T King (aka. Tim Wilson) when his debut album, 'Follow Your First Mind', arrived for review. Affiliated to the blues genre, said album actually transpired to be one of the most mindblowingly original and innovatively refreshing takes on the blues I'd heard in many years, perhaps ever. So much so that it almost feels like an injustice to the man's music and visionary fretboard talents to even use the word 'genre' for generic it is not. Far from it. King's playing abandons, contorts, destroys, progresses and transforms all blues traits known to man. In doing so, King is in a self-created genre all by himself. I imagine the kind of effect Hendrix would've had on the listening public when he initially burst onto the scene back in the day... well, here we have Hendrix's attitude reborn in a guitarist who not only transcends established expectations of blues music but is, indubitably, also set to redefine the genre's parameters and what it means to be a genuinely innovative blues player in the twenty first century. His latest offering, 'The Last of the Analogues', reinforces such a statement. As with his debut, he once again manages to create beautiful soundscapes from minimalist elements and arrangements. Guitar, bass, drums and the smooth, almost melancholic tones of his voice combine in captivating ways with the resultant music something special. The songwriting itself is of a high standard. In one sense, it has a jam kind of vibe in its execution which lends the songs a very sincere and natural essence. This also comes from a folky twang during certain passages of music (in a non-generic sense of course). Where the album genuinely shines, though, and it's what sets King apart from a plethora of generic, 'safe' blues guitarists, is his astounding fretboard work. And I don't use the word astounding lightly. It's truly magnificent in terms of both technicality and feeling - two qualities he manages to balance to perfection. There are even elements of virtuosic blues shred but technicality by itself does not make a virtuoso. The depth of emotive expression in King's playing is simply breathtaking where he can make one note sustained over four bars of music sound as stirringly absorbing as when he lets rip. It's all about the emotion, of which melancholy forms a large part - that comes across emphatically at all times - so King is one of that rare breed of players who's actually able to speak through his instrument. His lead work adds to the songs' narratives as much as the actual lyrics. In short, this is fucking phenomenal stuff and I sincerely hope the man reaches a much wider audience and garners far more recognition within an all too stagnant blues scene (and beyond) with 'The Last of the Analogues'. It'd be well deserved.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

19 Miles High

Album

THE LAST OF THE ANALOGUES

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

38:04

RELEASE DATE:

8th Oct 2012

TRACK LISTING

1) The Mountain of Fire
2) Born Into This
3) Like the Turquoise in a Crashing Wave
4) Bury Me with the Bible
5) Edge of Forever
6) 29.10.71
7) Great Things Never Forgotten
8) Broken Son

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

UK

"...here we have Hendrix's attitude reborn in a guitarist who not only transcends established expectations of blues music but is, indubitably, also set to redefine the genre's parameters and what it means to be a genuinely innovative blues player in the twenty first century."