"Blues News" by Natchel Blues Network

http://www.natchelblues.org

May/June 2005

CD REVIEW

John Baldwin

Day 13 Records

John Baldwin, a native Bostonian, is now a local Tidewater artist who has played for the past seven years at summer BeachEvents shows and who regularly plays at venues throughout Hampton Roads. He has recently released his first full-length CD, Wide Alive and Dreaming.

Billed as Modern Rock Blues, the CD showcases seventeen of Baldwin's original songs, featuring The John Baldwin Group: Baldwin on vocals and guitar, Berkley Smith on bass, and Darick Felter on drums. Sitting in are guests Kevin Patrick Baiko (vocals, banjo, mandolin, didgeridoo, and shanai), Annie Johnson (vocals), Angelina (vocals), Scott Woods (keyboards), James Dower (keyboards), Bob Simmons (Percussion), Bobby 'Blackhat' Walters (harmonica), and Marty Link (violin). Most of the CD (with a running time of 77 minutes) was recorded during 2003-3004 at Virginia Beach's Empty Canvass Studios; one cut, "Just a little," was recorded live last August 24th at the 17th Street Stage in Virginia Beach.

The CD's songs feature an interesting mix of styles: 1970's jazz fusion ("Mistreated"), old-fashioned doo-wop/pop ("Perfect World"), some tunes reminiscent of David Bowie, Hall and Oates, and Kenny Loggins ("Baby I believe in you" and "Somewhere down the road"), electricity-saturated blues ("Redemption blues" and "I've been down") and ZZ Topp ("Frazzled"). With the exceptions of "Redemption blues," "Higher and higher," and "Make a wish" (songs about spiritual and social justice), Baldwin's lyrics published in the liner notes are focused on love in its many guises. He sings of good love ("Angel" and "Wide alive and dreaming"), bad love ("Mistreated," "I've been down," "Love is a nasty business," and "Tempted"), old love ("Nothing without your love" and "Somewhere down the road"), and new love ("Baby I believe in you," "Perfect world," and "Just a little").

- by Cynthia Horen