ZAC HARMON
Long As I Got My Guitar
Catfood Records
Effortlessly Rich Variety of The Blues.
Born in Jackson, Mississippi but now based in Texas, award winning Blues singer & guitarist Zac Harmon has been ’round the block a time or two and has an iridescent CV stretching way back to playing guitar as a 16 year old, with his Dad’s friend, Sam Meyers.
For more than 25 years he has followed his dream, playing and recording with an impressive list of A1 musicians, ending up in 2021 with a new album which he believes is the most memorable of his illustrious career.
This is his second album released on Catfood Records, following on from 2019’s Mississippi Bar BQ and again Zac has Grammy winning Jim Gaines as the Producer with the label owner Bob Trenchard on Bass. Trenchard also co-wrote 7 of the 10 songs with Zac making him one highly involved and hugely influential participant.
The recording was all captured at Sonic Ranch, Tornillo, Texas with the mixing and mastering completed in Tennessee.
“Deal With The Devil” is the lead track and gets the album off on the good foot, with Zac’s precise, stinging guitar licks interspersed between his strong vocal delivery. In fact this is one of 3 tracks that reminded me of the vocals and guitar of Robert Cray and that includes the albums title track “Long As I Got My Guitar” too.
But wait, there is so much more to this fine album with a couple of very smooth soul efforts where the guitar sounds much more like Ernie Isley than Bobby Cray to me on “New Years Day;” and then again on the more upbeat “Imagine A Prayer”.
Coming across more like a glossy Philly sound than either Memphis or Muscle Shoals is the polished, smoochy version of “Soul Land”, again including an albeit short but stand-out 6 string solo from Harmon.
Zac’s own band members supplement the studio boys on “Love For You Baby” with keyboardist Corey Lacey (who co-wrote the song with Zac) also used to good effect on three other tracks.
Lasting 5 minutes, the closing track, written by Zac and Bob, “Ashes To The Wind” is the longest song on the album but is well worth waiting for, featuring a churchy organ, giving the track an almost gospely feel with SueAnn Carwell and Corey Lacey earning their corn on the backing vocals.
However, the one track that highlights the diversity of music on offer here is also my favourite, “Crying Shame;” an imposing, Swampy, Cajun ballad that could easily have come from the pen of Bobby Charles, with Dan Ferguson’s authentic accordion the prominent ingredient in this delectable gumbo of a song. Once again Zac provides great tone with his guitar playing and adjusts the vocals slightly closer to swamp-pop icon Tony Joe White.
Long As I Got My Guitar is one of those albums that gets better the more you play it and the more you listen too;, the more you hear the subtleties of the musicianship and the imposing lyrics.
All in all, Zac Harmon and his team have delivered a splendid album, rich in variety that effortlessly mixes and melds several sub-genres providing a most enjoyable listening experience.
Jack Kidd aka “Messin’ with the Kidd” on lionheartradio.com
Released on 1st. October 2021
https://zacharmon.com/home
BUY DON’T SPOTIFY
https://zacharmon.com/merchandise
The Rocking Magpie 