Sometime the Blues just has to be low down and sweaty like this
After previously releasing 5 albums I’m not sure how popular Patrick Sweany is in the US; but he’s an unknown quantity in the UK; yet after playing “Close to the Floor” on heavy rotation for the last week I do know he should be filling much bigger venues than he probably is.
We all have our personal preferences when it comes to music but for me you just can’t beat 3, 4 or 5 minute Blues songs that tell a story by a gutsy, road weary voice while an electric guitar wails in the background; and Patrick Sweany ticks every box I need for a good night in.
With all of the three Kings and possibly even Jimmie Vaughan influencing his guitar playing and a voice that might make him a distant relation of Eric Burden; Sweany manages to make every track sound completely different while weaving a golden thread that links everything together as a complete work of art.
Every Night; Every Day will move even the hardest of hearts as he plucks those guitar strings within an inch of their lives and he virtually growls the tragic lyrics over the bass and drums which are recreating a heartbeat.
Sweany’s voice reminds me so much of Tony Joe White it hurts, when he purrs the opening lines to Deep Water; ‘my hand was made for holding/my heart is in your hand/right here when you need me/I’ll always be your man’ and the bottle neck guitar that shadows every word is Swamp Blues at their very, very best.
Anyone and especially musicians who have ever had to travel by long distance buses will be touched by Bus Stationespecially the chorus ‘Bus stations are the loneliest place in the world;’ which they are; even in the hubbub of busy afternoons it’s still possible to feel invisible.
The album is wrapped up Terrible Years which is so atmospheric it had me rocking back in my chair and nodding my head as if I was sitting on a Louisiana back porch; instead of an office in a semi-detached house in North East England.
If you like your Blues raw and edgy you are going to love “Close to the Floor” by Patrick Sweany and if you don’t I’d still advise you to give this a little listen.
Nine Mile Records NMR0087
www.patricksweeney.com
The Rocking Magpie 
[…] Patrick Sweany – Close to the Floor (2013) […]
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