JEFF LANG – CARRIED IN MIND

Let’s start near the back and work forwards, for Jeff Lang’s own description of Frightened Fool is too good to resist – “Little Richard by way of AC/DC.” But therein lies the catch, because describing a Jeff Lang album by genre is becoming increasingly difficult. As a guitarist he has long been considered a ‘blues-man,’ but after 15 albums his fretwork and songwriting has expanded well beyond that simple tag. Newbridge for example is a classic folk tune; while Towards Love and Mama Why You Holding Back Now further explore Lang’s melding of blues and prog rock, and the aforementioned Frightened Fool is as much fun as Jeff’s description of it sounds – pure rock’n’roll heritage. Lang’s guitar work here is sublime, but that’s nothing new, and of special mention is the subtle duet on Fisherman’s Farewell where Lang shares the microphone with wife Alsion Ferrier, the two voices blended like the proverbial “glass and a half…” Prog-blues via Neil Young and Richard Thompson, and frankly I’m of sick telling you how good Jeff Lang is as he must be wearing that same brown suit!

****