Colin Lake - The Ones I Love (2011)

Tracklist

01. Temporary Living
02. Ain't Gonna' Worry
03. Sammy Song
04. In On Time
05. The Ones I Love
06. Start At The Bottom
07. Lovin' Man
08. Where Did We Go Wrong
09. Learning The Way
10. Skipjack
11. Flowers In Her Hair


They say that you never miss your water until the well runs dry. And in other words, you’re gonna miss me when I’m gone. Well, that should really stand true with the departure of Colin Lake a couple years back when he decided to move to New Orleans. That was soon after his stand-out release Bullet that was an inspiring disc for the young artist, incorporating unique forms such as scratching to classic blues numbers alongside some sensational original tunes.

Now releasing his first disc since Bullet, Colin Lake may not be offering any street type sound effects as scratching this time out, but The Ones I Love just might be his greatest accomplishment to date. He has grown immensely in his sound and his playing, not that he wasn’t already standing up as a musician to watch closely. He just proves it here. There are so many influences that may be showing through also. On a track like “In On Time,” his slide playing and vocals could’ve been lifted directly from a Derek Trucks CD. It’s that good. I can also hear a little Taj Mahal coming through on “Ain’t Gonna Worry” or Keb’ Mo’ on the title track “The Ones I Love.” But this is all Colin Lake. He was the sole songwriter on the whole project. And if it is said that sounding like another well-established artist is a form of compliment, then we should be praising Colin Lake big time. And not all the songs are going to remind you of somebody. Mostly they’re going to say this is the Colin Lake we’ve come to know from his earlier work and damn it’s good!

Colin has gathered a good number of musicians to help him with this CD. Most notable are Eric Lindell supplying some tasty backing vocals on a couple selections and another former Portlander John Fohl adding some tasty electric guitar on two songs. Recorded at The Graveyard in New Orleans and produced by Colin and Drew Vonderhaar.

If Colin Lake continues to progress in his material on this steady uprise he has shown with Bullet and now with The Ones I Love, somebody is going to catch on quickly and place him amongst the top newcomer artists on today’s blues scene. Let’s hope that happens, and then we can say we knew him when he was just getting his start. The Ones I Love is outstanding. Seek it out! ~Review by Greg Johnson

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