Henry Butler - The Game Has Just Begun (2002)

Tracklist

01. The Game Has Just Begun
02. This Is Where I Live
03. Mac Daddy Henry
04. Tie Me Down
05. You Are My Sunshine
06. Regeneration
07. Great Balls Of Fire
08. High Heeled Sneakers
09. Fall Blues
10. When You Listen With Your Eyes
11. Riders On The Storm
12. Liberty Street Blues
13. Q&A With Henry Butler

Henry Butler goes all-out electric on his first Basin Street release, outfitting his rootsy brand of blues-rock with synth textures, keyboard bass, even drum machine on a few tracks. Raymond Weber lays down real drums most of the time; the guitar solos by June Yamagishi and Shane Theriot are often blistering. Artistically, however, the results are mixed. The disc gets off to a strong start with four hard-hitting originals, then loses its way until track eight, a grooving rendition of "High-Heeled Sneakers" featuring Butler's superb piano. But the rock covers ("Great Balls of Fire," "Riders on the Storm") are listless, the pop arrangements ("You Are My Sunshine," "When You Listen With Your Eyes") are middle of the road, and the three electronic mood instrumentals are interesting only up to a point. (A 15-minute question-and-answer session with Butler ends the disc.) This is definitely not the best starting point for anyone new to Butler's music.

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