True Blues Live (Ft. Glen Turner) 
Artist: Pete Haycock
Label:  Independent 
Time: 11 Tracks / 66 mins
 
Those who remember the Climax Blues Band from the late ‘seventies will know that guitarist Pete Haycock had a light, fluid and commercial guitar style and a strong blues tendency (don’t take it for granted, just because it is in the name – they did play more mainstream material at some points).
 
I have waited unsuccessfully for 3 decades for a release of their BBC Radio 1 live concert, which included the “Couldn’t Get it Right” single, a storming version of their gripping “Sense of Direction/Amerita” (try it on YouTube!) and a great unplugged “Come on in my Kitchen”. It was not an idle hope, as various other bands’ sets from the series have been made available.
 
Since the band split, Haycock has been in ELO Part II and worked with Hans Zimmer on film music (playing lead on the score for Thelma & Louise), but it is a joy to see that he has now returned to his blues roots and released a live record of what he does so well. He has lost none of his flair, and if anything, his sound has matured even more. There is a particular treble tone that he has made his own and it does something sweet to the soul.
 
This time he has teamed up with Glenn Turner, a guitarist he came across playing live, when Turner just happened to have an old Climax Blues Band track on his set list. The two have a real chemistry, their guitars working together like two arms on a body. 
 
Most of this disc is very solid working-band blues, with a mix of lesser known tracks from well known artists (the Doors’ “Roadhouse Blues”) and a couple of staples of the genre (“Dust My Broom / Statesboro Blues”). David Mason’s “Feelin’ Alright” is very Climax and works well live; and there is a ten-minute version of “So Many Roads,” which has been in his set for years. Both these last two feature some tasty call-and-response guitar work.
 
Two instrumentals break up the regular blues: Haycock’s own “Lucienne,” which shows that he has kept his nose for a good melodic line; and the gorgeous “Sleepwalk,” which is musically to Haycock what “Parisienne Walkways” is to Gary Moore.
 
There are only two small disappointments: “Roadhouse Blues” is merely decent; and the exciting choice of “Rocky Mountain Way” is not only scarred when the short, deflating drum solo kicks in, but fails to contain the powerful guitar solo that Haycock could easily have added to bring the set to a brilliant conclusion. It’s a gold-plated opportunity missed.
 
Otherwise, this is a strong, cohesive and varied set from a proven class act, and it should keep any blues-lover very happy.
 
Derek Walker