Following the critically acclaimed release of her latest studio album Heavy Soul, that debuted at #2 on the Billboard Blues Album chart under Slash’s latest release, celebrated blues-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter Joanne Shaw Taylor has released a special new single, a cover of the Free hit single ‘Wishing Well’.
Written by the Heartbreaker line-up of Paul Rogers, Simon Kirke, Tetsu Yamauchi, Paul Kossoff and John Bundric, about their close friend Bevan T. Woodhouse, ‘Wishing Well’ quickly climbed the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 7 on 13th January 1973. It was Free’s final hit single before the group disbanded, with Rodgers and Kirke going on to form Bad Company, Yamauchi joined The Faces, Kossoff formed Back Street Crawler, who Bundrick joined, staying with them when they became Crawler, and then joined The Who.
“I’ve been a massive Free fan since I was a teenager,” Taylor confirmed. “It’s a very hard band to cover because it doesn’t really need covering; it was already perfect in the first place. I was a little bit nervous about it because I put Free on a pedestal. But I enjoyed it. I look forward to the challenge of recreating it similar to the original and paying homage to that, but also doing it in my own sort of style.”
Heavy Soul has been hailed as a landmark in Taylor’s career, showcasing her evolution from blues roots to incorporating her soulful pop music influence. That, however, doesn’t prevent her dipping into some classics and giving fans her interpretation.
‘Wishing Well’ is available now on all major streaming platforms and you can check out the video here at RAMzine. While Heavy Soul can be ordered by clicking here.
