After three blues rocking singles, Ivy Gold are now ready to release a full-length album called Six Dusty Winds. The band is fronted by the charismatic and powerful vocals of a lady known as Manou; she has surrounded herself with equally powerful musicians to put her vision to a musical reality… step forward Tal Bergman (Joe Bonamassa), Sebastian Eder (Avalon), Kevin Moore (Jennifer Rush) and Anders Olinder (Glenn Hughes).
The title track and (one of three singles) gives an idea of their approach: blues based rock rather than just blues-rock, with a melodic approach to the highly effective vocal melodies and harmonies plus Eder’s tasty guitar running throughout and delivering a great solo.
‘Retribution’ has a laid back instrumental structure that allows Manou to show grit, gravel and clarity in the space of just a few lines and we also get a quality keyboard and guitar solo to make this a near-epic. To prove their true blues credentials, ‘Without You’ is just that…pure and blue with emotional vocals and solid backing from the talented band and the kind of solo that blues guitarists know is right: no shred just the right number of notes in the right places (to paraphrase the inimitable Eric Morecambe). Similarly, ‘Suspicion’ is blue but shot through with a funky feel that works really well. The closing track ‘Born Again’ is out and out, mid-paced rock that has a Rainbow like majesty to it. The carefully picked guitar solo heightens the tension for the multi-tracked vocal chorus to take us to the bluesy conclusion.
The quality on display is as clear as the production and the ten tracks all have something to offer any fan of heavy rock with a blues base. I hope these guys stick together and if so, I look forward to their next offering.
Six Dusty Winds is out on Golden Ivy Records on 12th March with two bonus download tracks available when you buy the CD or vinyl.
, Sebastian Eder (Avalon), Kevin Moore (Jennifer Rush) and Anders Olinder (Glenn Hughes).){kind=link}